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The president of Chile, Gabriel Boric, forcefully criticized the decision of the government of Daniel Ortega to withdraw the nationality of hundreds of opponents. Boric’s pronouncement contrasts with that of other leaders in the region due to his direct reference to Ortega as a “dictator.” According to analysts, the position of the Chilean president may mark a turning point in the reactions of regional governments.
In recent weeks, Nicaragua’s autocratic regime has stripped hundreds of government opponents of their nationality and expelled them from the country. This Sunday, February 19, Ortega received direct criticism from Gabriel Boric, Chilean president.
Boric retweeted a publication by the poet Gioconda Belli, one of the most recent affected by the new measures of the ruling party, the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN). On February 16, she and 93 other people had their citizenship withdrawn.
A fraternal hug to Gioconda, Sergio, Sofía, Carlos and all those whom Ortega has tried to deprive of their Nicaraguan nationality. The dictator does not know that the country is carried in his heart and in his actions, and is not deprived by decree.
They are not alone! https://t.co/7f8kMGwx1m
—Gabriel Boric Font (@GabrielBoric) February 18, 2023
“A fraternal greeting to Gioconda, Sergio, Sofía, Carlos and all those whom Ortega has tried to strip of their Nicaraguan nationality,” said the president, mentioning other dissidents. “The dictator does not know that the homeland is in his heart and in his actions, and is not deprived by decree,” he concluded.
The reactions did not wait on the part of those affected. Sergio Ramírez, writer and winner of the 2017 Cervantes Prize, thanked the president for his support. “Thank you very much President Gabriel Boric for embodying dignity and integrity by not being silent about Nicaragua. A hug ”, he stressed.
For his part, Belli tore up his passport this Sunday, in front of the cameras of Spanish national television. “This paper (…) does not make me Nicaraguan,” she said, brandishing the document and later cutting it. “When history has forgotten these tyrants, I will still be in the books as a Nicaraguan poet,” he asserted.
In an interview with a Spanish channel, Gioconda Belli cut the first part of her passport, assuring that it is not the document that makes her Nicaraguan. https://t.co/mPLqkJN9o6
— LA PRENSA Nicaragua (@laprensa) February 19, 2023
At least 316 people have been stripped of their nationality in recent days. They all have as a common factor having criticized the government of Daniel Ortega for the violation of human rights in that country.
Boric’s consistency “with his personal convictions”
“More than a position, what Boric does is be consistent with his personal convictions,” political analyst Guillermo Holzmann told France 24 from Chile. These beliefs are the same ones that have accompanied him since he was a presidential candidate. A political career in which, according to Holzmann, he has also denounced that “human rights are violated in Venezuela.”
As the political analyst affirms, Boric’s position marks a turning point within Latin American progressivism with respect to the position on Ortega’s latest recent measures. This, he assures him, “should lead to a debate” or even “to a change of position” in the governments of the region.
The analyst also stressed that several leaders “have preferred (…) to have a much more ideological and concrete vision, beyond the convictions or the discourse that they have regarding human rights.”
A forceful indication in the midst of South American ambiguity
After Boric’s announcement, Chile becomes the only Latin American and progressive country that has directly criticized Ortega. A pronouncement that becomes relevant in the midst of a regional diplomatic ambiguity.
In fact, its foreign minister, Antonia Urrejola, had already shown signs of the Chilean position. Last Thursday she condemned the actions of the FSLN. “It seems to us that the situation is of the highest gravity. It seems to us that what has been taking shape for several years now, and the events of recent weeks show it, is that every day it is a totalitarian dictatorship where any type of dissent is persecuted,” said the official.
The signaling contrasts with that of several Latin American countries, such as Colombia. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs assured that it was following with concern “the decision to also withdraw the Nicaraguan nationality of 94 other citizens, announced by the Court of Appeals of the Managua District on February 16, 2023.”
A similar tone was adopted by the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In a statement, he assured that the country “will remain attentive to the respect and protection of the human rights” of expatriates, “including their rights to nationality and not to be deprived of it in an arbitrary manner.”
From the northern hemisphere of the continent, the United States, on February 16, the Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, condemned the decision of the Ortega government to strip away the nationality of “94 of its citizens and the revocation of the citizenship of the 222 political prisoners released last week.”
With local media and EFE
