Nicaragua - Update July 2020

Click Link for Video Summary of President Ortega’s speech with English subtitles

This July 19th, the 41st anniversary of the victory of the ongoing Sandinista Revolution, the Voice of the Nation was United: "41 years, the People Will Not Be Stopped". And indeed, against a background of illegal, coercive, unilateral economic aggressions - misnamed "sanctions" - from external powers, applied during a global pandemic, Nicaragua commemorated this occasion with joy, love, peace, hope, and overwhelming unity, accompanied by Love and Solidarity from around the World, as President Daniel Ortega gave a live televised address to the nation from Revolution Square, accompanied by Vice President Rosario Murillo and high ranking authorities, as well as a small number of guests to ensure social distancing. For an English language transcript of the President’s speech, see here.
 

The President highlighted the heroism of Nicaragua’s healthcare workers who ensure the functioning of our robust, family and community-oriented healthcare system, as well as the courage of other frontline workers who make possible the peace and security necessary to safeguard the lives and wellbeing of the population, all of which allows for the continuation of day to day life, the right to work, eat and study, as well the continuation of vaccination campaigns and nutritional censuses, social investments and the development of the Social Economy, none of which have been interrupted, thereby guaranteeing the continued development of Nicaragua as a sovereign nation which includes and provides for all the population, and the future of healthy, well-nourished, educated upcoming generations.
 

While recalling the immortal memory of the heroes and martyrs of Nicaraguan national liberation, up to and including the victory of the ongoing Sandinista Revolution, the President explained that, "Our commitment is for peace, for unity, for the stability of the Nicaraguan people and all together to continue fighting the pandemic, all together to continue producing, all together to continue studying, continue educating ourselves, always keeping the measures that the health authorities recommend”.
 

President Ortega also called for an end to the imposition of economic aggressions by external powers, designed to harm and endanger the lives of the Nicaraguan people, and reaffirmed the values of the Sandinista Revolution and its commitment to peaceful solutions, dialogue, development, human rights, sovereignty, international co-operation and solidarity. 

With 54% of the 2020 national budget ring-fenced for social expenditure, the Sandinista Revolution continues to triumph every day, advancing the human rights of all the population, the Human Rights to Nutrition, Healthcare, Housing, Land, Work, Education, Sanitation, Connectivity in all its forms (electrical, digital, transport), Gender Equality, Indigenous and Afro-Nicaraguan Rights, Sustainability and more.

Here, we will give an update on the latest news related to Nicaragua in light of all this, as Nicaragua moves forward with the values which were victorious on the July 19th 1979, and which march onwards together with the Cuban Revolution - which this month celebrated the Day of National Rebellion -, with the Bolivarian Revolution, and with all Freedom-Loving Peoples of the World. This includes:

- President Daniel Ortega’s speech to the Sao Paulo Forum

- Greetings from around the  World, the UK and Ireland for the anniversary of the Nicaraguan Revolution;

- Updates from within Nicaragua (international relations, advances in human rights such as health and education, the social economy, women and minority rights, resistance to external aggressions)

- Updates and Resources from UK and Irish Solidarity activists

- Recommended Reading

We hope you will find this useful, informative and inspiring!
 

PRESIDENT ORTEGA'S SPEECH TO THE SAO PAULO FORUM:

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President Daniel Ortega addressed the Sao Paulo Forum during a virtual meeting for the organisation's 30th anniversary. Invoking the memories of Immortal Heroes and Patriots for the cause of Latin American and Caribbean, Freedom and Unity, including Simón Bolívar, José Martí, Fidel Castro, and Hugo Chávez (on whose birth anniversary the meeting was held), President Ortega highlighted the importance of the forum as a space to bring together the efforts of Governments and Movements of the Region, in a spirit of solidarity and mutual respect, as well as that of multilateral regional initiatives, including the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), and the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA), which he emphasised is very much alive, and expanding.

President Ortega then focussed on the global health crisis due to the COVID-19 pandemic, emphasising how it has exposed the weaknesses of unjust economic models, and that “the real virus is the selfishness of capitalism, of neoliberalism”. He also expressed that this acts as a wake up call for the need to establish “truly humane and freedom loving states that respect planet earth”, allowing us to “join forces to fight against the pollution which advances and destroys”, and move beyond "selfishness and evil", and towards a “fairer, nobler and freer society”.

