Stephen Sefton, Tortilla con Sal, 26 de mayo 2019
The reporting of Amy Goodman and her team at Democracy Now on Nicaragua has now moved from highly questionable to beyond ridiculous. Here’s their report on the pathetic failure of the opposition call for a general strike last Thursday :
"Nicaraguan Opposition Holds General Strike to Demand Prisoner Release
Democracy Now Headline, May 24th 2019
In Nicaragua, opponents of President Daniel Ortega held a one-day general strike Thursday to demand the release of hundreds of political prisoners. The nationwide strike came days after Ortega’s government said it would begin releasing another 100 prisoners swept up in mass arrests during protests that erupted a year ago, after Ortega tried to cut social security benefits. Opposition groups say they’re pressuring the government to meet terms of a peace deal requiring the release of almost 300 political prisoners by June 18."
Reality check : every single assertion in that Democracy Now paragraph is competely false.
- There was no nationwide strike, maybe 5%-10% of private businesses closed.
- No national labor unions endorsed the strike.
- The country’s main labor federation actively opposed it.
- 90% of shops, all public transport and services opened.
- There are no political prisoners in Nicaragua.
- As part of the national reconciliation policy, the government has already released over 300 prisoners indicted or sentenced for criminal offenses during last year's failed coup attempt, only 132 of those eligible for release remain waiting to rejoin their families, already scheduled via agreement with the opposition for June 18th.
- In April 2018, the government proposed no cuts to social security, they proposed to increase contributions so as to maintain existing benefits. The opposition falsely claimed the opposite to foment a call for US backed regime change.
No one should be surprised at Democracy Now's phony coverage of Nicaragua.
Democracy Now is another pseudo-liberal NATO-propaganda outlet like the New York Times or the Washington Post or the UK Guardian.
Amy Goodman and her team tailor their NATO propaganda disinformation to what they reckon will play with their target progressive audience, i.e. what they think they can get away with...
To understand the reality in Nicaragua a recent opinion poll by the widely respected M&R company offers a current snapshot of the true state of opinion inside Nicaragua :
- overwhelming rejection of the opposition
- broad support for the government.
By denying their audience factual coverage of Nicaragua, Amy Goodman and her team comply with the profundly antidemocratic practice of almost all North American and European media, denying their readers, listeners and viewers fair coverage so they can make up their own minds about the truth.