Interview with Mónica Baltodano

Canadian Dimension has an interview with Mónica Baltodano titled Nicaragua: The First Year of the Ortega Government — A Balance Sheet. Baltodano was an FSLN guerrilla during the struggle against Somoza so she certainly has her FSLN stripes. But, today, she hangs her hat on the MRS hook. The article offers a lot more than just a look at the first year of the Ortega government.

Rosario Murillo, who is not invested with any political authority in practice, has been constructing her own power structure, based on the position she was given as presidential communications coordinator, and based on decisions made by fiat, because, in reality, the legal basis is very precarious. But, starting from that, they have organized a network in an effort to bind together what’s left of the Sandinista ranks, but in a mixture of party and state — which is what is being questioned. No one questions their right to organize their own party structure as they see fit, although they should also submit to legal regulation as a political party, something they ignore in practice. So, in terms of the future of the CPC, they are apparently going to continue functioning as a body that manages state affairs, and state resources — fundamentally resources generated through Venezuelan petroleum donations — will be used to finance these party-state bodies.