The Nicaraguan and the Central American Process Author(s): RUY MAURO MARINI Source: Contemporary Marxism, No. 3, Revolution and Intervention in (Summer 1981), pp. 62-66 Published by: Social Justice/Global Options Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/29765686 . Accessed: 23/01/2015 15:06

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This content downloaded from 128.226.37.5 on Fri, 23 Jan 2015 15:06:40 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions RUY MAURO MARINI mmmmmm?^^m?m

The Nicaraguan Revolution and the Central

American Revolutionary Process

went to a The triumph of the Nicaraguan Revolution in The capitalist world from prosperity 1979 represents to a certain extent the result, phase marked by serious upsets, of which the was and at the same time the beginning, of a new crisis in the international monetary system one It was stage in the cycle of social struggles that was only indication. also marked by sharp those of 1974-1975 and opened up in by the Cuban Revolu? recessions, particularly the current one. U.S. was tion. The long interval between the two including supremacy in the can be explained by the counteroffensive launched being challenged many ways by European and by the following the Cuban Revolu? capitalist powers, particularly Germany, by In after tion and after a radical revision of U.S. foreign Japan. the peripheral capitalist countries, came a brief the insurrectionist movements policy, which to be dictated by the doctrine setback, new and achieved of counterinsurgency. Basing itself in the native gained strength resounding victories in Asia and that favored the ruling classes, and utilizing the Armed Forces as Africa, in the worldwide balance of forces. the main instrument for the implementation of The conditions which before favored that doctrine, the U.S. confronted the wave of 20 years insurrectional movements of that time in Latin the U.S. offensive ?crystallized in counterinsur and thus America and other parts of the world with a gency?have changed considerably demand new from stance that was highly military. The objective responses. Although coming different both Carter and are was, as is the norm in any war, not only to defeat perspectives, Reagan on those new but above all to annihilate the enemy. bent finding responses. not our to focus our In 1959, from the point of view of its imperi? It is intention, however, of alist interests, the U.S. not only was able but also attention on the implications for U.S. policy new was forced to proceed in that manner. The this stage in the revolutionary process, the world capitalist economy was in its full expansive which was opened up in Latin America by as we are stage and in that context the U.S. economy, Nicaraguan Revolution. Rather, interested well as U.S. ideological and political influence, in analyzing why the methods of counterinsurgency had no rival. No one except the anti-imperialist, will not suffice to stop the revolutionary process, was popular movements challenging U.S. hegemony or, more simply, the rise of mass movements in was movements at that time, which why those Latin America, taking into account the internal to were perceived as the enemy destroy. At the causes which motivate them. We then would like the U.S. same time, the senseless hostility of to point out some of the implications of this for toward the Soviet Union made it difficult for the Latin America and the United States. on U.S. government to focus its attention those movements, and thus it was forced to seek a certain level of agreement with the socialist bloc. The Nature of the Process In other words, the policy of counterinsurgency so to rested upon the policy of detente, both had function hand in hand during the decade that In analyzing what is happening today in followed. The fact that detente would open up Central America and in Latin America as a whole, for the Soviet Union and other possibilities we see first that the social movements taking socialist countries to exert influence in the areas place there are not the result of backwardness where insurrectional movements were unfolding but rather the result of progress. More precisely, did not enter into U.S. calculations. For this error they are the result of the type of economic a later on. they paid price progress experienced by that region. The penetra? was By 1979, the situation had changed radically. tion of foreign capital, which the counterpart

