El Presidente raises funds for Nicaraguan workers

Former Expos ace pitcher Dennis Martinez says there’s an urgent need for protective gear for frontline health-care workers in his native Nicaragua.

“There’s going to be a problem (with COVID -19) because the government has ignored the advice of all the international organizations, like the WHO, and they have put the people at risk,” Martinez said Friday in a phone call from his home in Miami. “All over the world, people are staying home because of the virus but, in Nicaragua, people are being encouraged to go out to concerts, boxing matches, baseball games. It doesn’t make any sense.”

Martinez has joined the Nicaraguan-american Medical Association and Abuelas-nicaraguenses (Nicaraguan Grandmothers) to establish a Gofundme campaign to raise $50,000 for masks and gowns for doctors and nurses.

“It’s important for those people to stay healthy so that they can prevent the spread of the disease,” said Martinez. “Any help we can get will be appreciated and I know that I can count on my friends in Montreal,” said Martinez.

There are strong indications that the government of President Daniel Ortega has been in denial about the coronavirus. The official figures for infections as reported by Johns Hopkins University show 25 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the country with eight reported deaths.

Nicaraguan epidemiologist Alvaro Ramírez, who is living in Ireland, told The Associated Press the number is already far higher and coming days “will be decisive” for Nicaragua. He calculates that in two weeks, Nicaragua could have about 18,000 infections, of which 890 would be serious.

The experience in surrounding countries and anecdotal evidence also indicate that the problem is much greater. Costa Rica has reported 830 cases. El Salvador 1,210, Guatemala 1,518, Honduras 2,318 and Panama 9,118. These are all countries that have taken measures to slow the spread of infection.

“The numbers don’t make any sense in a poor country which has done nothing to prevent the spread of the virus,” said Martinez. “Our problem is the people in the government don’t care about the people; all they care about is power.”

Martinez noted that the Ortega — who has been president since 2007 — has tightened his grip on society after a series of student-led demonstrations two years ago, when a crackdown by national police and armed pro-government groups resulted in 300 deaths and more than 2,000 injuries. Hundreds of protesters were arbitrarily arrested and prosecuted.

There have reports about a growing fear in Chinandega, a coastal city with a population of 135,000 north of the capital of Managua. Residents there say there have been a number of deaths that appear to be linked to COVID -19, but the official cause of death has been listed as pneumonia or respiratory problems.

Citizen Observatory, a community-based environmental monitoring system, estimates there are more the 1,000 unreported cases of the disease in Nicaragua, which has a population of 6.5 million.

Martinez, who made history on July 28, 1991, when he pitched a perfect game against the Dodgers in Los Angeles, has maintained close ties with his native land. He still has a home in Nicaragua and he re-established a high school baseball league.

“We have 12 schools playing the league, which is called the Perfect Game League,” said Martinez. “I’ve also done a lot of speaking to young people about the importance of having goals and working to achieve them.”