On April 6, an article in the medical journal The Lancet stated that the response of the Nicaraguan government to the COVID-19 pandemic “…has been perhaps the most erratic of any country in the world to date. Directly contradicting mitigation strategies recommended by WHO, President Daniel Ortega has refused to encourage any physical distancing measures.”
In fact, it's much worse than that. In an interview given in mid-May, Bishop Silvio José Baez, the Bishop of Managua, exiled in 2019 for his own safety at Pope Francis's request, said: "The government of Nicaragua, instead of addressing the pandemic with measures that could block its spread, basically promoted massive events so that more people would get sick."
Ortega's herd immunity policy, prioritising the economy and putting the most vulnerable groups at risk, is seen by many as a new and sinister phase of the repression that began in 2018 - a deliberate strategy to punish the population for daring to stand up for it rights and confront his power.
Transmission of the coronavirus has spiralled. The already debilitated health system is on the verge of collapse. Pickup trucks have been used to cart away bodies for "express burials", often before family members knew relatives had died. Death certificates have been falsified to hide the mounting death toll from the virus, estimated by independent health experts in the first week of June at around 1000, almost 20 times higher than official government statistics.
p>Despite the release of some 2800 common criminals for Mothers’ Day in May, all 90 political prisoners remain in jail. Distraught families and friends have reported that that up to a third have had Covid 19 symptoms and, with little or no contact with them, they fear for their integrity and safety.
A few weeks ago, Ángel, a doctor friend of mine in a Nicaraguan hospital, messaged to say: "... trying to do everything in my power not to get sick. On Friday I was on night duty and looking after lots of patients who possibly have COVID19... I was given a protective gown that looks nothing like the ones the Chinese use and a mask that doesn't meet the required standards..."
A week later, another message from Ángel: “I had a chest x-ray and have a slight pneumonic infiltrate on the right side. I have a cough, a slight headache and no sense of taste or smell and been told to rest for 7 days…”
At the beginning of the coronavirus crisis, the government prohibited health professionals from using masks, to ‘avoid panic in the population’. Since then, doctors have been sacked for criticizing the lack of PPE and for receiving private donations, in a country where there are an estimated 160 ventilators for a population of over 6 million.
Ángel will soon be back on the wards without knowing if he had the virus. The upward curve is frightening. There is no testing.
Meanwhile, churches and civil society organisations, under threat of further state violence, have taken the lead, promoting physical distancing and community-based responses to shield the most vulnerable while Nicaragua heads towards one of the highest per capita Covid19 death tolls in the world. Ortega’s latest crime against humanity.
Please write to your MSP in Holyrood and MP in Westminster to express your concern about the crisis in Nicaragua or contact Scottish Solidarity with Nicaragua.