Nicaragua - 45 years after the revolution, a return to dictatorship | DW Documentary

On 19 July 1979 the Sandinistas overthrew Nicaragua's dictator Somoza. A young generation took over the government with the goal of building a new society. What has become of those dreams today?
Following the victory of the Sandinistas in the 1980s, tens of thousands of mostly young people from all over the world traveled to Nicaragua to help rebuild the country. Some 15,000 people traveled here from West Germany alone. They wanted to support the young government and rebuild the plundered country. In small groups, or brigades, they harvested coffee and cotton, and built schools, kindergartens and health stations. The purchase of "Nica coffee” became a symbol of international solidarity with the country.
Director Petra Hoffmann was also present during this intense period. The situation became increasingly dangerous as the "Contra” forces, supported by Somoza supporters and the US, sought to restore the old balance of power. In this civil war 50,000 Nicaraguans were killed. German brigades were also kidnapped and killed by the Contra.
In April 2018, students protested against the former revolutionary hero and current president Daniel Ortega. Over 400 people were shot dead by paramilitaries as a result. The country became a bloodbath. Ortega's international supporters were also increasingly targeted. They have been collecting money for projects in Nicaragua for 45 years. Today, they fear for their lives and are fleeing the country. Those who remain no longer dare to raise their voices against the former revolutionary hero.
This is documentary film about the eventful period following the victory of the Sandinista revolution in Nicaragua and the commitment of thousands of West German supporters who traveled to Nicaragua in the 1980s. What has become of their dreams, wishes and hopes 45 years later?
#documentary #dwdocumentary
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[@gutsfinky]

Thank you DW! A coworker of mine is a political refugee from Nicaragua and I look forward to being able to speak with an informed opinion with her about her homeland.

[@Jose-sy1je]

And, how was your informed opinion perceived?

[@Mossyz.]

Give someone power..Then you will see their true colours .

[@Neuromancer2310]

People corrupt power

[@Mossyz.]

@@Neuromancer2310 Money corrupts .

[@norman4588]

​@@Mossyz. Both. Money and Power.

[@mochtegerndane7097]

@@norman4588 Actually the former Tupamaros guerilla Pepe Mujica said it pest: Power does not corrut you. Power shows, who you are.

[@melquisedecrivers-suarez4618]

No mention of the repression against anyone who wanted a representative republic, no mention that you have to be a sandinista party member to get a job or food stamps, no mention that the police has to be loyal to the party

[@rarefruit2320]

They left out loads of important information

[@bladimirrojas2712]

Thank you DW for bringing this up, I’m a Nicaraguan living in exile. I hope I go back to my country where Ortega’s dictatorship no longer exists. What really saddened me are those behind living this ordeal under Ortega’s dinasty . Bring down Ortega’ s ruthless dictatorship one and for all.

[@Jose-sy1je]

Where do you live and when did you leave?

[@miraculix8151]

I am in Nicaragua right now as a mochilero. Two days ago, on the day this video was released, we‘ve been watching an FSLN parade in Granada and didn’t think too much of it. Now, with more knowledge about this propagandeous regime, i understand the depressed looks of all the elderly people watching young locals wave black and red flag from the back of their trucks and the whole city beeing covered in it. Tragic history of a country whose (deeply friendly) people are just trying to live a peaceful life.

[@Jose-sy1je]

I wouldn't base my history lesson on this DW documentary. It was highly bias.

[@ernielara9599]

​@@Jose-sy1je I wouldnt base my opinion on someone who hasnt visit the contry or in any concept defends the brutality and human right violations by a brutal dictadorship

[@Jose-sy1je]

@@ernielara9599 I'm not talking about the present. I am talking about the period in the 1980s up to 1990. The International Court of Justice even sided with them. Why the election in 1990 was lost wasn't mentioned.

[@rodolfo5022]

"One does not establish a dictatorship in order to safeguard a revolution; one makes the revolution in order to establish the dictatorship". George Orwell

[@somozasi]

You were helping fund the Sandinista genocide. 150,000 Nicaraguans 85,000 Salvadoreans 240,000 Guatemalans and counting.

[@Schneids1216]

Who?

[@somozasi]

@Schneids1216 everybody and anybody that stole coffee for the Cubans.

[@Schneids1216]

@@somozasi ah, yeah, guilty 🙋

[@Jose-sy1je]

So why did the International Criminal Court rule in favor of the Sandinistas? And are you just collecting these figures from the 1980s when they were dragged into a war against the contras? The contras seemed to have killed quite a lot of Europeans according to this documentary.

[@nickflynn666]

The best documentary I've seen on DW. Many thanks.

[@DWDocumentary]

Thank you for watching!

[@Jose-sy1je]

It was so biased. I'd recommend you read a little more about it.

[@robertonegrello6648]

There is a beautiful novel by Orwell. It's called Animal Farm. Read it!

[@user-cl4vw5bm7q]

Thank you DW for bringing up this subject , i forgot that subject as i grew up , those days we sympathised the Nicaraguan revolution , it is the same history all over the world , we all are victims of American ,russian and now chinese interests, good people do it and bad people take over.

