[News] Violent Coup Fails in Nicaragua
Anti-Imperialist News
news at freedomarchives.org
Tue Jul 24 12:00:07 EDT 2018
https://www.counterpunch.org/2018/07/24/violent-coup-fail-in-nicaragua/
Violent Coup Fail in Nicaragua
by Kevin Zeese <https://www.counterpunch.org/author/bp8jhal111/> - July
24, 2018
------------------------------------------------------------------------
On Clearing The FOG radio and podcast
<https://popularresistance.org/whats-really-happening-in-nicaragua-an-interview-with-stephen-sefton/>,
Margaret Flowers and I interviewed Stephen Sefton, who lives in
Nicaragua and is a founder of Tortilla con Sal. He names the names
behind the violence and describes what is happening in Nicaragua.
*
Lessons Learned From The Failed Violent Coup In Nicaragua And Next Steps*
The violent coup in Nicaragua has failed
<https://popularresistance.org/nicaragua-defeats-the-not-so-soft-coup/>.
This does not mean the United States and oligarchs are giving up, but
this phase of their effort to remove the government did not succeed.
The coup exposed the alliances who are working with the United States to
put in place a neoliberal government that is controlled by the United
States and serves the interests of the wealthy. People celebrated the
failure of the coup but realize work needs to be done to protect the
gains of the Sandinista revolution.
*People Celebrate Revolution, Call For Peace, Show Support for Government*
The people of Nicaragua showed their support for the
democratically-elected government of Daniel Ortega with a massive
outpouring in Managua
<https://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Nicaragua-The-39th-Anniversary-Of-A-Triumphant-Revolution-20180719-0012.html> in
a celebration of the 39th anniversary of the Sandinista Revolution. In
addition to the mass protest in Managua, various cities had their own,
in some cases very sizeable ones.
People have wanted peace to return to Nicaragua. They have also wanted
the roadblocks removed, which have resulted in closed businesses, job
loss and loss of mobility. Roadblocks have been removed, even in the
opposition stronghold of Masaya. There were two opposition deaths and
one police officer killed in the removal. There was also an earlier
death of a policeman in Masaya, captured when he was off-duty, tortured
and burnt to death. This brings the total of police killed since April
up to at least 21 with hundreds injured. With the opening of the main
road on the east side of Masaya, all Nicaragua’s main routes are open to
traffic and buses etc are operating normally.
At the rally, President Ortega called on the people
<https://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Nicaragua-President-Ortega-Calls-For-Unity-Condemns-Bishops-20180719-0023.html> of Nicaragua
to defend peace and reinstate the unity that existed in the nation
before the violent opposition protests. He described how the violent
coup attempted to destabilize the country and ended the peace that has
existed through the eleven years of his time in office. He said, “Peace
must be defended every day to avoid situations like these being repeated.”
He also criticized the Catholic Bishops for their role in the failed
violent coup. Ortega described the Episcopal Conference of Nicaragua as
“coup leaders” for collaborating with the opposition during the
protests. Not only did the Catholic leadership side with the opposition
during the national dialogue, but priests were involved in kidnapping
and torture. Pope Francis has a lot of work to do to rein in the
Catholic Church in Nicaragua. If their role in these violent protests
and opposition to an economy for the people is not stopped, this will
become a scandal for the Catholic Church.
Other Latin American leaders spoke out against involvement in the coup.
Bolivian President Evo Morales
<https://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Bolivias-Evo-Morales-Condemns-US-Criminal-Plan-in-Nicaragua-20180720-0011.html> condemned
US “interference” in Nicaragua, denouncing the “criminal strategies”
used against the government of Daniel Ortega. Morales accused the United
States Agency for International Development (USAID), and the National
Endowment for Democracy (NED) of “openly supporting violence” in
Nicaragua. Also at the celebration were the foreign ministers of Cuba
and Venezuela, Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla, and Jorge Arreza, all
supporting Nicaragua over the violent coup of the United States and
oligarchs.
*The United States is Escalating Economic War and Support for Opposition*
The United States is not giving up. Also on the anniversary of the
revolution, the NICA Act, designed to escalate the economic war against
Nicaragua, was introduced in the Senate
<https://www.rubio.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=43BEB9C2-AF4C-44D0-925A-66EF0EAC9512>.
