Violent protests against a proposed change to Nicaragua’s pension system have left at least 10 people dead over two days, the government said on Friday.
In the biggest protests in Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega’s 11 years in office, people are angry over the plan because workers and employers would have to chip in more toward the retirement system.
The government is willing to hold a dialogue and Ortega was yesterday to issue a formal call, Nicaraguan Vice President Rosario Murillo said, adding: “At least 10 compatriots have died.”
Photo: AP
Demonstrations rocked the capital, Managua, and nearby cities for a third day.
The new law, besides increasing employer and employee contributions, would cut the overall pension amount by 5 percent.
“We are against these reforms, which means we’re against this government taking from the pockets of Nicaraguans,” protester Juan Bautista said.
He said riot police brutally attacked demonstrators like him, because “the dictator does not like people to protest.”
A woman nearby shouted: “The people are tired of this repression!”
Students from the Polytechnic University of Nicaragua have been holed up on their campus since Thursday evading police. Other students took refuge in nearby buildings or residences.
In Las Colinas, south of the capital, demonstrators raised small barricades and with their hands raised asked the riot police not to target them.
Four independent TV outlets were taken off the air after they broadcast the demonstrations on Thursday, and two were still blocked on Friday.
Murillo compared the protesters to “vampires demanding blood to feed their political agenda.”
The opposition said more than 20 people were wounded, while writers group Pen Nicaragua said that at least 11 journalists were attacked while covering the demonstrations.
“We call on the Nicaraguan authorities to act to prevent further attacks on demonstrators and on the media,” Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights spokeswoman Liz Throssell.
She urged the government to let people “exercise their right to freedom of expression and to peaceful assembly and association,” and urged protesters to demonstrate “peacefully.”
Demonstrators were attacked by government supporters in the city of Masaya, she added.
Miguel Mora, director of the private TV channel 100% Noticias — which the government blocked on Thursday — accused Ortega of applying the same censorship he imposed in the 1980s during the Sandinista Revolution.
When Ortega returned to power in 2007, he promised to “never censor a media outlet — and today he is doing just that,” Mora told Channel 14.
FRAUD ALLEGED: The leader of an opposition alliance made allegations of electoral irregularities and called for a protest in Tirana as European leaders are to meet Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama’s Socialist Party scored a large victory in parliamentary elections, securing him his fourth term, official results showed late on Tuesday. The Socialist Party won 52.1 percent of the vote on Sunday compared with 34.2 percent for an alliance of opposition parties led by his main rival Sali Berisha, according to results released by the Albanian Central Election Commission. Diaspora votes have yet to be counted, but according to initial results, Rama was also leading there. According to projections, the Socialist Party could have more lawmakers than in 2021 elections. At the time, it won 74 seats in the
A Croatian town has come up with a novel solution to solve the issue of working parents when there are no public childcare spaces available: pay grandparents to do it. Samobor, near the capital, Zagreb, has become the first in the country to run a “Grandmother-Grandfather Service,” which pays 360 euros (US$400) a month per child. The scheme allows grandparents to top up their pension, but the authorities also hope it will boost family ties and tackle social isolation as the population ages. “The benefits are multiple,” Samobor Mayor Petra Skrobot told reporters. “Pensions are rather low and for parents it is sometimes
CONTROVERSY: During the performance of Israel’s entrant Yuval Raphael’s song ‘New Day Will Rise,’ loud whistles were heard and two people tried to get on stage Austria’s JJ yesterday won the Eurovision Song Contest, with his operatic song Wasted Love triumphing at the world’s biggest live music television event. After votes from national juries around Europe and viewers from across the continent and beyond, JJ gave Austria its first victory since bearded drag performer Conchita Wurst’s 2014 triumph. After the nail-biting drama as the votes were revealed running into yesterday morning, Austria finished with 436 points, ahead of Israel — whose participation drew protests — on 357 and Estonia on 356. “Thank you to you, Europe, for making my dreams come true,” 24-year-old countertenor JJ, whose
CANCER: Jose Mujica earned the moniker ‘world’s poorest president’ for giving away much of his salary and living a simple life on his farm, with his wife and dog Tributes poured in on Tuesday from across Latin America following the death of former Uruguayan president Jose “Pepe” Mujica, an ex-guerrilla fighter revered by the left for his humility and progressive politics. He was 89. Mujica, who spent a dozen years behind bars for revolutionary activity, lost his battle against cancer after announcing in January that the disease had spread and he would stop treatment. “With deep sorrow, we announce the passing of our comrade Pepe Mujica. President, activist, guide and leader. We will miss you greatly, old friend,” Uruguayan President Yamandu Orsi wrote on X. “Pepe, eternal,” a cyclist shouted out minutes later,
RSS