[@marcblank3036]

People began to dream... but with plenty of examples.... revolutions always end the same way

[@Gobbldeegoo1]

Revolutions never end the same way. No two governments or cultures are exactly the same. No outcome is the same. Your brain is just very very very small.

[@kattanakaokopnik5170]

Really? And how long should a revolution last, or will be acknowledge that it depends on the support a revolutionary community receives? Because the US was started with a revolution…or so the legend goes.

[@eichelbergergary]

@@kattanakaokopnik5170 The American Revolution was presumably cemented by real political institution reform, embodied in its founding documents that declared basic rights as inherent, not government-given, and that based its foundation on the individual, rather then collectivism (conformity to the power agenda of those in power), and distributed political power broadly based on a system of checks and balances, federalism, and that by design empowered the citizenry by the Bill of Rights (as protection against government power at its core) and established courts that would enforce such. These "liberation" revolutions, often fueled by totalitarians exploiting the aims of decolonialization, instead throw off one tyranny and replace it with another, which then seeks to "protect the revolution" but really just protects the power of those who seized it under the guise of liberation. America's founders, however, built a system bigger than the individuals who secured it, not as a mechanism to empower themselves. This is the main root of American exceptionalism. And to answer your question, the revolution against the concentration of collective power by a few never ends, as evidenced by the continuing effort by libertarian-minded people to prevent America becoming exactly what it sought to escape.

[@silafaupaulmeredith7251]

Look at China that revolution led to the fastest and most prosperous economic and social growth known to mankind unless you still believe western MSM propaganda and Sadam still had WMD

[@souvikrc4499]

Iran is another example of this - occurred in the same year as the Nicaraguan Revolution, promised a better world, ended up becoming an oligarchic shell of its self

[@madmax6439]

As an Honduran, my mom and dad tell me alot of things during the sandinista revolution. Is also true that the contras where trained in Honduras by the US. My parents tell me that there was an honduran US military base in the island of Amapala back in the day, but most of the base was under the US control. There were alot of US citizens in the island and most of them were soldiers said my mom, she even said that in Amapala at that base they were also training contras. Today that base is abandoned, there is almost nothing only abandoned buildings and an old airplane used in those days. After watching this documentary, we can see that the revolution in Nicaragua from the beginning was for a good purpose and obviously defeating Samosa was a good idea, my dad tell me that Samosa didn't care about politics or even democracy, the man was crazy and he totally deserved to be in prison, he was just another dictador in another political ideology. When the sandinistas win, they creat alot of programs for the people and unfortunately they expropriate alot of corporations that became state property, but in some way from the beginning it was good and we can see here that even west Germans were supporting the cause, it was like rebuilding the country and turning into something new. But then elections came and the sandinista movement lost everything and almost all the revolution commanders became political rivals by capitalist, liberalism, republicanism, central left or right, and socialism ideology. Today Nicaragua is not control by the people, but by a monster that change everything and what the people belive in the revolution of 1979. Today is not a revolution for the people, is a revolution for the Ortega family, in other words is a dictatorship control by a family. We almost loose democracy here in Honduras when the Zelaya family want to stay in power by forced and obviously control the country by their own ruled, (Another example of a family dictatorship). In 2009 they coup the president Jose Manuel Zelaya to prevent that from happening, obviously he came back in 2012 when the nation united to bring democracy back, he try so hard to win the elections even by force or by radical protests all around Honduras. Obviously they won and today they haven't change anything because they are warned by the military top commanders, all the corporations and enterprises around Honduras, and the rest of all political parties, if they do something like that again this time there is no pardon or even a return for them. Like I said, I know this is a Nicaraguan documentary but I also tell what happen im Honduras, in all central America are political leaders who want to stay in power just like Daniel ortega( in other words, all countries being control by families, they want to creat a paradise for them and not for the people, that is what we can see today in Nicaragua).

[@somozasi]

You obviously dont know anything obout Nicaragua or its history. Somoza was the last democraticaly elected president, he helped Cuba at bay of pigs and was murdered by Fidel Castro for it.

[@DWDocumentary]

Thank you for watching and taking the time to comment! We appreciate it.

[@carlosfiretablet267]

No revolution is pure, peaceful or good willing, neither from start. Just ask Cubans in exile or Venezuelans still living there.

[@silafaupaulmeredith7251]

The long history of CIA regime changes in Nicaragua has to be mentioned

[@DeeDeex007o]

YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@SK-lt1so]

Why? Somehow that excuses this mafia?

[@silafaupaulmeredith7251]

@@SK-lt1so I only comments on facts not speculation All politicians especially in the US are part of the mafia called their lobby groups if you are naive enough to think otherwise

[@bradfordjhart]

it's all America's fault isn't it? they need to take responsibility for their own country and stop playing the victim!

[@nicholasmendoza5844]

Who cares

[@Urgleflogue]

Ultimate power corrupts.

[@friendlybane]

Ultimate power reveals. Ortega was always corrupt and evil. He just never had enough power for it to be visible.

[@jfm148]

Socialism is that: Power. People are only a nuance

[@Neuromancer2310]

No

[@Neuromancer2310]

​@@friendlybanewhy evil

[@jeptioak]

DW has some extraordinary documentaries.

