Interview With Henry Ruiz ("Modesto"
Abstract
Sandinista Perspectives: Three Differing ViewsInterview With Henry Ruiz ("Modesto" SAGE Publications, Inc.1979DOI: 10.1177/0094582X7900600112 Sergio de Castro Transcribed by Modesto explains the outlook of the Guerra Popular Prolongada (GPP) tendency. "We think that the crisis is not a problem of negotiation. For us, Somoza is an important part of the crisis. The mediations that are taking place, the negotiations that are headed by the United States, the Dominican Republic, and Guatemala seek nothing more than to give Somoza a mild reprimand. Nevertheless, we do not believe the crisis to be a problem simply of Somoza, but rather a problem of the dynasty." "All that the negotiation aids is the effort to save the dynasty," affirmed the Sandinista leader. "I believe," said Modesto emphatically, "that the problem of Somoza is a dead issue in that it is obvious to imperialism and to all sectors that there has to be an end to Somoza. Everyone concurs that Somoza is a bastion of imperialism but, at the same time, we feel that if the revolutionary movement continues, the contradictions between Somoza and the bourgeoisie - Somoza being propped up by imperialism - will be converted successively into contradictions between the bourgeoisie and