(OPNION) Is it really over? The violence has stopped, peace and tranquility has now taken over Nicaragua. If you believe Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo, it is. If you believe the ‘fake news’ sources like El Nuevo Diario, La Prensa or 100% Noticias and others not pro-government, well, it is far from over.
In the past few weeks Daniel Ortega has been all over the world, on CNN Español, Euronews, RT (Russia), TeleSur (that he partly supports) and many others, telling his side of the story of how the coup by the Americans trying to get him out, financing terrorism in his country, was defeated and how all he wants is peace through dialoguen for his country.
During all the interviews, even the ones falling over him, he never got irritated, even when called a dictator or being called a liar. He was the perfect statesman, calm, focused on his message.
During his last 11 years in office he had never given interviews.
On the other side of the bed, his wife and now vice-president, has been working on her own version of the truth.
Through the government website El19digital.com, if you were tuning in today for the first time, you wouldn’t believe that between 195 (Ortega’s claim) and more than 400 people, as per the human rights organizations, have died in the violent clashes between police, pro-government forces, paramilitaries and citizens calling for the couple’s ouster.
This past week, Murillo unveiled a PR campaign aimed at bringing back international tourists. The ‘Beautiful as ever!’: Nicaragua campaing pushes tourism despite the ongoing crisis.
Today’s front page (August 11, 2018) shows Nicaraguans enjoying tourist centers, culture gastronomy, the beaches, the festivals and the big ‘carnaval‘ in Managua.
According to the El19digital.com website, the economy is recovering.
There are reports of protests, violence, killings, etc. What you would read is about how the families are marching to demand punishment for the terrorists or the demands of justice for the victims of terrorism, how the (university) “students are committed to Peace and Justice for the victims of coup-plotting terrorism.”
If you were tuning in today you would believe it is all over.
But is anyone really buying it?
Let’s hope not.
Something I read recently and appropriate here: “Someone who talks big are actually terrible leaders and drops the mask once no foreigner is looking at them. These leaders only put on a show – a facade – to fool an international audience, while their own countrymen are sick and tired of them”.
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Article originally appeared on Today Nicaragua and is republished here with permission.
