From the analysis of specialized literature, a close link between literature, history and power in Latin America can be identified. This circumstance expresses the political and historical reality of the continent. This research examines the conception of power in Tongolele no sabía bailar (2021), by the writer Sergio Ramírez. To this end, the novel is contextualized within the Latin American tradition of political literature. The life and work of the author is studied, as well as the censorship of the book in Nicaragua. Derived from the hermeneutic analysis, the description of a primary power based on violence, coercion and force is noticed. The work highlights the difficult path of democracies in the continent in the face of men clinging to power and authoritarian forms of command.