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Nicaragua

Community Control For A Zone Of Peace

Earlier this year, in January, I had the privilege of spending ten days on the Women In Nicaragua: Power and Protagonism delegation which was organized by the Jubilee House Community – Casa Benjamin Linder and Alliance for Global Justice. This was nothing short of a life changing trip. This opportunity came by way of a sponsorship so I want to encourage you all in donating to allow another person this same opportunity. Because I promise you, I have not been the same since I’ve returned. I’ve often described my trip in January as nothing short of life changing. So when given the chance to return in July leading a BAP delegation to talk about the Zone of Peace campaign [that we] launched in April of this year, I took that opportunity.

Nicaragua: The Education Generation

Thanks to a complete overhaul of the country’s educational system in the past 15 years, record numbers of students are graduating from high school. Although recent international headlines claim academic spaces are closing in Nicaragua, there is now actually increased access to free public universities. That, combined with hundreds of free vocational programs around the country, means that the class of 2023 has more options open to them than ever before. In a few short weeks, our youngest daughter Orla will graduate from high school. Recently I went to her school to watch as she and her friends marched in blue and white one final time to celebrate Nicaragua’s Independence.

NPR Falsely Claims Its Reporter Is The Only One To Visit Nicaragua

NPR began its report “A Rare Look Inside Locked-Down Nicaragua” (9/10/23) with the demonstrably false claim that Nicaragua has “kept all foreign journalists out for more than a year.” This led into a harrowing story of how its reporter arrived in Nicaragua…and reported without incident. In 2023 alone, numerous foreign journalists from press outlets from all parts of the world have reported from Nicaragua. Broadcast outlets based in the United States, China, Russia, Iran and around Latin America have regularly filed reports in both English and Spanish. Independent reporters from the United States, Canada and Britain have reported in outlets such as the Morning Star, Rabble and Black Agenda Report.

New US Sanctions Bill Designed To Bring Misery To Nicaraguans

As we all know, the U.S. already has imposed sanctions on Nicaragua, but they haven’t yet brought about the kind of hunger and poverty and suffering that some U.S. policymakers think is necessary to overthrow the popular Nicaraguan government. So there is a new sanctions bill co-sponsored by Marco Rubio and Tim Kaine that will try to further depress the Nicaraguan economy, increase unemployment, decrease revenue for the government’s popular programs so the government will be less popular. The stated goal is the overthrow of the Nicaraguan government and a “free and fair election” to replace Daniel Ortega.

President Daniel Ortega Challenges Petro To Shut Down US Military Bases

These are times of challenges, of difficulties testing the revolutionary mettle of those who in our region of Latin America and the Caribbean at some point even took up arms to overthrow a pro-imperialist government in the service of Capital, in the service of drug trafficking. There are those who have stood firm throughout history, as all of you have stood firm, beloved brothers and sisters of the National Police, brothers and sisters of the Army, Sandinista sisters and brothers. Others take part for a while but when the conditions become adverse, then cowardice makes them change sides, cowardice makes them become agents of the Yankee Empire, and makes them betrayers, they betray themselves, betray those who gave their lives when they were leading those guerrilla movements.

Improvements Under Sandinistas For Nicaragua Caribbean Coast Peoples

The Sandinistas defined several specific goals in their vision of how they wanted the country to change. Regarding the Caribbean region, the vision was for people there to become full participants in the country. He stressed that achieving the goals in the Caribbean region were difficult, but this struggle succeeded in being able to implement the autonomy process, which is allowing the region to make a number of important changes for the development of the region. One of the first hurdles was the old thinking that national unity meant uniformity and homogeneity. This included only recognizing Spanish as the official language and a deaf ear to the whole concept of multiculturalism.

Nicaragua: Example Of How To Defend Sovereignty And Independence

On June 27, 1986, the World Court condemned the United States for illegal war and aggression against Nicaragua and ordered the US to compensate Nicaragua for damages estimated to run to US$17 billion dollars, what today would be more than US$55 billion. On June 27 of this year, President Daniel Ortega demanded that the US fulfill its obligation. He stated, “On June 27, 1986, the International Court of Justice condemned the US and directed it to compensate Nicaragua for all damages caused as a consequence of military activities against Nicaragua. In a situation of armed aggression such as that carried out by the US, no amount of reparations – neither economic nor moral – could compensate for the devastation of the country, the loss of human lives and the physical and psychological wounds of the Nicaraguan people.

The Nicaraguan Coup Attempt: How Peace Was Restored

By July 2018, three months of violence—over 200 deaths on both sides, including 22 police officers, kidnappings, torture and destruction of property—had exhausted the Nicaraguan population, and they were desperate for the government to restore order. The calls for the government to clear the tranques (roadblocks) that had strangled the country became deafening. Daniel Ortega’s strategy had worked: had he removed the roadblocks too soon, the resistance might have been much more violent, and it would have left deeply divided communities. He had waited until he had the backing of most of the population.