For an English transcript of the speech see here.

GREETINGS AND SUPPORT FROM AROUND THE WORLD:

The 19th July was celebrated and greeted by hundreds of messages from Organisations and Governments, Comrades, Revolutionaries, Progressives, Patriots, Democrats, Defenders of Freedom, Equality and Self-Determination from around the world. Among those who sent greetings to President Ortega and the Nicaraguan People for our Revolution Day, were Comrade Raúl Castro, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba; President Miguel Díaz-Canel of the Republic of Cuba; President Nicolás Maduro of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela; Evo Morales Ayma, Leader of the Movimiento al Socialismo (MAS) of Bolivia and first President of the Plurinational State of Bolivia; President Mahmood Abbas of Palestine; and many more. To read these and more messages in full, see here.

TESTIMONIES OF LOVE AND SOLIDARITY WITH NICARAGUA FROM THE UK:

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From across the UK, political leaders, trade unionists, solidarity activists, community representatives, journalists, public figures and more, also sent testimonies of love and solidarity to the People and Government of Nicaragua, for the Revolution Day Celebrations. You can see all the messages of Support and Solidarity here or by clicking the image above (and they were posted on our Social Media accounts).

NEWS FROM NICARAGUA - THE REVOLUTION WILL NOT BE STOPPED:

On July 26th, the Cuban Day of National Rebellion, President Daniel Ortega and Vice President Rosario Murillo, in name of the People of Nicaragua, sent Fraternal Greetings to Comrades Raúl Castro, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba, and Miguel Díaz-Canel, President of Cuba. Full message here.
 

HE Comrade Roberto Morales, Ambassador of Nicaragua to the State of Palestine, met with Mr. Imad Zuhairi, Director General of the Palestine International Cooperation Agency (PICA), as both parties agreed to establish a Working Agenda of the Public and Private Sectors, to develop Investment, Cooperation and Development Plans. Mr. Zuhairi confirmed that Palestinian Engineers, Doctors and Investors are ready to travel to Nicaragua as soon as the Pandemic allows, for the development of Economic Activities between the two Countries. The Nicaraguan representative expressed our Government’s desire to continue strengthening Bilateral Relations, and its Solidarity and hope for a satisfactory Agreement for the Palestinian People, based on International Law, that guarantees Peace and Prosperity in the Region.
 

Nicaragua has assumed the Pro-Tempore Presidency of the Central American Integration System (CAIS) from July - December 2020, in a further sign of international recognition for the peace, democracy, normality and stability which reign in our country and guide its responsible and constructive actions on the world stage. The organisation groups together the seven nations of Central America plus the Dominican Republic (making eight member states), and its General Secretary is Dr Vinicio Cerezo, former President of Guatemala. Co-operation with its neighbours via this organisation has been central to Nicaragua’s balanced and effective response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the country’s government has expressed the need for this to continue during its tenure.

 

The Latin American Co-ordinator of Rural Organisations (CLOC - Via Campesina) has released a declaration of strong and unequivocal support of Nicaragua in the face of external aggressions, calling on all popular sectors of workers, peasants, indigenous peoples, Afro-descendants, youth and black communities of Latin America and of the world, to join the "Pueblos Soberanos, Pueblos Solidarios" ("Sovereign Peoples, Peoples of Solidarity") campaign to defend Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua from the aggressions of imperialism. The Nicaraguan Rural Workers Association (ATC) and the UK Landworkers' Alliance (LWA) are member organisations of La Via Campesina, a global movement representing 200 million peasants, small and medium farmers, landless people, migrants, indigenous peoples and migrants. For the full statement see here.
 

HE Luis Alvarado, Nicaraguan Ambassador to the Organisation of American States (OAS), addressed the Virtual Session of the OAS Permanent Council, where he called for cooperation, solidarity and mutual respect between States, in order to preserve the life, health, safety and integrity of all people, in the face of the COVID-19 global pandemic. The Ambassador stated that Nicaragua calls for an urgent end to illegal and unilateral economic sanctions, blockades, threats and acts of military aggression, and insisted that only respect for the principles and norms of International Law, and the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations, can ensure the maintenance of international peace and security, and overcome the many existential threats humanity faces, which also include war and climate change.
 

