President-Comandante Daniel's message on handing over
new Russian buses to the country's transport cooperatives
May 24th 2023
Beloved Nicaraguan brothers and sisters, beloved families, brothers and sisters of the transport sector from all over Nicaragua. We pay tribute on this day to our General Sandino, we have our General Sandino here; and we pay tribute to the Comandante, the hero, Germán Pomares Ordóñez, a national hero “El Danto”, a brother who grew up there in El Viejo, from a humble, hardworking family, and “El Danto” put his hand to everything, to sport as well. That's why the baseball games we hold year after year, are made in tribute to Pomares: “El Pomares”.
He was good whether at baseball, or wielding a machete out in the fields, forged, as steel is forged, in poverty, with difficulties, but committed to struggle, and so, as a youth, he joined the Sandinista Front, and is one of the founders of the Sandinista National Liberation Front.
Here we have an image of him, a work of art by that extraordinary artist, Orlando Sobalvarro, a fellow countryman, from Chontales. Soon after the Triumph of the Revolution, he worked on these extraordinary portraits: one of Sandino, another of Carlos, and the third of Pomares. Impressive works of art. Since then, these paintings have reflected the strength, courage, dedication, and love our brother Germán Pomares Ordóñez had for his People.
And on a day like today, following hard fought battles led by him, the guerrilla column was already surrounding the command post that the Yankees had there in Jinotega, because what was called the National Guard here were nothing more than mercenaries the Yankees formed in their military schools, both in Panama and in the United States itself, there they trained these officers , and so the combat was hard and in it “El Danto” fell wounded, because he was always at the front-line as a combatant.
Wounded, they manage to take him up there into the hills around the city of Jinotega and he died there, one day like today, right on the eve of the Triumph of the Revolution, but the guerrilla column and the people of Jinotega were not demoralized, on the contrary, they gained more strength, more forcefulness and they took the quarters of the Yankees' National Guard, there in Jinotega. We were already on the road to the victory of July 19th, and he fell in May, ahead of June and July, just a few months from Victory.
I remember "El Danto" from the combats we had when we were forming the Northern Front “Carlos Fonseca", he was there, a front-line combatant and who also trained combatants. And then in that Command, a Command headed by our brother Eduardo Contreras. "El Danto" was commander of troops, the combat leader of that Command that achieved our liberation; a person dedicated to fighting for the freedom of our People.
In this place, here in the Stadium, we have another hero, a Hero of Solidarity, of Love, of Peace... Roberto Clemente! That extraordinary major league baseball player, from Puerto Rico, who when the earthquake was making Managua tremble, did not hesitate to put himself at the head of other Puerto Rican Brothers seeking to bring help to Nicaragua.
And for the December holidays, on Christmas Day itself, on New Year's Eve, on December 31, the Family was telling him to stay, because he was coming with the shipment, because he wanted to make sure that this Solidarity did indeed reach the families and was not stolen by the mercenaries who were governing Nicaragua. And they couldn't convince him! And he perfectly well, having already put together the shipment could have sent the plane and of course that humanitarian gesture, that solidarity would have been recognized here.
And what made him act in that way? He had been in Nicaragua playing in this very stadium, and he had become attached to the Nicaraguans, and so a bond was created that shook him when he heard the news of the earthquake. That's why in the end he didn't hesitate to get on the plane.
On December 31, he takes off in the plane and then it disappears from the radars, but while Roberto Clemente disappeared physically, he remains in the heart of our People, in the heart of the Puerto Rican People, in the heart of those Peoples who know what Solidarity and Humanity is.
Today, beloved brothers and sisters, we have come to deliver these buses, at a time when events in support of Sovereignty, in support of Peace, in support of Development are taking place in Russia, in Moscow and in other cities.
Events are also being developed to strengthen cultural ties, because already for the anniversary of the birth of our General Sandino, there was already a group of young people, artists, singers, a group of Sandinista Youth was already there making presentations at events that brought our Peoples closer.
This meeting that is taking place at the moment has a great deal to do with the development of our countries. It is a conference where sisters and brothers from different Nations are participating, and there is a delegation from Nicaragua. And, among other issues that are being discussed there, Peace in the first place, the defense of sovereignty in the first place, but also dealing with the issue of more buses, because naturally we need more buses. We are also in exchanges with other brothers and sisters from other Nations about the possibility of acquiring more buses.
