Solemn Act of Installation of the National Assembly
for the Legislative Period 2023
Address by Daniel
Nicaraguan brothers and sisters, families who are watching us, who are listening to us there in the communities of the River Coco, who are watching us in Waspam, in San Carlos, in all those communities there along the River Coco; who are watching us and listening to us also in the capital of the Autonomous Region of the Northern Caribbean, Bilwi, its name, its original root, Bilwi; and they are listening to us in that whole Region which before was totally separated from the Pacific Region of Nicaragua, because there were no communication channels that would allow us and the brothers and sisters of those communities to communicate with the Pacific.
There we were, at the Triumph of the Revolution, with that immense River, the Wawa, and here is Raquel, who is worthy representative of those Caribbean Regions of Nicaragua, in charge of the First Secretariat of the National Assembly. This is the People governing, it's the Communities governing, it's Women governing... Yes, Raquel! Indeed, Raquel!
And that River became impassable when the rainy season came, and even when the rains didn’t come the only way to cross to get to that Region, to reach its different communities, towns, cities, counties, municipalities, was by vehicle, bus, truck, or whatever, that had to board a barge, there was the barge, and on the barge they would cross to the other side, and the vehicles would drive off the barge and resume the road to Bilwi. Because also at that time very few communications routes existed linking the cities, the villages, the communities of the Caribbean.
Today, you brothers and sisters of the Caribbean, brothers and sisters of the different communities, the Miskitos, the Mayagnas, the Ramaquis, the Afro-descendants, all of the North Caribbean and the South Caribbean, know that what is happening in these times, is a true Miracle, a true Miracle! It seemed like a mission impossible to make a bridge over the River Wawa.
Every time we traveled around the area and arrived there, we used to said: When will it be possible to build a bridge? When? Much less did it occur to us that other communication routes could be opened that linked the communities and regions that were isolated there.
And when we look towards the South Caribbean, sisters and brothers of Bluefields, sisters and brothers of Pearl Lagoon, sisters and brothers of all those communities, well, you all well remember that until recently how it was to reach Bluefields. We had to go to El Rama, and in El Rama we had to take the boat, and in the boat we had to go to Bluefields, and that way we could reach the communities that we wanted to visit.
It is also true that there was an airfield there in Bluefields, but the problem was the cost of making the trip by plane. That is, how many brothers and sisters who are listening to us, who are watching us, in the North Caribbean, the South Caribbean, how many of you could make the trip by plane? Very few. The vast majority had to do it by the river.
And suddenly we have another miracle, two great miracles: the bridge over the Wawa, and the communication by roads linking other areas in regions where it seemed impossible to build roads like the ones that have been built. Beloved brother, retired General Oscar Mojica, there working with all his strength, with all his will to serve the People, and the workers, equally. We are filled with pride by the construction workers, because they have carried out works in difficult areas, in areas where it is constantly raining; that is, there are no prolonged summers there like those we have here in the Pacific; therefore, the work is more difficult, to be working in the rain, to be building roads.
And it is concrete roads that have been built, like that immense road that leads to Bluefields, a concrete road. And those who best value what a road means, like the one that has been built, the road we have managed to build, are the brothers and sisters who live throughout that Region, and the members of the communities that live along where that road has advanced and been opened and installed, because they are brothers and sisters who will now have the opportunity, the possibility of developing in every aspect of life, in education, in health care, in productive activity, in trade.
That is, an area that was frozen has been activated by the highway, and I'm talking about an area where now health centers, schools, and modern hospitals have also been multiplying, where modern hospitals are being built. There the hospitals that we knew at that time were already obsolete, and thanks to the efforts of the doctors, the nurses, the population was treated there, albeit in very precarious conditions. Not now.
In the same way the Nicaraguan population in the Pacific Region or in the Central Region has already had multiple hospitals, hospitals built with all the standards of a modern hospital, such that they have the instruments for the care of the population, instruments that allow to better define the health status of the patient who arrived with an illness, because there is the equipment now, the kind of modern equipment that was previously available only in very few hospitals, now they have multiplied throughout our country.
Also roads and highways. These communications are vital, fundamental for the development of a country, because with good communications you can then build hospitals, schools, training centers, promote the training of farmers and ranchers, develop programs and projects and multiply them.
