Marxist-Leninist Party of Nicaragua
Encyclopedia
Communist party
A political party described as a Communist party includes those that advocate the application of the social principles of communism through a communist form of government...
in Nicaragua
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
that surged out of a split from the Sandinista National Liberation Front
Sandinista National Liberation Front
The Sandinista National Liberation Front is a socialist political party in Nicaragua. Its members are called Sandinistas in both English and Spanish...
(FSLN) in the early 1970s. Since 1985 it is officially named the Marxist-Leninist Party of Nicaragua (Partido Marxista-Leninista de Nicaragua), but the original name MAP-ML is far more known and has been used when participating in elections.
One of the founders of MAP-ML, Marvin Ortega, had belonged to the national leadership of FSLN. MAP-ML built up a militant trade union
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
activism and in 1978 it launched its own armed militia
Militia
The term militia is commonly used today to refer to a military force composed of ordinary citizens to provide defense, emergency law enforcement, or paramilitary service, in times of emergency without being paid a regular salary or committed to a fixed term of service. It is a polyseme with...
s, Milicias Populares Antisomocistas (MILPAS
MILPAS
The acronym MILPAS originally stood for , fighting alongside the Sandinista National Liberation Front against the regime of Anastasio Somoza Debayle. However, after his overthrow, some disaffected MILPAS veterans revived it as the , one of the earliest rebel groups that would form the contra...
). In the struggle against the Somoza
Somoza
The Somoza family was an influential political dynasty who ruled Nicaragua as an hereditary dictatorship. Their influence exceeded their combined 43 years in the de facto presidency, as they were the power behind the other presidents of the time through their control of the National Guard...
regime, MILPAS forces fought under the command of the FSLN.
When Albania broke
Sino-Albanian split
The Sino-Albanian split in 1978 saw the parting of the People's Republic of China and People's Socialist Republic of Albania, which was the only Eastern European nation to side with the PRC in the Sino–Soviet split of the early 1960s.-History:...
with the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
, MAP-ML followed Albania.
When the Revolution succeeded in 1979, MAP-ML started a series of occupations of lands and industries owned by large capitalists. In order to appease bourgeois allies, FSLN suppressed the occupations and jailed a series of MAP-ML leaders. During the Sandinista government, MAP-ML suffered repression at several points. Its newspaper, El Pueblo (The People), was closed by the government. Its labour wing, Frente Obrero
Frente Obrero
Frente Obrero , a national trade union centre in Nicaragua. FO was founded circa 1972-74, as the trade union wing of the pro-Albanian MAP-ML....
(Workers Front), was also suppressed. Sections of MILPAS would reform as the Milicias Populares Anti-Sandinistas, eventually assimilating into the Nicaraguan Democratic Force
Nicaraguan Democratic Force
The Nicaraguan Democratic Force was one of the earliest Contra groups, formed on August 11, 1981 in Guatemala City. It was formed to oppose Nicaragua's revolutionary Sandinista government following the 1979 overthrow of Anastasio Somoza Debayle...
, a Contra
Contra
Contra is a Latin preposition meaning "against". It is very frequently abbreviated to con, which is a separate preposition. It may refer to:*Contras, Nicaraguan counter-revolutionaries opposed to the Sandinistas...
group.
Reacting to the repression of the MAP-ML, the Albanian government broke diplomatic relations with the Nicaraguan government (led by Daniel Ortega, coordinator of the Junta of National Reconstruction (JNR/JGRN).
MAP-ML was generally critical against the mixed economy
Mixed economy
Mixed economy is an economic system in which both the state and private sector direct the economy, reflecting characteristics of both market economies and planned economies. Most mixed economies can be described as market economies with strong regulatory oversight, in addition to having a variety...
during the FSLN government. MAP-ML was the only party that voted against the Sandinista constitution in the National Assembly.
In 1984 MAP-ML was one of seven parties that contested the general elections. The party got 2.1% of the votes in the parliamentary election and two seats in the national assembly. In the presidential election the MAP-ML candidate was Isidro Téllez Toruño, the leader of MAP-ML, and vice-presidential candidate was Juan Alberto Henríquez. Isidro and Henríquez got 11 352 votes (1%). An electoral slogan of MAP-ML was "¡Ni un voto a la burguesía! ¡Balas para el imperialismo!" (Not one vote for the bourgeoisie! Bullets against imperialism!).
In 1985 the MAP-ML conference decided to officially change its name to Marxist-Leninist Party of Nicaragua (Partido Marxista-Leninista de Nicaragua).
MAP-ML opposed the Contadora Peace Process, which it saw as an United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
-imperialist plot.
In the 1990 presidential election, the PMLN candidates (Isidro Téllez for president, Carlos Cuadra for vice-president) got 8 135 votes (0,6%). PMLN lost its parliamentary representation that year. PMLN lost their registration after the 1996 elections.
In the 2001 presidential elections, PMLN supported FSLN candidate Daniel Ortega
Daniel Ortega
José Daniel Ortega Saavedra is a Nicaraguan politician and revolutionary, currently serving as the 83rd President of Nicaragua, a position that he has held since 2007. He previously served as the 79th President, between 1985 and 1990, and for much of his life, has been a leader in the Sandinista...
.