Tomás Borge facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Tomas Borge
|
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Interior Minister of Nicaragua | |
| Vice-Secretary and President of the FSLN | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 13 August 1930 Matagalpa |
| Died | 30 April 2012 Managua |
| Nationality |
|
| Political party | Sandinistas |
Tomás Borge Martínez (born August 13, 1930 – died April 30, 2012) was an important leader in Nicaragua. He helped start the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN). He also served as the Interior Minister of Nicaragua when Daniel Ortega was president.
Tomás Borge was a well-known statesman, writer, and politician. He was also the Vice-Secretary and President of the FSLN. He was a member of the Nicaraguan Parliament and National Congress, and later an Ambassador to Peru. He was known for being very dedicated to the Sandinista cause.
In 2010, he said in an interview that he was proud to be a Sandinista. He wanted to stay true to his party's flag and his revolutionary group. He also wanted to die proud of his principles and loyal to his friends and companions.
Contents
Early Life of Tomás Borge
Tomás Borge was born in Matagalpa, Nicaragua, on August 13, 1930. His father, Tomás Borge Delgado, was a helper to Augusto César Sandino. Sandino was a famous leader during the time the United States was in Nicaragua (1926 to 1932).
From a young age, Borge joined the fight against the Somoza family. This family had ruled Nicaragua as a dictatorship since Sandino was killed. In 1943, Borge started taking part in revolutionary activities. By 1946, he was editing a newspaper called "Espartako" that spoke out against the Somoza government.
Meeting Carlos Fonseca
After finishing high school, Borge went to law school in 1956. He studied at the National Autonomous University of Nicaragua-León. The next year, he met Carlos Fonseca. They became very close friends. Borge was six years older than Fonseca, and this friendship greatly influenced him.
With Fonseca, Borge read books that shaped their political ideas. These included Utopia by Thomas More and works by John Steinbeck. They also read books by Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels, and Vladimir Lenin.
Borge and Fonseca were part of a group of students who followed Marxist ideas. They formed the Nicaraguan Socialist Party (PSN). This party was based on Marxist beliefs and supported the Soviet Union.
Borge was put under house arrest from 1956 to 1959. This happened after the president, Somoza, was killed by a poet named Rigoberto López Pérez. In 1959, Borge escaped to Honduras. There, he was caught by the border police.
A friend helped Borge get released. Borge then traveled with a fake passport to El Salvador and Costa Rica. In Costa Rica, he helped create a group called Juventud Revolucionaria Nicaragüense (Nicaraguan Youth Revolutionaries).
Starting the Sandinista Front
After the successful Cuban Revolution, Fonseca, Borge, and their friends decided to use military actions to fight the Somoza government. They joined a group that fought against the National Guard of Nicaragua. This fight did not go well in July 1959, and Fonseca was badly hurt. Borge and another friend thought Fonseca had died.
When they reunited with Fonseca, the three went to Cuba. There, they became friends with Che Guevara and Tamara Bunke. These new friends helped them with their guerrilla plans.
In Cuba, a group of young Nicaraguans formed what would become the "Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional" (National Sandinista Liberation Front), or FSLN. They named it after Augusto Sandino. This was to remind Nicaraguans that Sandino's fight for freedom was still alive. The name Sandino was popular and helped people feel strongly about their cause.
Fonseca went to Honduras to prepare for the group's start. On July 23, 1961, in Tegucigalpa, Borge, along with Carlos Fonseca and others, officially formed the FSLN. This group would be key to ending the Somoza government and starting the Sandinista Revolution.
The FSLN set up its base in Honduras. By 1962, the FSLN had 60 members. Borge went into Nicaragua to find more people to join the Sandinista cause.
The Insurrection and Revolution
Between 1965 and 1966, Tomás Borge led the Sandinista newspaper "The Republican Mobilization." The next year, he tried to create a guerrilla group in the mountains, but it was defeated. In 1969, the FSLN leaders, including Borge, named Fonseca as their main secretary.
In January 1969, Borge was arrested for trying to smuggle weapons. He was sent to Colombia, starting a time of exile. He visited Cuba, Peru, and even a base of the Palestine Liberation Organization in Lebanon. He also went to Mexico before returning to the FSLN in Nicaragua.
On February 4, 1976, Borge was arrested again. During the arrest, there was a struggle that led to the death of a police lieutenant. Borge was sent to prison and was tortured. While he was in prison, the FSLN faced many challenges and lost many members. Fonseca died during this time.
