President Daniel Ortega on the 45th Anniversary of Sandinista Revolution

Tortilla con Sal, Popular Resistance, July 21, 2024 — 

Address By President Comandante Daniel At The Principal Event In Commemoration Of The 45th Anniversary Of The Revolution Popular Sandinista, On July 19th 2024.“The United States Or Europe, And They Have Not Stopped Being Colonialists And They Are Still Neocolonialists, They Have Not Stopped Being Criminals, They Are Still Criminals.”

Here, No One Surrenders! Young people are in command and do command, the People is in command and does command, and Daniel obeys. Yes, thanks be to God that we are ready, we are prepared, and this is a task, a labor demanding a great deal of Love for Peace, and that is what Nicaraguans defend.

First of all, we Sandinistas are committed to that Principle, and too, the Nicaraguan people are also convinced that only Peace brings Well-being, Employment, Schools, Hospitals, Roads, Housing, Transportation, Entrepreneurship, Education and Free Education, because that is a Right of the People, a Right of our Families, a Right of our Young People.

Here, in fact, the first step the Revolution took was the Great National Literacy Crusade. Nicaragua then had 60% illiteracy, and under the bullets of US trained murderers, when the Literacy Brigades began to move into the countryside, they began to be murdered.

But the Literacy Teachers did not flee, the Literacy Teachers did not give up, rather, they fulfilled their goal. The Literacy Teachers, in the end, managed to reduce Illiteracy down to 12%. You see, from 60% to 12%. That was the first Great Victory the Revolution achieved for the benefit of our People, for the benefit of the Poor, for the benefit of the Peasants.

Then there was the Agrarian Reform, in a Country where the Peasants had no land, and if one of them had some piece of land, it was taken away by the landowners, who grew up every day on farms which they occupied thanks to the support of Somoza’s National Guard, and if any Peasant tried to object, they killed him then and there.

Therefore it was right to give land to the Peasants, and to do so it was necessary to recover the land that had been stolen from Society, from the People, from the Peasants, and thus the Agrarian Reform was another great step. For the first time in the history of our country, large estates started disappearing and small farms were multiplying.

We also set out to build Schools, to build Hospitals, we set out to develop a great Hydroelectric Project, and we even began this great Hydroelectric Project, doing the Studies, for which Specialists and Engineers came from a Nation, a People, a great Power, which immediately after the Triumph greeted Nicaragua: The Soviet Union.

And you have to realize how in multiple fields tractors, machinery, for Agriculture, for Construction began to arrive here. I do not forget the name of Belarus, Belarus tractors were popular here in the countryside, as well as machinery for building Roads and Highways

And the experts were to make Studies that would allow us to have a Hydroelectric Plant able to generate 350 megawatts; we’re talking about the area towards the Caribbean, in those territories with large water sources and rivers. And the specialists said, here you have all the conditions for producing 350 megawatts of energy, and they said so with great enthusiasm.

But then the barbarians appeared. Once again the Imperialists of the Earth, what did they do but organize a war against this Revolution that had only triumphed 45 years ago. The war began in 1979 and the President of the United States, Ronald Reagan came to power, and they began to organize, to train, distributing manuals for torture to the Somoza forces that had been defeated and who had fled to the United States, to Honduras, to Costa Rica.

And the war began again in Nicaragua after we had just spent a long war against the Somoza tyranny, which caused more than 50,000 dead victims.

So then came this other war, armed and financed by the US ruling class, and what were their objectives? To assassinate teachers where schools were being built in the countryside; to assassinate doctors and nurses where Health Posts were being established in the countryside, in the mountain areas; to destroy the health posts that existed; to destroy the schools.

And where the machinery was working, where teams that had arrived from Russia were working on the opening of highways and mountain roads, then the targets were the machinery, the equipment, and their operators. They murdered the drivers and dynamited the machinery. And that kept getting worse, the aggression kept growing.

In the area where they were working, progress had already been made in the studies to start this Hydroelectric Project, and there too they began to move forces, and there was no option but to dismantle the Project; because to do otherwise would have put at risk the lives of the engineers, technicians and workers, who came with the best will in the world to cooperate with Nicaragua.

That is to say, the Soviet Union, led of course by Russia, despite being a great Power, did not come to settle here so as to take Nicaragua’s wealth, but rather they came here to lend a hand to the Nicaraguan people, so that they could develop and grow.

