Elections in Nicaragua
First of all, if any of you are avid news readers and have caught wind of the current unrest in Nicaragua, I want to assure you that I am totally safe, and there is really no danger of me being not safe even if things continue to escalate.
To the rest of you who are wondering why I would need to make that statement:
We had elections for mayors this past Sunday (mayor is a more important office in this political system), and they haven't gone well. Violence has been escalating, and both sides are accusing the other of foul play. They are doing a re-count today, but the fear is this will actually only cause more violence because the Sanandista party (President Ortega's party) is already sure that they've won, and the opposing PLC says it was rigged from the beginning and they won't accept the recount, so either way the results could cause more violence. Bags of burned PLC ballots were found in the dump in multiple municipalities, but the Sanandistas claim they were planted there, and there has been irregularities in the numbers in several municipalities as well.
As I said, I'm safe, I life on the outskirts of the city, a good ways from any violent activity, and I won't be travelling into the city center any time soon.
But, please pray for our country, and especially this city, Managua. Pray that things will be calmed down soon, and that somehow the truth will come out. My bosses are predicting that it's looking like the only thing that could come out of this is another negotiation between the two "caldeos" (strong men) of the country and leaders of these two parties, likely an underhanded deal which will give more power to these power hungry men. It's a really complicated situation, but it is consistent with the history of political movements in the country dating back to the Colonial era.
I'll let you know if anything else happens.
To the rest of you who are wondering why I would need to make that statement:
We had elections for mayors this past Sunday (mayor is a more important office in this political system), and they haven't gone well. Violence has been escalating, and both sides are accusing the other of foul play. They are doing a re-count today, but the fear is this will actually only cause more violence because the Sanandista party (President Ortega's party) is already sure that they've won, and the opposing PLC says it was rigged from the beginning and they won't accept the recount, so either way the results could cause more violence. Bags of burned PLC ballots were found in the dump in multiple municipalities, but the Sanandistas claim they were planted there, and there has been irregularities in the numbers in several municipalities as well.
As I said, I'm safe, I life on the outskirts of the city, a good ways from any violent activity, and I won't be travelling into the city center any time soon.
But, please pray for our country, and especially this city, Managua. Pray that things will be calmed down soon, and that somehow the truth will come out. My bosses are predicting that it's looking like the only thing that could come out of this is another negotiation between the two "caldeos" (strong men) of the country and leaders of these two parties, likely an underhanded deal which will give more power to these power hungry men. It's a really complicated situation, but it is consistent with the history of political movements in the country dating back to the Colonial era.
I'll let you know if anything else happens.
posted by Pamela Joy at 6:31 AM
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