On Tuesday, April 15th after 47 days* of not hearing from the Nicaraguan president, Daniel Ortega addressed the nation. His speech** was parallel to a State of the Union Address.
He talked about what Nicaragua was doing in finance, safety, as well as addressing COVID-19 (Much of that was mentioned in our last blog.) He explained about how sheltering in place cannot work in a developing country - here, if people don’t go out to work, they and their family don’t eat - and he lauded all the health care workers, the farmers, and all laborers.
He also talked about Nicaragua’s achievements in health care, including rebuilding all the health clinics and hospitals that were burned down during the 2018 political unrest supported by the U.S. State Department. He lauded the efforts of his government in building more hospitals (18 during his administration), roads, and infrastructure. And they have made progress…no one can deny it.
What was different from a State of the Union was that there were no applauders, no hecklers, no one shouting. It was calm and – for Daniel – succinct. Also, Daniel talked about Christian morals.
Daniel Ortega and his vice-president Rosario Murillo define their government as Democratic Christian Socialist. Christian beliefs play a huge role in their government. It is not a theocracy…anyone is free to practice any religion or no religion, but all large government events are opened with prayer and usually both Catholic priests and Evangelical pastors are asked to speak. Public schools open with the national anthem, announcements, and prayer.
In keeping with his faith…he also said that in this time of Coronavirus maybe we should start doing things differently as nations, such as:
The world demands an ethical and moral re-founding, and that happens because resources need to be placed where they belong, so as to save lives and give security to families, and give true Christian Love to Humanity.
So yes, his speech was like a U.S. State of the Union Address, but oh, so very, very different.
*There had been rumors of his death or illness. He sounded and looked well.
**English translation of speech available here: http://www.tortillaconsal.com/tortilla/node/9104
He talked about what Nicaragua was doing in finance, safety, as well as addressing COVID-19 (Much of that was mentioned in our last blog.) He explained about how sheltering in place cannot work in a developing country - here, if people don’t go out to work, they and their family don’t eat - and he lauded all the health care workers, the farmers, and all laborers.
He also talked about Nicaragua’s achievements in health care, including rebuilding all the health clinics and hospitals that were burned down during the 2018 political unrest supported by the U.S. State Department. He lauded the efforts of his government in building more hospitals (18 during his administration), roads, and infrastructure. And they have made progress…no one can deny it.
What was different from a State of the Union was that there were no applauders, no hecklers, no one shouting. It was calm and – for Daniel – succinct. Also, Daniel talked about Christian morals.
Daniel Ortega and his vice-president Rosario Murillo define their government as Democratic Christian Socialist. Christian beliefs play a huge role in their government. It is not a theocracy…anyone is free to practice any religion or no religion, but all large government events are opened with prayer and usually both Catholic priests and Evangelical pastors are asked to speak. Public schools open with the national anthem, announcements, and prayer.
In keeping with his faith…he also said that in this time of Coronavirus maybe we should start doing things differently as nations, such as:
- Nations that spend billions and trillions on atomic bombs should stop building weapons designed to kill millions and build hospitals instead.
- Although nations do have a right to defend themselves with a military and police force, they do not have the right to spend trillions to manipulate the rest of the world to their interests.
- Pandemics and epidemics always accompany war; therefore, war should end.
- Sanctions and blockades should end so that all nations can join together in peace to allow each other to heal their citizens and the world.
- Immigrants should not have to drown in beautiful waters that separate Europe and Africa nor be put in cages nor deported to dangerous countries.
- The citizens of the wealthiest country should have access to health care.
- The United Nations should be reformed to be a stronger mediator and influence in the world as well as equally include all nations.
The world demands an ethical and moral re-founding, and that happens because resources need to be placed where they belong, so as to save lives and give security to families, and give true Christian Love to Humanity.
So yes, his speech was like a U.S. State of the Union Address, but oh, so very, very different.
-Kathleen
*There had been rumors of his death or illness. He sounded and looked well.
**English translation of speech available here: http://www.tortillaconsal.com/tortilla/node/9104
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