Vote
The Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN), led by Daniel Ortega, was at the forefront of the 1979 Revolution and established the first government post-Somoza. In response to pressure from the West to hold a presidential election, the FSLN called for an election five years after their victory against the Somoza dictatorship. Throughout their campaign, the Sandinistas emphasized that it is the duty of every citizen to exercise their right to vote. From their standpoint, to vote would be the ultimate expression of freedom and equality in Nicaragua.
In the first free election in 43 years, Ortega and the FSLN won the 1984 elections by a landslide. Although denounced by Reagan administration as fraudulent, the election was internationally recognized as fairly executed. The Sandinistas remained in power until 1990, when Violeta Chamorro’s National Opposition Union won the national election in that year. However, Ortega and the FSLN returned to power in 2007 and are still in power today – and once again, the Sandinista government is not without controversy both within and beyond Nicaragua’s borders.