This week’s blog is a translation of two pieces written as part of the Spanish-language blog, Informe Pastran, on Dec. 30 entitled respectively, “Women as Protagonists of Change” and “2016: The Year of Rosario Murillo.” To read the originals you can go here and here. In the November election, Murillo, wife of President Daniel Ortega, was elected in her own right as vice-president…
The Alliance for Global Justice started its activist life as the Nicaragua Network way back in February, 1979, six months before the Triumph of the Sandinista Revolution. During the 1980s we took thousands of people to Nicaragua to pick coffee, build health centers and schools, plant trees, and generally witness for themselves the reality of…
I’ve been thinking about what a Trump presidency is going to mean for Nicaragua and the ALBA countries. My basic conclusion is: how can it be any worse than it has been under Obama’s presidency, or would have been under Hillary Clinton’s presidency? Since Bill Clinton, Democrats have sub-contracted US policy toward Latin America to the far-right,…
This week’s guest blog is by a correspondent who prefers to remain anonymous due to their job in Nicaragua. H.R 5708 will not be voted on by the Senate during the remaining days of the lame duck session, but could be reintroduced as a new bill in the House after the new Congress reconvenes in January. It…
Due to a temporary health issue I was unable to write this week’s blog, nor will I be able to write next week’s blog. Thanks to Tortilla con Sal for filling in this week. Visit their site at www.tortillaconsal.com for many great articles and analysis in English and Spanish. I’m looking for a Guest Blog for next week.…
This week’s Guest Blog returns to the subject of Nicaragua’s Nov. 6 elections from the point of view of Brian Willson who was invited as an official observer. The 2016 Presidential Elections: A Report From Nicaragua by S. Brian Willson, November 25, 2016 On November 6, Nicaragua held its national elections, two days before the US…
El Nuevo Diario interviewed documented Nicaraguans in the United States a few days after the US presidential election was won by Donald Trump. As one would expect, given the number of Somocistas who settled in Miami after the Triumph of the Sandinista Revolution, what they found was a mixed bag. Some voted for Trump and others couldn’t believe that…
A couple of weeks ago, as part of its coverage of the US House-passed NICA Act, Informe Pastran published a couple of short items about US aid to Nicaragua. The NICA Act wouldn’t, if passed by the Senate and signed by the President, cut off US aid to Nicaragua. It would require the US to…
Here is another guest blog by long-time Nicaragua solidarity activist Larry Fisk recounting his experience as an unofficial election accompanier. He first monitored Nicaragua’s election in 1990 and has done so every election since. – Chuck Kaufman Larry Fisk November 8, 2016 Leon, Nicaragua Nicaraguans went back to work calmly on Monday after successful, peaceful and…
This article from the blog Informe Pastran, although written early in the counting, provides an excellent overview of the election. With 99.8% of the polling stations ballots counted, Ortega increased his lead to 72.5%. On Monday, a US State Department spokesperson declared the United States “deeply concerned” about what he called “flawed elections.” Since an…
