{"id":5761,"date":"2019-07-23T16:55:47","date_gmt":"2019-07-24T00:55:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/?p=5761&lang=en"},"modified":"2019-07-25T11:46:57","modified_gmt":"2019-07-25T19:46:57","slug":"the-revolution-that-was-initiated-by-the-grandparents","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/politics\/community-action-en-2\/the-revolution-that-was-initiated-by-the-grandparents\/?lang=en","title":{"rendered":"The Revolution that was initiated by the Grandparents"},"content":{"rendered":"

By: EntreMundos Staff<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00ab<\/span>They mistreated our elders and for them to do that was as if they had crossed the sacred boundary of respect for our people\u00bb, a Nicaraguan activist said during a discussion-brainstorming session last year in Quetzaltenango.\u00a0 During the meeting she denounced the abuses committed against the Nicaraguan people by Daniel Ortega\u2019s government.\u00a0 More than a year has gone by since the Nicaraguan political\/social conflict began (the 18th of April 2018) and because the situation has developed so many levels of complexities, to discuss it, is like untangling the knots of a skein of wool.<\/div>\n

The on-going discontent which initiated the current situation occurred when the Ortega government issued a decree which reformed the social security system.\u00a0 It not only ordered a 1.25 % increase in workers\u2019 contribution, but also reduced by 5 % retirees\u2019 pensions based on the argument that the INSS, Nicaragua\u2019s Social Security Administration, was facing economic problems.\u00a0 Reactions were not slow in coming and immediately people began to protest through the usual channels.<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, this, perhaps, was only the tip of the iceberg.\u00a0 Because Daniel Ortega, who had for many years had the support of most Nicaraguans, was little by little creating reservations among the people because of the power he had — which he still holds onto.\u00a0 In 2013 a protest by various senior citizens, gathered together by the National Union of Older Adults in front of the offices of the INSS (Nicaragua\u2019s Social Security Administration), demanded restitution for their suspended pensions.\u00a0 The demonstrators occupied the INSS in Nicaragua but a few hours later were aggressively removed by members of the police force.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Grandfather and child in Granada, Nicaragua. Foto: Elaine Faith’s Flickr.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Naturally, this provoked a wave of indignation and solidarity with the demonstrators by various sectors of society.\u00a0 And although it didn\u2019t generate an immediate outburst like the one that occurred in 2018, it did contribute to the growing discontent.\u00a0 Other problems such as censorship of the media, suppression of freedom of expression, and disregard for human rights were added onto the original issue.<\/p>\n

Even though Ortega vetoed the decree which sparked the conflict, it was already too late.\u00a0 The demonstrations continued and to date, the number of dead has reached hundreds, with thousands injured and some detained\u2014all due to this violent response\u2014a response originating with the police and carried out by them and armed groups serving the government.<\/p>\n

Daniel Ortega served as president from 1979 to 1990 and then in 2007 he, again, took the position.\u00a0 In 2017 his wife, Rosario Murillo, joined the government as vice president.\u00a0 Both not only have control of the government but also control of the majority of media outlets.\u00a0 Recently Human Rights Watch requested international sanctions against Daniel Ortega and other officials responsible for the conflict in Nicaragua, taking into consideration that there has been no punishment for their actions, they could repeat it all again with future consequences being even worse.<\/p>\n

In May 2019 Amnesty International requested the release of journalists being held. They finally were freed this past June based on the controversial law which \u201cpermits the release if and when they do not resume protesting\u201d.\u00a0 The situation in Nicaragua was addressed recently in the Assembly of the Organization of American States in Medellin, Colombia, but the road to solving the problems will be a very long one.\u00a0 And that which began as a revolution of \u201cthe grandparents\u201d is now the entire society\u2019s battle.<\/p>\n

