Three activists who may be in danger of dying in Nicaragua arrived in Brazil on Thursday, August 30. They are from Nicaragua's Articulación de Movimientos Sociales y Organizaciones de la Sociedad Civil (Articulation of Social Movements and Civil Society Organizations) and are fighting to denounce the attacks by the regime of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo, which have left more than 400 civilians dead and 2,000 people injured.
They are on a Caravan calling for solidarity from neighboring countries to reverse the worst political crisis experienced in Nicaragua in decades. Ariana McGuire Villalta, Yader Parajón Gutiérrez and Carolina Hernández Ramirez have been on the road since August 8 and have already mobilized in Chile, Argentina and Uruguay. Now, in Brazil, they are seeking political and social movement support to prevent the deaths and repressions from continuing, denouncing the human rights violations that are practiced with extreme violence by the para-police forces acting under government orders.
The ELAS Fund and Redeh invite you to a solidarity meeting with the three activists on Tuesday, September 4, at 17:30. The meeting will take place at Espaço Carolina Maria de Jesus, on Rua da Lapa, 180/room 808Lapa/ Rio de Janeiro.
The movement hopes that with the denunciations, states and international organizations will apply sanctions against the regime; that they will help bring about a break with the movements, parties and governments that are still loyal to it or have not yet taken a stand; and that they will promote the formation of national and local solidarity committees linked to the Social Articulation.
You can access the full "Manifesto for a Free and Democratic Nicaragua" at: https://solidariedadecomnicaragua.com/2018/08/18/manifesto-por-uma-nicaragua-livre-e-democratica/
Also visit: facebook.com/solidariedadenicaRS
Understanding the crisis and the popular uprising: Since April 18, 2018, Nicaragua has been experiencing the greatest political upheaval of the last thirty years, characterized particularly by the repression of the government of Daniel Ortega and his wife Rosario Murillo against university students and the population in general.
According to a report by human rights organizations such as the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), Amnesty International and the Nicaraguan Center for Human Rights (CENIDH), state repression has left at least 420 people dead, 87.18% of whom are unarmed civilians, 4.5% police officers and 8.0% paramilitaries. Considering the ratio of inhabitants in Nicaragua to that of Brazil, this number of deaths would mean at least 8,900 of the total number of Brazilians murdered.
The political crisis has left more than 2,000 injured, 262 missing and at least 130 people in prison for taking part in demonstrations and resistance against the Ortega government. Between July and August, the Nicaraguan Congress passed an anti-terrorism law with sentences of up to 25 years, the instrument of which is being used to accuse protesters and bring them to trial without the accompaniment of human rights organizations.