The lack of unity among the Nicaraguan opposition, composed of very disparate sectors and visions, and now dispersed geographically, has been an issue identified as a key obstacle to the construction of a different future for Nicaragua. This division is also something actively promoted by the dictatorship. This article makes the case that as long as the different groups do not unite around the basics for a democratic transition, there is no hope for change. The exclusion of “leftists” or “right wingers” at this point does not help in the urgent task to unite everyone against the dictatorship. He uses the example of the transition in Spain from Franco to a society of the Rule of Law as an example of what is required of the Nicaraguan opposition groups.
May 17, 2023 by Wilfredo Miranda Aburto in DIVERGENTES
Some Nicaraguan dissidents re-discovered cold water after listening to the homily of Bishop Silvio Báez this past May 7th in Chicago: that Nicaragua and Nicaraguans demand unity in the face of the criminal dictatorship of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo. Immediately the reactions of some sectors endorsed the words of the bishop and said that they are going “to build a different path to achieve unity.”
More than five years have passed since April 2018, that self-convoked explosion of freedom and democracy that, as is natural, fell on the social and political leaders that existed before and those that began in the popular rebellion. Undoubtably the opposition, like all Nicaraguans, have spent five years suffering the repressive attacks of the regime. Jail, exile, confiscations, murders, torture, dispossession…a vast repressive menu which is not subsiding. April made all the possible ideological, moral and social spectrums come together against those criminals against humanity, including even followers of the regime.
It is normal that in such a diverse opposition there might be serious differences of postures and proposals. Deep ideological fissures that, during this long exercise of seeking unity, have quarreled.
In such complex processes like that of Nicaragua – where there have never existed historical memory, justice and reparation for all –distrust between one another is normal. The great error has been believing that that the so longed for unity must be between equals. Nothing could be more absurd. Unity is built among differences: antagonism, antithesis. Above all in circumstances where crimes against humanity exist that make no distinctions. Even though in this case opposing poles are not fully attracted to one another, the attempt must be made. It is urgent: a unity based on differences because it is the most viable path for a democratic transition. The only common objective must be the departure of Ortega-Murillo. The ideological differences and differences in principles, in light of a country with a new social pact, must be discussed in democracy. Ideology matters because it molds societies, but it is not the moment for us to get stuck in that endless discussion.
Political and social organizations have emerged in Nicaragua and especially in exile. The announcement which several territorial, exiled and diaspora organizations have made that they are meeting is welcome, but concerning. Will it be another press release which remains just ink on paper? Let us hope not. People are tired of these ploys and disagreements, even though it is difficult to not fall into them in the face of a regime which is so skilled in perversity and the art of division. Some people saw mirages in November 2021 and crashed. It is true that egos, interests, oversights and bad intentions have existed. Nevertheless, I must say that I have been a witness to the fact that many dissidents achieved political maturity through their passage through the infamous prison of El Chipote. I also have to say that in Costa Rica the Monteverde space fulfilled one of its principal tasks: to sit down at the same table figures who did not even speak to one another before.
Now, in the United States, noise is coming back to darken the possibility of hope. And it should be resolved quickly for the common good. The stridency is coming from sectors that, in this context, are suspicious because of their closed positions on conditioning unity with ideology at this time: left-right, anti-Sandinism…They do not quit attacking the very enemy prefabricated by Ortega-Murillo, as the lawyer Yader Morazán has demonstrated well: the Sandinista Renovation Movement (MRS). A group that aware of the historical baggage which Sandinism has become, changed their name to the Democratic Renovation Movement (UNAMOS).
Currently, none of the candidates with the best possibilities of running for the presidency are from UNAMOS. “The only ones who are showing their faces now are: Maradiaga, Medardo, Juan Sebastián and Peraza. None were Sandinista. And there are three Liberals there,” my colleague Miguel Mendoza recalled correctly some weeks ago. In conversations with several dissident actors, none of them has told me that the young women of the leadership of UNAMOS (Ana Margarita, Suyen and Támara) are trying to impose their principles, as these vociferous sectors want to show, who resort to demonizing “gender ideology”, sexual diversity, abortion, social democracy, among other postures to whip up unneeded polemics. Each person has the right to think and believe what they want, but they are discussions for later, because at this point, they only divide. Some sectors, especially in Florida, are setting the table for the regime which they presume to oppose.
In this fight against the dictatorship the “leftists” are needed to convince the left wing and those on the right are needed to convince the right wingers, in order to take more forceful positions in the face of the barbarism. Up to now, the result of focusing on common actions has provided results. That is why Ortega-Murillo are sanctioned and isolated. That is why, as people banished and in exile, we have been given refuge, parole, citizenship. All are needed in this collective desire for democracy.
Sincerely, one cannot aspire to build a democracy based on half-truths and Manichean stories of history. These recalcitrant sectors cannot pretend to be judges of the events of yesterday and today. It is not up to them. The delineation of criminal responsibilities – on both sides – during the seventies, eighties and currently, passes through the construction of a comprehensive historical memory, ascribed to universal justice. “It should not be forgotten that the danger for society is not remembering the past, but forgetting it,” proposed the German historian Walther L. Bernecker. And no one, from among those whom these sectors are attacking, propose forgetting, but rather shining light on our historical and bloody shadows. A complicated but necessary exercise to shake off the misfortune once and for all. Nevertheless, this can only happen if we achieve a democratic transition.
An example to study is Spain, where the transition to democracy was less bumpy when the entire spectrum of opponents united above their differences. Different protest movements came together in the final stage of Francoism. That unity was composed by ideologically very disparate ranks, but with a primary objective: the overthrow of the dictatorial regime and the establishment of a representative democracy. Even though it was not able to overthrow the “Generalisimo”, the Spanish opposition movements consummated a broad social network response to the dictatorship, which got stronger after the death of Franco and ended up being key for the transition. One of those pillars for a society that, up to today, addresses its historical memory and moves forward with its differences within a Rule of Law.
I hope that the opposition of Nicaragua does not unite just because respected Bishop Silvio Báez says so, but because every painful experience that we Nicaraguans are experiencing demands it. That this genuinely motivates them to converge. If they do not achieve this, it not only will be a national disappointment, but will bring them closer to being collaborators of this shared Calvary.
Before ending, I leave you with a reflection from our Rubén Darío, who always was a great visionary: “The politicians of the time seem like they do not realize at all the damage suffered, and spend their energies on inside chicanery, battles of isolated groups, partial affairs of parties, without being concerned about the common good, without seeking the solution to general damages, the wounds to the flesh of the nation.” I hope, some more than others, they are no longer like this type of politicians. Evolve, show a real commitment to Nicaragua. You have in your hands your last political capital, do not waste it.