That is the big difference between the great Powers that have been colonialist and neocolonialist, for example the United States or Europe, and they have not stopped being colonialists and they are still neocolonialists, they have not stopped being criminals, they are still criminals, they are still murderers, and we see how in Ukraine they arm the Nazi Forces that the Red Army fought in World War II.

Because Hitler, the Nazis, managed to install forces there in Ukraine that were waging war against the Red Army, and they thought that by advancing from Germany towards the Soviet Union through Ukraine they were going to defeat and occupy the Russian People and the Soviet Peoples who fought those gigantic battles in the Second World War but it was those Nazi forces who were defeated that they wanted to revive in Ukraine, and that’s what we’re seeing now. They managed to impose, via a coup d’état, a fascist, Nazi state and government, and from then on were murdering their citizens, especially those of Russian origin.

And so we have that country which in the ’80s provided cooperation to Nicaragua which suddenly finds, with the passage of time, that Fascism is being installed once again in Ukraine, and that Europe, not the European Peoples, but their European governments, most of them, are reinforcing Fascism, fueling a war that is aimed at trying to achieve what Napoleon did not achieve, what Hitler did not achieve, and now they want to do it with the Nazi they have installed there as President, but of course always with them being the ones who provide and manage the weapons, the ones who give all the support, thus putting the world’s stability at risk.

And there is another Nation with which we have also had historical relations, the People’s Republic of China which has been bringing Progress, Benefits and Development to the world’s Peoples who were colonized and who became independent, but who were then subjugated under the boot of the interests of the Powers that had colonized them leaving those Peoples in poverty, with people in misery, people going hungry, people in illiteracy, with infant mortality, in Africa, in Asia.

And the People’s Republic of China has been developing a policy bringing benefits to Developing Countries, without setting any conditions.

So now the great Powers grouped in NATO already have an incipient war which is in the phase of them preparing their own peoples for what they call a threat; that Russia and China are a threat, but then too there are the BRICS, where there is India, and they say they too are a threat. That is to say, everything that is a coming together of Nations, of Countries, where Sovereignty is respected, where they reach Agreements to achieve better conditions for their Peoples, they see as a threat, because the Imperialists are used to occupying by force, and then dominating and murdering; and then pointing accusing fingers at us.

Here we have been speaking with the Brothers and Sisters who have taken the floor, from different Regions, and we realize how all these Countries have suffered the boot of Colonialism, Imperialism; how in periods of occupation, of wars, hundreds of thousands, even millions of people have died, in Countries like Algeria, in Countries like Vietnam. Just to mention these two countries.

We also see how the Imperialists are raging at a People who, under agreements in International Organizations, in the United Nations, has the Right to be a State: The Palestinian State. And we see the counterpart, the Government of Israel, and I am not talking about the People of Israel, just as I cannot speak ill of the US people; that is to say, the real criminals are those who are governing, those who have the military power, the economic power. Those are the criminals!

The ones who armed Somoza here, who organized that genocidal National Guard which he used to fight for his regime for so many years, those are the ones responsible. And who are those people? The US rulers. And what do the US presidents represent? They are nothing more than functionaries, from either Party, serving the Military Industry. Such that the more wars there are, then the more business there is for the Military Industry! Serving the great US companies. That is, not even serving the US people, but rather enriching the wealthiest people in the United States.

And listening to the words of Leila, Compañera, Sister, who has brought to us here the Voice of a People that is being subjected to genocide, where children are being killed every day, where young people are being killed every day, and the European Governments, the United States Government, meeting in NATO, decide every day to give Israel more and more weapons, to send ever more weapons, so that the Palestinian People continue to be bombed. And this is clearly stated by the rulers of the State of Israel, who want the Palestinian State to disappear. They say it with no shame at all.

But the Law must rule! It was an Agreement at the United Nations signed by all the Countries of the world at that time, for two States had to be created: the State of Israel, and the Palestinian State. And what are the Israeli authorities saying, now? What do they say? That there should be no Palestinian state, that it should disappear, because it is a threat to Israel.

If we go with that philosophy, we should ask for the disappearance of the United States. The first thing that should disappear is that State, which is the greatest criminal humanity has, and not only for going around murdering peoples and occupying Countries, as has happened here in Nicaragua.

