Uproot Ortega's Rule

The goal for this project was to create a PSA poster for a cause that was important to us. The poster was created with Illustrator and all designs were digitally sketched. Below is an article I wrote to accompany the poster giving some background information:

Nicaragua is a country with a history of political corruption and oppression throughout

the years. Right now, many have lost their lives in the battle to put an end to yet another corrupt government. Nicaraguans are being censored and threatened for speaking out by their own government. People have taken to organizing protests set out to be peaceful, but because of national police and support from paramilitary involvement, turn into violent attacks on civilians. President Daniel Ortega is at the head of the issues causing the protests. He first came to power as a sign of hope for the people but has been in the position for too long. The people of Nicaragua are fighting to bring his rule to end and hope for change.

Ortega began to be active in politics during the Nicaraguan Revolution of the 1970s. The revolution began to overthrow Dictator Anastasio Somoza, whose family had been in power since 1936 (“Profile: Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega”). Their family had a history of political corruptness and creating a large division of class. There were many years of civil unrest and of that unrest, a group called Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional (FSLN) was created. The people of Nicaragua fought for many years to put an end to the acts of injustice brought on by the government. The FSLN fought for the people and in 1979 overthrew Somoza. This did not mean an immediate end to the violence. It continued on for a few more years and in 1984, Ortega was elected president. He was president until 1990 and then again in 2006 and 2011 (“Profile: Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega”). He has been able to serve three terms because, in 2012, Ortega’s assembly passed a series of laws allowing him to run again for president (“Nicaragua: Ortega Allowed to Run”). This means he has been in power for 4 decades, no longer being the people's choice. In these last elections, Ortega’s wife, Rosario Murillo, became his vice president showing how they are taking control of the government. One of her signature actions was creating “trees of life”. Hundreds of these metal trees are found all around the capital of Managua leaving her mark. Many were opposed to this action as money was allocated to create them rather than to be invested in more important causes.

It seems as though history has repeated itself and the country is back in political and civil unrest. It's been over a year since the first protest occurred on April 18, 2018 (Robles, “In Just a Week”). These more recent protests began when the president decided to increase taxes and decrease health care benefits putting many in hard situations. Students specifically lead the protests against these social security changes that affected the elders, who could not speak out for themselves. Ortega did not listen to theworries of his people once again and sent them to be silenced. There was a clear line drawn between those a favor of the president and those opposed. During the first protest, hundreds were harmed, and many died. Once the policy was repealed, people continued to protest now voicing their discomfort of the way he manipulates the laws to better fit his needs. He has attacked the Nicaraguan Center for Human Rights (CENIDH) and other NGOs, taking away their funds and ability to monitor civil and human rights issues. By removing these NGOs, Ortega is not being held accountable for his actions by other organizations (“Attack on CENIDH”). Ortega created paramilitary forces to fight on his behalf and with the help of his assembly, he passed laws making political protest terrorist acts in order to easily convict protesters. Ortega still maintains ties to the FSLN political movement as the Secretary-General and although he does not blatantly state it, he condones their violent attacks on the civilians who are protesting.

Since the first protest, over 300 people have been killed, many are missing having been kidnapped and incarcerated by police and hundreds of thousands have fled the country in search of asylum (Hill, “Nicaragua: One Year after”). Ortega has put an end to freedom of speech, oppressing his people into silence. Through his family and head figures, he has taken ownership of most of the broadcast channels in Nicaragua so at the height of the protests much of the news was not being reported. People have resorted to changing their names on Facebook and removing pictures to ensure they were safe when commenting on the issue. Protests are still occurring, especially with the anniversary of the first protest reminding the people that they are still in the fight. With elections not happening until 2021, the country is asking that he be taken out of the office and that elections are moved earlier. On top of worrying about what Ortega will do until 2021, the people fear that his wife will run for president keeping their family in power. For now, Nicaraguans continue to speak out every day with the risk of being kidnapped or killed and do what is necessary to find relief from the oppression the government is causing.

Work Cited

“Attack on CENIDH Is a Blow for Human Rights.” Amnesty International, www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2018/12/nicaragua-attack-on-cenidh-is-a-blow-for-hum an-rights/

Hill, Toby Stirling. “Nicaragua: One Year after Protests Erupt, Ortega Clings to Power.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 16 Apr. 2019, www.theguardian.com/world/2019/apr/16/nicaragua-protest-ortega-government-one-year

“Nicaragua: Ortega Allowed to Run for Third Successive Term.” BBC News, BBC, 29 Jan. 2014,www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-25937292.

“Profile: Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega, from Revolutionary Leader to Opposition Hate Figure.” BBC News, BBC, 19 July 2018,

www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-15544315.

Robles, Frances. “In Just a Week, 'Nicaragua Changed' as Protesters Cracked a Leader's Grip.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 26 Apr. 2018, www.nytimes.com/2018/04/26/world/americas/nicaragua-uprising-protesters.html.