FROM THE EDITOR:
Dear reader:
July 19 is a big day for the land of my birth: Nicaragua. It is the anniversary of the hope of a new day of freedom and progress, after the ousting of the dynastic dictatorship of 45 years. This dictatorship had governed the destiny of the country as a private farm and the people were preparing to leave behind the poverty, and the suffering of war and were heading towards reconciliation between Nicaraguans.
But nowadays, another family has taken over the power, and the previous dictatorial abuse repeats itself again, and on a greater scale.
That’s why today, in this edition, I cede the editorial space to a proclamation of a political organization that shows the way and calls for the awakening of a people who sleep while their country is vandalized, its people repressed and their freedom stolen. More painful than this, her sovereignty is being sold abroad. This political organization is the Renovator Sandinista Movement. – Marvin Ramírez
Beautiful Nicaragua inspires our efforts
We commemorate the 36th anniversary of the victory of the Sandinista Revolution that represented new hope for the Nicaraguan people, having ousted the Somocista dictatorship that had dominated the country for 45 years. Through the will of thousands of young people, girls and boys, and the participation of most of the people, national unity and international solidarity, made that heroic exploit possible at that moment.
Nicaraguans suffered through lack of freedoms and democracy; no election was clean; justice was nonexistent; poverty was overwhelming to the majority and repression was the response to any protest, or any social, economic or political demand.
During the ensuing decades, in every generation of Nicaraguans, there arose patriots who wanted to oust that dictatorship. Many people suffered jail, torture, and exile. Many fell down in combat or were murdered. They sacrificed for us to be able to enjoy a different Nicaragua!
Now, again, an ambitious family tries to turn Nicaragua into their own property and enrich themselves while the majority of the people is still kept in poverty and abandonment. Government institutions do not serve the people, only the family in power and its interests. There have been many electoral frauds, corruption is promoted and protected and there is impunity for those who live under the umbrella of power.
The National Police that are mandated to protect us, do not do it and instead have turned into a political police state, which abuses its power and violates human rights, including the right to life of Nicaraguans. Injustice and discrimination prevail in Nicaragua.
In every corner of the country, every Nicaraguan knows that we cannot continue to live this way. A country in which children are murdered by the police with impunity, is not well. A country in which thousands of peasants are threatened by the government to be deprived of their property, is not well. We have to make changes. We will have safety in this endeavor only when the people are united, everyone participates in civic actions, and we have the right to protest and mobilize.
Now is the time to take action, to work, to fight with optimism and hope to make a sovereign Nicaragua a reality, with opportunities, progress, solidarity and democracy for all.
As Nicaraguans we deserve opportunities for employment, education and quality health care, and good social security. We deserve good living conditions, with the expectation that we can make improvements for our families and communities, We deserve to be, and can be, a progressive country, in which producers, businesspeople and cooperatives are stimulated and can be sure of working and investing, without fear of their assets being confiscated, unjustly expropriated or taken by public institutions. We can achieve a progress that improves life for everyone.
Those who fought and fell down to oust the Somocista dictatorship dreamed of a Nicaragua without poverty, without malnutrition, without illiteracy and with equality between men and women. They dreamed of a Nicaragua of solidarity, where the State would provide scholarships, support, credits and housing to those in need, without discrimination, without alienation, without favoritism, without personal connections.
Nicaraguans, women and men, need democracy to be free to express ourselves, to take part of the public decisions, to decide what we want for our lives, our community and our country. We can achieve a country with honest officials who attend to the problems of the people, with equal justice, with police officers and military who are respectful of life and human rights; with institutions that work in accordance with the law and serve all without discrimination.
Those who fought and fell down throughout the decades, did it to have a sovereign country, which was not dominated by the interests of one company, country or foreign force, not to be sold to the highest bidder, as has been done by the betrayer, Orteguismo.
At this commemoration, the dream of a beautiful Nicaragua moves us and cheers us up, as it cheered other generations of Nicaraguans in the past.
We know that we can achieve it, but for it to become a reality, it is necessary to be open to the possibilities of changing the current situation through the civic and political decisions of the people, through the vote of the people, so that other generations of Nicaraguans never again have to resort to taking up arms. For this to happen, we must demand changes in the electoral system that would guarantee every Nicaraguan that his vote will be counted, that his vote will decide the future of the country, and that there will be clean and honest elections. We give homage to the heroes and martyrs, who, for more than 40 years contributed to the overthrow of another family dictatorship that, as is the current one, was keeping Nicaragua oppressed. We give respect and gratitude to those who fell down for democracy and freedom, in the fight for national sovereignty. We give respect and gratitude to those who knew how to raise their voices and their arms for a better Nicaragua.
We remember today these lives, all of those who were not touched by corruption and servility; who were not dominated by fear and apathy; who were incorruptible, generous, honest, optimistic, hopeful, loyal and would not compromise our people and our homeland.
Faithful to this legacy and this example, we renovators will be still determined to work to clear the way for the construction of a beautiful Nicaragua with opportunities, progress, solidarity, democracy and sovereignty for all.
National board of directors of the MRS
Managua, July, 2015