A delegation headed by Laureano, by our brother Ivan Acosta is participating in this confrence, the Minister arrived prepared to discuss economic issues, transport issues. Why? Bear in mind, what we are achieving and have achieved with the Russian Federation is that they have donated part of the transport to us and another part of the transport is as a loan, that is, it has to be paid, and that is right. The mere fact of applying for a loan already gives us an advantage to be able to secure new buses.
We are also talking with the brothers and sisters of the People's Republic of China and we are also talking with our Mexican sisters and brothers, with our Brazilian sisters and brothers, working things out, because in transportation, even with all the transport resources obtained in recent years, there is still transport lacking.
In this meeting that is known as the Eurasian Forum, this is the Second Forum, the forum is promoting ties with Latin America and the Caribbean. To what end? So that our economies can get closer, so that our Peoples can get closer and that we can have economic relations with countries that are great powers, but without being blackmailed, without being threatened, without being attacked, and without being robbed, because the imperialist powers steal from the world's Peoples, plunder the world's Peoples.
Naturally, Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan make up this Eurasian Forum, they form a bloc, several blocs have been forming, there are an increasing number of blocs in the world, which is what is going to determine and is already determining the New Direction in the history of humankind.
There is this Eurasian bloc and also actively participating, attending to all these issues, is our Embassy; also in our delegation is the Chief of the National Police, First Commissioner General Francisco Díaz; delegates from the Army are also participating. Why? Because there is one Forum that has to do with the entire economic, commercial, industrial field, and another Forum that has to do with security, because for the economy to work, it needs security, and to have security we need Peace.
So, combining all these efforts, and this is now a reality in the world; we have the Arab countries that are grouped together, we have the African countries that are grouped together as well. So you see, big blocs are being formed in the world, the African peoples, the Arab peoples, the region of Asia which is immense and where obviously there is China, one of the great countries.
I would say, Russia and China are the great drivers at the moment, strengthening other fronts that have been developing, including here in Latin America and the Caribbean, like CELAC. Because they have been coming to work with us, without conditions. And that is why we can be sure that a New Reality is being configured in the World, where imperialist hegemony will be buried and Democracy will be established among the Peoples, respect for Sovereignty, Cooperation, taking into account asymmetries.
ALBA is also, logically, part of what is a point of departure here in our region. ALBA, with Venezuela, with Chávez, with Nicolás, with Cuba, with Raúl, started with Fidel, with Raúl, with Díaz-Canel. That is, these are different groups which, despite the aggression that their Peoples suffer, that we suffer, we continue advancing; we have the strength of ”El Danto", and we continue advancing!
Now we are going to proceed with the delivery of these buses.
Yes, Health too is fundamental, Health is fundamental for a People, and we have been doing a great deal for Health. Education is also fundamental for a People, and we have been doing a great deal for Education.
Work is fundamental for any People, work in cities, work in the countryside, and all that effort needs, first of all, a home. In other words, urban centers need housing. We will not be able to rest easy here as long as we have Nicaraguans who still do not have decent housing, and that is why we are working with these housing programs and with very important cooperation, in this stage, from the People's Republic of China. It is a program of thousands of homes that has already started, has already begun. And for whom are these houses? For low income people, for people who have few resources.
And at the same time as housing, what else is fundamental? Transport. Without transport, any economy simply does not work, the economy is paralyzed. And here, well, what has this struggle of the transport sector meant? Because we have to recognize the battle of the transport sector. Because when the Revolution triumphed, transportation was in the hands of the rich, they monopolized transportation, they charged what they wanted, and then what they put into circulation were buses that had already been in use for 20 years back in the United States, they bought used buses and put them into circulation here. And everyone had to cram into those buses.
To go to school, by bus, yes, on those buses. I remember well, we, boys and girls, young people, when we started going to school, well, off to the bus stop to wait. And on the bus, these were decrepit buses, and there, well, crowded together, many young people, many boys and girls could not get to school on time because the transport sector did not provide the service it should, because it was run by the capitalists.