Official COVID-19 figures for Central America by country as of 3rd August 2020 (click image for Source)

Nicaragua maintains the second lowest number of COVID-19 cases in Central America, at the time of writing, according to the latest reports by the Nicaraguan Ministry of Health and Central American Integration System, the only figures recognised by the World Health Organisation, and the lowest of any Central American country on the Pacific Coast. The country’s tailored and balanced response to the Pandemic has been outlined in the White Book (published 25th May), a Government document which co-ordinates the response across the public and private sectors and social organisations. 
 

It is no coincidence that Nicaragua has recorded these achievements, even in the face of illegal “sanctions”. Public and high-level preparations began in January, with a commission and Protocol established to ensure a comprehensive response, approved by WHO representatives. Details can be found in the aforementioned White Book (accurate to 25th May). Numerous cycles of home-to-home visits (surpassing 5.2 million by June 2020) have been carried out by health brigades to test, advise, follow up and refer suspected cases, in addition to mobile health clinics reaching all parts of the country, alongside comprehensive education and border control campaigns (including state-of-the-art technology thermal imaging cameras). Meanwhile, a special COVID-19 phone line has been established, and public spaces and means of transport are regularly disinfected.
 

This has been achieved with the continuation of vital services for the health, wellbeing and livelihoods of Nicaraguans, which the Sandinista Government has ensured throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, including the yearly vaccination campaign, with 2 million doses given against various endemic infectious diseases, in accordance with WHO and Global Vaccine Alliance advice, and school meals and education, as recommended by UNICEF, as well as the continuation of ongoing anti-epidemic campaigns to eliminate rodent and mosquito-borne diseases, reaching homes, businesses and public spaces across the entire country. 

Care for the most vulnerable has continued as strong as ever: a nutrition census has been carried out, where 1,386,351 boys and girls have been measured and weighed. Further, there has been no interruption of the Todos con Voz (Everyone with a Voice) programme, operating from 2009 to the present, which has received (or completed by home visit) over 2.5 million appointments with citizens with disabilities to provide them with treatment, care, support and advice.
 

Work continues at the Mechnikov Latin American Institute of Biotechnology, with the capacity to produce 12 million influenza vaccines per year, and which plans to produce the Cuban drug Interferon Alfa-2B, successfully used to treat patients with COVID-19. This corresponds with Nicaragua’s increased sovereignty in this area under the Sandinista Government, now more important than ever, with 82 clinical and 14 epidemiological laboratories specialised in a range of diseases including epidemiology and cancer; among these is the National Center for Diagnosis and Reference, recognised as the second most advanced in Central America.
 

The “Dr. Clemente Guido” Chemotherapy and Palliative Care Cancer Center has been inaugurated, a modern, free of charge public health facility, with space to treat 100 patients simultaneously, with medicines, equipment, materials, highly trained medical professionals, psychological professionals and a pharmaceutical area. The fight against cancer is a top priority in Nicaragua and this new centre aims particularly at speeding up diagnosis, giving treatment sooner and making it more effective. The palliative care area will provide support with psychology, nutrition and physiotherapy, guaranteeing dignified and quality care. Nicaragua also has the most modern linear accelerator against cancer in Central America, with another one to be ready this November. 
 

This is all a result of the fact that the Human Right to Free and Quality Healthcare has expanded hugely and continuously since the return of the Sandinista Government in 2007. During the last 13 years, Nicaraguans have received 18 new public hospitals: 15 primary, one departmental and two national (compared to only four in 2006), all operating free of charge. And work is underway for 15 more, six of which are already under construction. Additionally, the Government has built or renovated hundreds of health centers and thousands of medical posts throughout the country, operating in addition to 66 mobile clinics. Nicaragua now also has 178 maternity houses attending over 66,000 pregnant women, compared to 50 attending 9,205 women in 2006, and (by 2018) 270 Infant Development Centres attending 15,000 children under 6, compared to 63 in 2007. Similarly, in the last 13 years the country has increased healthcare workers from 22,083 in 2006 to 36,649 in 2020. 
 

It is not only in its response to COVID-19 where Nicaragua has proved to have a unique and effective health model. This is reflected by several indicators which have been recognised by UNICEF, the WHO and other international organisations, including: the reduction of maternal mortality, from 92.8 deaths in 2006 to 29.9 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2019; the reduction of infant mortality, from 29.0 deaths in 2006 to 11.4 deaths of children under one year of age per 1,000 live births in 2019; the reduction in chronic child malnutrition, from 21.7% in 2006 to 11.1% in children under 5 in 2019; the reduction of general poverty, from 48.3% in 2005 to 24.9% in 2017; and the reduction of extreme poverty, from 17.2% in 2005 to 6.9% in 2017.
 

