Celebrating 46 years of revolution, Nicaragua demonstrates that it is possible to respect its heroes and also venerate its youth. Following years of cultivating leadership in its young people, the passing of the torch to a new generation of revolutionaries is not only possible, but it is already happening.
Originally published in Tortilla con Sal.
Revering Heroes and Treasuring Youth
One of the questions I’m asked most frequently about Nicaragua is: “Does the revolution have a future?”
Forty-six years ago, a popular revolution led by the Nicaragua’s youth overthrew the brutal Somoza dictatorship. Today, those viewing the country from the outside see that the surviving muchachos – the kids who defeated Somoza – are now in their 70s and 80s, and they worry that Nicaragua’s revolution won’t survive without them.
To anyone who visits the country, however, it is obvious that Nicaragua’s revolution, which has managed to both revere its historical heroes and also treasure its youth, is stronger than ever.
This week, as the country celebrates the anniversary of its victory over Somoza’s tyranny, the streets are filled with committed youth: a new generation which is enthusiastically picking up the reins of the revolution and guiding Nicaragua forward.
Young people currently make up 70% of the population. Although Nicaragua’s co-presidents are in their 70s, their government leadership at all levels is largely made up of young people.
“We’re not at all surprised that we have so many young people as deputies in the National Assembly, ministers, deputy ministers and directors,” declares Nicaragua’s Youth Minister, Darling Hernández. “This is just the practical application of our revolutionary slogan, “Youth for President.’”
So how does Nicaragua’s revolution, founded by Baby Boomers, manage to be relevant to Gen Z?
Revolutionary and Evolutionary
The Sandinista Revolution, as Nicaraguans say, not only revolutionary, but evolutionary. It is continually evolving to meet the changing needs of its people, and its youth in particular.
This is accomplished through a constant and fluid conversation that starts in Nicaragua’s families and communities, and goes all the way up to the Presidency. This conversation is largely facilitated by the country’s strongest movement: the July 19th Sandinista Youth, or JS19J.
The JS19J model encourages youth participation in the revolution beginning in secondary school, then continuing in university and beyond. Pre-teens are invited to join a wide variety of community activities: organizing piñatas for children, planting trees, visiting the elderly, dancing, singing, and participating in emergency relief brigades.
Youth are given organizational responsibilities early on and encouraged to take initiative and share their ideas, all of which fosters ownership and their continued participation.
Gradually, they are encouraged to focus on the area of work that most interests them: the JS19J is made up of five movements: environmental, cultural, sports, communication, and solidarity promotion.
Youth in those movements become leaders at municipal, departmental and then national level, with the brightest leaders often moving into the government’s ministries or elected positions before the age of thirty.
More Than a Political Party
“As an artist, I am very grateful for the opportunity the revolution has given me,” says Abril Reyes Arriaza, a 23 year-old singer who has been organized in the JS19J Cultural Movement since secondary school. For Reyes, being a Sandinista is much more than just being a member of a political party, it is being part of a family that knows how to lift up and support one another.
“Our leadership is always very aware of each person, the situation of each one of us who are involved and who contribute our grain of sand to the revolution,” says Reyes.
“At one point, I was in the ICU I didn’t think I would survive,” she remembers. But Reyes’ comrades never gave up hope and were constantly following up on her case. She recognizes the importance of their support. “They gave me the attention and treatment I needed, and they do the same for everyone.”
In other countries, there is often generational warfare: youth are pitted against the older generations who refuse to give up power. In “developed” parts of the world such as the United States, where the median age for senators is 64.7 years old, young people are bereft of opportunities.
Increasingly unable to afford third level education limits employment prospects for youth. Rising costs of living and lack of housing can also mean that young people must choose between endless debt and continuing to live with their parents well into adulthood.
Intergenerational Leadership
By contrast, in Nicaragua, there is an intergenerational leadership which manages to both respect its elders and venerate its youth.
“Our job is to put young people in power,” declares Minister Hernández.
On a practical level, putting youth in power ensures that young people’s needs are met. In Nicaragua, free universal health care, subsidies for transport, electricity and gas are just a few of the programs that make improved quality of life accessible for young people. The most important program for Nicaragua’s youth, however, is the universal access to free quality education preschool through university, including hundreds of free vocational training programs.
“As a young person, I see more and more opportunities all the time,” says Reyes. “I don’t think that anyone needs to leave our country to find new opportunities because there are plenty of them here.”
Songs of Revolution
Reyes is not the only young person to recognize this. On the evening of the 19th of July, more than 50,000 people are gathered in the Plaza of Faith in Managua to show their support for the ever-evolving revolution, and the crowd is overwhelmingly young. For more than four hours, Plaza vibrates with joy – quite literally during the 21-gun salute to Nicaragua’s achievements in poverty eradication – and most of that time, young people are dancing and singing along with revolutionary songs.
Some of these songs were recorded when the grandparents of these dancing youth were still clandestinely fighting Somoza’s National Guard. Yet, the youth sing along to all the words. Some of these songs were recorded recently by a new generation of revolutionary artists – Reyes’ voice can be heard on five of the new songs recorded on the 46th anniversary album. Yet, Daniel Ortega also sings along to all the words.
We Are All Daniel
When the music finally changes tempo and Ortega picks up the microphone, the crowd is euphoric, chanting, “Daniel! Daniel! Daniel!”
Looking out into the sea of young faces, the 79-year-old leader says, “We are all Daniel here. From the smallest girl to the young man, our entire people. We are all Daniel. That is why it is unthinkable that any leader could emerge in our country who does not share our way of thinking, our commitment and the principles that we have inherited. You and me, we have inherited that principle that we carry in our hearts and in our conscience, which is the principle that our General Sandino bequeathed to us… ‘I don’t surrender and I don’t sell out!’”
With these succinct words, Daniel Ortega, hero and Commander of the Nicaraguan Revolution, shows how the changing of the guard is taking place in Nicaragua: with one generation willingly, consciously, confidently passing the revolutionary torch on to Nicaragua’s next generation.
For Nicaragua’s youth, who have been preparing for this since childhood, grasping that torch and running with it comes as easy as breathing. Although Reyes has never had to pick up a weapon, she has been defending her country and her revolution since the first time she picked up a microphone and sang her heart out.
“I am so very grateful to the Sandinista Front for always giving us opportunities,” Reyes says. “I am sure that no other government could have done what we are doing here today: making revolution.”
Becca Renk is originally from Idaho, USA. For 25 years, she has lived and worked in sustainable community development in Nicaragua with the Jubilee House Community and its project, the Center for Development in Central America; she coordinates the solidarity work of Casa Ben Linder.
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