Luis Enrique and his New Song for Justice in Nicaragua

HAVANA TIMES – Luis Enrique (Mejia Lopez), Nicaraguan singer and song writer, recognized internationally as the Prince of Salsa, just launched the video of his song “Mordaza” (Gag rule), supporting the empowerment of the people protesting against the Ortega-Murillo regime.

“In the end, what “Mordaza” wants to evoke is that people have finally lost their fear of protesting. Have lost the fear to say what they want,” and they are doing it in “a peaceful and just manner,” said this singer in several interviews.

He added that the song is “a call to good conscience and justice, for what is happening in my country.” “Young people, he said, are giving their lives” and want a peaceful settlement. “But, you cannot reach a peaceful solution with someone who does not want to negotiate.” “The government has the power; the people are unarmed.” The regime is responsible for the murders, Luis Enrique said, stating that “Nicaragua is asking that no crime against humanity is left unpunished.”

When writing the song Luis Enrique (nephew of Carlos and Luis Enrique Mejia Godoy), said he remembered when he left Nicaragua in 1978 after listening from a nearby house how political prisoners were tortured. What motivated me now, he said, was “to see so many mothers clamoring for their children, to see so many mothers mourn the immediate disappearance of their children.” There is no explanation for what is happening and that is not what people expected when Daniel Ortega assumed power, says this Nicaraguan. “Even Sandinistas themselves are saying that they feel betrayed.”

A characteristic of the Nicaraguan people is that when they decide to struggle they do it until the end. He also agrees with Jorge Ramos (one of the journalists who interviewed him) that Nicaraguans always get rid of dictators. Luis Enrique notes, “These young people are determined to continue until their final goal, because they feel that they have the right for a better future in their country. They should not have to leave their country, they should not be persecuted, they should not be mistreated for thinking differently and for not agreeing with all the injustices committed by this government.”

Luis Enrique also pointed out that the difference of this struggle is that it is not about political parties, “but a whole country that has turned to protest in unison.” When at least 322 persons have been killed, with more than two thousand wounded, hundreds of tortured, detained and illegally accused, Luis Enrique asks all people to raise their voice for Nicaragua, because as the lyrics of the song express: “…we hear the cry of a people growing like a river, a heart pulsating against the power that continues to oppress us, a battalion of love that has lost its fear, fights for justice and for its rights.”