President-Comandante Daniel and Compañera Rosario Murillo, Vice President of Nicaragua,
deliver new buses for public transport
August 22nd 2024
Address by Daniel
Nicaraguan brothers and sisters; Families of this Free Nation, of Diriangén, of Sandino, of our Heroic People, today we are holding this event in the Plaza of the Eternal Comandante, our beloved Brother Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías, who is present here with us, on a day of Victory there in Venezuela, because today the Victory of the People of Bolívar, the People of Chávez, the People of Nicolás Maduro has been confirmed. Congratulations, Beloved Brothers and Sisters! Congratulations!
The Folklore Ballet “Guardabarranco”, from the department of León, has filled us with Joy, with Vigor, with the dance “Managua, Lovely Managua”, and that voice we heard, just recently, singing that beautiful song is from another beloved Brother, that artist and extraordinary actor, extraordinary singer, extraordinary composer, who tomorrow, August 23rd will have his birthday in another Plane of Life, our beloved Brother Otto de la Rocha.
Today, August 22nd we are commemorating the 46th Anniversary, because it was on August 22nd 1978 that the Palace was Taken, and we have heard that song from the voice of that extraordinary Mexican singer, Amparo Ochoa, that song came from her Heart, from Mexico, and there she described that Heroic Act, when the mediator was His Eminence Cardinal Miguel Obando y Bravo. The second Mediation that the Cardinal had to do.
The first was when the Commando headed by Eduardo Contreras occupied the house of Somoza's Minister, Chema Castillo, when the US Ambassador was there at a party, at a meeting, and the Commando asked the Cardinal to mediate.
Somoza didn't want that. But the Cardinal accepted and began the negotiation, until Somoza was bound to surrender to the demands the Commando made, and he was so irritated, so annoyed with Cardinal Obando for having been able to manage the negotiation firmly, that as a result Somoza came along and called him “El Comandante Miguel”, thinking that in this way he was insulting him, by calling him "Comandante Miguel", as if he were another Sandinista Commander.
And really, already in the song that has given us a description of what the Taking of the National Palace meant, the liberation of the Brothers and Sisters who were in prison; and with that extraordinary voice of hers, Amparo sings: “Tomás walked to the fore leaving the prison.” Tomás Borge, our beloved Brother.
And tomorrow, the 23rd, since Otto will have his Birthday, from today we say to him, Otto, surely there in the company of God and for ever accompanying your People, with your songs, with your humor, with your firmness, we say to you: Otto, you are here too with us, we do not forget you, nor will we ever forget you.
The same dance group of the Folklore Ballet “Guardabarranco”, from the department of León, was also the one that performed the Corrido del Palacio, to the voice of Amparo Ochoa. So we congratulate the Guardabarranco group who have come from León, on this occasion, to participate in this Event.
And too, we salute all the Transport Operators and the Youth who are present here, the generations combined into a single Force, into a single beam of Light.
We greet Compañera Rosario, Vice President of the Republic. How the dogs howl at Compañera Rosario! How they howl! And what did Don Quixote say to Sancho? "If the dogs are howling, it's because we're making our way."
Yes, because we do make our way and it pains them that we are making our way.
Because the Compañera does nothing but tell the Truth every day, about what is being done for the benefit of the People, for the benefit of the Poor, the Workers, the Peasants, of all Sectors; what is being done for businesses; on Housing; on Hospitals; on the Roads and Highways.
So you see, the march does not stop in the battle to eradicate poverty, so that no Nicaraguan lives in misery, but has a decent home. And we will indeed reach that goal: Decent housing for all Nicaraguans; that is a goal that we have to achieve.
Compañero Zhou Yi, thank you for your words, the compañero is the Chargé d'affaires of the Embassy of the People's Republic of China, since the Ambassador is in the People's Republic of China.
Also, here is Laureano who has been especially effective in the Mission we gave him, the Mission we gave him to open these doors, to make effective the opening with the People's Republic of China. We formally gave you that Mission from the Presidency, but in fact that is a Mission ordered by the People and one the Presidency has fulfilled.