[@marcosvidal4940]

Tremendo reportaje. Me encantó. Un documental de esta calidad debería tener muchas más visitas

[@DWDocumentary]

Thanks a lot for taking the time to comment. We kindly ask our viewers to comment on our channel in English so that we can answer questions and encourage dialogue. Thank you and all the best, The DW Documentary Team

[@marcosvidal4940]

@@DWDocumentary Ya la tuviste que cagar

[@drewbranch7700]

Sofia Montenegro had fascinating insights on the importance of the issues and why they had been overlooked by those in power.

[@gladyspatrianic5042]

Thank you for this amazing work. Ortega is the worst dictator in the history of our country.

[@vinista256]

Like Petra, I spent time in Nicaragua doing solidarity work during the 1980’s, but my feelings about it were a little more complicated and are even more so now. That’s because my country is one that was conspicuously absent from that multinational list she rattled off: the United States of America. It’s no secret to the Nicaraguans themselves that a lot of the young people who visited during that time were protesting the actions of their own government. And because I didn’t go there until 1988-89, it was no surprise to me when UNO won the 1990 elections. People just wanted the pain to end, and I could see that many had resigned themselves to the narrative that unless their leaders sucked up to the U.S. government, their suffering was going to continue. I still keep in touch via Facebook with the people who welcomed me into their home. None of us post anything political. They were committed Sandinistas when I stayed with them, and I made it clear that I was sympathetic (and, even if I had not been, I regarded the military intervention my country was funding as evil). But I dare not bring the subject up. And so here I am, 35 years later, not knowing what to say when people suggest that Ortega’s current behavior provides retroactive justification for the policies of the Reagan administration. It doesn’t, of course. And, meanwhile, the political heirs of Reagan have no interest in providing sanctuary to the people fleeing the mess we had a large part in creating. Oh, and yeah-they’re now presenting us with the threat of a dictatorship on our own soil.

[@molefematampash8817]

The US has caused so much suffering in South America, Caribbean, African and Arab countries.. Very Sad

[@somozasi]

@molefematampash8817 The USA has manipulated corrupt latin american governments but never killed the population as a whole like the communist do.

[@KEMough]

The Arabs cause a lot of suffering to this day. Nice try

[@eliasalonsoarias1375]

Ay dios mío! Look, Ortega has been in power for 20 years and You still talking about the US? We can't continue playinh victims

[@joahnnyr2102]

​@@eliasalonsoarias1375 entonces porque estados unidos no deja de sancionar ? Es obvio que ellos son hostiles con Nicaragua

[@Alaskan-Armadillo]

If you can please do a documentary like this but in Cuba!

[@notheotherklaus]

This is an excellent documentary, what makes DW serious.

[@jfm148]

Serious..??? 😂😂😂😂

[@qi1gl]

@@jfm148 why are you on KZbin mocking people. Get a life.

[@paolosantiago3163]

I hope someday Nicaragua will finally have true democracy and get rid their brutal dictatorship. 😢😢

[@Ronydoo-yv2hs]

Nah, not for a long time. Nicaragua is behind many things. Including technology. Never visiting again since my family left it.

[@serge7530]

Power corrupts, sooner or later.

[@dhamirism]

Stellar post, love it very much. Keep them coming DW!

[@soniat1348]

Excellent documentary

[@mixi2090]

So much human suffering for the system that supposedly stops it.

[@user-yy9hk9od9u]

They are like a little china in Central America.

[@loqueseteocurra]

As a person responsible for my family, I am deeply committed to the family unit. If I justify one of my children and condemn the other without listening to him, what justice am I dispensing as a facilitator of justice in the human intimacy that my family represents? Justice, in its essence, requires impartiality and attentive listening to all parties involved. It is like being the judge in a talent show, where everyone deserves to be heard before deciding who takes the trophy! If, as a teacher, someone comes to tell me a version of events in an unfortunate event of bullying or abuse between my students, should I assume only one testimony? If I am supposed to represent mediation in a case of conflict, how will I achieve reconciliation if I secretly condemn or dislike one of those who have requested my participation? It would be like trying to solve a puzzle with half the pieces missing! It is even worse if I myself propose myself as a helper between them and maintain that attitude. I must be on the side of both because it is about solving a problem, not complicating it. It would be more evil if I hope to gain from this act of hypocrisy! I must be on the side of neither, because my vision must be impartial. Like a referee in a football match, without favoritism! It is even more serious if I am an external agent to the conflict itself, to which I must listen exhaustively and have the sole and great imperative to achieve a reconciliation. If the consequences and my goals within my participation involve complicating a conflict, I am being inconsiderate because I am overlooking all the damage I can cause by my lack of responsibility and my bad intention. I can cause the prolongation of the conflict, and that can represent great damage, much pain, a great human cost! Therefore, I have become a HEARTLESS. Yes, with capital letters and everything! I cannot judge the intentions of a documentary like this, but I can see the evidence of its consequences. It is like judging a book by its cover, but with more drama and less literature! What I notice is that it is partial and biased, therefore, it is not about promoting the overcoming of a conflict but the annihilation of one of the participants in the conflict, which implies its annihilation or destruction. It is as if in a fight between superheroes, one of them decided that the only solution is to wipe the other off the map! I do not accept this documentary if it is proposed as a good for Nicaraguans, because, from the comments made to it, the results are to open old wounds, disqualify a sector of this people and justify another, causing the perpetuation of the conflict without offering options. It is as if instead of healing a wound, they were pouring salt and lemon on it! What are their intentions? To help or to provoke more conflict? Are they agents of reconciliation or are they those who these days want people to destroy each other with the bad intention that others take advantage of them in the confusion? It is as if they were villains in a movie, enjoying the chaos while rubbing their hands! I feel so sorry for this. It's a terrible disappointment. It's painful and sad. Like when you expect a happy ending in a movie and it turns out to be a tear-jerker!

