Nicaragua made international headlines this week. The Dutch Embassy in Costa Rica sent an ‘alert’ email for those who consider visiting Nicaragua. The images of protest, violence and unrest went all across the world.
The reason was that the Institute for National Insurance responsible for paying pensions is very short of funds due to mismanagement. To solve this problem, the President announced a package of higher pension premiums and lower pension pay-outs. This put the cat among the pigeons. The first protests started a week ago, first in the capital Managua, but soon spreading to other cities, and supported by the business community which up to this time had usually sided with the President.
How did the week unfold?
The President was forced to withdraw the policy measures, but it did not stop the unrest and the protests. The main developments during the week were:
- The Government did not hesitate to use force. The police was mobilized and given a lot of freedom to use brute force and real bullets. Sandinist youth supporting the Government also took to the streets using violence. In all, around 200 people were arrested, about 30 were killed and other people are still missing.
- Censorship was used. The Government clamped down on the independent press which was barely able to function. Several independent channels were forced to stop broadcasting although some creatively continued via YouTube. One journalist got killed, 2 imprisoned and several had their cameras and other accessories confiscated.
- For the first time since 2006 the people took to the streets in protest, apparently having overcome their fear of expressing themselves.
- The business community realised that they can no longer guarantee peace in the country, and therefore a good environment for doing business, through tri-partite meetings with the government and the weak trade unions.
What is next?
There will be a national dialogue with many parties including the Roman Catholic Church and students, at which more than only the Institute of Social Insurances will be discussed. Something will have to change, but there appears to be no clear short-term solution and the political climate is still such that opposition, both within and outside the President’s own party, is not easily tolerated.
Although the memories of the dead and the oppression live on, Nicaragua has returned to some kind of peace while waiting for the results of the national dialogue.