When the Revolution triumphed, the battle began for the democratization of the transport sector, and above all, the Cooperatives. For what purpose? So that the transport workers, organized in Cooperatives, become the owners of the public transport fleet.
Then, in order to support the transport sector with new buses, a big effort was made in the period from the 80s to the 90s. And let's all not forget, brothers and sisters, what happened in the 90s... In the 90s, when the neoliberal governments arrived, they wanted to steal the Cooperatives from the workers, but the transport workers stood up with the strength of ”El Danto" and fought so that the Cooperatives would not be stolen from them.
Of course, they waged their fight in difficult conditions, because they had a government that wanted to steal the Cooperatives from them to hand them over to the rich, but they had the Sandinista Front there fighting alongside them, we were all fighting there. I do not forget those feats, those heroic battles that we fought alongside the transport workers when we took to the streets to defend the right of the transport workers to own their Cooperatives.
And the battle for them to hold on to their Cooperatives was won, but it was not possible then to have a government that supported the Cooperatives, that sought how to bring transport resources to strengthen the Cooperatives, but there Cooperatives made sacrifices, surviving with buses already past their useful life, and seeking to import buses already 10 or 20 years old, so as to put them on the road here and provide service, as far as that service could be provided to the population.
It was really a heroic stage that it was up to the transport sector to save the transport workers and the Cooperatives, from 1990 to 2007, because those were 17 years where they were hanging on by their fingernails, with their heart, with their soul, with the strength of the transport workers' families.
They did not give up, they did not hand over their Cooperatives, but they kept going and knew how to wait, because we already knew that the People here were not defeated in the 1990 elections. We may have left the government, but the Revolution continued with all its force among the People and that's why we were able to defend the transport Cooperatives, and the Worker Enterprises, and the Peasant Lands received under the Agrarian Reform and they wanted to steal the Peasants' lands too, and the homes that we had given to thousands of Families, whom they wanted to evict.
A whole revolutionary battle had to be fought to defend what was just, and we were saying: The day will come when we will take back the government. Because we had not lost power, we have never lost power, Power remained in the Nicaraguan people.
And we achieved victory in the year, the Victory, and then yes, at that point we began making arrangements. You may remember, on a first trip we made to Mexico, we immediately went to arrange, it was President Felipe Calderón, President of Mexico, to arrange a loan with him so that we could bring new transport means, not used transport units, but new transport units, which was a real miracle, really to bring new transport here to Nicaragua, under those conditions.
If you look carefully, from 79 to 90 what did we bring? We brought new Dina buses, Pegasus, Mercedes Benz, Robur minibuses, all of that was brought in during the period that we were at war, and even in those conditions we managed to bring that new transport. Of course, we needed to get back to the government!
In 2007, we managed to achieve, and we recognize and are grateful for that, that having succeeded us, the government of Japan decided to agree the delivery of 50 buses.
Then, in 2009 there were 380 Russian-made buses that entered here, new, all new, they were no used vehicles there, we are not bringing in used buses, we are bringing in new buses.
In 2012, 170 Russian-made buses.
In 2012 the Mexican buses came, 350 Dina brand buses. That is the one that we had managed with the President of Mexico and it came through the Central American Bank for Economic Integration, that always takes time, but in the end the buses arrived.
In the year 2021, 250 Russian-made KABZ buses. And in this year 2023 we are incorporating 300 new Russian "Peace" buses. We delivered 150 of these 300 new buses already in January, and today, May 24, on the Anniversary of the Transit to Immortality of Comandante Pomares, in his honor we delivered to the transport sector, in order to serve the People, 150 more Russian buses, thus completing the 300.
Of these buses, 48 new units will leave for León. Leon had been delivered 60 buses in January, so with these 48, Leon has 108 new buses.
Chinandega had received 47 Units and before it received 30; that is, Chinandega had received 30, and is now receiving 47 units. For Chinandega, 47. So Chinandega will have 77 new buses.
Estelí, which had received 4 units in January, is now being given 10 units; so then that is 14 units for Estelí.
Matagalpa, which had received 3 units in January, is now receiving 10 units; so, Matagalpa will have 13 new buses.
Juigalpa, 5 units had been delivered there, 5 more units are being delivered for a total of 10 buses.