Classes are now underway at Nicaragua's University of the Countryside, which is operating in rural departments, with more than 4,000 young people enrolled in this educational, innovative and revolutionary initiative, which will bring 20 academic courses to 52 departments across Nicaragua, reaching rural populations far from the traditional universities, in line with calls by UNICEF and other international organisations underlining the need for education to continue during the COVID-19 pandemic, whilst respecting norms of hygiene and social distancing.
 

Nicaragua’s teacher’s received a special bonus for Nicaraguan Teacher’s Day (the 29th June), to mark the onset of the mid-year vacations, which was presented symbolically to trade unionists by authorities from the Ministry of Education, highlighting the centrality of their vital and heroic work to the Sandinista cause.
 

The Government of Nicaragua has announced it will expand technological coverage in Nicaraguan state schools to 100%, as well as the use of Mobile Digital Classrooms. In this context, this year, 208 School Centres will be newly renovated, including complementary classrooms and spaces, 448 Primary and Secondary Educational Centers will receive Internet connectivity and 253 ICT classrooms will be integrated in Primary and Secondary Centers. This means that overall, 70.5% of Nicaragua's educational centres will have received some form of support during this period from school infrastructure projects (not just including technology). 
 

During Nicaragua’s mid-year school vacations, the country's children had access to a full programme of classes by radio and television, to reinforce their skillset and knowledge for the second semester. These were divided into categories including, among others: preschool, primary school, high school, special needs and adult education, with themes including language and literature, mathematics, natural and social sciences. Due to thee success of this experience, the programme has continued into term-time, with teleclasses on weekends.
 

The special education schools of Estelí, León and Managua will receive new sensorial stimulation rooms, to support students with multiple disabilities and autism, while 3,000 teachers will be newly qualified in special education, supported by the addition of inclusive classrooms dedicated to neuroscience, physical motor disability, language disorders and behaviour management in the classroom. Further, 800 non-hearing impaired students will be trained in Nicaraguan sign language, for the educational care of students with hearing disabilities. 
 

The learning of English as a second language in primary school will be expanded to ensure 100% of students from first to third grade of regular primary receive this, with updated textbooks and audiovisual materials, while conditions are being prepared to extend this to 100% of fourth grade students in 2021, with the hiring of 370 new teachers and the acquisition of 80,000 books, while 2,077 new English teachers will graduate. This is particularly important in a multilingual country like Nicaragua, continuing the integration of the Caribbean Coast and of all linguistic and ethnic groups of Nicaragua, a core value and ongoing achievement of the Sandinista Revolution.
 

All of this is a continuation of 13 years of progress since the return of the Sandinista Government in 2007. From then to the end of 2019, the Government of Reconciliation and Nation Unity has built 27,378 new classrooms, employed 11,000 new teachers and given free internet to 120 schools and 207 parks. In 2019, 13 primary schools received new multipurpose classrooms, 5 secondary schools received new furniture and equipment, 30 secondary schools received major improvement works, 742 classrooms were updated with digital mobile equipment, 522 education centres have been opened in rural areas for children with difficulty accessing schools, while the percentage of children in primary education now surpasses 100% according to UNICEF (meaning inclusion of children of all ages, including older and younger than primary age). And, from January until April this year, 52 educational centres across Nicaragua have seen improvement works, including renovation of 365 spaces, and hundreds more projects are currently underway, with new centres and classrooms being opened and renovated every month across the country.
 

Nicaragua participated in a Virtual Meeting on Policies towards Indigenous Languages, organised by the Fund for the Development of Latin America and the Caribbean (FILAC), with the Ibero-American General Secretariat (SEGIB), the Organisation of Ibero-American States (OEI), and the Secretariat of the Ibero-American Summit, to discuss a proposed Constitution of the Ibero-American Institute of Indigenous Languages, IIALI, dedicated to promoting indigenous languages in Latin America and the Caribbean, and supporting Indigenous Societies in the exercise of their Cultural and Linguistic Rights. The Nicaraguan Delegation emphasised that to protect Indigenous Cultures, it is vital to have economic, social and political inclusion, whereas if there is exclusion, these languages and ways of life tend to disappear.
 