It has already been passed by the US House of Representatives. The
Senate bill, called the Nicaragua Human Rights and Anti-corruption Act
of 2018,
<https://www.foreign.senate.gov/download/nicaragua-sanctions-bill> imposes
sanctions, calls for early elections and escalates US intelligence
involvement in Nicaragua. It is a law that ensures continued US efforts
to remove the democratically-elected government.
At the same time, USAID announced an additional $1.5 million for
Nicaragua to build opposition
<https://www.laprensa.com.ni/2018/07/20/politica/2451033-usaid-anuncia-1-5-millones-de-dolares-para-apoyar-la-democracia-y-derechos-humanos-en-nicaragua> to
the government. This will fund the NGOs that participated in the
protests, human rights groups that falsely reported the situation, media
to produce the regime change narrative and other support for the opposition.
The coordination between Nicaraguan opposition and the United States was
shown by Max Blumenthal’s attempted visit to an organization that
funnels USAID and NED money to the opposition. He visited the Managua
offices of the Institute of Strategic Studies and Public Policies (IEEPP
in Spanish), but it was closed because its director, Felix Maradiaga,
who was at the heart of the violent unrest, was in Washington, DC
seeking more funding from USAID.
On July 18, the US-dominated OAS passed a resolution
<http://www.oas.org/en/media_center/press_release.asp?sCodigo=S-042/18> concerning
“The Situation in Nicaragua.” An earlier effort to endorse a report of
the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) was so biased that
it failed. The report ignored the opposition’s widespread violence
<https://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Nicaragua-Reports-Opposition-Violence-to-IACHR-20180612-0020.html> or
inaccurately attributed it to the government. It also failed to
recognize government actions in self-defense. The resolution approving
the IACHR report
<https://www.telesurtv.net/english/opinion/Nicaragua-Breaking-Out-of-Soft-Coup-Psychosis-20180625-0006.html>was
supported by only ten out of 34 countries.
The resolution, which was finally passed by the OAS, condemned violence
on all sides and urged Nicaragua to pursue all options including the
national dialogue to seek peace begun by Ortega. On the issue of
elections, the resolution urged Nicaragua “to support an electoral
calendar jointly agreed to in the context of the National Dialogue
process.” Only this mainly symbolic resolution could pass muster in the
OAS, despite US domination.
*What Happened and What Was Learned*
In our article “Correcting the Record: What Is Really Happening In
Nicaragua
<https://popularresistance.org/correcting-the-record-what-is-really-happening-in-nicaragua/>,”
Nils McCune and I describe what was behind the violent coup attempt. We
reported that there was a lot of misinformation on what was occurring in
Nicaragua, indeed the false narrative of regime change was part of the
tactics of the failed coup. Perhaps most importantly we described the
alignment of forces behind the coup.
The coup was a class war turned upside down. The Ortega government
includes none of the oligarchic families, a first in the history of
Nicaragua. He has put in place a bottom-up economy that has lifted
people out of poverty, provided access to health care and education,
given micro-loans to entrepreneurs and small businesses and created an
economy energized by public spending. Ortega expanded coverage of the
social security system; as a result, a new formula was required to
ensure fiscal stability.
Ortega made a counter-proposal to the IMF/business proposal, which would
cut social security and raise the retirement age. He proposed no cuts to
social security and increasing employer contributions by 3.5% to pension
and health funds, while only slightly increasing worker contributions by
0.75% and shifting 5% of pensioners’ cash transfer into their healthcare
fund. These reforms were the trigger
<https://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Nicaragua-Solidarity-Groups-Accuse-Right-Wing-Opposition-of-Using-Reforms-as-Excuse-for-Coup-20180703-0001.html> as
it was the business lobby who called for the protests.
The forces aligned with the violent coup included the oligarchs, big
business interests, foreign investors (e.g. Colombian financiers), the
US-funded NGO’s and the Catholic Church, a long-term ally of the
wealthy. Also involved was the Movement for Renovation of Sandinismo
(MRS), a tiny Sandinista offshoot party, of former Sandanistas who left
the party when Ortega lost an election in 1990 who are aligned with the
US State Department.
