At least 18 Nicaraguan opposition organizations met virtually, on May 10, with Venezuelan leader Leopoldo López, with the aim —according to a statement— of “exchanging experiences and generating ties in the fight against the autocracies that hold power in both countries.
In the same communication with the Nicaraguan delegates, López emphasized that the lack of unity of the democratic sectors in both Nicaragua and Venezuela is “exacerbating due to repression and jail.” He further noted that dictatorships “use all the tools at their disposal to maintain that division as part of their strategy.”
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The persecuted Venezuelan politician gave his nation’s opposition as an example of unity, stating that “we are promoting our unitary platform and we are making an effort to link all democratic sectors.”
Despite the fact that the unity of the opposition in Nicaragua has not yet been achieved, the Venezuelan leader congratulated the Nicaraguan opposition organizations for “the efforts they are making” in search of democracy.
During the exchange, experiences of the struggle for democracy between the opposition of Nicaragua and Venezuela were also discussed. “Both opposition forces have similar challenges and face dictatorships that have been allies for several years,” the press release highlighted.
Leopoldo López indicated that the challenge posed by autocratic systems such as those in Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua is that “they follow a pattern and should not be seen as a particular problem of a single country.”
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For their part, the Nicaraguan organizations affirmed that they are “with all the willingness” to collaborate with the necessary efforts to forge joint strategies with the democratic opposition of Venezuela and Cuba to confront and get out of the dictatorships.
Since 2018, the opposition in Nicaragua has faced challenges to be able to dispute power with the Ortega-Murillo regime, however the problems and differences between all sectors never managed to achieve a single force, causing the regime to increase repression and kidnap seven presidential candidates, whom he accuses of “treason against the fatherland.”