Masaya had previously been given 10 buses, in January, now 5 units are being delivered, therefore Masaya is going to have 15 units.
Bear in mind, we are talking about January, February, March, April, May, 5 months, in 5 months that's a good jump in transportation.
Tipitapa, which had received 20 units, now receives 12 units, and so it will have 32 new buses.
Jinotepe, receives one unit, previously was given 5, so that means Jinotepe now has 6 new buses.
Ciudad Sandino, which had not received even one bus in January, is now receiving 9 units.
In Managua, Monte Tabor, Mercado Israel, 16 buses are being delivered to them.
As I was saying, transportation and housing are essential for a family... fundamental! There are hospitals, it is true, but if there is no transport, how do the patients get to the hospital? Because not everyone has a private vehicle, most Nicaraguans do not have a private vehicle, they travel by public transport. How to get to school?
That is to say, transportation is a fundamental complement to continue developing the culture, education and also the health of our People, because more transportation is available to get to school, more transportation is available to get to work and to health centers; more transportation for Nicaragua's workers, in the city and the countryside.
We know that there is still a lack of transport, we are aware, we are not going to say that this has already solved the problem, because it is not true, but we have been making great strides.
And with the initiatives that we are taking with the brothers and sisters in Russia, with the brothers and sisters of the People's Republic of China, we will also be taking initiatives with Mexico, with Brazil, also seeking those transport resources that they manufacture in these countries that we have already had here in Nicaragua, always doing it through the arrangement of credit lines.
That is, we are not asking for resources to be given, we are not begging, we are not a People seeking alms, we are a worthy People. And it is good that this should be heard by the governments that have delegations and representatives in Nicaragua, who suddenly turn up with a few cents and want to hold a big event because they are doling out a few cents. We are not beggars, we do not want to be given a few cents.
We have a working People, an economy that is growing and therefore we have the capacity to buy and to request credit lines, and in other cases to buy in cash, as we have bought millions of the vaccines that we acquired during the most critical moment of the epidemic.
Shame on those who show up with pennies and then make announcements that they donated a few pennies. They'd better think about giving those pennies to other Peoples that have really terrible, tragic conditions.
Here, thank God, we have a hardworking People, we have a People with a lot of Pride, with great Dignity, we have a People who have learned to make their way in the midst of difficult conditions, to develop in the midst of difficult conditions. And we will continue to do so, sisters and brothers of the transport Sector, and so we will continue to do, Nicaraguan brothers and sisters, we are going to continue making our way, with Strength, with the Strength of our General Sandino, with the Strength of “El Danto”, with the Spirit of Solidarity of that Great Puerto Rican Brother, who gave his life for Nicaragua.
Long live Nicaragua’s Transport Workers!
Sandino Lives On, the Struggle Continues!
A Free Nation or Death!
Remarks by Compañera Rosario, Vice President of Nicaragua,
after the handing over of new Russian buses to the country's transport cooperatives
May 24th 2023
Good evening, compañero. A few words to recognize the heroism of the Transport Sector, in our Blessed, Dignified, Sovereign and Always Free Nicaragua. Heroism at all times, ... a Heroic People, heroic transport workers!
We are very happy to be meeting out commitments to our People, our commitments to the working families of our Nicaragua mobilized in the Collective Transport Sector, the families of the transport workers who can importantly make progress, with Work, Security and Peace!
We all remember those infamous days of the failed coup attempt, the setting on fire of transport units. We all remember that. But they could not prevail, nor will they! Here is a living, vibrant, hardworking, striving People, a People making progress with God's Blessing, by His hand and for His glory!
Today there are these 150 transport units; tomorrow we have inaugurations everywhere: for Health, for Education. Also tomorrow is another anniversary of FETSALUD, and we want to salute all the health workers, who are a foundation, a pillar, of this Blessed Nicaragua.
So, we feel proud, ever more proud of this our People, of this National Dignity. We are proud to be Nicaraguans, by the grace of God...! True Patriots, by the grace of God! And now as we pay tribute to Comandante Germán Pomares Ordóñez, we recognize ourselves in his Example, we feel inspired by his Legacy, and We Move Forward, because the Future is ours!
Thank you, Compañer@s.