Newspapers in Nicaragua
The daily distribution in Nicaragua is relatively small (30 items per 1,000
residents, 2000). There are five newspapers. Most famous is the bourgeois La
Prensa (founded in 1926, edition: about 30,000 copies), which led the opposition
to the Sandin government and where Violeta de Chamorro, then president, was
editor-in-chief. Other major newspapers are Nuevo Diario, founded in 1980 by a
group of journalists who left La Prensa because of its right-wing orientation
(about 45,000 copies) and Barricada, the main body of the Sandinists (founded in
1979, about 95,000 copies). There is freedom of expression and press, although
in the 1980s it appeared that the government occasionally withdrew malicious
newspapers, including La Prensa.
There are some sixty local radio stations, some twenty in Managua. In the
opinion formation, the Sandinists' Radio Sandino and the UN Radio
Corporation play a major role, as did Radio Católica, which was
part of the opposition to the Sandinist government and for some time was also
withdrawn. Television broadcasts in seven channels, one of which (Sistema
Nacional de Televisión, SNTV) is state. There are 270 radio and 69 TV
receivers per 1,000 residents (2000).
Culture
Poetry has traditionally a strong position.
The poet Rubén Darío (1867-1916), who named the National
Theater in Managua, was the foremost representative of
Spanish American modernism.
Priest Ernesto Cardenal is one of the most famous
poets. In the 1970s, he started a school for naïve
painting on the island of Solentiname. Cardenal was
Minister of Culture in the 1980s, but later left the
FSLN Sandinist Party. He died in March 2020, 95 years
old.
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Countryaah:
Latest population statistics of Nicaragua, including religious profiles and major languages spoken as well as population growth rates in next three decades.
Other significant writers are Gioconda Belli and
Sergio Ramírez.
The satirical play El Güegüense, which is believed to
have been written in the early 18th century and which
consists of theater, music and dance, was put on the
UNESCO list of world cultural heritage in 2005. The
World Heritage List also includes the Cathedral of Léon
and the ruins of Léon Viejo, one of the oldest Spanish
settlements in America.
Brothers Luis Enrique and Carlos Mejía Godoy became
famous for their revolutionary songs in the 1980s.
From the Atlantic coast comes the palo de mayo,
an erotic couple dance danced around a bar of corn.
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Songaah: List and lyrics of songs related to the country name of Nicaragua. Artists and albums are also included.
2020
June
Doctors kicked for covid criticism
June 10th
At least eight doctors employed in public health have been dismissed since
they criticized President Daniel Ortega's government for inadequate corona
management. Doctors must make explicit support for voluntary quarantine
measures. The government continues to claim that the infection situation is
under control in the country. Almost no measures have been taken to curb the
spread of infection in Nicaragua, in sharp contrast to most of the rest of Latin
America. In addition to the fact that schools and workplaces have remained open,
the national football league also continues as usual, with large crowds as a
result. The official death toll in covid-19 is 55, but a non-profit organization
has counted over 1,000 deaths suspected to have been caused by the new corona
virus.
May
Quick-burial hides pandemic
May 18
The opposition and relatives of the deceased accuse the government of
ordering "quick burials" to hide the spread of the corona pandemic in Nicaragua.
According to official data, only eight people have died in covid-19 in the
country, but critics believe the actual figure is many times higher. Nicaragua,
unlike most countries in the region, has imposed almost no restrictions at all
to try to prevent the spread of infection. Sick people are removed and later
reported dead, while police prevent people from entering the hospitals.
President Daniel Ortega and his wife, Vice President Rosario Murillo, downplay
the seriousness of the corona pandemic and accuse the media of false reporting.
April
Easter parades despite corona
April 12
Hundreds of Nicaraguans follow the government's call and participate in
traditional Easter processions - even though the church has canceled all events
due to the Corona pandemic. President Daniel Ortega and, not least, his wife,
Vice President Rosario Murillo, are greatly reducing the danger of the virus and
claim that the situation is calm in the country. The government supports beauty
pageants, food competitions, concerts, markets and visits to the beaches - while
large parts of the rest of Latin America are more or less quarantined.
Officially, only nine cases of coronary infection have been reported in
Nicaragua, and one death. However, many people suspect that the figures do not
reflect reality.
Mass release due to corona pandemic
April 8
Around 1,700 interns are released prematurely due to the ongoing corona
pandemic, and placed under house arrest under the supervision of the
International Red Cross Committee. Among them, however, are none of the 70
political prisoners who, according to human rights groups, have been arrested
because of opposition to President Daniel Ortega and his government. There is no
official figure for the total number of prisoners in Nicaragua's prisons.
March
Over 100,000 have fled the country
March 10
UN refugee agency UNHCR reports that over 100,000 people have fled Nicaragua
since the unrest in April 2018, putting the country into a political and social
crisis. These are people who have sought asylum abroad from persecution and
violations of human rights.
February
Widened opposition to the elections
February 25th
Seven party groups form a "national alliance" against President Daniel Ortega
ahead of the presidential and parliamentary elections to be held in 2021, likely
in November. Among the participants are two groups formed during the protests
that broke out in 2018: Citizens Alliance for Justice and Democracy (ACJD) and
National Unity Blue and White (Unab). A peasant movement that opposed the canal
project is also included as well as a party organizing the indigenous people
yatama. Also included is the Nicraguan Democratic Force (FDN), a group of former
contras who fought against Ortega's sand ministers in the civil war of
the 1980s.
Local party leader killed
February 20th
Opposition Party Citizens for Freedom (Ciudadanos por la Libertad, CxL)
states that José López, a leader of the party, was shot dead in the city of
Mulukuku in the northeast. According to the report, López was abducted three
days earlier by three armed men before he was shot dead. CxL is one of several
parties that soon plans to form an opposition alliance for the 2021 election.
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