Pastora Gómez, Edén (c. 1937–)

A Nicaraguan revolutionary known as "Commandante Cero," Edén Pastora Gómez led a successful Sandinista raid on the Nicaraguan National Palace on August 22, 1978—an event that proved to be a major catalyst in the Nicaraguan revolution. After the Sandinistas gained power, Pastora became disillusioned with the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) leadership and was marginalized from the decision-making process within the National Directorate. After resigning from the government in 1981, he resurfaced a year later in Costa Rica, criticizing the FSLN leadership for subverting the revolution. Pastora formed the Revolutionary Sandinista Front (FRS) and joined other dissident groups to form the Revolutionary Democratic Alliance (ARDE). Pastora opposed a formal union with the CIA-backed Honduran-based Contra group Nicaraguan Democratic Forces (FDN), and narrowly escaped assassination at a press conference he called in Costa Rica in 1984. When the ARDE leadership joined with the FDN, Pastora pulled the FRS out. After 1990 Pastora returned to Nicaragua to pursue business interests and political ambitions, running for president with the Alternative for Change (AC) Party in 2006.

See alsoNicaragua, Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) .

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Gilbert, Dennis. Sandinistas: The Party and the Revolution. London: Basil Blackwell, 1990.

Kinzer, Stephen. Blood of Brothers: Life and War in Nicaragua. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2007.

Pardo, Alvaro. Edén Pastora—Commandante Cero. 2006. Video.

Walker, Thomas W. Nicaragua: The Land of Sandino. 4th edition. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 2003.

                           Heather Thiessen-Reily