“Fake News” And Unrest In Nicaragua

Violent clashes have ended in the streets, barricades are down and hundreds have been murdered, but the story in Nicaragua is not over. Jon Lee Anderson's dispatch in the latest New Yorker is a good summary of what happened in the last few months in the Central American country and what we can expect in the future: targeted violence and arbitrary measures against anyone who opposes president Daniel Ortega's government.

"Ortega has won the battle but lost the war", says Sergio Ramírez, Nicaragua's most reputed writer and former political leader. He was once part of the sandinista movement, like Ortega and the first lady, Rosario Murillo, who is also the vice president and "a fruitcake". They are more than a power couple and they will do what it takes to stay in power, at least until 2021, when the presidential term is over.

"The Ortega-Murillos control a portfolio that includes several television and radio stations, an advertising agency, and much of the country’s oil industry; they have seven children, and many are involved in managing these businesses."

The hopes of achieving some sort of peaceful resolution, which included holding elections earlier, faded after the government decided the protests were a coup attempt and paramilitary forces were used to clamp down on activists. Executions are now being carried out by "death squads".

The opposition has no leverage, no clear leaders or strategy, and the Catholic church that had played a part as mediator has also been attacked by Ortega's forces. The media and specific journalists who have been critical of the repression and violence against protesters have also been accused of conspiring against the government and promoting "fake news".