Compañero Santi Zhou Qing, representative of the YUTONG Company; compañero Fidel Moreno, Secretary of the Municipaliy of Managua; compañero Amaru Ramírez, Deputy Minister of Transport; compañero Danilo Sánchez, President of URECOOTRACO; compañera Kenia Cantillano Jiménez, Transport Operator; compañero Alejandro Castillo, Transport Operator of Chinandega... a Chinandegan!
Now, these 100 buses that have arrived from thousands and thousands of kilometers away, but in fact the distance does not separate us, that distance rather unites us, brings us closer. From there they have been bringing these buses and now that transport will be direct, because a direct Sea Route has now been opened from China to Nicaragua, to unload cargo in Corinto. And the first ship has already arrived, which came with the equipment and implements and so on for the construction of the Panchito Airport, where we will certainly have a new modern airport.
This relationship between a small country like Nicaragua and a giant like the People's Republic of China is a really exemplary relationship that says a great deal about the respect that a great world power like the People's Republic of China has, the respect with which it treats all the Peoples of the World.
China treats all peoples with the same respect that it treats the great nations with which they have relations, such that they also treat countries like Nicaragua with that same respect and comply with that Principle that is the basis of our Constitution, to contribute to a Christian, Socialist and Solidarity inspired Nicaragua by sharing Love of one's Neighbor.
Because now, there are already 1,100 brand new buses delivered in record time, which proves the will of President Xi Jinping and the Government and People of the People's Republic of China, showing the respect and affection they have for Nicaragua's People, and of course we greet President Xi Jinping, and offer thanks for this Cooperation being offered to Nicaragua in a sustained, uninterrupted, and increasingly broad way.
As the Compañeros have already said, more buses will come and minibuses will come as well along with other types of vehicles; but, in exchange, they also reminded us that we are now exporting products to China, our products and food are already arriving in the homes of Chinese families, because we are exporting food to China, and we are going to export more because, naturally, this is stimulating Nicaraguan producers, so more exports will be sent to the People's Republic of China.
On August 22nd came that Heroic Feat, August 22nd 1978, already almost at the gates of Victory. And too in the month of August of 1980, that is to say, 44 Years ago the National Literacy Campaign ended, it began on March 23rd and concluded on August 23rd 1980, and there were the Teachers, the Young Literacy Teachers who spread out across our whole Country, in all the rural peasant communities, in all the Districts, in all the Neighborhoods, carrying, as they say, “the Light of Knowledge”, overcoming that blindness, because to be illiterate is to be blind.
And the Capitalism imposed by the Yankees, the Rulers imposed by the Yankees, what they did was beat the People with a stick, they didn't even give them something elementary like Education, and that's why the first Great Task we took on at the Triumph of the Revolution was to teach literacy, literacy, literacy, and in that way to strip away that blindfold from the eyes of thousands of Nicaraguan Brothers and Sisters who were illiterate.
Hence the literacy teachers were first Heroes and Martyrs killed by those who, paid by the Yankees, began to wage a war against the Revolution. But they did not manage to intimidate the Literacy Teachers, who did not come fleeing from the mountains, they did not move at all, instead they multiplied their efforts, staying in peasant houses, getting to know the reality of the people who live in the countryside, making friends, becoming Family, the Literacy Teachers, Brothers and Sisters who came from many countries of the World, many Brothers and Sisters came to support this Literacy Campaign.
It was the First Great Victory of the Revolution, the National Literacy Campaign.
You can see how many obstacles our People have had to overcome: First, to overthrow the tyranny imposed by the Yankees; then, to defeat the Counterrevolution imposed by the Yankees; then to resist governing from below, for 17 neoliberal years that damaged the popular economy, took land from peasants who had received land from the Agrarian Reform, took factories from workers. That is to say, in order to give those resources to the Somoza capitalists who returned under those neoliberal governments. But no one here gave up.
They also wanted to put an end to the Transport Cooperatives and we remember all too well the battles we fought to prevent those crimes, because they really were crimes that they were committing.
17 years, and then Victory once more, why? Because the Unity of our People stayed firm around Nicaragua's Heroic History, around Sandino and all the Heroes and Martyrs whose blood was not spilled in vain, and the proof of that has been how, since the year 2007 when we returned to Government, our United People has won more and more Victories.
