A-Infos (en) US, OSL: One Million Hands Flourishing: Nicaragua and the Neverending Task of Planting By Tanya H.F. (ca, de, fr, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

Picture: Image shows a woman carrying a sign during a protest than 
compares current president Ortega to Nicaraguan dictator Somoza --- The 
indigenous neighborhood of Monimbo in Masaya, Nicaragua has a long 
legacy of resistance. Masaya is located less than an hour Southeast of 
the capital, Managua. In 1978, the people of Monimbo barricaded 
themselves, used makeshift weapons and prevented the National Guard from 
coming into the city, winning the first major victory for the 
Sandinistas as they were able to take control of an urban city. Forty 
years later, the people of Monimbo barricaded themselves with paving 
stones and were able to prevent riot police from entering. The next day 
however, they had lost most of the city to riot police. Masaya, the city 
where I am from, has become a battlefield where police attack citizens.

The Unrest
The latest civil unrest has had many university students from across the 
capital city of Managua protesting against the government's social 
security reforms this past week. These students hail from various 
universities like the Universidad Centroamericana (UCA), Universidad 
Nacional de Ingenieria (UNI), Universidad Nacional Agraria (UNA), 
Universidad Autónoma Nacional de Nicaragua - Managua (UNAN), and 
Universidad Politécnica de Nicaragua (UPOLI). The  proposal was to 
increase social security contribution from both workers and employers 
and reduce retiree benefits by 5%.

Last week, students barricaded the Metropolitan Cathedral in Managua 
which serves as a refuge for protesters. There, they collected donations 
and distributed provisions such as water and had student doctors help 
tend to the wounded. Police and pro-government Sandinista youth 
eventually surrounded the cathedral and held them hostage until 
prominent Catholic church official, Monsignor Silvio Jóse Báez, who has 
been critical of Ortega and supportive of protesters, aided and helped 
assure the release of the students.

Sandinista Legacy
When the Sandinistas (FSLN) overthrew the Somoza regime in July 1979, 
they had to work toward reconstructing the social, political and 
economic structure of the country. They implemented agrarian reforms for 
redistribution of land, launched vaccination campaigns to open access to 
healthcare and created literacy campaigns that reduced illiteracy from 
80 percent to 12 percent, among other reforms. This was only possible 
because of the work everyday people put in day after day.

Over the last five days, more than 30 people have died, many of them 
students as well as a journalist. Over 100 are being held prisoner, 
around 50 remain missing and the overall count of those injured is unknown.

On April 22nd, Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega, who rose to power as 
a prominent leader of the Sandinistas, revoked the proposed changes to 
social security. After he pulled the reforms, riot police entered a 
prominent symbol of the student resistance, UPOLI, which students had 
barricaded. Five students were shot in the process and two were killed. 
Ortega also attacked the student movement as "delinquents" who were 
backed by right-wing parties and funded by the CIA. The student movement 
does not allow political parties to participate though. But many 
Nicaraguans know this is an issue greater than social security. They are 
tired of corrupt governments and want the current government out.

I am an anarchist. So when I say "I am a Sandinista" to me it means I 
believe in the popular movement that rose up to overthrow capitalist 
imperialism. The movement that fought for freedom. The movement that 
dared to dream of bringing a just and equitable society.

The current government of Ortega does not represent the values of 
Sandino nor of the Sandinistas who spilled blood to break free from 
their chains in previous decades. The Sandinista Youth of today is not 
the same one that my mother joined many years ago. It is not the one 
that participated in literacy campaigns to teach the people to read and 
write, nor is it the one she joined to help pick coffee and rebuild 
Nicaragua.

The Demands of the Students
The future is uncertain and it is unclear where this is all heading but 
there is much work to be done on the ground. Today, students from the 
Movimiento 19 de Abril, who embody the spirit of liberation are 
undertaking the never ending task of building a new world, one from the 
bottom up. Approximately 500 students continue their barricaded 
occupation of UPOLI and their organizing against Ortega. They are 
currently working on establishing a coordinating body to represent 
students from different universities across Nicaragua. Some of their 
demands include:

The immediate resignation of President Daniel Ortega, Vice President and 
First Lady Rosario Murillo, President of the National Institute of 
Social Security (INSS) Roberto López Gómez, and First Police Chief 
Aminta Granero.
The release of students, doctors, journalists, and civilians and 
dropping of all charges.
Prosecution of the entire chain of command involved in the death of the 
civilians with transparency.
Suspension of all chief of police officers involved in the murders of 
civilians.
Permanent representation of youth in any national events.
Reconstruction of the infrastructure of Universities that were damaged 
during the repression.
Reinstitution of student grades which were erased from the databases of 
universities.
Tanya H.F. is Nicaraguan-American and based in Los Angeles, CA. She is 
an integrating member of Black Rose/Rosa Negra and organizing a 
fundraiser to collect funds that will go directly to student organizers 
in Nicaragua.

For related readings we recommend "It's No Longer About Social Security: 
Inside the Nicaraguan Student Protests" and "A Door Has Been Opened: 
Nicaragua's April 19 Uprising" by Miranda de las Calles and a detailed 
look at the political economy of Nicaragua under Ortega, "Capitalist 
Development in Nicaragua and the Mirage of the Left."

https://www.blackrosefed.org/nicaragua-one-million-hands/
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