[@themexicankitchen7183]

Curious how the most abundant nations with the most beautiful scenery at the same time in the world (Indonesia, Turkey, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Nigeria + 100) are the poorest with never ending political turmoil and cold lands where nothing grows are often the 1st World. Topic for a DW doco if they have the guts for it. If I'm ever called to a galactic assembly for my opinion, I'll say "just cut Earth off".

[@souvikrc4499]

It’s the recurring story of the resource curse. Authoritarianism, corruption, Cold War interventions, neocolonialism, third world liberators turned despots and kleptocrats…

[@somozasi]

You were stealing the coffee for Daniel Ortega. Is that legal in Germany ????

[@mohammedsaysrashid3587]

It was an incredible and truthful documentary that showed about Nicaragua 🇳🇮 left wing 🪽 revolution and left authority persuaded in Nicaragua .. documentary shared by (DW) documentary channel...

[@somozasi]

@@mohammedsaysrashid3587 bunch of communists lies !!!!

[@Ronydoo-yv2hs]

Nicaragua has a beautiful land, but its people and politicians are destined to be miserable, and the poor will still remain poor for many years to come. There is no future there, and the rest of the world will continue to develop and advance with Nicaragua being left behind. It's such a shame.

[@4362mont]

How could it ever come to anything other than this? You've got to keep your government on a leash & in a muzzle, or else it does that and worse to you.

[@IlyaStrakozau]

Good job 👍 Thank you!

[@capuchinhos]

The Sandinista Revolution in Nicaragua was not a movement driven by a desire for social justice. It was social resentment and underlying grievances that fueled the revolution, with the desire for revenge or the rectification of perceived injustices becoming the driving force rather than purely ideological motivations. This is why this kind of leftist revolutions always fails, leaving behind death, poverty, and a lack of freedom.

[@joahnnyr2102]

Saying that Ortega is an authoritarian is correct but thinking that he has no social support is innocent. Since he returned in 2007, infrastructure and basic services have advanced a lot.

[@juanitodoe3792]

As soon as the director forgot to mention that the Samoza dictatorship was backed by the American government I knew this was a stitch up.

[@taylorlibby7642]

Did they mention that the Sandinistas were directly sponsored by Cuba and the Sobiet Union? Because that's the important part.

[@MikeJohnson-nj1ry]

Jacobo Árbenz war president of Nicaragua who nationalized land controlled by United Fruit. United Fruit owned Nicaragua. They keep the people landless and poor. The CIA overthrew Arbenz.

[@bigmedge]

@@MikeJohnson-nj1rymugabe nationalized the farms owned by white Zimbabweans . We know what happened to those farms, & the famine & hyperinflation that followed. No reason to believe that the outcome would’ve been any different in Guatemala under an equally corrupt dictator like Arbenz

[@DeeDeex007o]

I can't believe there is no mention of that! They are leaving out a lot! It makes me wonder why!!!

[@nicholasmendoza5844]

We don't care

[@RICARDOREYES-qb1gb]

An important factor why Ortega was elected in 2006, was completely overlooked. Time after time again the Nicaraguan people have been abused and robbed of their trust by those elected to power. In 2006 everyone knew DO was not the right choice but Nicaragua’s democracy was sold to save a thief. Thank you DW for this great video.

[@ianhomerpura8937]

Was Chamorro also corrupt?

[@RICARDOREYES-qb1gb]

@@ianhomerpura8937 not at all but the guy that came after her did. He worked out a deal with DO to stay out of jail.

[@joahnnyr2102]

​@@ianhomerpura8937Not directly her, but many of her ministers did.

[@ADAMSIXTIES]

The title is a misnomer. Nicaragua didn't return to dictatorship after 45 years, it was always a dictatorship. Some of us were naive enough to believe the Sandinistas and Ortega were not, but then we saw the repression after he returned to power in 2007. And it's always been a 3rd world country in part due to natural disasters (earthquakes and hurricanes) and partly due to the past of US dominance, funding Samosa, the Contras, etc. Costa Rica is the one example of democracy in Central America.

[@cesarzelaya5511]

Long live Ortega and the Sandinista Revolucion!...We will defend this revolution.....by any means.

[@tubester2023]

Fascinating subject but the length of documentary and much filler content from those two ladies could be shortened.

[@RobertLey60]

Ortega and Sandanistas displaced tens of thousands of indigenous people, most of them were more or less left to extreme poverty and indenturement. Not to mention genociide.

[@robertanderson809]

Wealth transition over-powered the State. Same for much of central America, as feudalism collapses without local governments stronger than foreign money.

[@wakawakachuchu9353]

Ortega is currently encarcerating the old guard, no pitty on any of them, they are eating each other alive and once they are out of power they will never regain it ever again.

