A Dictatorship Is Rising in My Country, Again (Nicaragua)

A Dictatorship Is Rising in My Country, Again
Nearly four decades after the Sandinistas overthrew the Somoza dynasty, Nicaragua is once again in the grip of tyranny.

By Cynara M. Medina
Dr. Medina is an expert in media studies from Nicaragua.

-snip-

My mom became wary of Sandinismo soon after the Literacy Crusade. While she felt the initial surge of enthusiasm, there were red flags early on.

First was the book purge, where the books written in English were taken out of her school library and burned because English was considered to be the language of the imperialist. Then there were the attacks on the Catholic Church and the priests, which my mom, as a Catholic, could not abide. Finally, one day I came home from school and told her how a young woman from the Sandinista Children’s Association had visited our classroom to invite us to join. She had made it sound appealing, like joining the Girl Scouts. She told us that it would be our duty to be vigilant and report any counterrevolutionary talk, even by our parents. “That’s what a good Sandinista child does.”

My mom forbade me from joining. She said, “In this family, we do not spy on our neighbors, our family or our friends.”

It’s been 39 years since the triumph of the revolution. Daniel Ortega, the erstwhile revolutionary symbol, has instituted a new dictatorship in Nicaragua. Mr. Ortega controls all four branches of government. He is the de facto head of the police. He has an elaborate propaganda apparatus at his fingertips, and that apparatus has been very successful in painting the image of Nicaragua as “the safest country in Central America.” That depends, however, on how one defines “safe.”

-snip-

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/02/opinion/a-dictatorship-is-rising-in-my-country-again.html

What is old is new again!