By: Juan Sebastian Chamorro.
During many of the months that I spent in the cells of El Nuevo Chipote, I was constantly interrogated by Captain Jonathan Filemón López, a thin man of about 35, intelligent and meticulous. He differed from the rest because he documented himself before each interrogation, he was one of the few who carried out his role as investigator, the others simply read us the questions they were sent.
López, in addition to being meticulous, is also a fanatic. He believes that Commander Daniel and his partner Rosario are the best thing that has happened to Nicaragua. He always said that, in liberal times, when he was a child, he had to take the desk to school, and that now the school for his two sons is equipped and well painted.
Through his slow speech and without getting excited, the captain showed a deep resentment against the political prisoners who challenged their supreme boss for power. I was referring to Ortega as what he is, a cruel and despotic dictator, responsible for so many murders and above all an expert in deceit and lies.
In December 2021, when the break in diplomatic relations with Taiwan became official, the captain told me with great pride that one of Ortega’s sons had signed an agreement with Beijing that included, among other issues, the construction of ports, telecommunications, commerce, education, housing and technological assistance. With a jubilant voice, he assured me that Nicaragua would no longer be dependent on the United States for trade and investment. I only replied that time would confirm that the Chinese do not give anything significant, that they would surely finance the construction of some houses and some other project, and I advised him not to believe that Chinese tale. He smiled at me defiantly and he told me that the interrogation was over.
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From that day on, I did not see Captain López again until the day the farce of the trial that they gave us began. It was there that I learned his name, when López identified himself as an official witness against us before Judge Félix Salmerón. He also testified in the case against Pedro Joaquín Chamorro, where he admitted that he kicked down the door of his cousin’s house.
The witness in those trials was very different from the leisurely captain I met in interrogation. In his facet as a witness, he was dominated by the fanaticism provoked by Ortega’s lies, because that is what Ortega is, a master of lies. A teacher who scams his followers by making them believe that he is the best thing that has happened to Nicaragua. He sells them illusions and when they do not materialize, he blames the North American and European empires for the failure.
With this strategy, Ortega never loses, because when he doesn’t deliver what he promises, as happens in most cases, he blames someone else. Thus, the interoceanic canal, the satellite and the refinery, among other projects, did not materialize due to the interference of the Yankee empire against his plans. The incompetent Ortega appears before his followers as a victim of a world that conspires against him.
Going back to China, I think that the Asian giant has “neglected” Ortega in a humiliating way. The promises of a trade agreement and large investments have remained on paper and most likely will not materialize.
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The time of large Chinese investments in Latin America has passed, investments that also did not generate employment. Bukele grabbed the tail, with a few roads to El Salvador. Costa Rica got a very nice soccer stadium, by the way, and Panama got some financing for an expansion of the subway and the fourth bridge over the Canal.
Nicaragua will not materialize any of those mega projects that Captain López was talking about. First, because after the investment disaster in South America, especially in Venezuela, China no longer finances large projects. Second, Nicaragua does not offer attractive returns to Chinese investments. Being a small country, it does not promise significant economic gains. And more important than that, Nicaragua does not represent a stable option in the short or medium term because the Chinese know that Ortega’s time is running out.
The Chinese are not stupid and they know that there is no continuity in Ortega’s dynastic project. They are aware of the dictator’s unpopularity internally and of the enormous challenges he has to sustain himself. That is why they clearly prefer Cuba. In the north of the island they are reinforcing the training of Cuban soldiers; In addition, they will reactivate a spy base abandoned several years ago by the Soviets.
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It is evident that they are neglecting Ortega and that he will have to settle for a few Chinese buses that will travel the streets of Managua, and that in a short time they will go to the bonemaker for lack of spare parts. For Ortega, these buses are enough, because people will see them and say that the Chinese are sending a lot of money, when in reality they are disregarding it.
They will also build some homes, much needed in a country where thousands of families harbor the dream of owning their own home. But these are already reserved for faithful militants like Captain López, who with this gift will reinforce his belief that Commander Daniel and Rosario are the best thing that has happened to Nicaragua.
The problem is that this reduced Chinese support will not promote the great transformations that Nicaragua needs, among them the productive transformation that modernizes the economy, generates the quality jobs that people need, and forges the wealth on which a prosperous country is founded. Unfortunately, China and Ortega are ingredients of a recipe that will prevent this change from materializing, and with time the only thing that will remain of that relationship will be another ambitious tall tale that will be added to the list of those that the dictator has already written.