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are of counterinsurgency, and intense economic cases they new forces, constituted in the late are development beginning in the 60's have had a 60's and early 70's. Others forces which, counter very strong impact on the class structure of Latin having been practically destroyed by the America. These factors have also caused shifts in insurgent offensive, reorganized themselves within the alliances and agreements on which the state is the framework of new conditions imposed by based. that offensive. The Sandinista National Liberation a It Parallel to the rise and consolidation of an Front (FSLN) is combination of both. of efforts which agrarian, industrial and financial bourgeoisie, encompasses the experience past not and it itself in its closely linked to foreign capital by way of direct did succeed, organized or current form at the of the last decade. investments loans, we have also seen the living beginning In these are not conditions of the urban and rural working masses any case, political organizations in clandestine methods of grow worse and their composition change. Thus, inexperienced work, nor are characterized the peasantry has not only had to suffer growing they by open organic structures like those which had to face the exploitation, but has also undergone brutal offensive and be transformations in its way of life, particularly counterinsurgency destroyed by it. these are born in the because of the rapid process of proletarianization, Today, organizations very heart have which has created a new agricultural proletariat of counterinsurgency itself; they learned to and work under the strictest and augmented the urban proletariat. At the same organize clandestine with cadres trained in the time, the urban proletariat has changed in character conditions, most as a result of the industrialization of the 60's, due art of operating under the brutal repression. to pressure on its artisan sectors and the formation This fact alone differentiates the conditions of a modern industrial working class which is under which the present revolutionary struggle more concentrated and in better objective condi? takes place. But it is not the only difference; tions to organize itself. Meanwhile, the petty the old vanguards of the masses were defeated not bourgeoisie also suffered a process of liquidation, only because of their organic and operative giving way to new middle classes of an increasingly conditions, but also because of their ideology. In on salaried character and based primarily the effect, with the rise of the new bourgeois fractions growth of the service sector. which came into conflict with the old oligarchy in Thus came the structure end of the old political the 50's and 60's, the popular movements felt in which a rural held the reins markedly oligarchy called upon to participate in that conflict. They state Now state rests on a more of power. the have been strongly influenced by the methods of class alliance of the remains complex composed action defended by the rising bourgeoisie, particu? of the old and the new oligarchy bourgeois larly the electoral processes, broad mass mobili? fractions, which extends to the higher levels of zations, etc. In that context, is the the petty bourgeoisie. At the center of this new model. But since the establishment of the counter of are the Armed configuration power Forces, regimes, the popular movements have themselves an internal of undergoing process been excluded from the political arena. They have transformation. This is to make process serving 1) had to develop in the extralegal arena. Further? anticommunist more their ideology extreme, 2) more, they have had to function politically under new of and provide them with forms organization conditions in which politics are defined by the to discipline, and 3) link them directly property bourgeoisie and as war, in essence owning groups by their occupying management leaving politics to the police and military apparatus. positions in the business sector and their acquiring The new vanguard organizations have had to land and stocks, and by the personal relations understand this reality. But having done that, being developed. Upon this base, then, is erected they are now functioning with complete awareness a highly exclusive system of domination which is of it. That is why they have broken away from an organized around authoritarian state, almost illusions of stable alliances with fractions of the always of a dictatorial type, and which consecrates bourgeoisie, alliances with the possibility of new the primacy of the military institutions. building societies through the installation It is in this context that the political forces and development of bourgeois democratic regimes. leading the revolutionary movements in Latin The Chilean counterrevolution of 1973 has done America today have come to exist. In many nothing but confirm them in their decision to