A new Deepwater Commercial and Cruise Port in Bluefields - the first on Nicaragua's Caribbean Coast - has been confirmed by the Government of Nicaragua, during a virtual meeting with Nicaraguan and international NGOs. The project has been conducted in full respected of the autonomy of the South Caribbean Coast Autonomous Region, and will provide a huge boost to tourism and exports, and goes together with important investment in the inclusive and sustainable development of the economy and infrastructure of the whole region - including the opening of Latin America’s first solar energy plant last year on Corn Island. This is further to recent major improvements to connectivity, including a new highway opened last year, which allows for a fast and direct 6 hour drive from Managua to Bluefields, and current modernisation works at Bluefields airport. 
 

Archive Photo

This inclusive progress is all due to the fact Nicaragua has a multiethnic and multilingual State, arising from the triumph of the Sandinista Revolution in 1979, and its consolidation from 2007. Indigenous peoples, speaking multiple languages, have legally and constitutionally enshrined autonomous rights over more than 37,000km-squared of ancestral land, as well as language, cultural, institutional and political representation rights. Likewise, the FLSN government has devoted more resources to the Caribbean region than any of its predecessors, providing new roads, drinking water and sanitation, energy coverage, health-centres and hospitals, and schools, thereby improving the quality of life for people living in the region, and providing them with new opportunities for development. Indigenous and Afro-Nicaraguan citizens are economically, politically and socially included more than at any time in Nicaragua’s history, and have a leading role in the revolution. 
 

The Women's Police Station in Rivas municipality has been launched, which will benefit 87,000 women of the area, allowing them to report physical and psychological abuse. The new police station is named after Lt. Zaira Julissa López, who was killed on June 25th 2018 in the violent armed coup attempt, which failed. "This national campaign Women for Life, Women Peace and Good, includes and strengthens the defense of life in all its forms, allowing for the reporting of any form of harassment, disrespect, aggression, degradation or attack", said Commissioner Vilma Reyes. Women’s police stations are just one aspect of this national campaign against domestic violence, with tens in operation up and down the country.
 

This is all indicative of Nicaragua’s “revolution with a revolution” since the Sandinista government returned to power in 2007  - the gender revolution. Nicaragua is now the world’s fifth most Gender Equal country, according to the World Economic Forum - the four above us are all in the Nordic circle, and we are the only country in the American continent in the top 10 (as opposed to position 62 in 2006). The UN and Inter-Parliamentary uUnion have ranked Nicaragua third in the world for gender balance in politics, with women making up 42% of the National Assembly. The Nicaraguan cabinet was also ranked last year as the third most female empowered Government Cabinet in the world by UN Women.
 

Nicaragua has been recognised as the country in Latin America with the second highest level of socialization of property, after Cuba, highlighted Carlos Fonseca Terán, Secretary of International Relations of the FSLN, at a virtual forum organized by the multisectoral Argentine organisation Generator of National and Popular Thought (Usina del Pensamiento Nacional y Popular).
 

The fifth delivery of new homes in Managua as part of the Bismarck Martínez housing program was announced, with another 100 homes in the Villa Jerusalén district presented in July to Nicaraguan families. This makes a total of 500 homes given as part of this particular initiative, which will reach 50,000 over the next five years. This is in addition to ongoing and planned projects with local authorities in all areas of the country. Ensuring and expanding the Human Right to Free, Quality and Legally Secured Housing is a core value of the Sandinista Revolution, with 130,000 new houses been built since 2006, and 420,000 land titles given to families since 2007 (with a further 28,000 planned in 2020), ensuring their legal rights to own the land where they live and/or work.
 

Support for rural communities and the creative, family, social economy continued nationwide, with the Ministry of the Family Economy (MEFCCA) providing capitalisation to family enterprises, delivering tools, equipment, training for agricultural producers and small businesses. Capitalisation of small rural businesses is not only financial, but also includes the delivery of goods, supplies, seeds, irrigation systems and the transfer of knowledge. Since this programme was created three years ago under MEFCCA, almost 25,000 family enterprises have been direct beneficiaries. In addition, during the past month, thousands of Technology Bonds were distributed between producers by the Nicaraguan Institute of Agricultural Technology (INTA). 
 