And all the activities that take place in our country, which ensure attention for Nicaraguan Families, attention for children, young People, adults... All this attention has been limited, and now has been improving.
That is to say, there we have areas where we can ensure that we can make sure we implement the People as President, that the needs of the impoverished are being met, that the needs of peasant families are being met, guaranteeing them roads, highways, training, technical programs, so those families obtain better and greater performance in their productive activity.
That has multiplied throughout the country, it is no longer only a question of primary and secondary school, but also education for young people, for adults, peasants, workers, small and medium-sized business people, who with the methods of science, technology and communication of thee New Times, can receive this knowledge via the tens and hundreds of technical, technology schools in the area.
And so we see how they are managing to give a greater yield to their productive activity. How also young people manage to develop their entrepreneurship, entrepreneurship that is multiplying throughout the country, entrepreneurship for Life, entrepreneurship so that young people can have a livelihood that gives them independence, giving them independence because they are not salaried, but they have their own business, and thus by having their own business they are independent; others will be studying and they also set up their business, that is, they are still training but they have their business, entrepreneurship. It is amazing the way in which entrepreneurship has multiplied throughout the country.
We could keep listing all this, but all this starts from a principle, no matter how well intentioned a government may be, no matter how good our intentions as leaders may be, no matter how good our government policies are, if there is no Peace, these programs cannot function. Without Peace, you simply cannot build schools, you cannot build roads, you cannot build hospitals.
We already know how terrible war is, the wars that Nicaragua has experienced, the attempted coups that Nicaragua has experienced; all the bloodshed and pain caused by terrorists, all the damage to the Economy; but, even in the middle of the coup attempt we were inaugurating construction sites and construction sites were at work.
Then after security and Peace were restored for all Nicaraguans, then came this new push. Because the country had been making its way with enormous force since 2007, the coup attempt was a wound, it was a blow that bled the country, and of course in those conditions what occurs is loss of life, losses to the economy, all programs are affected.
But we managed to overcome that moment thanks to the fruits of the effort of the People, of the workers, of the State institutions, of the laws approved by the National Assembly. Because we must remember, just as Peace is fundamental, the unity of the People, with the Army, beloved General Julio César Avilés Castillo, and equally with the Police, beloved Commissioner General Francisco Díaz, is fundamental.
Well, just as there is a legal system in the country of which Compañero Gustavo, President of the National Assembly, already gave us a summary, that legal system is the starting point for us to be able to do everything that we are doing in our country. How revenue will be collected, how it will be spent, what it will be spent on, all this comes from the procedures, from the regulations that we have in the Constitution, and this is what the Assembly that has to be familiar with.
In other words, these Programs do not appear by magic, but result from a whole procedural order. So the Ministers, each Minister with his ministerial team prepares their projects, just as they were presented for this year 2023.
And from that a Budget for 2023 gets worked out, and the Ministers have to justify their budget, and our Minister of Finance, Iván Acosta, has to make the adjustments, because it is normal that all institutions would like to do much more, and every institution always asks for much more, because they would like to carry out more works and would also like their workers to earn more.
We too would also like them to earn more, but there are limits in an economy that is still growing, but which has not yet become a developed country economy. And, in addition, it is an economy that is continuously attacked, which makes the effort more difficult.
A country like Nicaragua as everyone knows very well, they all know very well, and here I salute the members of the Diplomatic Corps who are accompanying us tonight, they know very well, they all know what Nicaragua’s dimensions are, they all know the suffering that the Nicaraguan State has experienced throughout its history, and that it continues to suffer, continues to experience aggression.
Unquestionably, we appreciate the cooperation provided by organizations, international organizations where many countries contribute, and where regardless of the ideological positions that may exist, that does not stop them contributing for example for school smeals, something elementary, something for school meals. Of course, the Nicaraguan State guarantees that with its own resources, but it is always necessary to top it up.
