By John Kotula September in Nicaragua sees the celebration of two important dates of liberation and anti-imperialism. One is Independence Day on September, 15 marking the end of Spain’s colonial rule in 1821. The other is a day earlier; the remembrance of The Battle of San Jacinto which occurred on September 14, 1856. The events are celebrated with…
By Chuck Kaufman The NICA Act passed the House of Representatives last Wednesday by unanimous consent. This is the bill that is intended to block Nicaragua from access to multilateral loans from the World Bank, IMF, and others. Thank you to readers who responded to our Alert and contacted their Representatives. I’m particularly angry that the Act passed…
By John Kotula According to Rotten Tomatoes, the new Tom Cruise movie, “American Made,” opened in the US on September 27. It opened earlier, playing at the mall in Managua. Never being one to pass up air-conditioning, I went, munched popcorn and thoroughly enjoyed it, as did the Nicaraguan audience that filled the theater. Their laughter was a couple of…
By John Kotula According to Rotten Tomatoes, the new Tom Cruise movie, “American Made,” opened in the US on September 27. It opened earlier, playing at the mall in Managua. Never being one to pass up air-conditioning, I went, munched popcorn and thoroughly enjoyed it, as did the Nicaraguan audience that filled the theater. Their laughter was a couple of seconds…
October 3, 2017 CALL YOUR REPRESENTATIVE TODAY: Congressional Switchboard – (202) 224-3121 Click Here to Send a Message to Your Representative. Please call or email your Congressperson right now to tell them to vote NO on the NICA Act (H.R. 1918) which is scheduled for a floor vote TODAY. It is not too late since…
The NICA Act could be scheduled for a vote in the House of Representatives at any time. Act NOW to tell your Representative to vote NO! Click Here to Send a Message to Your Representative. Dear Representative _________________, I am writing to oppose the Nicaraguan Investment Conditionality Act (NICA) of 2017, H.R. 1918. The result of…
By Chuck Kaufman Take Action Against the Nica Act Now! I have been skeptical that the NICA Act will be voted on by Congress considering how crowded the legislative calendar is and how gridlocked the two parties of the one percent are. But recently Rep. Louise Slaughter, a long-time friend of Nicaragua solidarity, told a…
By John Kotula To a large extent, the United States’ policy toward Central America attempts to address the intertwined problems of immigration, drug trafficking, organized criminal gangs, political corruption, and societal violence. Given these priorities, you would think that Nicaragua would be the US’s best friend, since relatively few Nicaraguans emigrate north, Nicaragua’s role in the international movement of…
By Paul Baker Hernandez “When Americans are in need. Americans pull together and we are one country.” President Trump’s words ‘honoring’ victims of September 11, 2001, and the lashings of Irma and Harvey, have all the tawdry familiarity of last year’s Halloween costume. You have to feel for comfy politicians faced with yet another random…
By John Kotula Photos by John Kotula This photo essay, and the ideas that accompany it, is directed mainly to people from the US with an interest in Nicaragua. The premise here is that the image of Augusto César Sandino in Nicaragua is so omnipresent, so beloved, and so central to Nicaraguan’s self-identity that it is impossible…
