Sandinista

Member of a Nicaraguan left-wing organization (Sandinista National Liberation Front, FSLN) named after Augusto César Sandino, a guerrilla leader killed in 1934. It was formed in 1962 and obtained widespread support from the trade unions, the church, and the middle classes, which enabled it to overthrow the regime of General Anastasio Somoza in July 1979.

The FSLN dominated the Nicaraguan government and fought a civil war against US-backed Contra guerrillas until 1988. It was then defeated in elections in 1990 by a US-backed coalition, but remained the party with the largest number of seats. The FSLN regained power in the presidential and parliamentary elections of November 2006 and Daniel Ortega, an iconic figure of the Sandinista movement since the late 1970s, assumed office as president in January 2007 for the second time (having first served from 1985–90).