It started out in April as a peaceful protest of Daniel Ortega's proposal to cut social security benefits, and of his tyrannical repression of dissent. So say the news reports. But from the beginning it has involved looting, burning, and extracting 'donations' from motorists who want to pass through. And when Ortega quickly renounced his social security proposals, the protests only intensified. For a couple months now these 'peaceful' demonstrations have been occupying marketplaces and interfering with transportation (including transportation to and from the hospital). Many of the youth manning the roadblocks are recognized as local thieves and loafers, no job, no schooling, still living with mama, occupied with little more than their noisy motorcycles (which Mama bought for them).

Strangely, most of the shooting casualties are the youth themselves. Like a buddhist monk burning himself in protest? Some say it's because the loafers themselves are working for Ortega in order to discredit the original protesters (???) Maybe it's something like the U.S. anti-war protests of fifty years ago or so, where the original sincere protesters were soon joined by druggies, hippies, and other riff-raff, where the only order was disorder. These loafers seem to have nothing more in mind than making a mess.

Or, perhaps - like 50 years ago in the U.S. - the media and academics and liberal clerics are using the protests to mount a negative P.R. campaign against a fellow they can't beat at the ballot box. If that's the strategy, it seems to be working. Most Nicaraguans, some of my personal friends included, were quite content with Daniel, but suddenly have decided that he's a tyrant and has to go. After easily winning elections in 2006, 2011, and 2016, Ortega would likely lose a special election held right now.

My personal guess is that this is mostly the Entitlement mentality coming back to bite the hand that has fed it. If that's true, it's Ortega's own fault. Daniel has given the people most of the handouts they asked for, and a few that they didn't ask for. The loafers have come of age during Daniel's administration, and have become like baby robins chirping ever more loudly for more and more entitlements from Sugar Daddy, and, when he can't deliver, off with his head! Sound familiar?

All the above is, of course, the guesswork of a clueless foreigner. Most of my neighbors are taking the inconvenience with a shrug, and none of us appear to be in any danger. My horse in this race, if I have one, might be related to my recent 'Religious/Rant' posts and the possible role the aforementioned clerics may be playing here to try to engineer the ouster of a leader who, for all his faults, has been quite strong against the forces of same-sex 'marriage' and abortion on demand. But that's also pure guesswork on my part. If my insights turn out to be even more clueless than suspected, I may just delete this blog post and return to my more familiar ranting.

7 comments:

Don't understand why you would compare a political leader who seems to be prolife as someone the Catholic Church would like to see ousted since our Church is the cause of all life in our Lord and Savior, Jesus and His Holy Body. No picture of me???Missing you here.

That was one point of my rants - that many shepherds seem more concerned with liberal socialist programs than with serious moral and doctrinal principles. Also, as acknowledged above, this blog post is mostly clueless guessing. Nor to paint a halo around Ortega's head - he is, after all, a politician, not a nice guy.

i just pray my dearest clueless foreigner does not get in harm's way in that foreign land you are in. i heard on this early morning's news on the radio that the uprisings in Nicaragua are getting stronger and more frequent and the rebellious protestors are even killing people who are praying in churches. You are in my deepest prayers for your safety and remember that you will never be a foreigner to me. i love you and miss you.

According to the U.S. Embassy, there are protests and marches both against and in favor of the Ortega government, more complicated than i'd thought, and makes me acknowledge my cluelessness once more. But this data comes from bureaucrats - foreign ones. Are they less clueless than i? In a recent conversation with ordinary Nicas: a couple neighbors who had switched from favoring Ortega to favoring the rebels are switching back to Ortega, apparently tired of the pointless disturbances. Even more interestingly, one of them is miffed at Pope Francis for saying that Ortega should step down for peace' sake. That's the first time i've heard anyone here criticize the Latino pontiff. I don't claim that this represents a changing of the tide, still less is it justification of my rants against the clergy. But it does make me feel perhaps a bit less clueless.

i haven't heard on news or read anywhere that Pope Francis has told Ortega to step down for the sake of peace...some more fakeless news ...where did your neighbors hear this??probably from a clueless source. If i hear it, maybe on EWTN news, i'll let you know. Glad you do get some mail i send. i was concerned because i didn't bring it to Post Office and affixed the stamps myself. Thank you for letting me know. No.5 photo is fine. Maybe later we an switch to No.9...Jack just came. Talk to you later.

Nor could i find any such reports. But i did find several reports of the Nicaraguan bishops calling for Ortega's ouster. Perhaps that's where my neighbor got confused. Many of Ortega's opponents were former allies who now claim that he has become a dictator. When they say that, they often add that he's become too 'right-wing', which is to say, not liberal enough. I don't expect truth from the spokespeople on either side. And the situation in Managua may be completely different than up here in the mountains. From my point of view, the protesters seem like worthless bums.

Just learned that the U.S. Embassy is cautiously re-opening its doors. Guess (???) this means that things are calming down in Managua.

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