Nicaragua Is Standing Firm Against US Imperialism

The Nicaraguan people have struggled courageously to defend their right to determine their own future in the face of Washington’s assaults. From resisting the U.S.’s contra war of the 1980s to opposing the devastating impacts of neo-liberalism in the 1990s and early 2000s, which was imposed on the country following an electoral defeat in 1990 of the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) in an election taking place under the direct threat of military attacks by the U.S. armed and backed contras, the Sandinistas have led a relentless struggle to defend Nicaragua’s sovereignty and improve the living standards of the Nicaraguan people.

Nicaraguan Officials Hit With Sanctions Based On False Accusations

On December 9, 2022, the government of the United Kingdom imposed sanctions on Sadrach Zelodón Rocha and Yohaira Hernández Chirino, the well-known Sandinista mayor and vice mayor of Matagalpa, Nicaragua, accusing both of “promoting and supporting grievous violations of human rights.” The sanctions, subjecting both to “an asset freeze and travel ban,” also extended to members of their immediate families. As one of us has known Zeledón Rocha and the rest of his immediate family for more than 30 years, the accusations struck us mostly as false. Furthermore, if they turned out to be true, the punishments seemed strangely irrelevant given the magnitude of the crimes, since they almost certainly would have close to zero personal impact.

Nicaragua Celebrates Its Revolution While The US Plans New Sanctions

“We are fighting against the Yankee enemy of humanity,” explained Nicaraguan Vice President Rosario Murillo, setting the tone of the 44th anniversary celebration of their revolution. Later, her husband Daniel Ortega, the country’s president, elaborated in his hour and a half address: “When we use the term Yankee we mean those who have a racist, imperialist attitude, which is not the case with the US people…Indisputably, given the weight of the capitalist system, the weight of the military-industrial complex will bend any president, who despite many promises he makes then comes to occupy the presidency of the US.”

Nicaragua, A History of US Intervention And Resistance

The latest book by labor and human rights attorney, Daniel Kovalik, Nicaragua: A History of US Intervention & Resistance (2023, Clarity Press, 292 pages), is a worthy addition to the author’s collection of works on countries targeted by U.S. imperialism, such as Venezuela, Russia, and Iran. While giving readers a thoughtful and much fuller picture than one can glean from the corporate media, this volume tells an engaging tale based on personal experience and extensive research. Dan Kovalik is an author, activist and labor attorney.

Nicaragua’s School For Food Sovereignty

Friday, June 30, WTF returned to Managua, Nicaragua to do follow-up study of Caribbean Coast government funded infrastructure projects and to celebrate the 44th Anniversary of the Sandinista Revolution on July 19.  While on assignment, each week we will share with you segments of the documentary Nicaragua Against Empire. The film journals our March 2021 Sanctions Kill / Friends of the ATC, Nicaragua delegation.  This episode is an inside look at the Latin American Institute of Agroecology (IALA) Ixim Ulew in Chontales, Nicaragua. Ixim Ulew means "Land of Corn" in Maya K’iche’, paying homage to the Indigenous peoples of Mesoamerica.

Nicaraguans Celebrate Anniversary Of The Sandinista Revolution

In the United States, the word “socialism” has come to have a negative meaning. In that meaning, the word implies the loss of individual sovereignty, rejection of religion and the institution of authoritarian political measures. While denounced as socialist by U.S. propagandists and repeated by the ill-informed media, in fact, Nicaragua has a mixed economy based on traditional humane Christian spiritual beliefs under the concept of Sandinismo. It also encourages multiple political parties in line with genuinely social democratic ideals. The foreign media denounce the Ortega administration for its alleged oppression though, in reality, the people who have suffered at its hands are individuals and groups who have repeatedly taken part in U.S. regime-change violence against Nicaragua’s government, people and public institutions.

Sandinistas Speak: Nicaraguans Defend Their Revolution

Friday, June 30, WTF returned to Managua, Nicaragua to do follow-up study of Caribbean Coast government funded infrastructure projects and to celebrate the 44th Anniversary of the Sandinista Revolution on July 19. While on assignment, each week we will share with you segments of the documentary Nicaragua Against Empire. The film journals our March 2021 Sanctions Kill / Friends of the ATC, Nicaragua delegation. In this episode, you hear directly from working-class Nicaraguans who support their socialist government. You also hear their thoughts about U.S. sanctions and regime change. These are perspectives rarely shared in mainstream media.

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Keep independent media alive. 

Due to the attacks on our fiscal sponsor, we were unable to raise funds online for nearly two years.  As the bills pile up, your help is needed now to cover the monthly costs of operating Popular Resistance.

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