NicaNotes: The Revolution Won’t Be Stopped: Nicaragua Advances Despite US Unconventional Warfare

The book is edited by Nan McCurdy and written by a collective of historians, researchers and activists committed to finding and sharing the truth about US intervention in Nicaragua.

2019 was an amazing year in the search for peace in Nicaragua with The Amnesty Law and promotion of reconciliation between neighbors in every corner of the nation. It was a year of life-giving advances in all aspects of wellbeing: poverty reduction, health, education, gender equity, recreation, culture and infrastructure; strengthened food security, and a new highway that joins Bluefields to the rest of the nation making the first paved transit route from the Caribbean to the Pacific.

And all this despite cruel US unconventional warfare against the Sandinistas that has gone on for decades and reached a peak in April 2018. 2019 was a year of rebuilding lives as well as the economy after the 2018 violence.

As if that wasn’t a big enough challenge, in the afterword we cover the excellent government handling of Covid-19 and how the virus has been used as a weapon to attack the Sandinista government with a narrative full of lies and falsities in the corporate press and social media.

Nicaragua continues to be a “threat of a good example” that other countries will follow. After our 2019 e-book about 2018, “Live from Nicaragua,” our 2020 e-book “The Revolution Won’t be Stopped” brings the story up to date.

Download in English and Spanish, in a pdf or E-reader format below. For newcomers, downloading PDFs is fast, safe and easy. Then you can read the book free on your computer, phone or other device. Here are the links:

 

 

If you would like to donate in honor of this new book, please use the following link to the newly created Nicaragua Solidarity Fund “Padre Miguel d’Escoto Brockman.”  Funds will go to help efforts to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.  Because of US sanctions, it is not possible for Nicaragua to access funding available to other countries from the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank and the IMF.  The Nicaragua Solidarity Fund was recently established via the Alliance for Global Justice (AfGJ) to serve as a people´s reparations fund to the people of Nicaragua given that the United States government refused to accept and comply with the ruling of the International Court of Justice of 1986.   The ICJ ruled in favor of Nicaragua and against the United States, awarding reparations to Nicaragua. The US continues to violate international Law by placing sanctions against Nicaragua. These sanctions are preventing Nicaragua from accessing new concessional loans, grants or debt relief from multilateral sources. The Nicaragua Solidarity Fund will be managed by a collective of people in Nicaragua and the US in coordination with the AFGJ.  Donations made in 2020 will be used to help Nicaraguans deal with the ongoing Covid-19 crisis by supporting the purchase of medicines, personal protection equipment or other needs identified by the Nicaragua government and especially the Nicaragua Ministry of Health.

 

Briefs

By Nan McCurdy

40 Cents of Every Dollar for Health and Education
The Minister of Finance and Public Credit Iván Acosta said on July 7 that, despite the situation of the pandemic, no project has been stopped. “We believe that for our people, it is good news that the government is making its contribution to keep the country on its feet and progressing,” Acosta said.  Budget execution for the first half of 2020 was mainly for social spending (56%, 40 cents of every dollar spent is for health care and education). “We are guaranteeing resources for social spending, public investment, and the fundamental resources for health as defined by President Daniel Ortega. As of July 7, 55% of the 2020 budget had been executed and there is an acceleration in health spending. (Radiolaprimerisima, 7/7/20)

Extension of Deadline for Political Parties to Obtain Legal Status
The Supreme Electoral Council extended the deadline for groups to obtain legal status as political parties by fulfilling the existing legal requirements until five months before the next elections of national authorities on November 7, 2021 [May 7, 2021]. The resolution was published on July 14 in the official newspaper La Gaceta; the Supreme Electoral Council Secretary of Actions certified the measure dated July 13, 2020. The resolution is issued to safeguard the certainty, legality, independence, impartiality and objectivity of the popular will in the upcoming elections, the resolution stated. (Radiolaprimerisima, 7/14/20)

Social Advances in Honor of the 41st Anniversary
This week, in celebration of the 41st anniversary of the Sandinista Popular Revolution, the Government is inaugurating schools, fire units, police stations and women’s police stations throughout the country. The first 71 homes will be delivered to families relocated by the expansion of the Juan Pablo II major east-west beltway through Managua. 250 military personnel are disinfecting markets and other public places against Covid-19. Vice President Murillo noted that 191 schools now have access to the Internet. Women’s Police Stations are being relaunched in Bilwi and will serve 60,000 women in the Northern Caribbean Autonomous Region. A new police station will open in La Conquista, Carazo, named for Inspector Faber Antonio López Vivas who was murdered by the US-funded opposition on July 8, 2018. (19Digital, 7/14/20)

Nicaragua Network Sends Greetings to Sandinista Front
The Board and Staff of the Alliance for Global Justice (of which the Nicaragua Network is the founding project) sent the following greeting to the FSLN on the occasion of the 41st anniversary of the Sandinista Revolution:

To our Brothers and Sisters of the Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional:

Please accept our solidarity greetings on the 41st anniversary of the Triumph of Sandinista Revolution.

