President-Commandante Daniel and Comrade Rosario, Vice President of Nicaragua,
on the Commemoration of the 199 Anniversary of the Independence of Central America
September 15, 2020
Dear Nicaraguan Sisters and Brothers; Dear Families of this Free Motherland ... The Motherland of Diriangén, Nicarao, resisting and facing Colonization ... The Motherland of Tomás Ruiz, fighting for Independence. In other words, the colonizers arrived, Indigenous Resistance, the colonizers prevailed, and then the Popular Resistance.
And there Tomás Ruiz, a friar of very humble, popular extraction, facing the colonial regime, along with other Central American Patriots, participating in uprisings at the Regional Level, such as the one of 1811, which was an uprising at the Regional Level and the center of it was El Salvador, which was part of that, Guatemala, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Honduras. The Fighters were there, oppressed, repressed, persecuted, and Tomás Ruiz was imprisoned and chained, which was typical in those times, and other Central American Patriots were murdered, whom had already wanted Central American Independence.
And as a result of the struggles that were being waged throughout Our America, from North to South, for the Independence of our Peoples, for the Independence of Our America, of that America that was born in that entire period of Colonization, the mixture of our Indigenous Roots, with the Spanish, gave rise to the emergence and reproduction of the Spirit and Love for this Land that our indigenous ancestors, led by Diriangén and Nicarao, had already firmly manifested. The Rebel Spirit did not disappear, but it was reproduced in that New Mix, in that Mestizo identity it was reproduced.
The struggles were multiplying and by this time of the Year 1821, the struggle was so great in the Region, so strong, that it was already impossible to sustain the Colonial Regime in the Region. And in the midst of contradictions at that time, we all know of them, in the midst of contradictions, because there were those who wanted to give continuity to Colonialism. Right there, in those debates, in those meetings, in Guatemala, as the Seat of the Capital of the Region of the Province of Central America, there in those debates, those who wanted to give it continuity, presented their arguments.
The same thing that happened here in 1979, those who wanted to give continuity to Somocismo, without Somoza, but with the Guard, yes with all the economic power of Somocismo, yes with all the power that Somocismo had in the political field, yes with all the institutional power that Somocismo had, and that until the last minute they tried to neutralize and deny the Triumph of the People, here in 79. And the traitors went to Caracas to negotiate, there the children of the Empire, the Children of Colonialism, those who cannot celebrate Independence, because they are not independent, they do not belong to Nicaragua, they sold their Soul to the devil, to Imperialism.
They went there to negotiate and came up with a Proposal to try to make the People surrender to the formula they were looking for, Somocismo without Somoza. But the People did not give up. And the Triumph belonged to the People, and that Triumph was celebrated here in this Plaza on July 20, 1979. And that Victory is still alive.
And today, as I was saying, we are celebrating in Central America, in Guatemala, in Honduras, in El Salvador, in Costa Rica and in Nicaragua, the 5 Countries that were a Colony of Spain, we are commemorating the Independence that was decreed on a day like today September 15, 1821 ... 199 Years!
And I told you, it was decreed in the midst of these contradictions, even at the time of the discussion, that there were debates among those who really wanted Independence and to not give continuity to Colonialism under another modality, they rose up, and raised their voices, manifested, and pressured the Notables who had the decision in their hands, that in the end they had no choice but to seek a Declaration, which, without being forceful, opened the space so that later, with the future battles that were fought here in Nicaragua, Independence could be consolidated.
The uprisings against the Oligarchy and against the remnants of the Colonial Authorities, which occurred here in Nicaragua after 1821, explain how this was a difficult struggle that cost blood. There were combats, battles, uprisings, still until the year 1823, where a Soldier who had been in the service of the Crown arises, one who had Spirit and Nation Roots, who came from humble extraction, from popular extraction, Cleto Ordóñez, and who was put in front of the uprisings. And they faced the Oligarchy that was still positioned in the most emblematic cities of our Country: Granada and León.
And it was then when they shouted and ordered that the Titles of the Nobility would disappear, because here as part of the Kingdom the Titles were for the Nobility, and the rebellion was also manifested by ending the Titles of the Nobility that the colonizers had in their homes, but above all, advancing in what was the Nicaraguan Independence Process, and the same happened in each Central American Country.
Today we are Commemorating 199 Years of that step toward Independence, and we celebrate them with the Brotherly Peoples of Central America, and we greet the Brotherly Peoples of the Central American Region, we greet their Leaders and; constituted as we are in the Central American Integration System we accept the words of the President of Guatemala, who today has said to us, challenging himself and challenging us to advance towards the Unity of the Central American Peoples.
Yes, we are ready to move towards the Central American Peoples Unity, Mr. Giammattei, President of Guatemala. And may the borders disappear and we become a single Nation, with a little more than 50 million inhabitants. Look, once Central America is united, the Population multiplies, the Economy multiplies, resources multiply, the conditions for economic growth multiply, the conditions for the fight against Poverty multiply, it is no longer just each Country making an effort, but we are all together making a joint effort, to end Poverty, and to defend the Sovereignty and Self-determination of our Peoples, above all.
199 Years, 1821, look what that step meant, because there is much debate, and with good reason, about this Date, whether it was really Independence or it was not Independence. Well, time will tell us that it was indeed a step towards Independence, a decisive step towards Independence. Because right there, from 1821 to 31, to 41, to 51, 30 years later, in the 1950s we already had the Yankee invaders in Nicaragua, Walker was already there, the North American companies, the Transit Companies, had already arrived to look for how to take over the San Juan River Zone, and with it, the nationless traitors, those who don't celebrate Independence, and who brought Walker and brought Byron Cole.
And because the roots of Independence were already there, then it was possible to confront the invaders, even when the invading Yankee had already appointed himself President, even when the invading Yankee had appointed Ambassador, a priest he appointed as Ambassador, as his Representative before the Government of the United States; even though the invading Yankee was recognized by the United States Government, when he made his Declaration as President, the Yankee Embassy recognized this.
But the step of Independence had already been taken, and there was the push, the strength, the Spirit of Resistance of our Indigenous Ancestors, of those who fought for Independence during the subsequent period, until 1821, and it was what allowed, in the end, that an Andrés Castro, a José Dolores Estrada to emerge; the Matagalpa Indians giving the Battle in different places, giving the Battle in San Jacinto, and defeating the invading Yankee in San Jacinto. In that Battle, led by the Yankee Byron Cole, a Colonel, there Byron Cole fell in combat, and there Andrés raised the Stone against the invading Yankee.
But the fighting continued, and the invading Yankee in his madness, set fire to the City of Granada, believing that in this way he was going to demoralize the Nicaraguan Combatants, and the Central American Combatants who joined because it was a Battle in which Central America was united. The other Central American Peoples were clear that the independence that had been won in 1821, was lost with the Yankee invasion, because the Yankee was declaring himself President of Nicaragua and later President of all Central America. That was his plan.
Then the Unity, and the Struggle and Fight for Central America, until the invading Yankee was defeated. He was defeated. There was a great victory. That is why I say that the victory against the invading Yankee was possible because we already had independence, with these contradictions, in 1821.
Then, the other Battles that we have fought in the Central American Region, and in the particular case of Nicaragua, defending our Identity, our Sovereignty, carried out by General Zeledón in 1912, in front of the North American troops that invaded Nicaragua, after overthrowing the President José Santos Zelaya; The General of Free Men, our General Augusto Calderón Sandino, did it, confronting the invading troops, the Yankee troops that were occupying Nicaragua, also called and brought in by the nationless traitors, by the “cowards.”
Look, if Christ who was Christ, the Son of God made Man, faced a traitor, least all of us in our Peoples; always the traitors will appear, the peddlers, the "cowards", those who say that there is nothing to celebrate. Yes, that is what they say, there is nothing to celebrate, because here there is no Independence. For them Independence means having William Walker ruling here, having the invaders ruling here.
And who brought, who invited the Yankee troops? The “cowards”, the nationless traitors invited them in 1912 to invade Nicaragua, and they invited them to continue the intervention when Sandino rose up against the Yankee invasion, which in the end could not defeat Sandino and had to withdraw from Nicaragua defeated!