Thousands of women-led businesses and co-operatives received credit during July from the low-interest Zero Usury government project, aimed at helping female heads of families to create small businesses in urban and semi-urban areas. 
 

The government has announced a ‘One Nation, One Product’ project which will be providing support to 50,000 small creative businesses nationwide, for the development and implementation of business plans, as well as funding to participate in national and international business fairs and access to digital marketing platforms. 
 

This reflects the fact that, under the Sandinista Government, support for small rural producers and businesses, to free their creativity and unleash their dynamism, is at the core of Nicaragua's continuous expansion of human rights, poverty reduction, climate action, and sustainable development of the countryside. This strategy of economic development focusses not just on rural producers, but on service providers to local communities. Thus, the Government simultaneously promotes value addition, essential because it generates income for those who do not directly work the land, but who nonetheless benefit rural communities and the whole society.
 

It was announced in July that sewage systems would be extended to benefit 35,000 people in the urban area of Bilwi, in the North Caribbean Coast Autonomous Region, backed by funds from the Government of Nicaragua and the European Union. With a number of major projects underway, the country is expecting to reach up to 53.9% national coverage for the end of this year, compared to 30% in 2007 when the Sandinistas returned to government. Likewise, with 14 potable water projects currently underway, Nicaragua aims to reach 94.5% for the end of 2020 (up from 90.4% at the end of 2019), compared to 65% in 2007.
 

A new project for the initial establishment of 2,000 hectares of the agroforestry system for coffee and cocoa on the coast North Caribbean was launched, in the context of desertification caused by climate change, thus fulfilling Nicaragua’s commitments in the framework of the United Nations Convention on Climate Change. The initiative has qualified for land neutrality funds provided by the United Nations, and will create more than 500 jobs in the North Caribbean, after prior consent from local communities and our indigenous territorial governments. This project has been developed together with the private company Cacao Oro in alliance with the exporter Atlantic and the Government of Nicaragua, which is committed to reaching 10,000 hectares of agroforestry systems in the North Caribbean Coast Autonomous Region.
 

Nicaragua’s National Reforestation Campaign continued during the month of July, with a total of 21 million diverse plants and trees to be planted covering 27,500 ha across the country, with the participation of local volunteers and the youth, to ensure the Sustainability and health of the people of Nicaragua and of the world, and that of the planet.
 

The national 2020-21 cycle sea turtles conservation campaign continued, including education of 5,600 participants, seven new nurseries for marine turtles at nesting sites for 190,000 turtles which will lay eggs to give birth to 700,000 offspring, all overseen by 5,000 land and water conservation patrols, and harnessing the traditional indigenous practices of locals. Nicaragua is home to two main protected turtle nesting areas, making it one of only seven countries in the world where this occurs on a large scale.
 

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Río Coco Geopark, in Madriz, northern Nicaragua, has been officially designated as the first UNESCO Geopark in Central America, and only the 8th in Latin America. Prior to this announcement of 15 new additions, at the 209th Session of the UNESCO Executive Board, there were 147 locations included as part of the UNESCO Global Geopark Network, spread across just 41 countries - an exclusive group which Nicaragua now joins. This distinction is the culmination of years of work by the Government and Authorities of Nicaragua to show compliance with UNESCO’s rigorous requirements to meet natural and ethical criteria in line with numerous UN Sutainable Development Goals. Read more.
 

All of this confirms that the Sandinista Revolution is also a Green Revolution, seeking to fight humanity’s biggest challenge: Climate Change and the Destruction of Our Planet. In just over a decade of Sandinista government, the national energy matrix has been transformed from less than 25% to over 80% generated by renewable resources, whilst increasing electricity provision from less than 50% to over 97% of the population. The country is also on the path to achieving energy sovereignty, with a special focus on geothermal, solar, biofuels and hydroelectric. Nicaragua signed the Paris Agreement in 2017, but retained its objections about its insufficiency - now widely acknowledged - and has continued to demand greater commitments from developed countries with differentiated responsibilities. 

RESISTING EXTERNAL AGGRESSION - UK AND IRELAND SOLIDARITY NEWS AND RESOURCES:

The Nicaragua Solidarity Campaign Action Group and Alliance for Global Justice have launched a new free digital book, titled "The Revolution Won’t Be Stopped". It is edited by Nan McCurdy and written by a collective of historians, researchers and activists committed to finding and sharing the truth about external intervention in Nicaragua. It is available for download here.
 

