Victor Ternovsky, Sputnik, 23 de junio 2021
https://mundo.sputniknews.com/20210623/no-podran-contra-nosotros-presid…
"They could not pevail against us, nor will they." This was stated in an exclusive interview with Sputnik by the President of the National Assembly of Nicaragua, Gustavo Porras, in the face of increased pressure on the Central American nation, where measures such as US sanctions are being backed by an “unprecedented” media campaign.
An escalation that has to do with the general elections on 7 November in which the President will be elected and the National Parliament will be renewed, in addition to voting for Members of the Central American Parliament.
In this context, the Nicaraguan Government is being accused of unleashing a hunt against the opposition, urging that the detained presidential candidates be released. The US demands that this be done "immediately", insisting that otherwise there will not be "free" or "fair" elections. A position also assumed by several organizations, including the Organization of American States [OAS].
"These gentlemen have not been detained for being pre-candidates, they have not been detained for being journalists: all of them are detained for violations against the laws of our country," said Porras, indicating that "the level of freedom that exists" in Nicaragua allows "anyone" to declare themselves a candidate, therefore, "if they have a traffic violation and receive a fine, then the corporate media says that they are being fined for being pre-candidates", while in reality it is a sanction applied "to a citizen who violated the law."
According to Porras, the detained pre-candidates "are individuals who actively participated in the 2018 failed attempted coup d'état" in Nicaragua; they participated in its "planning" and "preparing the conditions" for it to take place. Something that they planned to try again "in November of this year", for which they were counting on the "financing" of some NGO´s controlled by the U.S.
"In this manner, what we have here is the installation of a permanent lie, that these are little angels who cannot do any harm: no, they are responsible for the destruction and death of hundreds of Nicaraguans. Some of them even participated directly in atrocious crimes against our comrades. So, the investigation has led us to discover crimes such as money laundering. Also they act as foreign agents of what they tried to impose, or what they did against the Nicaraguan People, which is terrorism. We can also clearly classify them as traitors to the country," said Porras.
He pointed out that "the" US itself "has the crime of treason established, as well as laws for foreign agents", where the penalties established are "much stronger" than the Nicaraguan legislation.
Being asked of the causes of the permanent harassment by the U.S., Porras highlighted that Nicaragua has committed several 'sins', among them -being "a small country within the American continent-, having repeatedly defeated "North American imperialism", "an element that gives a personal touch to the hawks of American politics."
Some hawks who cannot "feel satisfied" if they fail to "subdue a people with dignity, fighters, who never surrender in the face of difficulties," such as the People of Nicaragua.
He also emphasized the "geopolitical location" of the Central American country, "with the real possibilities of uniting the Pacific Ocean with the Atlantic through the Caribbean Sea", which "awakens the ambitions" of the United States.
Finally, he stressed that Nicaragua's main 'sin' is that it has "set bad examples -according to the clumsy vision of the U.S.- for the countries of the region." It has not only managed to "defeat foreign interventionism", but also "to find a path with a model for its own development, based on self-determination, national sovereignty and independence."
A model that demonstrated its viability, allowing the country to have "10 years of continuous growth with an annual average of 5.1%", which is why the coup was attempted in 2018, said Porras, citing among the examples of the efficiency of the Nicaraguan model, the success in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.
"There was never the danger that our hospitals or our health services would be overwhelmed: attention was always provided and beds dedicated to caring for people with COVID-19 multiplied. Intensive care facilities and ventilator units have multiplied. Here we never faced the possibility of a collapse of any health unit," he said.
In this last context, he thanked the "solidarity" and "cooperation" that Russia is providing, where Nicaragua, this week, received a new shipment of doses of the Sputnik V anti-coronavirus vaccine.
"For us the friendship of the Russian People is important, with all their history, with all their examples; this gives us the assurance that we are not alone: we have our brothers from Latin America; and our brothers as strong as the Russian Federation, and we value that solidarity and that cooperation in a very special way," said Porras.