Things That Matter

Priests In The Nicaraguan Catholic Church Are Supporting Anti-Ortega Demonstrators Calling For His Removal

By May 2, 2018 at 10:41 am

After two weeks of violent and deadly protests, Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega has scrapped a proposed social security reform plan which would have increased taxes to workers and employers and reduced retired workers’ pensions. In response, the Nicaraguan Catholic Church called for peaceful marches. The church is also taking the position of mediator to address the cause of the protests. More than 60 people have died and over 400 have been injured in Nicaragua due to anti-government protests and most of the victims are students.

Many leaders in the country’s Catholic church support anti-Ortega protestors taking to the streets.

“The government has just one month to come through. If it doesn’t, the people will be told that it couldn’t,” Leopoldo Brenes, a cardinal in Nicaragua’s catholic church, told The Washington Post. Human rights groups have denounced the country’s response to protesters which has led to National Assembly president Gustavo Porras calling for the creation of a truth commission to look into the deaths and violence during the clashes.

The Nicaraguan government has not confirmed or denied casualty figures which has been estimated to include at least 60 dead and almost 400 injured.

Nicaraguans are demanding Ortega’s resignation and that of his wife, Vice President Rosario Murillo, describing them as oppressive and corrupt violators of human rights, civil rights and the freedom of the people. President Ortega who has held a tight grip on power since his election in 2007, has also seen his share of supporters who took to the streets on Monday to rally in his support.

“We must say no to death, no to destruction, no to violence, no to barbarity!” Ortega said to supporters during the rally, according to The Miami Herald. “Yes to life, yes to dialogue, yes to work , yes to peace!.”

Young people have been at the center of protests calling for the resignation of the President Daniel Ortega.

The protests were started by students at the Polytechnic University of Nicaragua in the capital city Managua. Peaceful protesters were attacked by police in an attempt to stop the students from voicing their discontent. This led to nationwide protests against the current government instead of just about the proposed social security changes.

As protests continue, the world is watching to see if Ortega and his wife will leave their position of power.

President Ortega has been in power for 17 years. First from 1984 to 1990 and he resumed power again in 2007 until now.

“He either lives in a civil way, obeying the law and stopping the brutality and the corruption, or he becomes the Nicaraguan version of the Ceaușescu,” Nicaraguan journalist Alvaro Cruz, editor of the Salvadoran newspaper Diario El Mundo, told the Miami Herald.

The reference of Ceaușescu is of Nicolae Ceaușescu, the last Communist leader of Romania. He and his wife were overthrown in 1989 by a revolution. They were tried and convicted by a court for their crimes against the Romanian people and were among the last people executed in Romania.


Read: Political And Civil Unrest Has Been Raging In Nicaragua After A Change Was Made To The Social Security System

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At Least 17 Dead And Hundreds Injured Following Massive Protests Across Colombia

Things That Matter

At Least 17 Dead And Hundreds Injured Following Massive Protests Across Colombia

By May 3, 2021 at 1:02 pm
BY  | May 3, 2021 AT 1:02 pm

A massive protest movement that swept across Colombia seems to have paid off – at least in the short term – as President Ivan Duque says that he will withdrawal the controversial tax plan that sent angry protesters into the streets. However, the protests claimed at least 17 victims who died during the unrest and hundreds more were injured.

Now that the president has withdrawn the controverial bill, many are wondering what’s next and will they have to take to the streets once again.

Massive protests claimed the lives of at least 17 people and hundreds more were injured across Colombia.

Unions and other groups kicked off marches on Wednesday to demand the government of President Ivan Duque withdraw a controversial tax plan that they say unfairly targets the most vulnerable Colombians.

Isolated vandalism, clashes between police and protesters and road blockades occurred in several cities on Saturday, and riot police were deployed in the capital.

Rights organization Human Rights Watch said it had received reports of possible police abuse in Cali, and local human rights groups alleged up to 17 deaths occurred.

After a week of protests, the government has shelved the controversial plan.

Faced with the unrest, the government of President Ivan Duque on Sunday ordered the proposal be withdrawn from Congress where it was being debated. In a televised statement, he said his government would work to produce new proposals and seek consensus with other parties and organizations.

President Duque, in his statement, acknowledged “it is a moment for the protection of the most vulnerable, an invitation to build and not to hate and destroy”.

“It is a moment for all of us to work together without paltriness,” he added. “A path of consensus, of clear perceptions. And it gives us the opportunity to say clearly that there will be no increase in VAT for goods and services.”

The tax reform had been heavily criticized for punishing the middle classes at a time of economic crisis brought on by the coronavirus pandemic. The government introduced the bill on April 15 as a means of financing public spending. The aim was to generate $6.3 billion between 2022 and 2031 to reignite the fourth largest economy in Latin America.

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colombiaPolice BrutalitypoliticsProtests

Protesters In Mexico Take To Streets To Demand Justice For Dog Brutally Killed By Man With An Axe

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Protesters In Mexico Take To Streets To Demand Justice For Dog Brutally Killed By Man With An Axe

By April 22, 2021 at 9:52 am
BY  | April 22, 2021 AT 9:52 am

Residents of one Mexican city have taken to the streets to demand justice for a local stray dog who was brutally killed in an axe attack last month. Video of the incident was uploaded to social media and quickly went viral, leading to large protests in the Sinaloan city of Los Mochis.

Hundreds marched in Los Mochis to seek justice for a dog killed by man with an axe.

Hundreds took to the streets in Los Mochis, Sinaloa to demand justice for Rodolfo, a mixed breed dog killed with an axe on March 21. They showed banners that read “Justice for Rodolfo & for all who have no voice,” “We won’t stop until we have justice,” and “Justice for Rodolfo,” among others.

Despite the COVID-19 regulations, the participants in this new march, children, women and men, calmly marched through the center of the city of Los Mochis to make it clear that they are against animal cruelty and demanded justice for Rodolfo, who was a local stray dog. The demonstration gained traction after a video of the attack on Rodolfo, also known by Heart, Pirate and Shorty, was uploaded onto social media.

The predominantly young crowd marched to the state prosecutor’s office where environmental activist Arturo Islas Allende delivered a criminal complaint. Many brought their pets to the march and carried placards demanding the killer be sentenced to prison. One placard read: “Justice for Rodolfo and for all those that don’t have a voice.”

The suspected attacker, José “M,” a student at a Sinaloa university, has already delivered a preparatory statement to officials. Islas Allende questioned the morality of the killer. “We don’t want a psychopath like him as our neighbor,” he said.

The suspect’s girlfriend claimed that he killed the dog to protect her.

The girlfriend of the alleged attacker took to social media in his defense, saying the dog had attacked her days earlier and injured her face and hands.

On her Facebook account she claimed that medical treatments for her injuries had cost 8,000 pesos (US $400) and uploaded photographs of the injuries caused by the dog’s bites.

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Animal Crueltyanimal rightsMexicoProtests