HE Ambassador Guisell Morales-Echaverry hosted a virtual event titled “Solidarity is the Tenderness of The People”, where special recognition was given to Irish and British activists for their tireless frIendship and work alongside the Nicaraguan Revolution and People. During the event - part of the celebrations of the anniversary of the July 19th Revolution, - the Ambassador presented Awards (virtually) to Tom Hore, of the Bristol-Nicaragua Link (BLINC); Ruby Cox, of the Nicaragua Solidarity Campaign; Ralph Payton, of the Norwich-El Viejo Twinning; Claire Plumb, of the Leicester-Masaya Link; and posthumously to Phyllis McGhee, of the Irish Nicaragua Solidarity Campaign, whose award was accepted by her son and daughter Richard and Eleanor Lanigan.
 

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In the context of the Revolution Day Celebrations, Dr Paul Oquist Kelley, Nicaragua’s Minister of the Presidency for National Policies and Climate Change Special Envoy, participated in the Virtual Roundtable “Climate Change, Revolution, Democracy and Imperialism”, with Dr Sofiía Clark, Nicaragua’s Special Ambassador for Minorities and Women’s Rights; HE Ambassador of Nicaragua Guisell Morales-Echaverry; George Galloway, author, broadcaster, film-maker and leader of the Workers Party of Britain; and (by phone) Ken Livingstone, author, campaigner and former leader of the Greater London Assembly and Mayor of London. The panelists discussed a broad range of issues in the context of Dr Oquist’s newly launched book, “Equilibria: The Philosophy and Political Economy of Existence and Extinction” (see here for more information).
 

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Dr Paul Oquist was also interviewed on the topic of “Climate Extinction: Democracy, Sovereignty and Imperialism”, by Graham Harrington of the Communist Party of Ireland, in a joint production between the CPI and Socialist Voice, including live participation from viewers via chat, sharing this vital message with Irish comrades and receiving their important insights.
 

The Nicaragua Solidarity Campaign Action Group and Alliance for Global Justice have published an open letter to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR),  expressing concern at “very serious shortcomings” in the Commission’s video documentary released on May 30th this year about the failed coup attempt in April 2018 (presented in the documentary as a peaceful protest). The letter is signed by Blanca Segovia Sandino Arauz (Daughter of General Augusto C. Sandino), Camilo Mejia, (Human Rights Activist and former Amnesty International prisoner of conscience), Patricia Villegas, (President of TeleSur, Venezuela), S. Brian Willson, US war veteran, author, lawyer), the Foro Sao Paulo – Sao Paulo Peace Forum, as well as numerous individuals and non-governmental bodies from Nicaragua, the USA and Europe, and Nicaragua's main labor unions and the country's biggest rural workers organization. See here for the full letter.
 

The organisation Friends of the ATC (the Nicaraguan Rural Workers Association), has launched a 12 week online solidarity course to learn more about Nicaraguan history and politics, social movements, internationalism, agroecology and food sovereignty, and related topics. The course runs on Saturdays from 1st August to 24th October 2020. For further details and the link to apply see here.
 

Nicaraguan Opposition leaders in Washington with Senator Marco Rubio (left) and Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (right)

Further evidence of external backing for Nicaragua’s anti-Sandinista organisations has emerged, with official USAID figures showing the agency provided the country’s opposition with US$19m of financing, divulged by presenter William Grigsby on the Nicaraguan La Primerísima radio station. He also revealed that if the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) is counted, these groups have received US$28m.
 

The above figures take into account US$15.8m approved by USAID aimed at Nicaragua in 2017, to be used in 2018, given to a wide range of NGOs, political organisations and media. For further information see here. It should be noted that these are only the funds received from USAID and some other US agencies. To these should be added funds received from other organizations (Open Society Foundation for example), as well as from European governments and agencies.

In the framework of the celebrations of the 41st anniversary of the Sandinista revolution in Nicaragua, social networks became a measure of political feeling in the country, with Sandinista supporters overwhelmingly prominent, reported the website Citizen’s Pulse (Pulso Ciudadano). The organisation, specialised in monitoring online trends, measured 226,500 tweets for Sandinista hashtags, compared to 107,000 for opposition hashtags, while on Facebook a huge difference was notable, with a near unanimous approval of the Sandinista Government. Taking both networks together, impressions of Sandinista hashtags surpassed 14 million, contrasting with 2 million for opposition hashtags. 
 