And we appreciate also the cooperation that we have in different areas, from countries, from nations that are not in tune with our ideology, with our thinking, with what is our historical truth, and being critics and proponents of sanctions against Nicaragua, and implementing sanctions is aggression, well, they transcend that, because they know, they understand that the cooperation that they can provide directly or indirectly to Nicaragua, is cooperation for the benefit of Nicaragua’s families, for the benefit of communities, for the benefit of the People. And we appreciate that, of course we do.
We also appreciate the presence of officials, representatives of Embassies who accompany us. There are always exceptions naturally. And the agencies too, of course, the agencies, multiple agencies in all fields, that cooperate with Nicaragua.
And I was telling you that, well, we invited the entire Diplomatic Corps, those who respect us and those who hate us, we also invited them, because it's the Diplomatic Corps, it's the norm to invite them, but there are some who had such a tantrum that they ended up saying : We're not going! We're not attending! Until they do what we want, we're not attending!
For example, the representative of the government of Canada told us this, and what can we tell him? We are not a colony of Canada! They should take care they don’t continue committing horrendous crimes like those they have committed in Canada against the indigenous population... Thousands of murdered! Thousands! Children, thousands of children killed! We are talking about a crime that was discovered recently, with the exhumation of thousands of murdered children there.
With what moral authority do they speak to us in such a way? We simply comply with the formality of what the diplomatic relationship which is that they must be invited.
The other representative simply excused himself, he was careful not to say that he was not coming because we were not doing what they want us to do... No! Not at all! In that sense he was respectful, because he simply excused himself.
But this Canadian fellow, Canada, a country completely ruled by colonialist governments which at the same time are colonies of the great Empire, that is to say, Canada is a colony of the United States, which is determined, at the same time, to look for how to turn us Latin American and Caribbean nations into colonies.
I will conclude, we are not going to make this intervention very long, but it’s worth taking note, that when the Revolution triumphed here on July 19th 1979, no one ran, from the triumphant guerrilla detachments here in Managua, looking for how to persecute the deputies who existed before, there in the Congress that was then located in the National Palace.
There is a historical fact to do with that Congress, concerning the commando headed by Eden that took over the Congress, and they did not go there to kill or destroy, the Congress was simply taken over so as to demand the freedom of the prisoners. And that was achieved. It was negotiated and it was achieved.
Then, we left the Government after the elections of 1990, and here in this very place we recognized the results, and in fact there was a normal handover to the new government, and while they ruled and took measures that were not consistent with the Agreements that had been taken, even in terms of respecting the conquests of the Revolution, protests did occur and there were deaths in the middle of the protests, but it never occurred to us to say, we are going to make a coup d'état, it did not occur to us to say, we are going to occupy the Congress.
It would have been very easy for us to occupy the Congress and also to take over the Presidential offices, that would have been easy for us, we had such a large force deployed across the Country, and I well remember that difficult moment when Ing. Antonio Lacayo, may he rest in Peace, who was in charge of negotiating with the National Workers' Front, Gustavo; we, the Front, supported the negotiation and we met with Ing. Lacayo and the workers met with their counterparts, and at the same time there were protests.
One day Ing. Lacayo arrived at the meeting, and told me: Daniel, here I give you the keys to the Presidency, Doña Violeta says she can no longer continue governing in this way. I told him no, we’re not going to take the Presidency, she has the Presidency and she has to work out how to solve this problem, and that means negotiating, talking. And agreements were finally reached.
And Doña Violeta fulfilled her term, it never occurred to us to plan a coup d'état where there was no need, there was no need to mount a coup d'état in those moments when the entire strength of the Revolution was in the People, in the workers, there was no need for the Army, nor the Police, with only the Strength of the People, quite simply, no Government could be sustained.
Then the next government came, we took part those elections, and they handed them to Dr. Alemán, we questioned the results, and in the end, talking, seeking understanding; that is, it did not occur to us to say that we would not recognize those electoral results, and we sought Agreements. I remember that from those Agreements, Wilfredo, that the Council came out, the Consultative Council.
Dr. Alemán finished his term and another election came along, the third one, and they say that the third one was in the bag and that even the most passive wouldn't expect a fourth one, so we took part in the third one, and in that third one Ing. Bolaños was their candidate, backed by Dr. Alemán, and at that moment the attack on the Towers took place in New York; that is to say, all the signs were that we would win that Election, but the attack on the Towers in New York took place, and immediately came the campaign against terrorism and that campaign targeted us, claiming that we are “terrorists”.
