WHY DO THE MEDIA HATE DANIEL ORTEGA?
By Gerry Condon, Popular Resistance.
June 29, 2021 | EDUCATE!
Above photo: Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega speaks to supporters. Inti
Ocon/AFP/Getty Images.
Is The U.S. Meddling In The Nicaraguan Election?
When Kamala Harris finally traveled to the U.S./Mexico border last week, she
met several young women asylum seekers. The vice president likely saw
Hondurans, Salvadorans and Guatemalans who were fleeing from violence and
extreme poverty. But she probably did not see any Nicaraguan asylum
seekers, who are few and far between.
Nicaragua and Honduras are considered the two poorest nations in Latin
America. Honduras is a corrupt, failed, violent country, whose government
is backed by the U.S. Nicaragua has free healthcare and education, and is
considered the safest country in Central America.
Since Daniel Ortega and the Sandinista Front won the Nicaraguan election in
2006, they have made remarkable gains, dramatically reducing poverty and
extreme poverty. The Nicaraguan people have something that those escaping
from Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala do not have - hope for the future
and peace in the present.
I first traveled to Nicaragua in the fall of 1983 with military veterans
concerned that the U.S. was fomenting a Vietnam War in Central America. Four
years after the Nicaraguan people rose up and sent the Somoza dictatorship
packing, there was another war raging - a war of terrorist violence against
rural communities. Nicaragua's "Contras" were armed and trained by the CIA,
and they later famously smuggled large amounts of cocaine into the United
States. As popular pressure moved the U.S. Congress to cut off funding for
the Contras, Ronald Reagan, Elliott Abrams and Ollie North were implicated
in the Iran-Contra scandal. Drugs for money and weapons. Fifty thousand
Nicaraguans were killed.
The U.S./Contra War Led To The 1990 Electoral Defeat For Sandinistas
By 1990, the U.S./Contra war and harsh economic sanctions had created a
climate where Nicaraguans were effectively blackmailed into voting against
the Sandinista government. In Latin America, the Empire is not subtle. The
U.S. Ambassador held a press conference in Managua and told Nicaraguans how
to vote. If they vote for the Sandinistas, he said, there will be more war
and economic sanctions. The U.S. had selected the candidate, Violeta
Chamorro, had pressured the opposition parties to unite behind her, and had
funded much of her campaign. Violeta Chamorro won the election.
Even though the election had been rigged against them, Daniel Ortega and the
Sandinista Front accepted their electoral defeat, and implemented the first
peaceful transfer of power in Nicaraguan history. For seventeen years the
Sandinistas remained in the opposition, while a series of corrupt neoliberal
governments undid all their programs for the poor. Then in 2006, Daniel
Ortega was elected president once more.
Since the Sandinistas regained power in 2007, Nicaragua has experienced
remarkable progress. Free healthcare for all. Schools and colleges built in
rural areas. Direct support to poor farmers. Dramatic reduction in poverty.
Food sovereignty - they grow almost all the food that they eat. Women's
equal participation in all aspects of government and the economy. Really
good highways connecting the entire country and its markets. It is now only
a 6-hour drive from Managua to the Atlantic Coast of Nicaragua, with its
Afro-Caribbean and Indigenous peoples, and unique autonomous regions.
Several recent polls show the Ortega government retaining widespread support
and easily defeating even a united opposition ticket. They have nothing to
fear at the ballot box.
But wait! The U.S. media - and Human Rights Watch - are now screaming that
President Ortega is arresting the opposition's presidential candidates! Can
this be true? Actually, this is a very misleading accusation. It is true
that around 17 people have been arrested by Nicaraguan authorities. Several
arrestees had political ambitions, but none had declared to run for
president. And none of the 14 parties registered for the November 7
election had chosen any of these people to be their candidates. These
non-candidates were arrested for money-laundering, for failing to account
for receipt of major foreign funding, for calling for economic sanctions
against Nicaragua, and for collaborating with hostile foreign powers. We
will see the evidence once they have their day in court.