[@PierreHNica]

A revolution that made Nicaragua the second poorest country in Latin America. When it used to be a prosperous nation, nobody wanted to leave, investors flooded the country, people migrated to Nicaragua,…

[@TheRealWinser]

The same reason Iraq became a failed state. The cultures in these countries almost require an autocracy/dictatorship to function.

[@sashamoore9691]

It was never prosperous and always had conflict and infighting. Always poor as fuc. Stop lying

[@jfm148]

100% agree. Socialist idealists and useful idiots helped the Ortega regime. They deserve that dictatorship. Even the Chamorro family was friends with the Ortegas and socialism while it made money for them. It exploded in their faces. Everyone knows there is French and German rich people allied to Ortega in Nicaragua. When you will tell the story of Ritter Sport or other European companies working for Ortega???

[@shauncameron8390]

Just like Cuba.

[@joahnnyr2102]

False, Somoza's Nicaragua was already one of the poorest countries in Latin America

[@michaelf.4290]

Long Live the Sandinista Revolution and get to celebrate their sovereignty and freedom from U.S. Hegmony

[@loqueseteocurra]

In the turbulent scenario of Nicaragua, the protests of 2018 were triggered indirectly by the new policies required by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The IMF, that friend who always lends you money, but with conditions, establishes that, in order to receive development financing, a country must comply with fiscal solvency. This implies, among other things, increasing the retirement age and monthly contributions to social security by active employees. As if working until the age of 100 were the magic solution! Before 2018, protests had already arisen in several South American and Central American countries, Mexico and Europe due to these policies recommended by the IMF, which currently persist in each country where these policies are implemented due to the requirements of global banking that seeks to establish a new complex global financial order. In Nicaragua, non-governmental organizations and opposition parties had always carried out periodic protest marches. Although these demonstrations sometimes generated tensions with supporters of the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN), there was space for peaceful protest. It was like a neighborhood party where everyone could complain freely! The Sandinistas were testing a model of government called “Convergence,” which promoted open political dialogue with all the forces in the country. Imagine a big round table where everyone, from Christian churches to business organizations, had their place. It was like a big family dinner, but with more debates and less food! In 2017, Spain decided to finance a new party in Nicaragua. The parties that participated in these violent protest activities are now banned because of the riots with fatal results they caused. That same year, the Sandinista government began to receive direct pressure from the government in Washington in the form of sanctions against members of the state and the national economy. In most countries that implemented fiscal and social security changes, the burden fell mainly on employees and retirees, with little or no impact on the business sector. As if workers and retirees were the only ones who had to foot the bill at an expensive restaurant! The Sandinistas tried to protect the workers and prevent the entire burden from falling on them. They negotiated with the business sector, but it did not budge. In response to the IMF's demands, Sandinismo published its new model, and so the protests began. It was as if they had thrown a spark into a powder keg! It is important to mention the “pink left”, which is based on the liberation theology of the Jesuits. An interesting mix of politics and religion that sounds like the title of an intriguing novel! Although Sandinismo had some rooted relationships in Jesuit activism, there was a later break due to new commitments made by the Salesians. According to the Sandinistas, these commitments were as incompatible and irreconcilable with Nicaragua's sovereignty as mixing water and oil. There was no way it would work! During the protests in Nicaragua in 2018, the turnout was insufficient. The Catholic Church joined the opposition movement to increase mass participation in the actions. These activities were violent as well. It was as if they had invited people to a rock concert and it ended in a pitched battle! There was a moment when the Sandinistas did not respond and heeded the call of the church to quarter the repressive forces of the state. But it was the same ambassador of the United States of America who sent, or rather questioned Daniel Ortega, asking him what he was waiting for to send the police to control the outbreaks of violence. As if she were saying to him: “What are you waiting for, a formal invitation?” Because of all this, Sandinismo has felt threatened and betrayed, I think, from its perspective. In the midst of the current political context, it considers itself in a sovereign struggle against forces that they consider too violent and a threat to the peace of the country. It is as if they were in an action movie, fighting invisible villains to save the day! And this is how they could justify the hardening of their policies towards their opponents, including businessmen who are inconsistent with the working class and Christian churches politicized and instrumentalized by the influence of Rome and the United States of America. It is as if they were playing at being referees in a football match, but with the rules changing every five minutes!

[@loqueseteocurra]

The search for justice and reconciliation is an epic journey, worthy of a film saga, where impartiality is the heroine and the voices involved are the Greek chorus that guides the plot. Imagine a world where conflicts are resolved not with swords or fiery speeches, but with a cup of coffee and a good chat. In this romantic scenario, nations sit at a round table, not to share the spoils of war, but to exchange cookie recipes. Now, in the chess game of world politics, where every move is more calculated than a game between Kasparov and a supercomputer, accusations fly like arrows in a medieval tournament. With the elegance of a Bolshoi ballet, Russia points to Germany, which defends itself with the grace of a Strauss waltz. The answer could be a duel of titans on Twitter or an elegant dance of statements at the UN. And if we go back to the past, before World War II, we find an economic drama that would make any soap opera pale. Like Renaissance patrons, American companies financed the German government, but conflict arose like in any good script. Economic policies clashed with global banking strategies like two titans in a boxing ring, and the German government, in an attempt to protect its people, made decisions that some historians might consider more dramatic than a season finale of your favorite series. Then there was betrayal and abandonment: the same companies that previously supported Germany financed those who mercilessly devastated it. It's like your best friend inviting you to a party and then running off with your arch-enemy! World War II left indelible scars, like a horror movie you can't forget. In spy movies, the protagonists are warned: if they are caught, they will be unknown and denied. But reality is more complex. Dictators imposed by empires also face dilemmas. Somoza, for example, did not fall only for insurrection. The murder of an American journalist, filmed and witnessed by his people, sealed his fate. As if it were the climax of a dramatic soap opera! Dictators, puppets or not, face dilemmas. To follow orders from above or to act for the good of their people? If they resist, they are declared terrorists or threats to national security. And so, nations are dragged into the abyss. The global oligodictatorship, like a ruthless puppeteer, destroys and pulverizes. It is as if the villain of an action movie were pulling the strings!

[@bacaganja]

I remember Noam Chomsky wrotes about the situation of Nicaragua and the rest of the ‘Third World Country’ in his book How The World Works. His opinion about how super-power country (like US) control the Third World Country is logical one.

[@AQuietNight]

You should read something useful.

[@jeptioak]

I should say that something can be logical but not based in facts and, thus, useless. I don't know much about what you're talking about, but I think it's always good to keep that in mind while reading people's arguments.

[@putler965]

Nothing that Chomsky says is logical. But the Chomsky is a hypocrite. He complains about the wealthy using tax evasion schemes like trusts - well guess who has a trust with millions in it? Chomsky. He complains about capitalism. But guess who makes millions selling garbage books to naive sympathizers? Chomsky.

[@putler965]

Chomsky? You mean the guy who complains about capitalism but makes millions selling books to his rube followers? The guy who criticizes tax avoidance schemes but has a trust with millions in it? That Chomsky?

[@souvikrc4499]

@@putler965 also didn’t he deny the Cambodian and Bosnian genocide?

[@taylorlibby7642]

"No one's ever tried real socialism."😂🤣😂

[@DeeDeex007o]

🤣

[@DRS659]

this documentary completely contradicts chris hedges' and john stockwell's account of events during this period... if you don't consider either of them credible sources I dont know what to tell you

[@TonyA-ex1sj]

What I can tell you is that this documentary is on point,that this film depicts what's is going on my country. We have a dictatorship, everyone knows that

[@eichelbergergary]

"Liberation" revolutionaries often verbally refer to George Washington as a role model in throwing off tyrannical control...however, they fail to follow Washington's true example of using his victory to dis-empower himself personally , and the military in general, and institutionalize democratic principles to ensure protection of the ideals of the revolution to realize political freedom and not just some version of "economic justice." That term is often used to mask a heavy-handed push for a command economy in the hands of a few. Lots of these countries have Constitutions just as the US does; they however lack what really matters: a Bill of Rights that places the people in control of their own futures, and a court system designed to preserve those rights. Far too many liberals believe "it is different this time" in each new revolution, but then embrace totalitarianism to "protect the revolution." They claim this is to avoid "exploitation" and thus they crush the development of free markets, failing once again to understand that political freedom and economic freedom cannot be separated on a sustained basis. Worse, many believe that such loss of freedoms is an acceptable price for maintaining control.

[@jerometaperman7102]

We had at least a chance of having good relations with the Sandinistas but Reagan was too butt hurt that they had kicked out our puppet, Somoza. Somoza was waging literal war on his own people to quash any dissent, which is why he was overthrown. The fledgling Sandinista government needed help getting started and, since they received the back of our hand, they turned to Cuba and the Soviet Union. After that, it should be no surprise that Nicaragua now has an authoritarian government. Contrary to what the Reagan people were telling us at the time, the "Contras" were not a grassroots freedom movement. They were a proxy army of mercenaries created, trained, organized and funded, surreptitiously, by the US. It is disingenuous of us to say that we promote democracy around the world.

[@joahnnyr2102]

I agree, the reason why the revolution became authoritarian is the same as why in wars countries become authoritarian when they are attacking you to survive.

[@gordonhardy1724]

This documentary is more about White Saviorism than anything else.

[@franzespina7393]

Ortega could have been one of the emphatic leaders of South America and might transformed Nicaragua into an ideal socialist utopia instead he betrayed his ideals and became a despot..

[@somozasi]

No communist dictator is ever good. Ortega was never good in any way, that's exactly why he was hired by Fidel Castro, to kill & rob all his useless life.

[@qi1gl]

Nicaragua isn't in South America.

[@franzespina7393]

sorry..Central America

[@shauncameron8390]

He betrayed nothing and him being a despot is just the standard end result of socialism.

[@gamingwithmax7873]

What song is playing at 0:30 ?