Terrorists after we had let two governments rule... Terrorists after we accepted the election results. I have never met a terrorist who accepts electoral results and lets a government govern calmly.
Anyway, Ing. Bolaños became President and there a very particular situation arose, because in the end our Deputies in the National Assembly came to hold the balance in the middle of the contradictions that opened up between Ing. Bolaños and Dr. Alemán.
And the Front sought how to contribute there, it did not occur to us to go en masse to take over the Congress because a fight was under way between the President of the Republic and the Leader of the Liberal Party who was also a Deputy, Dr. Alemán. We never considered that! Rather we sought to moderate while waiting for the fourth election.
We arrived at the fourth election, where they say that "not even an ox makes the last stretch”. But on the last stretch those who decide are not oxen, those who decide are the People and above the Peoples in the end the one who finally decides is God, so the miracle occurred, and at the fourth try we won the elections. And we took office in 2007 and set about making alliances, reaching Understandings, talking so as to bring about a great National Unit, and there came about a National Unity unprecedented in the history of this country.
But, of course, the Empire was furious to see the success of the Revolution advancing again, advancing in the economy, advancing in health care, in education, and the empire conspiring and plotting and scheming, investing millions to provoke the coup attempt in April 2018. And it was a bloody coup attempt, more than 300 people were killed in that attempted coup d'état, and even those sentenced to life imprisonment cannot pay for the damage they caused to Nicaragua, to the families; the damage the coup plotters, the terrorists caused to the economy with the roadblocks they maintained in the country, even blocking international traffic.
In the end, there was no alternative but to restore order, and to restore order naturally there was the Police, assisted by the Volunteer Police, with the Army guarding the strategic areas, and the coup attempt was defeated. And then, we resumed the path that we had been developing, resuming Peace, stability, productive activities, investments, roads, highways, hospitals.
Everything that has been done in these years is really a miracle, because a country with an economy as small as ours, with limited resources like ours, one that has done so much with so little, and continues to do so much with so little, which is clear from this year's Budget that was approved by the National Assembly. And in this budget we are going to continue doing so much with so little, in favor of the impoverished, in favor of the peasants, in favor of youth, in favor of women, in favor of the Nicaraguan People.
And I want to conclude, look carefully at what is happening in the countries where progressive governments have emerged, governments that want to work for the People... In Bolivia, there was a coup d'état there, a coup d'état with a number of dead, and there it was the army that told Evo that he had better leave, and the situation was tough there in Bolivia; Evo had no alternative but to step down as as later to return... And they won the elections, and the woman who usurped the presidency at that time, today is detained and prosecuted.
And the “little cadre" of the Empire, of Capital, the governor of Santa Cruz, the highest authority in Santa Cruz which is one of the richest regions in Bolivia, he was among those who organized the coup and had not been imprisoned, only the person who had usurped the Presidency along with other people had been brought to book; no, he remained emboldened there, entrenched, armed, in Santa Cruz, and organized again another coup d'état against the current President of Bolivia, President Lucho Arce.
And there was no alternative left for President Lucho Arce but to order the capture through the courts of that terrorist who was blocking the country, they are still trying to do so there, the situation has not calmed down yet; that is, the attempted coup d'état in Bolivia continues. These are the practices of those who present themselves as big “Democrats", they are terrorist practices.
And in Peru, a humble school teacher, through circumstances came to be President, but simply there the class problem predominated, because he sought to reach an understanding with the rich, tried to get along with the right-wing Parties, sacrificing deputies and ministers, but it was a class problem, they did not want to see a peasant, a teacher of peasant origin, they couldn’t bear seeing him President of Peru. And what happened? He was overthrown, and put in jail. Overthrown and put in jail!
Where are the human rights bodies run by the Europeans, or those that that the United States runs? Ah, no, they can't pay attention to that, not in that case, nothing's wrong.
Let's not even mention the aggression being maintained against Cuba, against Venezuela.