In this context, around 6,000 fake accounts were created on social media, mainly on twitter, to repost opposition hashtags. Trendsmap data shows a suspicious use of opposition labels in Chile, the Philippines and Saudi Arabia, which hints at the use of proxy servers to hide IP addresses, or payment to bot labs, as has already been confirmed on previous occasions. In further corroborating evidence, the Philippines ranks second after Nicaragua where anti-Sandinista hashtags were most used, showing the extent of the international media war on Nicaragua, which as can be seen from the above information, is at odds with overwhelming public opinion in Nicaragua itself.
 

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The Nicaragua Solidarity Campaign (NSC) hosted an Agroecology and Food Sovereignty Virtual Seminar, with Fausto Torres, of the Nicaraguan Rural Workers' Association (ATC) and Latin American Co-ordinator of Rural Organizations (CLOC) and Ruth Hancock of the UK Landworkers' Alliance, moderated by Julie Lamin, of the NSC. Speakers highlighted Nicaragua’s achievements in food sovereignty (the country now produces 90% of the food it consumes), diversification, sustainable and equitable development, climate resilience, gender equality, and why all this is critical, especially in a post-pandemic context. Areas of existing and possible co-operation with comrades from the UK were also discussed.
 

The Nicaragua Solidarity Campaign held its first ever virtual AGM, reporting a higher level of participation and engagement than it has had for a number of years. The organisation is discussing how to coordinate hybrid virtual/in-person events to continue involving more people. You can view NSC's 2019 Annual Report here. The organisation will also be offering online Spanish courses in the autumn; for more information on these see here.
 

Julie Lamin, teacher, activist for the National Education Union (NEU) and member of the Nicaragua Solidarity Campaign (NSC) and Nicaragua Solidarity Campaign Action Group (NSCAG), shared her knowledge with authorities from Nicaragua’s Ministry of Education (MINED), at a Video Conference on comprehensive reading, designed to help MINED improve the quality of education strengthening the teacher’s professional development, and teaching them practices and strategies. 

Lasting until November 11th, MINED is hosting a number of these events with experts, academics, institutions, organisations and friends of Nicaragua with experience in the field. Anyone who would like to support this cause by giving or arranging a talk, please contact the Embassy. No monetary compensation is available, however MINED is happy to sign a letter of understanding, confirming the work undertaken.
 

RECOMMENDED READING AND VIEWING:

Interview with Dr Paul Oquist (Minister for National Policies of the Presidency of the Republic of Nicaragua) - A blueprint for avoiding extinction; Tortilla con Sal: 
http://www.tortillaconsal.com/tortilla/node/9684 (Written) / https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTg6JG2fUCk (Video)

Interview with Dr Paul Oquist  Sputnik - Orbitting the World with George Galloway: 
https://www.rt.com/shows/sputnik/495108-us-uk-extraditions-and-nicaragua/

Paul Oquist, equilibrium, politics and climate change; Néstor Marín, The Prisma:
http://theprisma.co.uk/2020/07/27/paul-oquist-equilibrium-politics-and-climate-change/

Interview with Dr Paul Oquist; Mother Of All Talkshows (from 01:54:55):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZTEFapLn4Q&t=7637s

Revisiting 2018 Mother’s March in Nicaragua: New Report Repeats Old Bias; John Perry; Council on Hemispheric Affairs:
https://www.coha.org/revisiting-2018-mothers-march-in-nicaragua-new-report-repeats-old-bias/ 

Nicaragua - 41 years after the 1979 Sandinista Revolution; CODEPINK Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O49lX7w0GS8&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR3cxDbw-Wh6wHhc80Ek0mu3KasQH1SPMuReFcgdH9WH5wY1h1EcFUK-8Lg 

Statues Fall and Sandinistas Rise: Interview wih Ben Norton (Grayzone); Sputnik:
https://www.rt.com/podcast/491629-statues-fall-sandinistas-rise/

Why the Labour Movement should support Nicaragua’s Sandinista Government; John Perry; Tortilla con Sal: 
http://www.tortillaconsal.com/tortilla/node/9774