In August 1978, Borge was one of the top Sandinistas released from prison. This happened after a daring Sandinista raid on the Nicaraguan National Palace. A group of commandos, led by Edén Pastora, took the entire Congress hostage.
The FSLN had split into different groups, and Tomás Borge led one called the Prolonged Popular War fraction. On January 7, 1979, the FSLN groups agreed to reunite. This was made official in March, and Borge became one of the nine leaders of the FSLN.
The victorious Sandinista fighters entered Managua on July 19, 1979. A few days earlier, Borge had met with other leaders and a US government representative. They discussed what would happen after Somoza left power. Somoza fled on July 17.
Soon after, the government changed, and power was given to a new group called the Joint Government of National Reconstruction.
The Sandinista Revolution Begins
On July 19, 1979, FSLN troops entered Managua and announced the start of the Sandinista Revolution. Borge was seen as one of the most dedicated leaders. He became a member of the FSLN's main leadership group. He was also put in charge of the Ministry of Interior. This ministry oversaw the police, prisons, immigration, and state security. He held this job until the FSLN lost the presidential election in February 1990.
His first job was to get rid of the old National Guard and review the cases of officials from the previous government. He also tried to reduce crime, homelessness, gambling, and heavy drinking.
Tomás Borge was part of the first group from the new government to visit the Soviet Union on March 17, 1980.
On July 19, 1981, Borge said that national unity and a mixed economy were important for the revolution. He also ordered that any officer who misused their power should be fired.
In 1982, Tomás Borge was chosen as vice president of a group called the Permanent Conference of Political Parties in Latin America. This group included different political parties from across the continent.
After the Election Loss
After the FSLN lost the election in 1990, some leaders left politics. The FSLN itself changed. Borge, Bayardo Arce, and Daniel Ortega were the only leaders who stayed with the FSLN.
Between 1997 and 2002, Borge was a member of the Central American Parliament. From 2001, he was also a member of the National Assembly of Nicaragua.
Return to Power
In the presidential elections on November 5, 2006, Daniel Ortega, the Sandinista candidate, won. Borge's influence in the government grew. On March 22, 2007, he asked to be appointed Ambassador of Nicaragua to Peru. He served in this role until he died. This appointment was seen as a step back from daily political life.
Death of Tomás Borge
On April 6, 2012, Borge went to a military hospital in Managua. He had surgery for a lung condition. On April 9, he was moved to intensive care after having breathing problems. On April 30, it was announced that he had died at 8:55 p.m. Tomás Borge was 81 years old and was still active as an ambassador in Peru.
Borge was the last living founder of the FSLN and one of its most important figures. The government declared three days of national mourning. Official ceremonies were held in his honor. Tomás Borge was buried in the mausoleum of Carlos Fonseca, in Revolution Square in Managua.
Criticism and Legacy
Tomás Borge faced some criticism during his time in government. He was accused of putting pressure on the Catholic Church. He was also accused of controlling the press and making military service required.
Some groups, like the Miskito people, accused Borge and others of moving or harming those who did not support the Sandinista government. He was also accused of ordering the deaths of some prisoners. After the FSLN lost power in 1990, Borge and other Sandinista leaders were accused of taking public properties. Borge always denied these accusations.
He helped create the Council of Sandinista Defense (CDS), which was similar to Cuba's Committees for the Defense of the Revolution. He also started open prisons, where prisoners were not constantly guarded, and a women's prison called "La Esperanza," which was new for Nicaragua.
Private Life
Tomás Borge's first wife, Yelba Mayorga, died in 1979 during the guerrilla fighting. They had five daughters. Later, he married Josephine Cerda and had several children with her. In 2007, he married Peruvian actress Marcela Perez Silva, and they had three children.
Writings
Borge wrote several books of poetry, essays, and an autobiography. His book "Carlos, el amanecer no es sólo un sueño" (Carlos, Dawn is Not Just a Dream), which he wrote in prison, is considered very good.
Some of his other published books include "The Patient Impatience," "A Grain of Corn," and "The Anticipated Ceremony."
- fidel Castro, tomás Borge. 2009. Un grano de maíz: conversación con Fidel Castro. Editor Aldilá, 243 pp. ISBN: 978-99924-0-875-9
- tomás Borge. 1989. La historia de Maizgalpa. Tambor de Tacuarí. Editor Ediciones Colihue 22 pp. ISBN: 9505816111 en línea
See also
In Spanish: Tomás Borge para niños
- FSLN
- Sandinista Revolution
- Augusto Sandino
- Nicaragua
- Contras
- Nicaraguan Revolution
- Fidel Castro
- Che Guevara
- Régis Debray
- Hugo Chávez