And one last thing, what happened yesterday, that we cannot let pass, beloved Nicaraguan brothers and sisters... Incredible! I was watching it on TV and it was amazing to me. The same scheme as in the United States of America, the same format, just as thousands of Americans from the Republican Party rushed to take over Congress, so Congress could not give the Presidency to President Biden, so too did those of Bolsonaro, the fascists..
Bolsonaro is a fascist, a military man in the fascist Brazilian Army and he did not hide his fascism, his racism, his hatred of Women, and he went to Miami, take note, where did he go? To Miami. Why? Because he knows that there is the hotbed of all those who spend their lives plotting against Peoples fighting for their Self-determination, for their Independence. The hotbed, as Fidel called it, the Cuban brothers and sisters call them the “worm bed”, indeed, there it is the “worm bed”, full of poison.
Bolsonaro left for there before the attempted coup, and he left with the active chief of security to go to Miami. And once he was there, then we see the same image as that of the coup plotters in the United States entering Congress, as the coup plotters in Brazil entering Congress. They entered the Congress, they entered the Electoral Power, and they entered the Presidency of the Republic, but Lula was away in Sao Paulo, in another State.
They went in! And the police did nothing to stop them, and they started wrecking things. And the images of the US coup minded Americans entering the Congress, and those of the coup d'etat Bolsonarists entering the Congress in Brazil. The same image! The very same image!
So that's what we saw in the United States, which prides itself on being the cradle of Democracy, the US which dropped the first atomic bomb in the World, the first mass murder in the World, mass crime in the World, committed by those who call themselves “the fathers of Democracy,” “the fathers of Human Rights.” I cannot stop recalling the atomic bomb, because it has been an open wound for Humanity ever since.
And in Brazil who would have imagined, in Brazil that has just held its elections, but history repeats itself. And this has to do with the way fascism is being reinstalled in the World, reinstalling itself first of all in the United States, reinstalling itself in Europe, where fascist Parties openly appear there campaigning, and also reaching government.
We see it now in Brazil, and we see it in Bolivia, because it is fascism that wants to ignore the electoral results that gave victory to the current President of Bolivia. And we see it in Peru. In other words, we are seeing there a behavior that endangers the stability of the Peoples .
That is why there is a principle: Beware even of calm waters, and there is a Proverb, “Deliver us from calm waters, Lord.” Yes, there is no need to be confident. We cannot trust everyone, because the terrorists are always plotting there and have financing from the United States government and European governments. They continue to conspire, and we cannot trust them, and we have already seen how they act with the greatest lack of shame.
And here where crimes were indeed committed, if the criminals get caught, then a campaign starts up for the criminals to be released... Here even when people were killed! In the United States where there are more than 1,000 prisoners, of those who entered Congress there are more than 1,000 prisoners on trial, many of them already sentenced to 20 years, 30 years in prison, but oh, they after all do apply Justice!
And now there in Brazil they are capturing the culprits too, and in Bolivia they have already captured the leader of the coup plotters... Are they going to demand freedom for those coup plotters? Are they going to ask for the freedom of all the coup plotters who are imprisoned in the United States, more than 1,000? There are now 1,200 detained in Brazil, I don't know how high the number of detainees will go because they continue to detain people. Will the weight of the law not fall on them? Is justice going to disappear for those terrorists and coup plotters? No! No! That is a sacred principle: Just as we defend Peace, we must firmly defend Justice and the application of Justice against criminals!
Beloved brothers and sisters, beloved families, we are already in the first days of the New Year, and we say once again along with all Nicaraguans: Happy New Year! We are in the month of January, in the first month of the New Year, and all together we work with energy, with firmness, with discipline, but also sleeping with one eye open and the other eye closed, because the noxious pests are about, the vermin are about!
Greeting and congratulating the sister and brother Deputies. People think it's an easy job, and it's not true. The Deputy's job is a hard one, spending hours looking at documents, examining documents, preparing documents and then making decisions, attending meetings to make decisions that have to do with the budget, how much to allocate here, how much there, that have to do with the construction of schools and so on. All this passes through the National Assembly, beloved Nicaraguan brothers and sister, and I want to tell the Deputies that we give them our recognition on behalf of the Nicaraguan People.
