ABSTRACT
Why, I wondered, did I agree to come back tonight to the dark fourth floor of the cavernous Ministry of the Interior (MINT) building with its brusque guards and strict security? Why, when I had been sick that day and knew that neither the elevators nor the toilets in the entire building worked? But I had found this slight, good-natured comandante so disarmingly honest and forthright during our previous, lengthy conversation that I determined to accept his polite invitation to return.
Here was a government representative who gave genuine, considered responses to questions about Sandinismo, rather than the canned rhetoric of a party line. Whether by accident or design, the Sandinistas chose well in appointing this sincere, thoughtful revolutionary of humble extraction to the important position of Director of Political Development for the Third Region. As such, he sees to it that the official Sandinista ideology is imparted to the thousands of soldiers in his area of responsibility.
A practical, reflective campesino, Comandante Calderón is a strong believer in both traditional values and the ideals of the Revolution, which he often equates. He is also a realistic man who sees that accommodation is an important part of life, whether it be to the harsh demands of nature that he experienced during his years as guerrilla fighter, or to political realities that one simply has to accept as given. Comandante Calderón’s flexibility and openness, as well as his down-to-earth wisdom and humor, serve him well in his current post, in which he must communicate with recruits from the montaña as well as with those from more sophisticated backgrounds.