The Nicaragua Network (a project of the Alliance for Global Justice) is proud to have worked for so many years to support the Sandinista Revolution with campaigns in solidarity with farmers and workers, with solid information, and with efforts to change the harmful policies of the US government.

We salute the Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional for their steadfast attention to education, health care, and economic development for every Nicaraguan.

We salute the Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional for their steadfast support for other countries and political organizations that continue to fight against repressive governments and for democracy throughout Latin America and the world”

We salute the Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional for its success in defeating the reactionary forces that attempted a coup to overthrow Nicaragua’s democratically elected government between April and July 2018.

The Nicaragua Network looks forward to working in solidarity with the Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional in the years and decades to come.

Adopted by the Board/Staff Collective of the Alliance for Global Justice at its monthly meeting on the 8th day of July of the year 2020.

New Oncological Center
Vice President Rosario Murillo announced that the Oncological Center for Chemotherapy and Palliative Care will be inaugurated in the next few days, “where teams of doctors specialized in pain management will be available; psychologists, physiotherapists, nutritionists, specialists in natural medicine will accompany patients who come to receive their chemotherapy at this center which will have a capacity to care for 100 patients simultaneously in addition to providing space and accommodation for the families.” (Informe Pastran, 7/15/20)

Many People Recuperated from Covid-19
The government weekly report that takes into account July 7 to 13 it indicates there are now 2282 people who have recuperated from COVID-19 in Nicaragua. The report stated that there have been 2682 total registered cases of the disease and there are 301 people who are currently fighting the virus. Eight people last week died bringing total deaths in Nicaragua to 99. (Juventud Presidente, 7/14/20)

Russia donates 5,000 tests for Covid-19
A total of 5,000 tests to diagnose Covid-19 were received July 13 thanks to a donation made by Russia of 30,000 tests for the Central American region. Vinicio Cerezo, Secretary General of SICA expressed his gratitude to the Russian Federation for the support it has been providing to the region in the context of the global Covid-19 pandemic. “We are grateful for the solidarity of the Russian Federation in donating these tests for the region, even though their production is relatively recent and they are covering domestic demand. I am grateful … because it is becoming increasingly difficult to obtain them,” said Cerezo. (Radiolaprimerisima, 7/13/20)

Teacher Training and TV Classes for Students
The Education Ministry (MINED) is providing training to 50,000 teachers to update their pedagogical strategies for the second half of 2020. “We will also continue working on Covid prevention from the schools; here even pre-school children know how to wash their hands properly”, said Miriam Raudez, Minister of Education. Currently teleclasses are provided on two TV stations and various radio stations for kindergarten through sixth grade. Seventh to eleventh graders receive class instructions and materials online. The majority of Nicaragua’s parks and town squares enjoy free wifi. “Now parents are more involved in their children’s classes, and that’s important because it guarantees not only good learning but also the integral development of the students from their homes,” explained primary school teacher Marisol Rosales. More than 1.2 million students will return to the classroom on July 21. (Radiolaprimerisima, 7/14/20)

Report on Exports in the First Six Months of 2020
The report of the Center for Export Procedures (CETREX) indicated that in the first half of 2020 exports reached US$1.58 billion, with gold and coffee the leading exports with US$346 million in export earnings. The other top export products: beef, $US273 million; raw gold, $US 264.4 million; cane sugar, $US120.2 million; beans, $US69.4 million; peanuts, US$50.6 million; moralique cheese, US$30.5 million; cultivated shrimp, $US26.9 million; raw tobacco, US$25.9 million; fish, $US21.6 million; beverages, spirits and vinegar, US$20.3 million; oils and fats, US$16.9 million; lobsters, $US16.8 million; other seafood products, US$ 15.1 million; mozzarella cheese, US$14.4 million; processed cigars, US$11.2 million; processed coffee, US$10.1 million. In the first six months of 2020, US$703.5 million in products were exported to the United States and to Central America US$ 330 million. (Informe Pastran, 7/15/20)

Email
Facebook
Twitter
Youtube
Instagram