take the reformist road, he got frightened and he fled, as Eden Pastora did and as the others have....They thought that the revolution was going to stop on
July 19, 1979.
They were deluding themselves.
The PLI, for example, were people who were anti-Somoza in order to defend
They have very little their own interests.
Partido Conservador
The FSLN
Demborate (PCD).
weight in major mass sectors.
had to take the leadership of these sectors and play a leading role in the fight against the dictatorship.
It was us and not bourgeois parliamentarians who drew up a military rente Sandinieta de beración Nacional (PSLN).
SOLIDARIDAD
Partido Soolal Cristiano (PSC).
Accion
MAP-MI arriste Leni
Partido Comunista de strategy to overthrow Somozism.
What has happened is that the PLI are taking part in the elections because they were forced to by outside pressures. Everyone knows that the PLI is being financed by the Liberal International.
Nicarague (PCN).
artido Social
Movimiento de Acolón Popular landleta-Leninista (MAP-ML).
JUSTICIA
Their aim is to get seats in parliament that can provide a forum for attacking those in power. They know that liberal ideas belong to the last century and that they LINERTAD ceased to be revolutionary a long time ago. Since the formulation of ideas of scientific socialism and Marxist-Leninism, liberalism has become obsolete, finished.
Q. How do you define the patriotic sectors of the bourgeoisie who still sup-
Those we call the patriotic sectors are those parties who are interested in the above all, the economic development of the country. Some think that the revolution serves their interests, that it can give them a framework for expansion, or at least allow them to maintain their investments. We are not interested, at the moment, in declaring property in all areas. This is a process which will take time. Certain pre-conditions have to come together. We must
For us, these layers represent a limited base of support. Some have joined us, they are with the FSLN. Others are with
Conservative Party or the Social Christian Party (PPSC). Others are not in any political party, but they support the revolution. This is what we call the patriotic section of the bourgeoisie, those who invest in the country. Unfortunately, there are not many of them. On the whole, the bourgeoisie is anti-
Q. At what stage is the imperialist military offensive now?
The military situation is characterised by the stagnation of the mercenoffensives on the different This flows from the imperialists' tactic, which is not to go for a showdown with the Nicaraguan revolution but to hold back its progress and to contain the revolution within our borders. It is, it you like, a policy of eating away at the
Thus, they need a large number of forces and substantial technical resources; aeroplanes, sophisticated weapons to halt the forward march of the revolutionary forces.... International Viewpoint October 15, 1984
Partido Liberal Ind pendiente (PLIl Partido Liben
(PLC).
Moreover, the USA also has to step up their aggression so that they can negotiate with us from a position of strength.
they pressurised the mercenaries to dig in on national territory and to remain inside the country. aim of the offensive is, therefore, to implant a mercenary force in the country, right inside, but at the same time they want to retain some flexibility.
Our tactic lies precisely in preventing these mercenaries from establishing themselves, from gaining a foothold. We pursue them so that they cannot develop any permanent bases. We try to tire them out and push them out of the country, to get rid of them altogether. ment we are about to proceed with the encirclement and obliteration of several of these forces which had penetrated into the centre of the country.
For the time being the only sign of outside aggression is the concentration of enemy forces on the border with Costa Rica, where several thousand counter-revolutionaries of the Democratic Force of Nicaragua (FDN) and the Revolutionary Democratic Allance (ARDE) are being conceatrated. Their objective is to reinforce their southern front, which was weakened, and to try to relieve the North by forcing us to relax the pressure that we have been putting on their troops
Q. In relation to the political dead lines posed by the Nicaraguan and American presidential elections and the dangers of imperialist intervention, what are, in your opinion, the tasks of interna-
The North American intervention is a threat both before and after the elec-
The question is how fully the Americans have assessed the difficulties posed by such an intervention.
Partido Soo The political formations in Nicaragua (DR) have the means to intervene directly
They have the forces in Honduras, Panama, in the Ailantic and the Pacific.
Everything depends on a decision by their National Security Council. this body decides, they will intervene. If they estimate that the cost of keeping up the present offensive is as much as a direct intervention would be, they will take the plunge. Is the level of aggression high enough to bring about this kind of intervention? In any case, we think that, little by little, the North American forces are becoming more and more involved in the war and that is leading them to make as much of an investment in it as if they were intervening directly in
When the North Americans do their accounts and come to the conclusion that it costs as much to finance the counterrevolution as it would to intervene directly, then they will intervene. of intervention is the same before and after the Nicaraguan elections.
Don't you think that, nevertheless, the period of the elections could be used to step up international solidarity
Undoubtedly. Because imperialist propaganda is trying to present the elections as illegitimate or rigged. propaganda wants to make out that the . Sandinistas are manipulating the elections. That is why solidarity actions are necessary. The Sandinista revolution and the FSLN need actions of recognition and support by progressive forces world-wide. We want party-to-party support. We call on all progressive political parties to come out in support of the FSLN as the leadership of the Nicaraguan revolution.
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