Adiós Muchachos: A Memoir of the Sandinista Revolution

Glossary

Glossary ARDE (Democratic Revolutionary Alliance): This was an armed organization founded in 1982 by Edén Pastora and Alfonso Robelo in Costa Rica. It was outside the umbrella of the rn (Nicaraguan Resistance), but it was also eventually financed by the cia. BLI (Irregular Warfare Battalion): The eps (Popular Sandinista Army) organized these battalions to fight the war with the Contras. They were made up of conscripts from the smp (Patriotic Military Service). Each one had approximately 600 combatants. The Contras, on the other hand, had been organized in task forces. Brigadista: The Spanish term brigadista is used in Nicaragua to refer to the thousands of national and international volunteers who served in the 1980 National Literacy Crusade and subsequent local projects for education, health, and other social programs. It has a military origin both in its etymological connection to a military ‘‘brigade’’ and as a historical reference to the International Brigades during the Spanish Civil War (1936–39), which consisted of battalions made up of antifascist international volunteers. Caudillo: The Spanish term caudillo indicates a military-political leader in Spain and Latin America. Historically, it refers to strongmen who have achieved or maintained power through violence and personal relationships. It is often used in reference to a dictator. CIA (Central Intelligence Agency): The United States Central Intelligence Agency was directed by William Casey during the Reagan years. It organized different factions of the Contras that were part of the rn (Nicaraguan Resistance) and was in charge of their financing, their logistical support, and their training. Compañero: The Spanish term compañero (also compa or compita) literally refers to 224 | GLOSSARY a companion or partner. In the political revolutionary context, it is a comrade and friend. Contadora (Contadora Group): Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, and Mexico were members. It put forward an important peace initiative to solve the Central American conflict during the 1980s. Its name comes from Contadora Island in Panama where the foreign ministers from those countries held their first meeting . Later a Contadora Support Group was formed, which included Argentina, Brazil, Peru, and Uruguay. Contra, Contras (From Counterrevolution, Counterrevolutionaries): This is what the Nicaraguan Resistance (rn) was called. It was an umbrella for all the armed organizations that emerged following the triumph of the Sandinista Revolution, which the cia managed to consolidate with logistical, material, and financial support. Its most important bases were in Honduran territory. COSIP (Superior Council of Private Initiative): This business organization from the private sector existed during the struggle against Somoza. It was later called cosep (Superior Council of Private Enterprise). CPSU (Communist Party of the Soviet Union): Created according to Leninist doctrine, it was the only party under the Soviet regime and the model for Communist Parties throughout the world. At the time of the fsln’s struggle against Somoza, the cpsu officially opposed armed insurgencies and favored the peaceful insertion of Communist Parties into each country’s political system. CSUCA (Central American University Superior Council): Founded in 1948, its headquarters was in San José, Costa Rica. Its members include national universities in the region. The author was elected secretary general on two occasions: 1968 and 1976. DGSE (General Directorate of State Security): This was the Sandinista government’s intelligence organization under the Ministry of the Interior. After 1990 it became the Directorate of Defense Information (did) and was transferred to the National Army. EPS (Sandinista Popular Army): It was created following the triumph of the revolution and it led the ten-year war against the Nicaraguan Resistance (rn) forces. After the fsln’s electoral defeat in 1990, in began a process of institutionalization and was eventually called the Nicaraguan Army in the 1995 constitutional reform. Divested of all party affiliations, it is now a professional institution. FAO (Broad Opposition Front): It was formed in 1978 by various parties in opposition to Somoza. Most of them were from the Right, and it was dissolved following the revolution’s triumph. FMLN (Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front): This organization grouped together all the guerrilla forces in El Salvador, in a guerrilla struggle for many years. It GLOSSARY | 225 became a political party after the signing of the peace accords with the government of President Alfredo Cristiani in 1992. Mauricio Funes won the presidential elections in 2009 representing the fmln. FSLN (Sandinista National Liberation Front): Founded in 1963 under the command of Carlos Fonseca Amador, it waged a lengthy armed struggle...