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Sandinista: Carlos Fonseca and the Nicaraguan Revolution
“A must-read for anyone interested in Nicaragua—or in the overall issue of social change.”—Margaret Randall, author of SANDINO'S DAUGHTERS and SANDINO'S DAUGHTERS REVISITED Sandinista is the first English-language biography of Carlos Fonseca Amador, the legendary leader of the Sandinista National Liberation Front of Nicaragua (the FSLN) and the most important and influential figure of the post–1959 revolutionary generation in Latin America. Fonseca, killed in battle in 1976, was the undisputed intellectual and strategic leader of the FSLN. In a groundbreaking and fast-paced narrative that draws on a rich archive of previously unpublished Fonseca writings, Matilde Zimmermann sheds new light on central themes in his ideology as well as on internal disputes, ideological shifts, and personalities of the FSLN.
The first researcher ever to be allowed access to Fonseca’s unpublished writings (collected by the Institute for the Study of Sandinism in the early 1980s and now in the hands of the Nicaraguan Army), Zimmermann also obtained personal interviews with Fonseca’s friends, family members, fellow combatants, and political enemies. Unlike previous scholars, Zimmermann sees the Cuban revolution as the crucial turning point in Fonseca’s political evolution. Furthermore, while others have argued that he rejected Marxism in favor of a more pragmatic nationalism, Zimmermann shows how Fonseca’s political writings remained committed to both socialist revolution and national liberation from U.S. imperialism and followed the ideas of both Che Guevara and the earlier Nicaraguan leader Augusto César Sandino. She further argues that his philosophy embracing the experiences of the nation’s workers and peasants was central to the FSLN’s initial platform and charismatic appeal.
The first researcher ever to be allowed access to Fonseca’s unpublished writings (collected by the Institute for the Study of Sandinism in the early 1980s and now in the hands of the Nicaraguan Army), Zimmermann also obtained personal interviews with Fonseca’s friends, family members, fellow combatants, and political enemies. Unlike previous scholars, Zimmermann sees the Cuban revolution as the crucial turning point in Fonseca’s political evolution. Furthermore, while others have argued that he rejected Marxism in favor of a more pragmatic nationalism, Zimmermann shows how Fonseca’s political writings remained committed to both socialist revolution and national liberation from U.S. imperialism and followed the ideas of both Che Guevara and the earlier Nicaraguan leader Augusto César Sandino. She further argues that his philosophy embracing the experiences of the nation’s workers and peasants was central to the FSLN’s initial platform and charismatic appeal.
288 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2000
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
May 12, 2012
Living in Nicaragua I'm keen to learn all I can about its history and particularly that of the Sandinista revolution. I've always been interested in Fonseca's role as the political inspiration for the Sandinista party and - within the party itself - its most respected figure, even though he died before the 'triumph' of 19 July 1979. Zimmermann is very knowledgeable about Nicaragua, has had access to papers that haven't been made public, and talked to many people who knew Fonseca. As a political biography, her book is excellent, not ending with his death but dealing too with his continuing influence on the Sandinista project and then the big changes of the late 1980s when most of his ideas started to be ignored. It would be interesting to get the author's view of the current day Sandinista government, which still plays homage to Fonseca and indeed again gets the massive support from young people who in the 1970s were inspired by his example.
My one complaint is that, although Zimmermann paints a picture of Fonseca's personality, she doesn't give us a complete impression of how he lived and, indeed, how he earned enough to live on. I would have liked a more rounded interpretation of the more mundane aspects of how this revolutionary spent his time, especially in his many years in exile and (fewer) years in prison. How did he feed his family, or indeed himself? How did he plan the revolution from distant Havana, before the days of email and mobile phones? Who paid for his frequent flights between Central American cities? Is it showing too much interest in the prosaic aspects of how someone passes his days,to be left wondering about the answers to these questions? I don't think so, as filling out some of this detail would have given a more complete explanation of how this famously ascetic revolutionary actually lived his tragically foreshortened life.
My one complaint is that, although Zimmermann paints a picture of Fonseca's personality, she doesn't give us a complete impression of how he lived and, indeed, how he earned enough to live on. I would have liked a more rounded interpretation of the more mundane aspects of how this revolutionary spent his time, especially in his many years in exile and (fewer) years in prison. How did he feed his family, or indeed himself? How did he plan the revolution from distant Havana, before the days of email and mobile phones? Who paid for his frequent flights between Central American cities? Is it showing too much interest in the prosaic aspects of how someone passes his days,to be left wondering about the answers to these questions? I don't think so, as filling out some of this detail would have given a more complete explanation of how this famously ascetic revolutionary actually lived his tragically foreshortened life.
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April 19, 2022Most people don't even know about Fonseca. An excellent read if you want to learn something about modern revolutionary Latin Amerika that you already didn't know. Che is one thing, but Fonseca was the continuation of what Che started. Fonseca is the father of one of the most successfull routings of a fascist pig (Somosa) in Latin Amerika... but unfortunately was killed in battle a few months out before the Sandinistas took over Nicaragua.
I decided to get a tattoo of him!
I decided to get a tattoo of him!
April 19, 2020
As someone who read voraciously about Nicaragua in the 1980s and even traveled there on a volunteer brigade during the Contra War, this book is the best biography of a major figure of the Sandinista Revolution: Carlos Fonseca. The importance of this figure (who did not survive until the triumph of the revolution) cannot be underestimated. Highly recommended.
September 19, 2025
If you are wondering about why a simple person should become the leader of a revolution to recover their country, then this biography of the founder of the Sandinista revolutionaries is the book for you.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews