By Becca Renk

(Becca Renk is originally from Idaho, USA. For 25 years, she has lived and worked in sustainable community development in Nicaragua with the Jubilee House Community and its project, the Center for Development in Central America. She coordinates the solidarity work of Casa Ben Linder.)

[This article was first published by Tortilla con Sal on July 20, 2025.]

Celebrating 46 years of revolution, Nicaragua demonstrates that it is possible to respect its heroes and also venerate its youth. Following years of cultivating leadership in its young people, the passing of the torch to a new generation of revolutionaries is not only possible, but it is already happening.

Revering Heroes and Treasuring Youth

One of the questions I’m asked most frequently about Nicaragua is: “Does the revolution have a future?”

Forty-six years ago, a popular revolution led by Nicaragua’s youth overthrew the brutal Somoza dictatorship. Today, those viewing the country from the outside see that the surviving muchachos – the kids who defeated Somoza – are now in their 70s and 80s, and they worry that Nicaragua’s revolution won’t survive without them.

To anyone who visits the country, however, it is obvious that Nicaragua’s revolution, which has managed to both revere its historical heroes and also treasure its youth, is stronger than ever.

This week, as the country celebrates the anniversary of its victory over Somoza’s tyranny, the streets are filled with committed youth: a new generation which is enthusiastically picking up the reins of the revolution and guiding Nicaragua forward.

Young people currently make up 70% of the population. Although Nicaragua’s co-presidents are in their 70s, their government leadership at all levels is largely made up of young people.

“We’re not at all surprised that we have so many young people as deputies in the National Assembly, ministers, deputy ministers and directors,” declares Nicaragua’s Youth Minister, Darling Hernández. “This is just the practical application of our revolutionary slogan, “Youth for President.’”

So how does Nicaragua’s revolution, founded by Baby Boomers, manage to be relevant to Gen Z?

Revolutionary and Evolutionary

The Sandinista Revolution, as Nicaraguans say, not only revolutionary, but evolutionary. It is continually evolving to meet the changing needs of its people, and its youth in particular.

This is accomplished through a constant and fluid conversation that starts in Nicaragua’s families and communities, and goes all the way up to the Presidency. This conversation is largely facilitated by the country’s strongest movement: the July 19th Sandinista Youth, or JS19J.

The JS19J model encourages youth participation in the revolution beginning in secondary school, then continuing in university and beyond. Pre-teens are invited to join a wide variety of community activities: organizing piñatas for children, planting trees, visiting the elderly, dancing, singing, and participating in emergency relief brigades.

Youth are given organizational responsibilities early on and encouraged to take initiative and share their ideas, all of which fosters ownership and their continued participation.

Gradually, they are encouraged to focus on the area of work that most interests them as the JS19J is made up of five movements: environmental, cultural, sports, communication, and solidarity promotion.

Youth in those movements become leaders at municipal, departmental and then national level, with the brightest leaders often moving into the government’s ministries or elected positions before the age of thirty.

More Than a Political Party

“As an artist, I am very grateful for the opportunity the revolution has given me,” says Abril Reyes Arriaza, a 23 year-old singer who has been organized in the JS19J Cultural Movement since secondary school. For Reyes, being a Sandinista is much more than just being a member of a political party, it is being part of a family that knows how to lift up and support one another.

“Our leadership is always very aware of each person, the situation of each one of us who are involved and who contribute our grain of sand to the revolution,” says Reyes.

“At one point, I was in the intensive care unit; I didn’t think I would survive,” she remembers. But Reyes’ comrades never gave up hope and were constantly following up on her case. She recognizes the importance of their support. “They gave me the attention and treatment I needed, and they do the same for everyone.”

In other countries, there is often generational warfare: youth are pitted against the older generations who refuse to give up power. In “developed” parts of the world such as the United States, where the median age for senators is 64.7 years old, young people are bereft of opportunities.

Increasingly unable to afford third level education limits employment prospects for youth. Rising costs of living and lack of housing can also mean that young people must choose between endless debt and continuing to live with their parents well into adulthood.

Intergenerational Leadership

By contrast, in Nicaragua, there is an intergenerational leadership which manages to both respect its elders and venerate its youth.

“Our job is to put young people in power,” declares Minister Hernández.

On a practical level, putting youth in power ensures that young people’s needs are met. In Nicaragua, free universal health care, subsidies for transport, electricity and gas are just a few of the programs that make improved quality of life accessible for young people. The most important program for Nicaragua’s youth, however, is the universal access to free quality education preschool through university, including hundreds of free vocational training programs.

“As a young person, I see more and more opportunities all the time,” says Reyes. “I don’t think that anyone needs to leave our country to find new opportunities because there are plenty of them here.”

Songs of Revolution

Reyes is not the only young person to recognize this. On the evening of the 19th of July, more than 50,000 people are gathered in the Plaza of Faith in Managua to show their support for the ever-evolving revolution, and the crowd is overwhelmingly young. For more than four hours, the Plaza vibrates with joy – quite literally during the 21-gun salute to Nicaragua’s achievements in poverty eradication – and most of that time, young people are dancing and singing along with revolutionary songs.

Some of these songs were recorded when the grandparents of these dancing youth were still clandestinely fighting Somoza’s National Guard. Yet, the youth sing along to all the words. Some of these songs were recorded recently by a new generation of revolutionary artists – Reyes’ voice can be heard on five of the new songs recorded on the 46th anniversary album. Yet, Daniel Ortega also sings along to all the words.

“We Are All Daniel”

When the music finally changes tempo and Ortega picks up the microphone, the crowd is euphoric, chanting, “Daniel! Daniel! Daniel!”

Looking out into the sea of young faces, the 79-year-old leader says, “We are all Daniel here. From the smallest girl to the young man, our entire people. We are all Daniel. That is why it is unthinkable that any leader could emerge in our country who does not share our way of thinking, our commitment and the principles that we have inherited. You and me, we have inherited that principle that we carry in our hearts and in our conscience, which is the principle that our General Sandino bequeathed to us… ‘I don’t surrender and I don’t sell out!’”

With these succinct words, Daniel Ortega, hero and Commander of the Nicaraguan Revolution, shows how the changing of the guard is taking place in Nicaragua: with one generation willingly, consciously, confidently passing the revolutionary torch on to Nicaragua’s next generation.

For Nicaragua’s youth, who have been preparing for this since childhood, grasping that torch and running with it comes as easy as breathing. Although Reyes has never had to pick up a weapon, she has been defending her country and her revolution since the first time she picked up a microphone and sang her heart out.

“I am so very grateful to the Sandinista Front for always giving us opportunities,” Reyes says. “I am sure that no other government could have done what we are doing here today: making revolution.”

Briefs

By Nan McCurdy

Training New Professionals in Marine Biology on the Caribbean Coast

Bluefields Indian and Caribbean University is training professionals in marine biology on the southern Caribbean coast through the Institute of Biodiversity and Environmental Studies. The training of these students includes the study of coral planting in marine nurseries located on Little Corn Island, as part of the restoration of marine ecosystems, caring for the natural heritage of the Caribbean coast, and contributing to the reduction of the effects of climate change. The main focus is on studying endangered coral species, restoring Atlantic Ocean reefs to improve conditions for artisanal fishing, and providing greater protection for Caribbean families. The University continues to promote comprehensive, scientific, and quality education for young people, with respect for nature. See photos: https://radiolaprimerisima.com/forman-a-nuevos-profesionales-en-biologia-marina-en-costa-caribe/ (La Primerisima, 26 July 2025)

Surgeries and Imaging at Mega Surgery Fair

More than 4,000 consultations were provided to 2,588 patients on July 26 during the Mega General Surgery Fair held at the Gaspar García Laviana Hospital in Rivas. In addition, 160 surgeries, 288 endoscopies, and colonoscopies were performed, as well as surgical evaluations, ultrasounds, and biopsies. See photos: https://radiolaprimerisima.com/realizan-160-operaciones-en-mega-feria-de-cirugia-en-rivas/ (La Primerisima, 27 July 2025)

1,500 Inmates to Live with Their Families for the Rest of Their Sentences

Co-President Rosario Murillo announced that on Thursday, July 31, as many as 1,500 prisoners from different prisons systems across the country will receive the legal benefit of being able to live with their families for the remainder of their sentences. “Fifteen hundred people who are in the prison systems will be returning to their families and homes with another opportunity to move forward on the right path,” said Murillo. She said that 1,375 men and 125 women will have a new opportunity to resume their lives with good intentions. The inmates come from the prison systems of Tipitapa, Matagalpa, Granada, Chinandega, Juigalpa, León, Estelí, and Bluefields. (La Primerisima, 28 July 2025)

Recreational Spaces Improved or Restored

The municipal authorities reported that from July 21 to 26, five fully restored recreational and leisure spaces were handed over to communities in the municipalities of El Crucero, Diriomo, and Villa El Carmen. With the parks, promenades, and beautification of municipal entrances now inaugurated, a total of 191 recreational spaces have been improved and restored this year. This is in addition to new parks, sports courts and stadiums. See photos: https://radiolaprimerisima.com/casi-200-espacios-recreativos-han-sido-mejorados-o-restaurados-en-2025/ (La Primerisima, 29 July 2025)