That Rebel Spirit, that ability to fight, that Strength of Dignity, the Feeling of Love for the Motherland, of Consciousness and Sovereignty, had been consolidating with the passage of time. Despite the fact that Nicaragua was not a Country with great Economic, Social or Cultural Development, in the Soul of the majority of Nicaraguans there was a Spirit of Dignity, and where there is Dignity there is Patriotism, and where there is Patriotism, Sovereignty is defended, the Motherland is defended.
Then came the other great challenge that I was already talking about, the overthrowing of the dictatorship imposed by the Yankees here in Nicaragua, the Somoza dictatorship. Notice how many challenges after Independence, how many struggles, how much pain, how much arrogance, and how many signs of betrayal, of the traitors, of those Sandino called "cowards" and "traitors." There was always more than one "coward" and country peddler offering themselves to the invading Yankee.
And after that Great Victory of July 79, we continued the Battle, defending our Roots, defending our History. We did not want war, we wanted Peace, and they imposed another war on us after 79. Then, we gave them the opportunity, the Revolution gave the opportunity, in accordance with the Laws, with the Constitution that arose from the Revolution, for those who were imposed at the last minute by the Empire, because they feel that they are servants of the Empire, they do not have Love for the Country, but rather they have Love for the Empire.
But hey, they came to the government and had three terms to be able to do all the good they had promised, and they didn't; what they did was to take from the People the Victories that had been achieved with the Triumph of the Revolution. But they could not take the People´s Conquest of Pride, Dignity, and the Capacity to Fight, and that is why the Nicaraguan people took over the government in 2007, with the Sandinista National Liberation Front.
And we are waging another Great Battle, which went through a period of war, destruction, death, yes, of terrorist practices that we cannot forget ... We must not forget! We cannot forget how they burned, how they tortured and how they destroyed, in April, May, June 2018, how they kidnapped our Sisters and Brothers, martyred and tortured them, how they murdered Workers, how they murdered Women, Students. They, the murderers, who, no matter how much they want to hide it, were in charge of presenting themselves as what they are, as murderers, because they were in charge of filming the moments in which they tortured our Sisters and Brothers; when they also kidnapped a policeman and tortured him and then set him on fire.
How many dead! How many murdered! And the destruction of Schools, and the destruction of Health Posts, and the destruction of homes, and the destruction of Media Outlets. They, just as Walker had set fire to Granada, wanted to set fire to Nicaragua, and they set fire to these murderers, they set fire to schools, health posts, and media outlets... Yes, they set them on fire!
Cowards, murderers, who want to repeat history, and feel powerful because they always have the spirit of servitude toward the Yankee, and they feel proud when they go there and meet with the Yankee and ask him to apply Sanctions to Nicaragua, as they call them, which are nothing more than aggressions, and they take photos and feel proud. And the Yankee comes as he has always come, as a threat to the whole of Humanity, and he tells them that yes, they should seek to unite, to overthrow in the November 2021 elections, to overthrow the Sandinista Government.
And others want to continue committing murders, planting bombs, causing destruction, more destruction than what they caused already in April 2018, adding to the damage that the Pandemic has already caused. In other words, they do not have a Soul, they do not have a Heart, they are not Nicaraguans, they are children of the devil, they are children of the devil, and they are full of hatred, they are full of hatred. That's how they can be summed up, hate, hate, hate and nothing more. They are criminals, cowards, and they feel untouchable because they were given Amnesty, take a good look.
Well, they have already been given the opportunity, Amnesty, but there will not be another Amnesty, the People will demand accountability! The People will ask for accountability, within the framework of the Laws, within the framework of the Regulations that the Nicaraguan State has. That is what the Laws are for, to punish, to sanction, not for what they say, but for what they do. And hurting a Family, murdering a Family, as they have murdered Families, that is unforgivable, there is no Pardon, there is no Amnesty that is worth that.
Rather, as we have announced, we must strengthen the Judicial System, and we must install higher penalties for hate crimes, for major crimes, such as the ones that have been committed against these girls in the North of our country. Hate crimes are being punished everywhere now, and here we are not going to be the exception.
