Ortega’s acceptance doesn’t mean that he’ll attend the dialogue in good faith, in search of an authentic solution to the crisis. His objectives aren’t the same as ours; he’ll be looking for a way to neutralize his isolation and the international sanctions, preserve his power and maintain himself in the Presidency until 2021, while evading justice and assuring impunity for him and his, among others.
Read MoreThe rebellion of April of last year was born as a spontaneous protest against social security reforms that, when repressed with extreme violence, led to the citizen demand for free elections and for the resignation of Ortega and Murillo. The independent press and cell phone communication became a formidable vehicle of citizen empowerment that multiplied the resonance of the protest.
Read MoreMy wife calls from Holguin: “When you come, don’t forget to bring a packet of salt, a bottle of cooking oil and some rags to clean the floor.” “But, wait, don’t they have these things there”, I complain, thinking especially about the new and generous fees Cuba’s National Bus Company has put on overweight baggage.
Read MoreBack in the 1980s thousands of Irish people backed the Sandinistas in Nicaragua – after they overthrew the dictator Anastasio Somoza. Daniel Ortega was a leader of that revolution and the president – he still heads the Sandinista National Liberation Front to this day. But that organization has changed beyond anything we could have imagined in the 1980s.
Read MoreThe mere announcement that the negotiations could be reinstated has generated moderate expectations in a society that yearns for peace, justice and democracy. The news has been noted by the international community that is evaluating whether this means a change in Ortega’s refusal to dialogue, prior to applying new sanctions for serious violations of human rights.
Read MoreIt is logical that the news of the meeting made by Ortega with some bankers, with the participation of the Nuncio and Cardinal Brenes, provoked so much controversy. It is logical, in the first place, because there are no known details of the conversations or the real intentions of those involved. Secondly, because the Nicaraguan people are accustomed to burning themselves with milk, with deceptions, disappointments, pacts and re-pacts.
Read MoreI believe it’s crucial that we think about the possibilty of voting NO, or even abstaining, as a movement in the making, a suppressed civil mobilization, an illusion that is surfacing to recover the right to dissent, which is not only basic but fundamental. An illusion that needs to infect the indifferent and disenchanted majority.
Read More“We have clearly verified that you turned your back on the ideals for which we supported you in the past,” state a long list of Belgians who have been supporting the Sandinistas and the people of Nicaragua for decades. They wrote an open letter to President Daniel Ortega which we publish here.
Read MoreIs the Cuban government responding to the demands of its people? Or are the modest rollbacks a tactical diversion by the State as it implements measures to maintain control in the post-Castro era of the Revolution
Read MoreOn February 24th, the Cuban people will be waiting for the voting results. I mean to say the results of the vote of every Dolby jury at the Academy Awards to select the year’s winners. Later, they will learn the result of the constitutional referendum that took place that day.
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