Regarding students, there were already student protests around
university elections, and these were redirected by the violent coup
effort and supported by a small minority of students from private
universities, the April 19th Movement. Some of these students had been
brought to the US by the Freedom House
<https://www.activistfacts.com/organizations/503-freedom-house/>, which
has long ties to the CIA and met with far-right interventionist members
<https://www.scoopnest.com/es/user/CANAL15NIC/1004497731669372928-ileana-ros-lehtinen-muy-inspirada-en-reunirme-con-victor-y-zayda-valientes-lideres-universitarios-que-anhelan-una-nicaragua-libre-y-democratica-estos-estudiantes-representan-la-voz-de-tantos-jovenes-en-protestar-y-denunciar-la-violencia-del-regimen-de-ortega> of
the US Congress, including Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Sen. Marco Rubio,
and Sen. Ted Cruz.
These groups acted in opposition to the bulk of Nicaraguan society and
showed their true colors. This includes:
No doubt more will come out about this in the future as the coup is
researched and analyzed. As the facts become clear, the opposition will
lose more political power and be even less likely to win elections. The
blockades of roads with violence undermined the economy and had a
negative impact on the poor and working class. If it becomes evident
that this was a strategy of the opposition, they will lose power. NGO’s
that are funded by the US and run by members of the MRS will be noted
for their dishonest narrative and will be seen as an arm of the United
States and not trusted by the people of Nicaragua. Media outside of
Nicaragua will come to understand that human rights groups and NGOs are
not reliable sources of information but need to be questioned. They need
to be pushed to break their ties with the United States.
This does not mean all is well on the Sandinista side of the alliance of
forces. The coup is an opportunity for self-reflection and
self-criticism that is already happening, as seen in this list of 20
results from the coup,
<http://www.redvolucion.net/2018/07/20/resultados-del-intento-de-golpe-de-estado-en-nicaragua/> which
begins with “A more consolidated and United FSLN.” In addition, the
Action Group of the Solidarity with Nicaragua Campaign put forward seven
propositions
<http://www.redvolucion.net/2018/07/20/declaracion-del-grupo-de-accion-de-la-campana-de-solidaridad-con-nicaragua/> to
unify around. The protest took advantage of challenges the Nicaraguan
government faces in continuing to lift up the poor and economically
insecure. It shows their need to build their capacity to quickly let the
public know their side of the story. And, it shows the need for planning
for a post-Ortega Sandinista government, as the president is in his
third term.
The anniversary of the revolution was a good beginning at strengthening
the unity of the Sandinista movement and celebration of the defeat of
the coup, but there will be challenges ahead. Nicaragua is a poor
country that needs foreign investment. If the United States escalates
the economic war, which seems to be the intent, it will make it
challenging to continue the social and economic programs that are
lifting up the poor. Nicaragua had relied on investment from Venezuela,
but it is also in the midst of an economic war, which along with the low
oil prices has created economic challenges for them. Nicaragua has begun
to build economic relationships with China, Russia, Iran and other
countries; these will likely need to expand.
The misinformation was deep and widespread. Inside Nicaragua, there were
stories of students being killed that never happened
<http://www.redvolucion.net/> but that escalated the protests. The
opposition claimed to be nonviolent when their strategy was to use
violence to force regime change while the government quartered the
National Police. False news and videos of attacks on neighborhoods and
universities never stopped being manufactured. One example, students
calling for help and claiming they were under attack, was later exposed
in a video showing the students practicing
<https://www.facebook.com/jorge.capelan/videos/10156409208141655/> the
false social media narrative.
Peace and justice activists in the United States and western nations
have learned they need to be much more careful believing reports on what
is occurring in Nicaragua. The US-funding of NGOs involved in women’s
issues, environmental protection and human rights in Nicaragua make them
questionable sources of information for justice advocates. In addition,
US-funded regime change efforts are getting more sophisticated at social
media; and thus, care must be taken as social media has it is abused by
regime change advocates. We must look to other sources that have shown
the ability to report accurately e.g., Tortilla con Sal
<http://tortillaconsal.com/>, Telesur
<https://www.telesurtv.net/english>, Redvolucion
<http://www.redvolucion.net/>. Peace and justice advocates must be
grounded in anti-imperialism
<https://popularresistance.org/foundation-of-anti-imperialism/> and
nonintervention by the United States.
--
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863.9977 https://freedomarchives.org/
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