THE SANDINISTA NATIONAL LIBERATION FRONT (FSLN) suffered a surprise defeat in the February 25 elections. This result came after the biggest mass mobilizations in the history of Nicaragua, especially the vast rally in Managua on February 21.
The Nicaraguan election campaign was marked by a policy of aggression by US imperialism against a country of a little more than 3 million inhabitants. This war has cost more than 70 thousand deaths, a great number of wounded and absorbed 50% of the national budget. While US imperialism did not achieve a military victory - the contras never got enough popular support to permit the formation of a provisional government — it did manage to profoundly distort the country's economy, thereby opening the way for acute social breakdown.
The Sandinista government found itself obliged to call early elections in the hope of ending this war of aggression. This attitude must be recognized as a further sign of the deep-seated democratic character of the FSLN, which organized the freest elections in the history of this country and many others.
Imperialist aggression limits democracy
Nonetheless, the democratic character of these elections was limited, not by any dictatorial ambitions of the FSLN but by the imperialist aggression. You cannot think about democratic elections when a war of aggression is being carried out, when an election campaign is financed the way that of the National Union of the Opposition (UNO) was when the US congress voted to give it $10 million in aid, when terrorist attacks were planned against the life of the president of the country and with the contras active on the borders, despite the accords signed that called for demobilizing them. The triumph of UNO is the result of this aggressive policy of the imperialists.
The mere fact of having succeeded in defeating the imperialists' military plans, maintaining a democratic climate and not resorting to repressive mechanisms speaks in favor of the Sandinista leadership. Today, despite its defeat, the FSLN has gained political respect worldwide. In the medium term, this will weigh in favor of the development of the revolution.
The Fourth International has taken the side of the Nicaraguan revolution from its outset. Our support for this revolution has been unconditional.
Consequently, we have felt its successes as our own, and we feel this defeat in the same way. It is precisely this view that forces us, along with the comrades of the FSLN, to reflect on the problems that the revolution has faced and the weaknesses from which it has suffered.
The imperialist aggression against the Nicaraguan people distorted the country's entire economy. It led to the growth of hyperinflation that has had a major impact on the standard of living of the population. The adjustment policy adopted by the Nicaraguan government did reduce the rate of inflation, but at the cost of a greater assault on the living standards of the population. This created very wide discontent, which was channeled into votes for UNO. The Nicaraguan people voted against the war, low wages, poverty and hunger. Unfortunately, the majority of the population thought they were doing this by voting for those who are in fact responsible for this terrible situation.
This trend was aggravated by the fact that the social organizations formed since the revolution have been undermined by the social breakdown. At the same time, another major weakness revealed itself. Undoubtedly, the existence of parliamentary democracy was necessary. But we wonder if it was not also necessary to extend the elements of direct democracy in order to consolidate the revolution. That is, a democracy that would enable the broad masses to decide the essential economic and social policies. The creation of such a structure would be a crucial help not only to win elections but to give impetus to the consolidation of the revolutionary process.
Another element that worked against the FSLN was the vast anti-Communist campaign whipped up by the imperialists. They have sought to identify all socialist projects with the crisis of the bureaucratic societies in East Europe, and especially the revulsion that has developed, with just cause, against the monstrous Stalinist deformations. The FSLN took a correct position toward the struggles of the peoples of those countries. However, the ideological consequences of the crisis of Stalinism harmed them.
The weakness of the solidarity movement also has to be taken into consideration. The character of the aggression required a stronger response. In this respect, the traditional organizations of the labor movement - the social democracy and the Communist parties - played a limited role. Not only were they not forces for developing international solidarity but in the case of the social democrats they very often allied themselves with the sectors that make up UNO today.
The role of the Nicaraguan Stalinists (the Nicaraguan Socialist Party and the Communist Party of Nicaragua) was even more negative. They are part of UNO. By taking this attitude, these parties had revealed their true faces as allies of imperialism.
Gorbachev's policy of making a new deal with imperialism has offered a basis for a more aggressive policy by Bush, as was demonstrated in Panama.
These assessments do not lead us today to take our distance from the Sandinista revolution. To the contrary, we feel a greater identification with it. Today, the fundamental task, as the FSLN leadership has decided, is to defend the gains of the revolution. We have to defend the agrarian reform and fight to deepen it, along with the nationalization of the banks, the monopoly of foreign trade, the home ownership of the urban popular masses, the anti-imperialist foreign policy and especially the Sandinista People's Army. All these aspects are legitimized by the revolution of July 19, 1979, and continue to enjoy the support of the immense majority of the population.
Very likely, after a certain pause, the government of Violeta Chamorro will aim to wipe out these revolutionary gains. The reaction to this will be much greater than she and her international backers imagine. The revolution has suffered a setback, but it is not defeated. Immediately after the electoral reverse, the FSLN took the correct road of mass mobilization. Today, more than ever, this is the best road. And it is precisely along this road that the past errors can be corrected.
Appeal for international solidarity
Therefore, we restate our support for the Nicaraguan people and their vanguard, the FSLN. While the revolution has not been defeated, the imperialists and those who want to sell the country to them are readying themselves to crush it. Once again, the Fourth International appeals for international solidarity, and itself pledges to build it, as a guarantee that our brothers and sisters in Nicaragua can get a better relationship of forces so that they can advance in the struggle to construct a society without exploitation and imperialist oppression.
Finally, we want to draw attention to the intentions of US imperialism to destroy the Cuban revolution. Over and above our differences with the Castro leadership, another international task today is to defend this revolution against a possible attack from the Bush government.
The situation is similar as regards El Salvador. The imperialists and the Cristiani government are going to put terrible pressure on the FMLN. The Salvadoran revolution is surrounded by hostile governments. Only a reactivation of solidarity can thwart these reactionary plans. The Central American revolution needs our full solidarity. The Fourth International pledges itself to this.