Remarks by Rosario, Co-President of Nicaragua, after the Ceremony Awarding
the Medal of Reconciliation and Peace "Cardinal Miguel Obando y Bravo”
February 9th 2026
Good evening. How much joy we feel when we say "Here is a Patriotic Nation!" For we are certain of being a Patriotic Nation, a Blessed Nation and a Free Nation, a Fraternal, Christian, Solidarity inspired Nation.
Proud, joyful, of this day when we celebrate our Patriotic Nation in Peace, Peace which makes the Nation stronger and stronger, and in this Ceremony we pay tribute to Cardinal Miguel as a Pastor of Reconciliation and Peace, who gave us the banner of Reconciliation in those days of setting out, touring Nicaragua, seeking, promoting, working for Peace, in Reconciliation.
Tribute to the Pastor and Tribute to a Man who was a Saint. There are those who say: And why do they want to make him a Saint? No! It's not us! His Life is his Holiness, his Life is his Mission, his Example, and here we are maintaining that Path, even as others provoke, even as they harass. But no provocation and no harassment can break a Heart strengthened and determined to do Peace and Good.
A quote from St. Francis of Assisi: Peace and Goodness! Peace for the Well-being of Nicaragua’s Families, Peace so as to work every day for Well-being, to fight against Poverty; for living free from Poverty is the merit of such a Great People, a People that has known how to give everything, everything, for Freedom, for Dignity, and with Dignity, and for Brother and Sisterhood.
Because we are a People of Faith, we are a Christian People and we fulfill that Mandate: To live and love each other as Brothers and Sisters. That's why I ask: Why are some people surprised that we invoke that Holiness, that Beatitude, that ability to live the Love that we encountered in Cardinal Miguel?
And today we also pay tribute to an Exceptional Person and an Exceptional Human Being who knew how to take that step, the step that allowed us to make the decision for Reconciliation of the Nicaraguan People a reality, to bring about, to meet, to live together, to get along and, above all, to know how to agree, to know how to reach consensus, not to impose, but to agree and reach consensus about what is best for everyone.
Every time Comandante Daniel takes us on the journey through that disastrous 2018, I keep thinking that the greatest sin of human beings is selfishness and, on the other hand, vanity. The selfishness and vanity that makes some people believe, or some people lose their minds really, in seeing a People that lives in peace, happily, safely, and suddenly they just want all that to collapse, out of selfishness, because they want to become once again, just a few enjoying our Country that belongs to Everyone.
Peace...! How we defend, how we protect that Peace, because it blesses us, God blesses us when we are a People of Peace, which is to be a People of God.
That's why I say, whenever we remember those moments, that we know we must fight within ourselves against selfishness, fight for Sanity that is Tenderness, fight for Love that is Life, fight for Peace that is Certainty, not only Hope, but the Certainty that We are Doing Well and that We are Going Onward, Always Further On, as Sandino taught us. A profound phrase, because it calls on us, summons us all to work more and better every day, to know that we can always do more, work more, and be better as well.e
So today is a good day for our Nicaragua. The decision is reconciliation. The decision is Concord, Peace, Brother and Sisterhood. The decision is Love, and Love is Faith, it is Strength, it is the Great Spirit that manifests itself in each of us and that calls us to be Better... Better Citizens, Better Revolutionaries, Better in our Communities, Better Students, Better Men and Women, Better Workers. To be better at everything we do.
Peace that is Love, and Love is Stronger than Hate! That's why, when we hear so much nonsense and so much falsehood, we know that this is a tiny, mean expression of Hatred, which it has no place, no meaning, no value.
Love is Stronger than Hate! We must work with Love and know how to listen to Christ's call all the time, to live with Love, to defend Love, to propose and defend Love, and to be Beings of Love and Peace.
That is what we owe to this Nicaragua of Ours, Nicaraguan Nicaragua, the Most Beautiful Flower of our Love. We owe her Love and Peace! And Love and Peace translated every day is a sustained effort for Nicaragua to move Onward, because it is with Love that We Move Onward.
Hatred, Never Again! Hatred is retrogression, Hatred is baseness; to be diminished, to be small, to be mean, to be mediocre.
Love is great and from its great Enlightenment, which is Affection and which is Love, we make our way oward every day, convinced that the Future belongs to Justice, that the Future is of True Truths, that the Future for this Nicaragua of Ours is one of Peace and Well-being, of Progress against Poverty, and of a Good, Joyful, Calm and Secure Life.
Thank you, Compañeras and Compañeros.