The president of the National Assembly, Sandinista deputy Gustavo Porras, presented the bill that declares a “national holiday” on May 30, on the occasion of Mother’s Day in Nicaragua. The proposal is a maneuver by the dictatorship of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo in its attempt to hide the massacre of young people carried out by the regime on Mother’s Day in 2018, the victims point out.
“The Ortega Murillo dictatorship has wanted to erase from memory everything they did in 2018 and continue to do, and now they want to ingratiate themselves with the people of Nicaragua by giving a national holiday,” he said. Tamara Morazanpresident of the Mothers of April Association (WADA).
The sister of Jonathan Morazán, a university student killed during the repression, told Article 66 that the initiative is part of a strategy that was also applied to the April 19, date that commemorates the beginning of the civic rebellion in Nicaragua and that the regime declared Sportsman’s Day.
“However, we believe and feel that the people of Nicaragua have not forgotten nor intend to forget the massacre they (Ortega and Murillo) have carried out against young people who only carried a flag, thought differently and believed in an unarmed struggle. The State of Nicaragua took out its weapons and cowardly murdered these young people and they will never erase from our memory what they have done.
«(That date) we are going to feel the same, a May 30th of mourningbecause the Mothers of April had lost their children and we, as a people, went to support them without knowing that we were going to become one more victim of this State”, recalled Morazán.
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He added that the families who are victims of the repression are committed to fighting for justice and I will not forget, and, once they achieve it, that day will be declared a National Mourning “because Nicaraguan mothers suffered the loss of their children. We saw how the State shot to kill and we are living proof of that.
The bill was presented to the First Secretariat on May 11, one day after the regime’s spokeswoman, Rosario Murillo, announced the proposal through her official media. The purpose of the initiative is to reform article 66 of Law 185, the Labor Code, so that May 30 is declared a national holiday.
With the modification, article 66 will read as follows: «The following are mandatory national holidays with the right to rest and salary: January 1, Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, May 1 and 30, July 19, September 14 and 15, and December 25.
“The Executive Branch may declare days off with salary on account of vacations both at the national and municipal levels.”
In the document, the operator of the regime in the National Assembly Gustavo Porras points out that “Nicaraguan mothers are worthy, selfless and fighters, so it is necessary for the State to go one step further to highlight the contribution that mothers make to the family, the community and society every day.”
But, “not only do they serve the family,” says Porras, “but they are also immersed in production and trade work, providing education and health services, and contributing as public officials.”
Currently, every May 30 is declared a paid holiday for the public sector. In the case of the private company, workers and employers reach an agreement.