That is why we have mentioned that, although it is true that many families have told us and with good reason, that the Death Penalty should be applied to these criminals, we have a commitment to keep, we are part of an International Agreement where we are committed to not apply the Death Penalty in Nicaragua, but we are not committed against applying Life Sentences for these criminals.
And the People can continue, and the Families can continue working in Peace, in Security, now waging the Battle against this Epidemic, and waging the Battle to produce, to take initiatives in the different Fields, both in the Field of Food Production as in the Tourism Field, in all the Fields, in Small Business, in Medium Business, to move forward, to recover the Economy, which was taken away from economic stability, economic growth from our People by the traitors, terrorists , criminals, cowards, murderers.
That will not happen again! That will never happen again! Now we have the firmness and conviction that we are recovering the Economy, we are guaranteeing Stability and Security, and we must strengthen our efforts toward the Economy, and we must strengthen our efforts regarding Citizen Security, the effort to unite more the Institutions created for Citizen Security, with the Population, with the Women's Police Stations, to seek the protection of Boys, Girls, in the Towns and Communities. Women's Police Stations that are multiplying throughout the country, and that can create a fraternal relationship to defend the Families, from the crimes that are committed, murdering, stealing, burning ... Yes, these days they still burned houses of some Families there in the North of our Country.
That is our commitment, today on the 199 Anniversary of the Independence of Nicaragua, and 164 Anniversary of the Great Battle of Nicaragua against Yankee expansionism, which we commemorate with the date of the Battle of San Jacinto, September 14, 1856.
And ratifying our disposition of Central American Unity, but beyond that, Central American and Caribbean Unity, Mesoamerican, Latin American and Caribbean Unity, Revolutionary Unity, in the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples with the Heroic Venezuelan People, with President Hugo Chávez, with the Heroic Cuban People, with President Miguel Díaz-Canel and Comandante Raúl Castro, with all the Sisters and Brothers of the Caribbean who are part of this Great Alliance that continues despite the attacks, the aggressions it has suffered; an Alliance of Peoples that is made for the Well-Being of the Peoples, not to harm the Peoples, and we all know this perfectly well.
On this day our commitment is to continue developing, with the Youth, that Spirit of Solidarity that you carry deep within and who know how to manifest it, and multiply Knowledge, Culture, which are powerful tools to strengthen Consciousness, which is what we most have to strengthen in these historical circumstances to achieve New Victories.
Long Live the 199 Anniversary of the Independence of Central America!
Long Live the 164 Anniversary of the Battle of San Jacinto!
Long Live Nicaragua, Blessed and Always Free!
Sandino Lives, the Struggle Continues!
Free Motherland or Death!
Remarks by Rosario, Vice President of Nicaragua
after the Ceremony for the Commemoration
of the 199 Anniversary of the Independence of Central America
September 15, 2020
Honor, Love, our Triumphant Wisdom! How much we learn every day, and today, at 199 Years of the Independence of our Nicaragua and Central America, that we want United, we embrace all the Families with Patriotism, never with servility, never kneeling before the Yankees, invaders of the Cultures of the World and of the Peace that the World demands... Destroyers of Peace! Never kneeling before Terrorism, which is what we have lived throughout our History, as well as recently.
We feel ours Hearts full of Love, and Love is Brave, Love is Strong, Love Can Do It All, and Love Conquers All. The Heroic Love that we know as a result of our Christian Upbringing. The Love that made Jesus Christ, the Son of God, give His Life to redeem us, to save us. We, as Christians, know that we must fight with Courage to redeem ourselves, to save ourselves from the attacks of those who believe themselves to be the owners of the World.
Throughout Comandante Daniel's Words, I thought, and I think, and I say, how difficult it is to remain serene when you see People who say they are Nicaraguans but have nothing of Nicaraguan. Because the Nicaraguan is happy when we celebrate Dates like this, which mark steps forward, for our Central American Peoples, for our Nicaraguan People ... Independence!
