In a pandemic, Nicaragua’s president refuses to put his people first
Essential background to this story is Mr. Ortega’s bizarre and dangerous response to covid-19, which has included covering up facts and, at one point, actively encouraging people to gather in large groups. Mr. Ortega has denied doctors from the Pan American Health Organization access to hospitals and blamed the opposition for working with U.S. intelligence to “scare and misinform” people, according to the Wall Street Journal. An ad hoc Nicaraguan group, Citizens Observatory COVID-19, said that it has gathered reports of 2,537 deaths as of July 29, far more than the official toll of 116 deaths — underscoring the need for reliable data.
Meanwhile, 21 doctors have been purged from their jobs in public hospitals, almost all after protesting the Ortega regime’s policy. This was reminiscent of the firing of doctors who treated opposition protesters wounded by government forces during a crackdown on dissent in 2018. Ninety-six intellectuals from Latin America and elsewhere, headed by Nobel laureate Mario Vargas Llosa, signed an open letter in June protesting the firings. Perhaps embarrassed by the outcry, the regime has adjusted its stance in recent days, for instance by turning the annual July 19 celebration of the Sandinista Revolution into a small, socially distanced affair.
The Catholic Church, too, has challenged the official line on public health. Several bishops had opened clinics for covid-19 patients, only to have the government shut them down. The attack on the Sangre de Cristo chapel came only days after the Managua archdiocese announced that it would withdraw its support from the annual August celebrations for Santo Domingo de Guzmán, the capital’s patron saint. In normal times, it is a major public event, with tens of thousands celebrating in the streets. But the church said it could not go on this year because of the pandemic. The Vatican has called for a transparent investigation of the fire, which Pope Francis, in his most recent Sunday homily, called an “attack.”
Mr. Vargas Llosa and his fellow signatories beseeched Mr. Ortega to put “saving the lives of his people . . . above any other interest or consideration.” Such gestures of solidarity are welcome, but if Mr. Ortega were inclined to put his people above any other interest, these gestures would not be necessary in the first place.
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