[@Laura-iy1wp]

Chilotito Tierno Song by Carlos Mejía Godoy

[@loqueseteocurra]

Democracy is like that family recipe that everyone claims to love, but no one follows to the letter. It is a dish that is cooked slowly, with a pinch of idealism and a spoonful of reality. In theory, it is a banquet where everyone is invited to the table, but in practice, it sometimes seems that only a few have the tasting menu. Imagine a presidential election as an episode of "MasterChef": the candidates are the chefs, the people are the jury with a demanding palate, and the electoral promises are the dishes that are served. Some dishes seem gourmet, but when you taste them, you realize that they need more salt. Others are like that cake that promises to be chocolate, but in the end, it is just a spongy sponge cake with a slight aroma of cocoa. And then there is the system of points and delegates, like in the United States of America, which turns the election into a strategy game worthy of "Game of Thrones." The powerful houses move their pieces, and the people, like the spectators, anxiously await the next plot twist. Sometimes the ending is predictable, other times it leaves you speechless. As for the powerful with their suits and briefcases, they are like the sponsors in “The Hunger Games,” influencing the game from the shadows. They bet on the district that seems most profitable to them, and democracy becomes a spectacle where the people must remember that, at the end of the day, the real power lies in their collective voice. So yes, democracy, or popular power, is complex, it is messy, and sometimes, a bit theatrical. But like in a good television series, each episode, each season, brings the hope of a new beginning, an unexpected twist, or an ending that leaves us satisfied. And in the meantime, we remain the most passionate critics of this live show we call governance. Economic decisions can be manipulated to benefit a few, leaving the majority at a disadvantage. It's like a group of friends deciding to share a pizza, but one of them takes all the slices with extra cheese and pepperoni, leaving the others with dry edges. It's not fair! In many countries, especially in the West that pride themselves on defending democracy, politicians resort to dishonest tactics: they limit popular participation, bribe unions and, in extreme cases, use violence against them to extinguish them. Democracy, then, becomes a unicorn: an ideal that everyone talks about, but that no one really sees. It's like looking for Wally on a crowded beach - impossible to find! There is no perfect country where all the unions meet in a mega assembly and decide everything by consensus. The reality is grimmer: there are oppressors who keep us in ignorance and a global dictatorship that operates in the shadows. Democracy, in this context, is an ephemeral dream, an illusion that sometimes seems tangible and other times fades away. It's like trying to catch a soap bubble, just when you think you have it, poof! It disappears. As Martin Heidegger would say, in the midst of this uncertainty, we have to poeticize and wait. But some people have decided not only to poeticize, but also to act. Because sometimes, to change the world, you have to stop dreaming and start moving your skeleton! The fight against the imperial-global oligodictatorship is like an uphill marathon with obstacles, but it is a race worth running. Democracy, popular power, although not perfect, remains that beacon of hope, an ideal worth fighting and dreaming for.

[@Tocktail]

The US government needs to end all the sanctions against Nicaragua.

[@MrMarcodarko]

Why they corrupt af. Maybe the country can learn to be a country without handouts.

[@qi1gl]

@@MrMarcodarko you don't know what the term sanction means, do you? It has nothing to do with handouts.

[@jerometaperman7102]

And Cuba.

[@Elijah-qu6tt]

Why would the US government end sanctions to Nicaragua?

[@shauncameron8390]

@@qi1gl The US will drop the sanctions when Nicaragua drop the Sandinista rule.

[@Republic_Unbowed]

Thats why its called revolution 😂🔄

[@shauncameron8390]

And Robespierre being once again vindicated. Revolutions inevitably eat their own. Liberators and revolutionaries becoming the very oppressors and oligarchs they ousted with the countries ending up worse off.

[@richielanigan]

I found your documentary interesting and your “idealism” admirable. However your conclusions are not what I have found after four weeks working in a Nicaraguan hospital. I have heard the accusations of Ortega enriching himself many times in Europe, but one can’t help but notice all the infrastructure building projects taking place, since I was here four years ago. In a few months León will have the largest teaching hospital in Central America. You refer to the lack of abortion rights. But this is a very religious country and 50% of the members of parliament are women , it’s not the “machismo” culture making these decision, women occupy prominent positions all over the country. The Irish and American revolutions were followed by civil wars and the polarisation of the two points of view remain to this day. I can’t help feeling Nicaragua is headed in the right direction. Perhaps because the people have the 90s and the problems you highlight with unregulated capitalism to spur them on to support what the government is trying to do. Nicaragua today reminds me of Ireland in the 1970s fifty years after it gained independence from Britain. I think in 10 years from now the Nicaraguan people might be saying the ends justified the means. And well done you for the roll you played in getting them there in the 80s

[@tiaay]

Thank you for speaking the truth 👏

[@japinise]

after spending 11 days in the country talking with dozens of rural farm workers and working class people, along with seeing the support for the current government during the 45th anniversary celebrations, i have the same conclusion as you. it’s crazy to see how much propaganda is out there by popular media

[@joahnnyr2102]

Many people are idealistic but it is the truth. Nicaragua has made a lot of progress in the last 18 years and if the United States does not embargo us again, I am sure that in a few decades the country will be an example.

[@Simbaibass]

“How did it come to this”? One word. Communism.

[@ianhomerpura8937]

Capitalism is no better. There is a reason why Central America was full of "banana republics" in the 1950s.

[@antoniopaniagua2390]

Contras were the real Heroes of democracy in Nicaragua.

[@carlitoselnica9840]

We are far worse with these communist Sandinistas than we were with Somoza. Somoza had a strong economy. He was fighting against communism and the Human Rights people are a Joke, where are they now...