Violent Coup Attempt In 2018
There is a powerful backdrop to current events in Nicaragua. In April to
July 2018 there was an attempted coup in Nicaragua - widespread, coordinated
violence, apparently taking the Ortega government by surprise. Barricades
blocked many roads, bringing commerce to a halt. A sophisticated social
media campaign brought people into the streets with lies about the police
killing students. Government buildings were torched. Over 200 people died
in street violence over several weeks. Half or more of the dead were
Sandinistas, including 24 police. Videos were posted online of Sandinistas
being tortured and even burned alive at the barricades. The U.S. media
claimed that "nonviolent protester" were under attack by Nicaraguan police.
Daniel Ortega deflated the attempted coup by showing great restraint. He
pulled the police back to their barracks. He kept the Army out of the fray.
He negotiated with opposition leaders. And he granted amnesty to those who
had joined in these violent events. Ortega is now praised for having the
wisdom not to overreact - not to cause further violence and chaos.
Nonetheless, western media prefers to paint Ortega as an "authoritarian
dictator" who violently represses dissent and jails his political
adversaries. That is the narrative we will hear over and over.
Much of the corporate media appears content to be propagandists for U.S.
foreign policy. At least they have become accustomed to that role.
Unfortunately, this is also true for elements within the human rights
organizations. Their accusations of human rights abuses too often coincide
with the State Department regime change propaganda.
Long History Of U.S. Intervention In Nicaragua
For well over a century, the United States has been invading Nicaragua, has
occupied it with Marines, has supported the violent 40-year Somoza
dictatorship, has organized a counter-revolutionary army, has funded
opposition organizations and media, and has hyperactively intervened in the
internal affairs of the Nicaraguan people.
Some historians say the potential for a Nicaraguan Canal, which would
compete with the U.S.-controlled Panama Canal, has been major factor in the
U.S. obsession with Nicaragua. What else would explain it? Or does
Nicaragua present the "threat of a good example."
So yes, of course, the United States government is intervening in the
Nicaraguan election. Their plan for doing so is detailed in a leaked USAID
document. Contingencies include the sudden transfer or power under chaotic
circumstances.
U.S. sanctions on Nicaragua will be intensified by the RENACER Act, which
recently passed in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. It is difficult
for Congressional representatives to vote against a sanctions bill when they
are hearing the same horrible story from every media source. They need to be
provided with accurate information and alternative perspectives. So do all
of us. Even people who follow foreign affairs closely can be disoriented
and confused by the barrage of disinformation coming from every direction.
Despite majority support for the Sandinista Front, there is intense
polarization in Nicaragua. Most of the media is owned by the opposition and
is virulently anti-Ortega. The attempted coup opened up old wounds, and was
a heavy blow to the economy as well.
Demonize The Leader - Destroy The "Threat Of A Good Example"
The oldest trick in the imperial regime change book is to "demonize" the
leader of the government you wish to overthrow. Like with Assad in Syria,
for example. Now we must believe that Daniel Ortega, whose government has
improved the lives of tens of thousands of poor Nicaraguans, is a terrible
villain who must somehow be removed.
We in the U.S. need become more media literate - more skeptical of Big
Media. Why would we believe the Washington Post, the New York Times, CBS,
CNN, or Fox News - the same media that told us there were "weapons of mass
destruction" in Iraq?" The corporate media routinely justifies U.S.
intervention and cheerleads for U.S. wars.
In July 2019 I traveled to Nicaragua with a delegation from Veterans For
Peace. We visited with healthcare workers and with a women-run cooperative
farm. We heard emotional testimony from families of police who had been
killed in the attempted coup of 2018 and from mayors whose towns had been
under attack. We met with veterans - the highly respected "historical
combatants," who ultimately took the lead in dismantling the barricades.
On July 19 - Nicaragua's Independence Day - we joined 400,000 jubilant
Nicaraguans who were rejoicing in the main square in Managua. They had
traveled from all over Nicaragua to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the
1979 Sandinista victory over the U.S.-backed dictator Somoza. (Anybody see a
pattern here?)
I love the heroic, handsome, poetic and fun-loving Nicaraguan people. I am
in awe of their unique and hopeful revolution. Casting a little light into
the shadows of regime change propaganda is the least that I can do to show
my appreciation.
Gerry Condon, former president of Veterans For Peace, has been visiting
Nicaragua since 1983. For up-to-date news and views about Nicaragua, he
recommends NicaNotes at www.afgj.org.