We also greet the brothers and sisters of PARLACEN, the PARLACEN caucus, my namesake Daniel, who is there at the head of the caucus, a very united caucus, very cohesive, in the midst of another number of caucuses from all the Central American countries that are members of the PARLACEN.
And, as always, recognizing the work of all the Compañeros and Compañeras who are at the head of the different Institutions, of the Nicaraguan Army; of the Judiciary, to Compañera Alba Luz, President of the Supreme Court; to Compañero Marvin, Vice President of the Court; to our sisters and brothers of the electoral power, Lumberto, and to our heroine who is here, she has been visiting, I don't know if you were in Brazil, for the elections in Brazil, yes you were.
To our brother Ivan; to our brother Ovidio Reyes who has the mission of being at the head of an institution that is very sensitive for the country, for the micro financial and macro financial stability of the country: the Central Bank.
To our brother Roberto who is the head of the INSS, where little by little we have been recovering, after what the coup promoters effected, the blow they dealt to workers.
To Wendy, who is in charge of the Attorney General's Office, which has to do with property issues, a complex job, a job with enormous responsibility.
To our colleague Ana Julia, Prosecutor of the Republic. To our brother Denis Moncada, who is representing us all over the world. To Compañero Oscar Mojica. To Compañero Mansell. To Compañera Ramona, from Estelí, who is in charge of the Universities. To our dear Mayoress. To Laureano. To Nahima, who is in charge of communications, a very sensitive posttion, she guarantees us right now that we are in connection with the whole country, radio, television, all the media in the country are broadcasting and that is guaranteed by Nahima at TELCOR.
To the brothers and sisters of the National Police, I already mentioned General Díaz. To Horacio Rocha. To Comrade Zhukov Serrano. With Horacio we have traveled half the world, he was there on all the tours we did, visiting, in meetings of the Non-Aligned Countries in conferences and visits, Horacio was there.
To Fidel as always. And the other Companeras and Compañeros of the PARLACEN. I see the Reverend there well accompanied by three women colleagues, he is blessed by their company. And we see our young people.
Here we have a Compañero whom we don't allow much sleep, Compañero Luis Cañas, we hardly let him sleep at all, since he has to be alert to land traffic, air traffic, people entering clandestinely; well, he really has a full-time task, he's with us.
Greeting all the Colleagues who are members of the Cabinet, who are State workers, for the Government. To Edwin, who leaads as ever the FSLN legislative bench, and then there is our dear heroine Amada Pineda, a Heroine, a Heroine! There is Auxiliadora Plazaola, from Chinandega, and as well as Auxiliadora Plazaola, Iris Aragón, greetings to all the Deputies, to all the sisters and brothers present here. To Figueroa, a fellow compañero from Chontales... They say they are going to build some barriers in Chontales, in Juigalpa, but why are there no barriers? Are they going to remodel them? Make them new? Ah, they're going to make them new.
A fraternal embrace to all, sisters and brothers, beloved Compañeros and Compañeras
And Long Live Nicaragua, Blessed and Forever Free!
Sandino Lives, the Struggle Goes On!
A Free Nation or Death!
And also, by way of an Addendum they would say in the National Assembly. Well, I've mentioned compañeros and compañeras who stand out, but here we have a Compañera who works 24 hours a day and is in touch with all of you, as you know, with calls at all hours. She is really more than Vice President, she exercises functions of President of the Republic of this country, because what we have here is a co-Presidency.
Remarks by Rosario, Vice-President of Nicaragua,
after the Solemn Act of Installation of the National Assembly
for the Legislative Period 2023
January 9th 2023
Today is January 9th, and we comply with our Constitution and our Laws by opening this period of work on the laws and decrees, that serve the People, that benefit the People, from our National Assembly. A National Assembly that is composed of working women and men, who have truly assumed the commitment to ensure and contribute to Development with Justice for the Peace and the Security of Nicaragua’s families.
Tomorrow, on the 10th, the Municipal Authorities will be installed... How much progress we have made in gender equity! We have women and men in equal numbers in the National Assembly, and we have women and men as Mayors and Mayoresses, as Municipal Councilors, and too as Government Ministers, complying with our Equity Law, 50% for women, 50% for men, although we all represent the supreme interest of Nicaragua’s Families: Peace and the Joy of living in Peace, in a Country of Faith, Hope, Family Values, Community.