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make this break. That's also why the new vanguards movement, but it opens up great possibilities for have emphasized the military component which the revolutionary movements of the area because every political struggle contains. The existence of of the political and material support they could a armed vanguards today derives both from the fact receive from such bloc, the significance of that they represent popular movements which are which is heightened by the fact that one of its not subordinate to bourgeois leadership and from members is located on the continent itself. the fact movements that these must survive and But the importance of the Nicaraguan process triumph under conditions of counterinsurgency, is not limited to this development. Its impact the ultimate expression of which is the military is felt very directly, especially in the Central character of the state. American region. For one thing, as we have Thus are derived the main characteristics of previously pointed out, the Nicaraguan Revolution the Central American movements revolutionary has become a source of hope and inspiration for of today. First, there is the internal distillation, the Guatemalan and Salvadorean movements, in terms of the cadre, organizational forms and regardless of the fact that these movements to methods of action. Second, the striving unite maintain their particular characteristics. The the popular movement as the central condition unity achieved by the Salvadorean movement and a for developing struggle independent of the the current process of unification underway bourgeoisie and the different bourgeois fractions. among the Guatemalan revolutionary forces have a Third, policy of class alliances which allows for been considerably influenced and accelerated by agreements and compromises with sectors of the the experience of the FSLN. Moreover, the bourgeoisie but does not give any bourgeois effects of the Sandinista Revolution in Central fraction an integral part in the revolutionary America go beyond the revolutionary movement social force ?and this, by the way, influences the and affect the balance of forces in the whole area, on policies of alliances the international level. causing abrupt shifts in and Fourth, a political-military strategy based on the and serving to strengthen Panamanian . creation of revolutionary military power, not by Pressure from the U.S. on those countries serves means of divisions within a regime's armed forces, only to further polarize the political forces and but rather by incorporating the masses of people radicalize the situation. All this has made Central into a people's army, led independently by the America a critical area, a weak link in the imperi? revolutionary organizations. alist chain which threatens to become even more The success of that strategy in has important in that sense than Southeast Asia in the or sped its implementation in El Salvador and past decade the Middle East today. Guatemala as well, although the vanguard forces This is true also because the Sandinista in these countries have in no way simply imitated Revolution transcends Central America and the Nicaraguan process. The specific character of radiates towards the rest of the region, particularly their struggle and organizational forms, of the and the nearest of the Andean Pact process by which they implement their strategy nations. The progressive shift to the right in of class alliances, of their strategic and tactical Venezuela, and Ecuador radicalizes the the Salvadorean military plans, indicates that what situation, as does the rightward trend in Costa and Guatemalan forces have taken from Nicaragua Rica and the conversion of Honduras into the a than an to forward is less model inspiration carry bastion of U.S. imperialism. This is all the more own on their their politics, founded particular true because the rightward shift runs counter to national conditions. the trend that sparks the popular movement ?a movement which, as indicated previously, is now Some Implications stronger than before the intensification of the counterinsurgency campaign and also has had a on The process currently taking place in Central positive influence the development of the America has many implications. Notable among left in those countries. these is the formation, for the first time on this Nicaragua and Central America's revolutionary continent, of a bloc of revolutionary states: process in general also intervene indirectly in the , Nicaragua and most recently Grenada. At power play between the stronger nations of the a a this stage it is still only a tendency toward area and the U.S., play which revolves around

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the renegotiation of the status and new interests military government, and that country's rabid of those nations. This is especially clear with anticommunism, will most likely produce similar respect to Mexico, whose Central American results. one policy is guided by criteria very different from Nonetheless, in every of these cases, the and, in fact, in open contradiction to those of the U.S. government is nowadays forced into a more U.S. But the same phenomenon can also be seen position of formal "politicking," in the with respect to Brazil, and in a different sense sense that it has to discuss and negotiate its are with Venezuela, and even . positions. The days long gone when it could Brazil has achieved a remarkable economic impose its will without appealing to the Latin development since the end of World War II. American bourgeoisies. The OAS itself, formerly This development, especially since the mid-60's, the forum which blessed undisputed U.S. hegem? over an has been characterized by relations established ony the continent, has now become to with Western Europe and Japan which have organization difficult control and likely to served to reduce the economic pressure of the produce important defeats for U.S. policy, such as to U.S. and, consequently, its political importance in its open opposition Somoza and any inter? Brazil. The fact remains, nevertheless, that the vention in Somoza's favor on the eve of the U.S. continues to be the superpower of the Sandinista victory. For this we can thank Mexico, capitalist world, the sphere inwhich the Brazilian with its clearly apparent position, and Brazil with a one. military government consciously inserts itself less visible and attempts to assert its subimperialist schemes. Because it has been forced to deal politically Consequently, there must be a revision of the with Latin America, the United States under existing relations between the two countries that Carter favored the democratic institutionalization includes a whole gamut of still unresolved issues. of the military regimes there. Although such Central America per se is not among those issues processes do not lead to full , for Brazil, which has always regarded that region they do open possibilities for participation by or as being under the direct influence of the U.S. the bourgeois opposition, and to a greater and outside of what it considers its own sphere of lesser degree, depending on the country, for influence (South America and southern Africa participation by certain sectors of the popular a in particular). Nevertheless, in the eyes of Brazilian mass movements. This indicates relative flexibil? were subimperialism, Central America is an important ity on the part of these regimes. If this to chip with which to negotiate. This is why Brazil take place without compromising bourgeois and includes its eventual support for U.S. policy in imperialist domination, which is the reason for as Central America in the general package of pending seeking to build the armed forces the fourth issues to be negotiated with the U.S. The magni? power in the state, then the United States would tude of that package makes the process of negotia? not have to deal with monolithic, powerful tion very difficult and actually makes Brazil very and arrogant military governments and would reluctant to fall into line with the policies that have enough maneuvering space to carry out its the U.S. wants to impose in the capitalist camp objectives. with respect to Central America. With regard to Venezuela, following the Conclusions difficulties it had with the United States because of its support for the Nicaraguan Revolution The revolutionary Central American move? was (which encouraged by the Social Democrats ment has turned that area, which was formerly an at that time), it has now been brought back into unshakable cornerstone of U.S. imperialist line. Steps in the same direction have already domination, into a critical zone. The movement case been taken in the of Argentina, by tightening has been helped by the relative weakening of U.S. relations with that regime following the replace? economic power in the context of the current ment of Videla with Viola. [General Roberto world crisis, and by the contradictions that have Viola, ex-Commander in Chief of the Army, arisen between the United States and the rest of replaced General Jorge Rafael Videla as President the imperialist powers of Europe and Japan. of Argentina on April 4, 1981.?Ed.] The current Another factor is Latin America's economic and to process of rapprochement with the Chilean political diversification, which has given rise

