The 2018 Nicaraguan protests began on 18 April 2018 following a move by the government of Daniel Ortega to reform social security. Following the deaths of protesters, demonstrations intensified and grew into a large anti-Ortega movement seeking his removal from office.
April 3–12, 2018 — Indio Maíz Reserve Fire
• April 3rd, A massive fire breaks out in the Indio Maíz Biological Reserve, one of Nicaragua’s most important protected areas. • The government’s slow and inadequate response to the environmental disaster sparks frustration. • On April 6th, Facebook pages posted a public appeal regarding the wildfires in Nicaragua’s Indio Maíz Biological Reserve, calling for international assistance due to the Nicaraguan government’s failure to act. • Environmental groups and university students begin organizing protests and social media campaigns using hashtags like #SOSIndioMaíz. • On April 10, influential social media figures urged the people to peacefully protest against the government. These protests are peaceful but quickly met with police repression and censorship. • Between April 5th and 12th, as well as in the following weeks of April, social media figures published alerts and critiques to raise public awareness, highlight the severity of the wildfires, and hold the Nicaraguan regime accountable for its failure to contain the disaster. Several posts were shared by thousands of followers, reaching a wider audience throughout the country. April 10–13, 2018 — Student-Led Protests Begin • Students hold protests in Managua and other cities demanding immediate government action on the fire. • On April, 10th, social media called for a protest at the University of Central America at 5:30 PM. • Mobilized by social media posts, students and sympathizers organized peaceful protests from April 10th to 13th. Students faced violent repression by military and police forces. One student was reported killed inside the UCA. • April 10th marks the first day of protests, in the Centro American University. (Universidad Centro Americana). The first protests lasted all night. On April 11th, the protest became a march along the main streets of several cities. In Managua, protesters were violently met by the police in the Plaza las Victorias. • The government blocks journalists and attacks student protestors, intensifying public outrage. • This marks the first wave of resistance, centered around environmental and freedom of expression concerns.
April 14-17, 2018 – Intensification of protests, increased violence
• Violent crackdowns began: Government-aligned groups (grupos de choque) and police used live ammunition, rubber bullets, and tear gas against demonstrators. • First deaths reported: At least 2 protesters were killed in Managua and León. • Barricades erected: Students and activists blocked roads in Managua to protest repression. • Pro-government mobs attacked protesters: Armed civilians (suspected of being Sandinista sympathizers) assaulted demonstrators, journalists, and clergy. • Catholic Church mediation: Bishops offered to facilitate dialogue between protesters and the Ortega government. • Death toll rose: Reports indicated over 10–20 killed since protests began on April 10. • International condemnation: The OAS and human rights groups denounced state violence.
April 17, 2018 — Social Security Reform Announced
• The government of President Daniel Ortega announces reforms to the social security system (INSS): Increases in worker and employer contributions. A 5% deduction from retiree pensions. • The move is widely viewed as unfair and harmful to vulnerable populations.
Sources: ReVista – Harvard Review of Latin America : https://revista.drclas.harvard.edu/my-experience-in-the-2018-nicaraguan-student-movement-paying-the-price-of-our-troubled-past/ Organization of American States . https://www.oas.org/es/cidh/decisiones/pdf/2018/91-18mc1060-18-ni.docx Human Rights Watch. https://www.hrw.org/report/2019/06/19/crackdown-nicaragua/torture-ill-treatment-and-prosecutions-protesters-and Confidencial news: https://confidencial.digital/english/timeline-nicaragua-eight-months-of-civic-rebellion/
There were major protests and confrontations in León, Managua, Granada, Boaco, Carazo, Estelí, Rivas, Matagalpa and Masaya. [9] [10] TELCOR ordered the suspension of transmissions of four independent TV channels that were reporting the news: channels 12, 23, 51, and 100% Noticias. [11] Also the Roman Catholic Episcopal Conference's TV channel. [9] The suspension lasted several hours, except for 100% Noticias, who was out of the air until 25 April. [12] Murillo accused the protesters of being manipulated and trying to "destabilize" and "destroy" Nicaragua. [13]
The Nicaraguan Catholic Bishops' Conference (CEN) gave the government of Daniel Ortega 72 hours to provide conditions to start a dialogue amid the protests calling for the resignation of the president. The ultimatum of the bishops came after three people died on Friday in a new day of protests in the country. The four conditions that the president of Nicaragua must fulfill according to the bishops were:
Irelanda Jerez, one of the leaders of the movement of self-appointed women who participate in the protests against the government of Daniel Ortega. The relatives of the dentist and merchant of the Oriental market, Ireland Jérez, have confirmed that their relative is in El Chipote prison, in Managua. Dollma Jérez said that at 6:45 in the morning they confirmed that her sister is in El Chipote and hopes that his physical integrity is respected. [160] [161] Moninbo neighborhood is occupation for gubernamental sandinistas forces.Samuel Geovanny Martinez Duarte, member of the April 19 University Movement in Granada, has been remanded in custody, after being taken to a preliminary hearing, under a strong police guard, to repsonder for the crime of threat.Martinez is accused for the crimes of threat to the detriment of Yaroslava Muñoz Maltez, departmental delegate of the MTI in Granada. [162] During a speech before thousands of Sandinistas in a plaza in Managua, the president denounced that many temples were occupied as barracks to store ammunition in the framework of the sociopolitical crisis that Nicaragua is going through since April 18.The Episcopal Conference (CEN), mediator and witness of the national dialogue, proposed to Ortega to advance the general elections for March 31, 2019, without him being able to stand for reelection, to overcome the crisis.Ortega revealed that when the bishops made that proposal, on June 7, he was surprised and when he received the document, which in addition to advancing the elections plans the restructuring of the State, he said: "They are committed to the coup." [163]
[172] [173] A new attack by the "combined forces" of the Government of Nicaragua left at least 3 dead in the northern part of the country, reported today the "self-convened" demonstrators from the city of Jinotega. The attack, which lasted for more than 8 hours between Monday night and early Tuesday morning, occurred in the Sandino neighborhood of Jinotega, 163 kilometers north of Managua, known as "the Monimbo del norte", due to the strong resistance to the government of Daniel Ortega. [174]
"It seems that the influence of ISIS has come through the (social) networks to Nicaragua," the president said. [182] [183] The head of the Nicaraguan Army, General Julio César Avilés, said that the country's sociopolitical crisis is also a time to reflect and contribute. Dialogue is the "most convincing" route for Nicaraguans to overcome the socio-political crisis their country is going through, said the head of the Nicaraguan Army, General Julio César Avilés. This at the same time to stop the protests started on April 18 and which have already left between 295 and 448 dead. [184] The socio-political crisis in Nicaragua has caused the closure of several universities in the Central American country. [185] Nicaragua loses 230 million dollars in tourism due to crisis. [186] In the Countryside of Nicaragua there is protest for the release of political prisoners and detainees.
The working group that will follow up on the situation in Nicaragua has not yet been formed, but the representatives of the United States, Costa Rica, Brazil and Chile expressed interest. [187] A group of Nicaraguan women, headed by the poet Gioconda Belli, requested by means of a letter to the Nicaraguan Army to "disarm" the paramilitary groups that "usurp" the functions of the country's armed forces, in the midst of the crisis that has left between 317 and 448 dead since April. [188] [189] He is secretly tried for the assassination of young Brazilian Raiella Grabrielle Lima A source from the Prosecutor's Office informed that Pierson Gutiérrez Solís had pleaded guilty in the preliminary hearing, and that afterwards the penalty debate was proceeded, in which the State requested the minimum for homicide: 10 years in prison; and six months for illegal carrying of weapons. [190]
The self-appointed demonstrators of Nicaragua left on Saturday in the streets of Managua, to publicly support the doctors who have been dismissed, who point out political motivations behind their dismissals, for attending protesters wounded in the protests against Daniel Ortega's government. Nicaraguan human rights organizations have denounced arbitrary dismissals of at least 135 doctors, specialists and subspecialists of the public hospitals of the country. [194] Alfredo Mairena, brother of Medardo Mairena, said on Saturday that the leader of the Peasant Movement had been tortured and that they had not allowed a doctor to examine him, to check his health. "I saw my brother nine days ago. They have tortured him to blows. We do not know the state of health, the doctor we are looking for to review it has not been authorized to check it. He told me that there are death threats for me and the whole family", said Alfredo Mairena. [195]
When the protests heated up, Ortega cracked down. The army was called in to help quell disturbances, and independent media were squeezed.
Convened by the Catholic Church, hundreds of thousands of Nicaraguans take to the streets of the country demanding peace and the end of the regime. The bishops warn Ortega that there can be no dialogue without guarantees
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