[@yourneighbourhooddoomer]

Based Contras.

[@melquisedecrivers-suarez4618]

Too many lies,

[@ianhomerpura8937]

you might want to explain

[@PolinGuira]

ALL THIS EUROPEAN MEDIA DOESN'T FEEL EMBARRASSED LIE CLEAR

[@raultalmon1467]

As a democrat and a supporter of human right´s, including the economic social right´s, i can see in Cuba and Nicaragua revolution´s a window of oportunity to put in the fundations of both countries the social democratic principles. The thing is that in the blueprint of the soviets, there was no democracy involved at all, so all the struggle goes to a totalitarian regime, wich cannot survive history, it is like a socialist kingdom or something around that weird concept. Gorvachov tried to change that, but he lost. In fact, it is a work in progress for all the socialism movement around the world: to build strong democratic institutions that will make a real change in the soul of the country, or to fall into dictactorship, wich will turn against any idea of socialism.

[@shauncameron8390]

Nah. Dictatorship is just the natural evolution of socialism.

[@somozasi]

DW .... SO MANY LIES PLEASE CONTACT ME FOR THE TRUTH.

[@josuearce8148]

Nicaragua should become part of Costa Rica.

[@joahnnyr2102]

They hate each other

[@homapirzadeh3930]

Made by DW! A Sham😮

[@melquisedecrivers-suarez4618]

In my case the revolution brought misery and hunger, force to move and participate in any pro sandinista demonstration

[@CountofSerenno]

Comrades forever 🇬🇩🇨🇺🇳🇮. Down with imperialism!

[@Frivals]

👎👎👎🥴🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🙄🙄🙄🙄

[@peterkarras8523]

Ortega has turned into Somoza, and like Somoza , Ortega will suffer the same fate

[@eichelbergergary]

Nicaragua's situation should never have been allowed to occur, much less resurge after an electoral revolution. The demise of the USSR has largely ended the outside exploitation that might otherwise have toppled other Right wing-led countries that while imperfect, have avoided totalitarianism and accepted gradual if halting reform efforts, or at least preserved the possibility, unlike the conditions in Cuba and Nicaragua (and now Venezuela). But even American Conservatives often get this resistance to Marxist takeover all wrong. Reagan was right to oppose the sweep of Marxism in the region, but the policies often did more harm than good. Once the Cold War ended, American commitment to supporting reform in Central America evaporated (confirming the suspicions of many there that they were merely a Cold War pawn) and conditions deteriorated further, helping fuel the immigration crisis for America of today. American policymakers failed to use their influence with Right Wing governments to press for workable reform that would forestall insurgencies (a repeated mistake in other areas of the globe). Many Conservatives were likewise wrong about Panama and the Canal. Today, Panama is among the most stable and prosperous nations of the hemisphere, in large part because it has been able to utilize the canal for economic gains for the entire populace, and the recognition of that country as a capable master of its own destiny has actually forged a stable democratic government and a strong, valuable partnership between the USA and Panama, rather than planting the seeds for increased resentment and probably another revolution.

[@bingeltube]

Video too long; did not watch! Shorten to under 20 minutes please!

[@MrMarcodarko]

so watch 20 min less and take adhd meds

[@bingeltube]

@@MrMarcodarko did you buy your doctor's degree on a flea market?

[@JJONNYREPP]

Nicaragua - 45 years after the revolution, a return to dictatorship | DW Documentary. 20.7.24. I nearly watched this...just another Bunch of squatters demanding to be taken notice of. Peace corps....adios.

[@somozasi]

You were stealing coffee and leaving the farmers without work !!!! You destroyed the coffee plantations.

[@MrMarcodarko]

so grow some balls and grow some industry rather than blame others

[@juanitodoe3792]

Something about a pot calling a kettle black comes to mind watching a documentary from Germany -a country that bans other EU citizens who wish to use their freedom of speech to call for an end to the genocide in Gaza- address the loss of rights and freedoms in Nicaragua.

[@ianhomerpura8937]

the massacre of 1972 still horrifies Germans

[@difrancomaria]

Se o Trump falou , a DW confirma ! 😅

[@hemanthkumarghanchi]

Aye Jude😎

[@JoePeepee]

Too long, didn't watch

[@timbuktu93]

America needs to thank the British for sparing us from becoming a Spanish speaking country.

[@marcblank3036]

With the open borders it happens as I write this

[@timbuktu93]

@@marcblank3036 and the average American is shrinking in height. We were the tallest country in the world.

[@MrMarcodarko]

ok so we should start giving Uk money as Thank You on top of the other stuff

[@MrMarcodarko]

@@timbuktu93 because americans love crap food. Hgh sugar and sodium. Thats what makes you shorter. Smple biology

[@auntymarushkafah]

Which Americans?

[@sashamoore9691]

BORING DOCUMENTARY

[@americameinyourmouth9964]

The opening was delusional. Thousands of civilians were killed by the Sandinistas they may have even committed genocide against the Miskito people of the Mosquito coast. Burning their villages and forcing them into the wilds.

[@ernestocrespin1471]

Ortega's fools!!! Only if they new then!!

[@serge7530]

Power corrupts, sooner or later.