And we were advancing at such a pace that they tried to mount a terrorist coup that would frighten the People, that would turn our People and our Youth against the Revolution and its Conquests. It was in April, let us not forget, that crime, but they stayed on, and they continue to howl, because they have nothing left to do but to howl, and they will continue howling, because here we are going to continue bringing Well-Being to the Nicaraguan People.
Long live the Heroes and Martyrs!
Long live the Unity of all our People!
Long live Peace!
Sandino Lives On, the Struggle Continues!
A Free Nation or Death!
Remarks by Rosario, Vice President of Nicaragua,
after the delivery of new buses for public transport
August 22nd 2024
Good evening, and an embrace to all Nicaragua's Families, in Victories, in Days of Victories...! Our Fraternal Heart salutes the Triumphs of the Venezuelan People, here standing before Chávez, the Eternal Comandante. And we chose this place because we knew that the Victories of our Peoples are Certain, they are True... so Let Us Go Onward!
Comandante Daniel said: How the dogs howl at the Victories of the Peoples. But "No one bothers with empty husks". We are working, the Free, Sovereign, Dignified Peoples of the World, working to advance along Paths of Triumphs, Paths of Progress, Prosperity, Brother and Sisterhood, Dignity, Solidarity.
And we feel happy every day to be able to take yet one step more, or many steps more, Onward: The Joy on the faces of the compañeras and compañeros the bus operators... The joy on the faces of Families who receive new housing... The joy on the faces of the Families who receive financing to work in better conditions and develop their production or their business... The joy on the faces of the Families where the Health Fairs and Mega Health Fairs arrive...
The joy on the faces of students at the Universities, all over the Country. It is not just a University in one place, but all over the country, Universities serving Students, or Schools as well, really beautiful Schools like the one inaugurated there in Jinotega today.
That is to say, there is Joy, there is Hope, there is Trust, and there is Gratitude to the God of All Triumphs.
We were saying that, for us it is with Pride that we listen to these immense, infinite Songs. How proud we feel to be Patriots, Nicaraguans by the Grace of God! And when we listened to La Amparo Ochoa, “la Amparo,” as people used to call her, singing of the Heroic Deed of Taking the National Palace, we remembered and it's really touching, it's exciting, deeply exciting, to remember that Deed... These Feats, because our People have a History of Glory, of Triumphs, of Heroism, of great Feats, like that Feat, the Epic of Taking the National Palace.
Anyone would have said it was impossible. But for the Heroic People of Nicaragua, there are no impossibilities with the Sandinista National Liberation Front. We have fought and we have overcome, with Honor, with Honors, throughout our history, and that is what defines us. The Struggles, the Courage, the Vigor, the Glory, the Victories, that define us. Every day, with the Strength that God gives us, with the Health that God gives us, with the Firmness, Consistency, Decency, Integrity, that God gives us, We Go Onward!
"No one bothers with empty husks". For us the important thing is the Smile of our People, the Smile of Children, of Young People, of Teenagers... Their Hope! Because a Smile is Hope, Joy is Hope, and Joy and Hope are the fruit of a Country, proudly and with dignity, living in Peace, the Peace that we have defended at all costs, the Peace that we continue to defend at all costs. And because there is Peace, there are Triumphs every day on the Ways toward the Well-being of our Families, of all our People... Well-being, because that is what Nicaragua's families deserve.
Our Comandante already said it: We are not going to rest until every Family has a Decent Home. We will not rest until every Family lives in a healthy, dignified, joyful environment. We are not going to rest until we feel that we have managed to defeat Extreme Poverty, Misery. And we are making our way there, and we also say every day: Thank you, Father, for giving us the Strength, the Privilege, the Opportunity to serve, to advance along these Paths that are of Glory, of Victories.
We have so much Memory of what each Triumph, each Step has cost us, and how much more Memory do we have of what we owe to Nicaragua's People, to the Brave, Determined Heart of Nicaragua's People!
Thank you to all our Families, because being Together, United, means there we have Victories, and so, United in Victories, Let Us Go Onward!
Warm embraces to everyone. Thank you, Compañeras and Compañeros.