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new that have arisen in the more powerful states with interests of their own vanguards past decade, a radical in U.S. that are not antagonistic to those of the U.S., but will force redefinition relations still conflictive. These factors have aided the with the region and, in contrast to what has been the rule the last the a development of the insurgent forces in Central through century, quest for America. But the determinant factor has been relationship not based on subordination and their reorganization, following the application of exploitation. The U.S. class and its as it is counterinsurgency policies, and their ability to ruling state, structured are not of operate in the midst of counterinsurgency. In today, obviously capable towards such a radical This is a fact, they have turned the exploitative and moving change. task that falls to the movement of that repressive nature of the regimes into a legitimation popular and constitutes one of its of their struggle, in the eyes of their people and country, greatest the world. responsibilities in the transformation of U.S. Latin The Central American revolutionary move? policy which the is The of United ment has thus opened up new perspectives demanding. popular forces the are for such memor? for popular and progressive forces throughout States prepared this, through the continent. Under Carter, the United States' able struggles and victories as those which were at root perception of this situation led it to attempt a the of changes in U.S. policy toward Viet? nam. reaccommodation of its dominance by pushing Today this line of action is again needed, for the institutionalization of the dictatorial with even greater emphasis and greater possibilities a of one regimes and for new image. This process has victory?particularly if recalls that Latin not a to been complicated by the sharpness of the class America is foreign reality the United contradictions in Latin America, and their inter? States but part of its own internal composition, national effects. Under Reagan, the North Ameri? by virtue of those millions of immigrant workers are to can response has been to fortify counterinsurgency who directly exploited by U.S. capital, not activities in Latin America, without abandoning mention the Puerto Rican people. It is with those the line of favoring institutionalization, as is groups, and in alliance with other abused minori? demonstrated by continued U.S. support for the ties, that the U.S. working class, progressive and civilian-military regime of El Salvador. But if each forces the country's leftist organizations will have to focus their actions in order to a of these lines of action (institutionalization and guarantee future that is different from the one counterinsurgency) separately appears inadequate promised by a Carter or a As in the case of to the task of containing the rise of social struggles Reagan. Vietnam, their formulas mean not the of in Latin America today, then their combination, only diverting resources and the sacrifice of in a far from strengthening the imperialist strategy, youth foreign war to the U.S. but also an creates contradictions that do not promise much preserve ruling class, success. internal conflict, the tearing apart of the United At this crossroads, the United States will have States itself. The state of the U.S. ruling class will to use all its imagination to find responses that take advantage of this conflict to repress the can of that to deal with what Latin America is undergoing people country, subject them apolitical as today. So long it insists on looking for answers oppression unprecedented in U.S. history, and an worse whose purpose is to reverse the present situation chain them to exploitation made by the cost of and relive the past, that is, so long as the U.S. maintaining such oppressive policies. attempts to reestablish its domination over the It is for this reason that, along with the region as it was in the past, then the responses liberating forces on the move in Nicaragua, El it gives are unlikely to prove successful. The Salvador and Guatemala, and arising along the United States will have to take to heart the idea length and breadth of Latin America, it is up to that the power and of the Latin the North American people? la palabra la tiene ? the forces that American people's movement, especially of its el pueblo norteamericano a.nd can their interests. working class, and the political capability of the best express historical

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