Jose Luis Rocha Archives

The Autumn of the Patriarchy in Nicaragua

Ortega is an agrarian patriarch. He may be the last cacique of that species. Reflections from a Central America that is ever less agrarian.

Nicaragua in Black and White

Among the dozens of photos that the days of repression against the “vandalizers” have left us, one of the most iconic shows six elderly men sitting at a table while one on foot paces left to right with a leaden step, as if presenting a tableau of the trajectory of the FSLN leadership.

Nicaragua: Self-Amnesties Don’t Last

“God helps those who help themselves”, is the title of a collection of proverbs that Carlos Monsivais published as a book. The Ortega government has brought to light their own version of helping yourself, passed on Saturday, June 8th, in the form of a new parliamentary initiative: the amnesty law.

Nicaragua’s El Chipote Prison: The Ax Survives its Owner

During last April’s insurrection, the old detention and torture center was back in business. An FSLN party flag overlooks El Chipote, stained with the blood of a diversity of dissidents of different caliber: journalists, press directors, students, workers and farmers.

Nicaragua, Venezuela and Human Sacrifices on the Left

During the cold war Latin American gorillas murdered, disappeared and imprisoned -in the name of anti-communism- citizens subjugated under their boots. Now the leaders of the left massacre us in the name of socialism and anti-imperialism because the people must be punished when they are so stupid as not to recognize what benefits them and when they spit the hands of their liberators.

The Fate of Nicaragua’s Ortega in a Region on Fire

Until April, 2018,, Nicaragua enjoyed the benefits of an undeserved reputation as a haven of peace. The indicators of violence provided by the Police -probably skewed-, but of widespread credibility-, placed Nicaragua slightly above Costa Rica and many homicides below its neighbors to the north. As for the interests of the USA, Nicaragua was a country of little importance.

Two Massacres: Mexico 1968, Nicaragua 2018

What does the April Movement in Nicaragua and the events it set off resemble? It resembles the 1968 Movement in Mexico and its culmination in the Tlatelolco massacre. Two social movements, two massacres: Mexico 1968, Nicaragua 2018. There are coincidences in what the university students were demanding and how they did things…

Nicaragua: The Cost of Ending a Tyranny

The actual unknown is if any of the functionaries that surround Ortega have noticed that the entire country, Ortega loyalists and opponents alike, is heading towards a precipice with no distinction for political sympathies. Perhaps some know it and don’t dare to say it. Who will tell the King he’s naked?