Cover photo: Nicaragua’s flag, picture taken from Karen Welsh Flickr.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By: EntreMundos Staff \u00abThey mistreated our elders and for them to do that was as if they had crossed the sacred boundary of respect for our people\u00bb, a Nicaraguan activist said during a discussion-brainstorming session last year in Quetzaltenango.\u00a0 During the meeting she denounced the abuses committed against the Nicaraguan people by Daniel Ortega\u2019s government.\u00a0 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5596,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[425,453],"tags":[1807,1812,1809,1780],"class_list":["post-5761","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community-action-en-2","category-frontpage-en","tag-elderly-people","tag-elders-in-nicaragua","tag-elders-social-situation","tag-nicaragua-protests"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/foto-flickr-karen-walsh.jpg?fit=1280%2C960&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7ljt7-1uV","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5676,"url":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/uncategorized\/outline-of-the-conflict-in-nicaragua\/?lang=en","url_meta":{"origin":5761,"position":0},"title":"Outline of the Conflict in Nicaragua","author":"EntreMundos","date":"19 julio, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"By: Jason Klarl The following are excerpts from a May 2019 interview with Lauren, (her real name has been changed as a precaution) a community development worker who had been living in Nicaragua for nearly three years before the political unrest shook the country in April 2018. Tell me about\u2026","rel":"","context":"En \u00abCommunity Action\u00bb","block_context":{"text":"Community Action","link":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/category\/politics\/community-action-en-2\/?lang=en"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/foto-flickr-jorge-mejia-peralta-para-pag-22.jpg?fit=1000%2C667&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/foto-flickr-jorge-mejia-peralta-para-pag-22.jpg?fit=1000%2C667&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/foto-flickr-jorge-mejia-peralta-para-pag-22.jpg?fit=1000%2C667&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/foto-flickr-jorge-mejia-peralta-para-pag-22.jpg?fit=1000%2C667&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5801,"url":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/politics\/community-action-en-2\/being-an-elder-in-guatemala\/?lang=en","url_meta":{"origin":5761,"position":1},"title":"Being an Elder in Guatemala","author":"EntreMundos","date":"2 agosto, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"By: Izela de Le\u00f3n Everyone at some point in time has had some type of relationship with an elderly person. Sometimes these people are our grandmothers and grandfathers and other times, they are someone else's grandparents. Whether they are family or not, we always learn from their experience and they\u2026","rel":"","context":"En \u00abCommunity Action\u00bb","block_context":{"text":"Community Action","link":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/category\/politics\/community-action-en-2\/?lang=en"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/people-741431_960_720.jpg?fit=960%2C640&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/people-741431_960_720.jpg?fit=960%2C640&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/people-741431_960_720.jpg?fit=960%2C640&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/people-741431_960_720.jpg?fit=960%2C640&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2705,"url":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/culture\/pacifists-in-a-theatre-of-war-1980-autum\/?lang=en","url_meta":{"origin":5761,"position":2},"title":"Pacifists in a theatre of war, 1980, Autumn","author":"EntreMundos","date":"21 mayo, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Cover photo: Mass for slain Revolutionary Democratic Front (FDR) leaders, Metropolitan Cathedral, San Salvador. December 3, 1980. Photo from the book\u00a0El Salvador, published by Writers and Readers Publishing Cooperative, 1983. By Mario R. Loarca Pineda\u00a0 [The author worked for several years with the American Friends Service Committee\u2019s Peace and Human\u2026","rel":"","context":"En \u00abCulture\u00bb","block_context":{"text":"Culture","link":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/category\/culture\/?lang=en"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/img_8553.jpg?fit=1200%2C804&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/img_8553.jpg?fit=1200%2C804&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/img_8553.jpg?fit=1200%2C804&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/img_8553.jpg?fit=1200%2C804&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/img_8553.jpg?fit=1200%2C804&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":7594,"url":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/culture\/the-rescue-and-revitalization-of-the-ulwa-language-in-the-community-of-karawala-raccs\/?lang=en","url_meta":{"origin":5761,"position":3},"title":"The Rescue and Revitalization of the Ulwa Language in the Community of Karawala RACCS","author":"EntreMundos","date":"5 octubre, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"By Leonzo Knight Julian The Ulwa people of Nicaragua are part of the Sumu Mayagna, Panamahka and Ulwa family rooted mainly in the Karawala community, in the Rio Grande basin of Matagalpa.\u00a0 This indigenous community, settled since 1853 in this small but important community, is composed of approximately 3500 indigenous\u2026","rel":"","context":"En \u00abCulture\u00bb","block_context":{"text":"Culture","link":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/category\/culture\/?lang=en"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/img-20200814-wa0042.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/img-20200814-wa0042.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/img-20200814-wa0042.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/img-20200814-wa0042.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/img-20200814-wa0042.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":7309,"url":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/culture\/healing-by-reconnecting-with-ourselves\/?lang=en","url_meta":{"origin":5761,"position":4},"title":"Healing by Reconnecting with Ourselves","author":"EntreMundos","date":"15 septiembre, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"By Milena Rodr\u00edguez Every time I think of the major learning moments in my life, I remember the beautiful words and stories full of wisdom shared with me by the elders of the Indigenous lands I have visited. From their vast experience, knowledge, and way of seeing life through what\u2026","rel":"","context":"En \u00abCulture\u00bb","block_context":{"text":"Culture","link":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/category\/culture\/?lang=en"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/portada-1-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/portada-1-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/portada-1-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/portada-1-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/portada-1-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":12507,"url":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/uncategorized\/supporting-the-lgbt-community-in-guatemala-a-multidimensional-effort\/?lang=en","url_meta":{"origin":5761,"position":5},"title":"Supporting the LGBT+ community in Guatemala, a multidimensional effort","author":"EntreMundos","date":"19 noviembre, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"BY JONATHAN LOTT Discrimination against members of the LGBTQI+ community in Guatemala still persists today. There are currently no laws prohibiting discrimination relating to employment, housing, health care, or education on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. NGOs and human rights publications indicate that harassment, police abuse, assault,\u2026","rel":"","context":"En \u00abFrontPage\u00bb","block_context":{"text":"FrontPage","link":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/category\/frontpage-en\/?lang=en"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/gax3.jpg?fit=794%2C794&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/gax3.jpg?fit=794%2C794&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/gax3.jpg?fit=794%2C794&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/gax3.jpg?fit=794%2C794&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5761","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5761"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5761\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5793,"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5761\/revisions\/5793"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5596"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5761"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5761"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5761"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}