And well, we have listened to Comandante Daniel talking about everything we do with very little, as he says, because we know what every penny costs, and we know what every penny, well invested, can mean for Families who deserve the best.
The journey that Comandante Daniel has taken us on, and I always talk about a journey, because it really does take us to so many situations, so many issues, situations in other countries, situations in our country to, and the common denominator of this World, unfortunately, is the lack of Peace, it is the assault on Peace and the Rights of Peoples, everywhere.
And here, after that terrible aggression against Families, against the Economy, against Well-being, aggression against Peace and Justice, we have been making our way step by step, recovering all that represented so much effort, all that cost us so much, all the ways along which we had advanced and along which, with all certainty, with God's Blessing, we are going to continue advancing.
Recovering indeed, but it must be said that the recovery of Peace must be monitored, defended, strengthened, because the supreme interest of Nicaragua’s families is to live in Peace, to be able to build the Future that we all want, a Just future, one of Just Development, of Education, of Health Care, of Culture, of Construction, Roads, Housing, this year we are going to have even more Housing Programs, everywhere.
We deserve to live with Rights, to live with Well-being, to live with Equity between women and men; with respect also to the Sacred Life of all, particularly to the life of women who are also being attacked all over the World.
Today I was watching the numbers on Spanish television, a first world country, with so many crimes against women. They are problems typical of culture, arrogance, the attempt to feel and act like superior beings and to try to see women as inferior beings, who belong to other beings. That really represents an immense challenge.
As we also see in the whole world the tragedy of migration, and when we talk about migration, and economic migration; in most cases, people who go because they buy the message, the campaign, the propaganda they make, that in those countries and particularly in the North, in the United States, life can be better.
And we all know that this is not so true, and that when arriving, first getting there, the journey, the dangers, the risks, even of death, in different ways, and then when arriving finding it is not as they hoped or were told and so many people return to live safely, to live with food, to live with family and a sense of family... food, security, shelter, when we say shelter, we are talking about the family's housing, homes.
It is really painful, one can see it, Africa emigrating to Europe, also citizens of other continents looking for what they have been offered in the European powers. Because I remember how some African leaders told us, when we visited their Countries, they told us that the colonizers told them that they had the right of citizenship and the same rights as the nationals born in their countries, because they were also citizens of that Europe, which of course does not recognize them, does not welcome them, and where every day we see extreme situations that entire families live through and how many have also died on the way.
It is a painful issue, typical of these times in the World, and an issue that we all have to address together, because we have to ensure that in each country, despite the aggression, conditions prevail for families to be able to live together, united, reunited and calm, with Work, Stability and Security... Cover! Security in the country, and shelter, which means, feeling supported, accompanied, with our relatives, living an existence with Human Meaning, and with Human Values.
At the beginning of this year we have to sit down, think, reflect, well, we do it all the time, but always at the end of one year, at the beginning of another, we have to assume the responsibilities, the challenges, the tasks, the priorities, the urgencies and work even harder, to achieve the solutions we all demand and deserve, and above all the solutions that make Human Values prevail.
Nicaragua is a country where whoever arrives here knows, feels, that there is Affection, that there are Values, that we have a Heart, and we have to strengthen that Affection, those Values, and grow in our Hearts, to make a Nation for everyone and so everyone has a Nation where Peace and Goodness are strengthened every day, because we know how to protect our country, take care of it, defend it, as the greatest treasure we have.
There is Peace because there is a Nation,...! And because there is Peace, we can move towards better living conditions for all Nicaragua’s Families.
A warm embrace, and especially at the beginning of the year I wish everyone the best of Health. And to young people, that they grow in Hope and in identification with their Land, with their People, with their Nation, because we all owe ourselves to this Blessed Nicaragua, and we all must also serve everyone in this Blessed Nicaragua.
A warm embrace. And tomorrow we will continue at the end of the afternoon meeting with the Municipal Authorities who will ny then have been sworn in by the Supreme Electoral Council everywhere.
A warm embrace, Compañeras and Compañeros and much Love, great Love, Always, Always Further On! An embrace. Thank you.