Revolutionary Reflections on Power in Nicaragua

Welcome to Grandmothers on the Move! I’m your host, Ilana Landsberg-Lewis, and today I have the great honour to speak with Malena de Montis. A participant in the Sandinista Revolution in Nicaragua that overthrew the Somoza dictatorship, and then a Director of Social Planning in the new government of Daniel Ortega. Malena left the FSLN party in 1989 to establish the Centre for Democratic Participation and Development, and as a feminist leader has written books about feminism, empowerment and popular education and power. Power, and transformative power is a theme that runs through Malena's work in Nicaragua, and extensively on the international stage, always connected to the grassroots, always thoughtful, she is a force, and a passionate advocate for peace, women's rights, and now, in a terrible moment of government tyranny, an important dissenting voice. Grandmothers – from the living room to the courtroom – making powerful contributions in every walk of life. We know them most intimately as loving caregivers, the older women in our lives with a thousand stories about their grandchildren and pictures in their purses. In this podcast, you’ll come to know even more about our Grandmothers – they are galvanized, determined and are guaranteed to get you thinking! What drives them? What are they up to? What is the potential of Grandmother power, and how is it changing the world?! Grandmothers are on the move...you don’t want to be left behind!

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