Nicaragua was invaded by the Yankees at the time of William Walker, and Walker was defeated; then Nicaragua was invaded by the Yankees, after the Yankees overthrew Zelaya, when Zeledón confronted the Yankees, and they assassinated Zeledón.

And Sandino came and gave them battle, and when the Yankees realized they could not defeat Sandino then they retreated. But they had already organized their Marine Corps here, which they called the National Guard, and their High Command were senior officers of the United States Army. And then what did they do next? Well, they turned that Force into the Force that assassinated Sandino.

That is to say, Sandino defeated the Yankees, so what the Yankees did was to carry out their notorious conspiracy, where the President invited Sandino, because they were signing Peace Accords since the Yankees had already left. He invited them to the Presidential House for a dinner, and when they left, the so-called National Guard was waiting for them, no more nor less than the Guard imposed by the Yankees. They captured Sandino with his lieutenants, and assassinated them, so as to facilitate the Yankees’ dominance in Nicaragua.

This is so very true that I never tire of repeating it, because we cannot forget, because if we forget then history repeats itself, and we cannot forget that the President of the United States himself, who received Somoza there in Washington, receiving him with honors, and was always training the National Guard, arming the National Guard, sending them weapons… We cannot forget that when the President of the United States was asked why he was receiving Somoza if he was a murderer, then President Roosevelt answered, and said: He is a son of a bitch, but he is our son of a bitch. The President of the United States said so with complete serenity.

So, with all the respect that women deserve who have that practice, that profession, that is the arrogance of the machista giving the answer: He is our son of a bitch. That is to say, Roosevelt is saying that he himself was a whore, this being an offense, indeed, for those who exercise that profession.

But as far as it goes, yes, that is to say, if it is a question of putting an end to those countries that are a threat to their own Peoples and to Humanity, then International Organizations would have to seriously considered that those Powers disappear, that NATO disappears, and then we will have a little more tranquility, a little more security in the world.

On this 45th Anniversary of our recognition, we take to our Soul, to our Heart, all the Heroes and Martyrs of the People, the Heroes and Martyrs who have been giving their Lives since the first conquerors arrived; as well as to the Heroes and Martyrs who gave their Lives in the last coup attempt of the fascist Yankee Empire, using Nazi practices, in April 2018.

They attacked with all their fury, murdering, burning, torturing, and publishing over social networks the images of the Brothers and Sisters who were being tortured and murdered. They already felt that they were defeating the Revolution, but how wrong they were, they did not realize that the strength of the Revolution is in the loyalty, in the commitment of Nicaragua’s people. And when they were defeated, then they began to spread slanders and lies to try and regain ground.

We have demonstrated throughout history that there is a fundamental element in any society, especially with fractures as serious as those that Nicaragua has had due to the intervention of foreign Powers, we have always advocated the Principle of Reconciliation, and in the ’80s, we were the first to manage to take steps in favor of Reconciliation with the Original Peoples.

For that’s where Autonomy was born, the Law of Autonomy, which has given the Brothers and Sisters of the Communities of the North and South Caribbean Regions the Right to own their lands first and there what we did was to give each Community the land that belongs to that Community, and we made over about 35,000 square kilometers across the Caribbean Coast; all the lands of the Communities there were titled. And that was achieved in the middle of the war, a halt was made, Reconciliation was sought, and finally it was possible to put an end to that confrontation thanks to the Autonomy Law.

But here, in the war against the Somoza Dictatorship, well, Reconciliation was more difficult, because in order to reconcile we had to get rid of Somoza first. Because Somoza had penetrated all the economic groups and maintained a permanent campaign against the Sandinista National Liberation Front, using war, murder, torture, to frighten people. But people finally started losing their fear and then the Popular Insurrections began, ending with the Final Offensive and the overthrow of the Somoza tyranny.

They still made efforts, through the OAS, at a Meeting in Venezuela, to seek intervention to try to stop the Victory, but there were no conditions for that and the advance of the Revolutionary Force was irrepressible, unstoppable.

This day, in what is the most important day of all these days around the 45th Anniversary, days where the People have manifested with every expression of joy, no one has been burning houses here, as they burned in April 2018, when they destroyed University Campuses, Hospitals and Health Posts. No! Here there has simply been Joyful celebration throughout the country, and we salute the orderly, disciplined way in which People have manifested their celebration in the Districts, the Neighborhoods, in municipal, departmental activities, in the activities of the night before, on the Day of Joy, and then last night, awaiting the arrival of the 19th.