Nicaragua to Host the U-23 World Baseball Championship

Co-President Rosario Murillo announced that “We have received information from FENIBA, the Nicaraguan Baseball Federation, which is delighted to inform us that our country has been confirmed as the host of the World Baseball/Softball Confederation’s U-23 Baseball World Championship. [U-23 means the players must be under age 23.] This high-level event will bring together the 12 best national teams in the world in this category and will take place in November 2026.” The Roberto Clemente Stadium in Masaya, the Rigoberto López Pérez stadium in Leon, and the National Sovereignty Stadium in Managua will host the games. The tournament will be televised throughout the country. Co-president Murillo Rosario Murillo said that it will be the first time in history that this tournament will be held in Nicaragua. [Editor’s note: Nicaragua hosted the WBSC Baseball World Cup five times, in 1948, 1950, 1972, 1973, and 1994 but will, for the first time, host the U-23 World Cup in 2026.]  (Informe Pastran, 29 July 2025)

Ortega: “Hugo Chávez Is in All Our Peoples.”

On July 28, Nicaraguan Co-Presidents Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo were joined by Venezuela’s ambassador to Nicaragua Javier Arrue for ceremonies in Managua marking the 71^st anniversary of the birth of Hugo Chavez, late president of Venezuela and founder of the Bolivarian Alliance of the Peoples of Our America (ALBA). They were joined by members of the Cabinet, President of the National Assembly Gustavo Porras, Foreign Minister Valdrack Jaentschke and members of the July 19^th Sandinista Youth.

In his remarks, Co-President Ortega stated that on this day 71 years ago a saint was born. “On this day when he was born, a saint was born, Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías. He behaved like a saint with an immense heart, bringing well-being to many people. He was not selfish, but brought a better life to the people of many nations, including Nicaragua. We cannot forget this,” Ortega said.

Ortega continued, “He wanted for us to unite and help each other, for Venezuela to help in any way it could so that the economies of the most impoverished countries in this region could develop,” he continued. “How many homes did he build in Venezuela? Five million homes, and Nicolás [Maduro, Venezuela’s current President,] continues to build there. In other words, he gave of himself to lift the people out of poverty, to improve their living conditions, to improve their health conditions, to improve their educational conditions, to improve the conditions in which vehicles travel in Venezuela. And we say to the Venezuelan people, we say to President Nicolás Maduro Moro, ‘onward.’”

Ortega pointed out that Chávez had great vision, recalling that dramatic night when he was in poor health but was still fighting, raising his arms in the rain at the end of an election campaign. These are acts that only heroes who love their people and their principles are capable of doing, he noted. “What vision Chávez had when he announced that night that if he were to pass away, Nicolás Maduro should take his place, and he said it with great conviction, with great confidence, because he had the instinct to know what was good and what was bad, to put the bad aside and the good forward, and with that vision he said, ‘Here, under that big moon, Nicolás will be president when I am no longer here,’ and he was not wrong; and there we have Nicolás fighting a battle together with the Venezuelan people, a battle against the imperialists of the earth who want to dominate Venezuela, to steal its oil, who are also conspiring with Guyana to try to steal the great oil wealth that exists there from the Venezuelan people,” the Co-President said. He added that, “Chávez is alive, he is resurrected, he is in all of us, he is in all our peoples.”

Ortega continued, “On July 28, 1954, in a small, humble town, in Sabaneta, our brother Hugo Chávez was born. Today we are commemorating his birth, but we are also commemorating another year of life, because heroes never die, they always live on in the struggles of the people. Knowing Commander Hugo Chávez, from the very first moment I felt his strength, his tenderness, and a heart as big and as good as that of our Lord Jesus Christ. I would say that on this day a saint was born in Venezuela. It was not in vain that he invoked Christ, it was not in vain that he had faith in Christ.”

“Today we embrace the Venezuelan people,” Ortega went on to say, “for achieving great victories in last Sunday’s municipal elections. [The pro-government alliance swept the mayoral elections winning 280 out of 304 municipalities. The figure represents a significant increase from the 212 mayoralties won by the pro-government alliance in 2021, with the total still expected to increase once the final 31 contests are settled.] This victory is a great defeat for the imperialists of the earth. We embrace President Nicolás Maduro Moros … who has known how to defend Venezuela, who has known how to achieve great victories such as the one achieved on Sunday, an extraordinary victory, in an election where there were no fights or disputes. Venezuelan workers, Venezuelan farmers, Venezuelan youth, when they cast their vote, they can say, and I am sure they did say, ‘I am casting my vote so that there will be more schools, more hospitals, more university education. I am casting my vote so that we will have more jobs.’” And, he added, “In other words, by casting that vote, they are showing their will. They are not asking for gifts, but rather for public works, schools, hospitals, and health centers to serve the Venezuelan people … This victory is a major defeat for the imperialists of the earth, and boosts the morale of the peoples who are struggling, the peoples who are oppressed, the peoples who are threatened!” Long live Comandante Hugo Chávez! Long live President Nicolás Maduro! Long live the People of Venezuela.” (La Primerisima, 28 July 2025)