The Nicaraguan opposition has set itself a series of challenges in this “great struggle against the regime” of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo; Among the main points is the release of political prisoners, the recovery of democracy, institutionality, the restitution of rights, public liberties, justice and guarantees of non-repetition.
Different organizations that make up the Coordination Mechanism for Exile Groups and the Diaspora in Costa Rica considered continuing to denounce the illegitimacy of Ortega and Murillo and announced that they will not recognize the results of the municipal votes that will take place in November of this year. Prior to last year’s “farce”, the regime increased the number of political prisoners.
«One of the main challenges is that the denunciation at the international level about the illegitimacy of the regime must be maintained because it has been one of the key and fundamental tools to hit the dictatorship, from a media and isolation approach, not from the people; but of actors of the regime that have promoted crimes against humanity and corrupt acts that have destroyed the rule of law,” said Enrique Martínez, member of the Political Council of the Blue and White National Unity (UNAB) and member of the Mechanism.
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Another challenge that has been raised is the search for justice, non-impunity and non-repetition of the crimes against humanity committed by the Ortega-Murillo dictatorship since 2018. In that year it put down with blood and fire the social protests that they demanded the repeal of the Social Security reform that imposed a five percent reduction on retirees and pensioners; an increase in employer and labor contributions to workers. More than 1,000 opponents were arrested.
“To achieve this justice and no impunity, impartial mechanisms must be established to guarantee justice, memory and reparation to all victims, including: laws, specialized courts, a truth commission, a neutral prosecutor’s office and the repeal of laws that guarantee impunity or violate other rights,” explained Jhoswell Martínez of the Human Rights Observatory of the Nicaraguan Association for a Better Future.
“Creation of a social pact”
The recovery of democracy is part of the challenges of the organized opposition in exile groups, this includes recognizing the differences between organizations and the creation of common agreements to work in an articulated manner.
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“This challenge should lead us to create a new social pact that includes Nicaraguan citizens and opposition organizations, establishing priorities for issues to address or work on, such as the autonomy of State institutions, legal security, agreeing on a vision on economic development and coordinate a narrative that includes State workers and Sandinista dissidents,” said María Laura Alvarado, a member of the UNAB and one of the members of the Mechanism.
In the proposal agreed by the member organizations of the Mechanism, a series of actions have been proposed to achieve the restitution of freedom of expression, assembly, organization and freedom of the press.
