The young students of the University Coordinator for Democracy and Justice (CUDJ) called for the fifth edition of the March of Burla, a satirical protest where they mock the dictatorship of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo. The first three editions were held in Nicaragua in the context of repression that the country has been experiencing since April 2018.
On this occasion the slogan of the protest is “Electoral Circus” which they assure will be consummated on November 6 with the questioned municipal elections. The elections have been pointed out by opposition groups as a “farce” because the regime has violated the civil, political and human rights of the Nicaraguan population and maintains absolute control in the Supreme Electoral Council (CSE).
Dillon Ramos, a member of the CUDJ and a former political prisoner of the dictatorship, explained that “La Marcha de la Burla” consists of a satire on the entire Nicaraguan political culture and focuses on addressing issues of national relevance with a touch of humor and grace, qualities that characterize youth.
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“The objective of the march is to reach Nicaraguans through other types of protests and highlight something of our Nicaraguan culture, since in the march of ridicule we use masks, costumes and objects that are part of our customs and traditions,” said to Article 66.
The fifth edition of this protest will take place on Sunday, November 6, the day of the municipal elections. “Through these types of protests, which is an annual activity that the CUDJ always carries out in order to show a different image of the April struggle,” he stressed.
This event will be virtual and face-to-face. A group of Nicaraguan exiles and refugees in Costa Rica will meet at the Plaza de la Democracia in San José to mock the dictatorship. The same will be done by other members of the university organization in different countries such as the United States, Finland, Germany and Nicaragua.
In 2021 it was the first time that the “March of mockery” was held binationally, in Nicaragua and Costa Rica. In the 2018, 2019 and 2020 editions, they were held in the cities of León and Managua. Last year the Nicaraguan version was carried out digitally to prevent the participants from being detained.
This event has become an annual tradition for university students who oppose the Ortega regime, since the anti-government demonstrations of 2018, in which, according to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), 355 people died, of which the Executive has recognized 200 and denounced that it was an attempted coup.