That is, there have been no acts of violence there, what we have seen is a great deal of joy. And why is there so much joy? And how can so many people move around late at night? Because there is Peace, because there is Security. Where there is no Peace, then people do not get out and about easily. That is to say, we have managed to recover Peace, and this is a Victory of the Nicaraguan People, who want Peace, who love Peace, who defend Peace.

And naturally, if we want Peace for Nicaragua, we also want Peace for the World, that’s why we have supported various Initiatives that have been taken, first of all I would say the most urgent one is to stop the genocide against the Palestinian People, where even the International Court of Justice has pronounced itself very clearly.

Indeed, those are crimes, atrocious murders, but how is that going to stop if they do not respect the resolutions of the International Court of Justice, which, by the way, has a ruling on Nicaragua, in favor of Nicaragua, against the Yankee aggression of the 80s, where it ordered the United States to suspend the crimes it was committing, and ordered it to compensate Nicaragua in 18,000 million dollars that today would possibly be double or triple that amount.

The Yankees, of course, do not pay attention to the Court, they do not respect any Court; all they do is apply force, and impose their decisions using force. But that road leads to hell, they have to understand it, they should understand it.

How many crimes are committed in the United States itself every day, simply because guns are sold as if they were candy, and then people go with those guns and murder children in schools; they go with those guns against Young People who are at Festivals, who are in Commemorations, who are in Concerts, the shooters come and start murdering, disrupting the activity and murdering large numbers.

I believe that the time will come when the US people will have no other choice but to change, to change towards governments that respect the Laws, respect the People, respect Children, respect Schools, respect Migrants.

The Yankees and the Europeans have become the biggest enemies of emigrants. But who was asked for permission by those who arrived from Europe to these countries? They were not immigrants, they came to invade these countries to steal the lands of our ancestors.

Who was asked for permission to invade North American territory in what is now the United States and Canada? Who was asked for permission? They simply decided to go there, started by murdering the indigenous population and then occupying their lands, and then growing in wealth, they also developed that slave labor force to exploit especially the South of the United States, and wherever there was slavery.

That is to say, this war that they have against immigrants, simply goes against the Rights of the Human Species; the right of the Human Species to be able to move to any place on Earth. And it is a right that the Powers that Be have arrogated to themselves.

On this day, we thank God, we thank Christ, who has given us the conditions to be able to hold this Extraordinary Celebration, full of Joy, full of Love, full of Peace. This Event where we unquestionably recognize the value of the presence of the Delegations of States, of Governments, where we have listened to their words, words of solidarity from their Peoples, their Governments, of their Presidents.

We have also heard denunciations, like Leila’s, and they have all made themselves present here in Nicaragua, Countries, Nations that show Respect for this small Country, and no one doubts that we are a small country, Darío recognized this when Darío said: “If your Nation is small, you dream of it as big.” And with our dreams we make it full of Potential, we make it Powerful, and we develop it as we are now developing Nicaragua.

So, we are grateful for the presence of all the Delegations, and the presence of Brothers and Sisters who have been working, are working and will continue to work as they go on in favor of Transformations, in favor of Revolutions, in favor of Peace. These Sisters and Brothers are all over the world, they are in the United States, they are in Europe too, many of them are present here.

And that is the most Powerful Force that Humanity has, those who, becoming Aware of what the Struggle for Peace is, decide to wage the Battle, risking of course, risking the threat of the enemies of Peace, risking the danger of the threat of the enemies of Peace.

But in the World, on the Planet, there are no Peoples, there are no Young People, there are no Women, no Workers, no Peasants who give up. The World’s Peoples do not give up, and they continue to make their Way as they go, until the Earth becomes a World of Peace.

Long live the 45th Anniversary of the Triumph of the Revolution!

Long live Blessed and Forever Free Nicaragua!

Long Live Nicaragua, Christian, Socialist, in Solidarity!

Long live the Cuban Revolution!

Long live the Bolivarian Revolution!

Long live the Unity of the Revolutionary Peoples!

And may there live forever in our Conscience, in our Heart, the Commitment to keep fighting for Peace, for Peace and Love, at any cost!

Always Onwards, Not One Step Back!

A Free Nation or Death!