Of course, how is someone who is a servant, sub-servant, less than a servant of the Empires going to celebrate Independence; someone who breathes for the Imperial Patrons, someone who kneels every day, as if they were gods, in front of the Imperial Masters, who believe themselves Masters of the World.
How can one maintain serenity? It is very difficult! One asks God: My God, give me serenity to see and know that this is not the way to live, because there is no Dignity in those who do not love their Motherland. There is no dignity! And it is difficult to find the will to love Ones Neighbor.
There is a lot of selfishness among those who look towards that North that leaves nothing, seeking instructions, guidance, orientation, approval. There are some who feel strong, brave, because the Master tells them that they are good. But in our Nicaragua, we know that nothing good awaits he who kneels before the empires. First, they are traitors to their Motherland, Traitors, Daniel used to say, “cowards”, “crumbs” I say, “scraps”, irresponsible and criminal.
I read, and I say, but, with what soul can these liars, these hypocrites reclaim anything, when they brought destruction, when they, as Comandante Daniel said, filmed the tortures, filmed the kidnappings and rapes of women in those Nefarious days of Terrorism, sponsored by the Imperial Masters and executed by the Creole servants, the kneeling ones, those who do not love the Motherland, nor do they love the People.
How are they going to be interested in the Motherland or the People if the only thing they are interested in is that ... after 16 years of robbery they could no longer go back to steal because here, the People won. Steal again, Assault the People again, fill their coffers with the money of the People, with the resources of the People, with the Natural Resources of the Nicaraguan People.
That is why they do not know Love, they do not know Sensitivity, they do not know the word Neighbor, and the Duty that we all have to love one another, to care for one another, to protect one another, to defend one another. And what does that mean? To Guarantee that we live with Dignity. They do not know Dignity for themselves, much less would they recognize the Right of Others to live with Dignity; the Neighbor whom they have looted throughout our History, who they have robbed throughout our History.
But hey, Better Times are coming, I'm sure of that. My Faith, my Trust in God tells me, Better Times are coming! In the harsh moments in which we were faced with crime, I will never forget the eyes of the criminals, when they believed that they were already there, but they did not know, because they did not know the People or the Culture of our People. They already believed that they were there once again, that they could once again be ready to steal, rob, desecrate, because that is what they are: Defilers of the Rights of the People!
I will never forget those lying eyes, those eyes that do not know Affection, nor Respect, of course. I will never forget the Human Misery that one witnessed, the pettiness; one who knew so many years of Peace, Struggles, Efforts and Victory, but hey, it was an interruption, and today that we celebrate the 199 Years of Independence, we know that we will continue to be independent.
I used to say, when I saw those evil eyes, I knew that God was not going to allow that evil, that perversion, that perversity to reign in a Country, and with a Good People like the Nicaraguan People.
I know that here We Go Forward, no matter how many speak out for evil, because it is truly unfortunate, inconceivable, that there are people in this country who continue to want evil for their People. It is regrettable, inconceivable, but traitors are, like weeds, everywhere. There are always the traitorous "scraps" here and there, insignificant traitors, but now in these Times of Communication, which can be very good, but can also be full of lies, and destructive, they magnify themselves with their lies.
They have always falsified the Truth, the Reality, the Life, but hey, "a lie has short legs" is a saying of our People, and the Truth, which they do not know, is that the Heroic People who work, who fights, wants to continue being Independent, a word that they do not know ... Independent, Worthy, Free, and with a Future, for All, and for the Good of All!
Much affection to the Nicaraguan People, in the Certainty, Conviction, Trust in God, that we are going forward, in peace and wellbeing. Peace is guaranteed by the Nicaraguan State, the Good among us all, always thinking like Christians, that we all have the Right to Well-being.
Thank you, Comrades. Let's go ahead! We have a few days, those days that come, of Holidays, of Family Union, of Blessing ... The main Blessing of our Culture is that Family Love, which defends us, distinguishes us, protects us, and that enormous Spirit of the People Nicaraguan, that formidable Spirit of the Nicaraguan People, who knows about Struggles, who knows about Love, and who knows about Honor!
Thank you, Comrades. The Future is ours!