The Perils of Reconciliation: Achievements and Challenges of Daniel Ortega and the Modern FSLN

Abstract

Against the background of unprecedented levels of support and popularity since recovering power, the experience of the Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional (FSLN) shows that alliances unorthodox for a leftist party have rendered electoral results at the cost of putting more profound structural transformations on hold. Ten years after its electoral comeback, the FSLN has a lot to show for itself, largely because of the stable climate attributable to its decision to make peace with its historical foes. At the same time, its efforts at empowering the citizenry have been limited at best. Entrenched in the wealth of political capital it has accumulated, it is in a good position to take calculated risks in favor of bold redistributive policies. Not taking more daring steps toward the socialist transformation of society at this juncture could in due time cost it its role as articulator of the leftist agenda in Nicaragua. En un contexto de niveles de apoyo y popularidad sin precedentes desde la recuperación del poder, la experiencia del Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional (FSLN) muestra que alianzas heterodoxas para un partido de izquierda han dado resultados electorales a costa de detener transformaciones estructurales más profundas. Diez años después de su regreso electoral, el FSLN tiene muchos logros que mostrar, en gran parte debido al clima estable atribuible a su decisión de hacer las paces con sus enemigos históricos. Al mismo tiempo, sus esfuerzos para empoderar a la ciudadanía han sido limitados en el mejor de los casos. Afirmado en la abundancia de capital político que ha acumulado, se encuentra en una buena posición para tomar riesgos calculados a favor de políticas redistributivas audaces. No dar pasos más audaces hacia la transformación socialista de la sociedad en esta coyuntura podría, a su debido tiempo, costarle su papel como articulador de la agenda izquierdista en Nicaragua.

A conversation about the state in pandemic times

“…In Nicaragua we have seen an autocracy that uses the image of being a social democratic party, with a history of healthcare initiatives and a well-thought-out political strategy regarding the pandemic with support from the welfare state of Sweden. However, there is no doubt that the welfare system has never been fully developed, and state of affairs that can be traced back to a myriad of causes including colonialism, war, and natural disasters but also corruption, inadequate political organization and decades of neoliberal politics (Cruz-Feliciano 2019).…”

Nicaragua and Agamben’s State of Exception: Misunderstood History and Current Crisis

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