Nicaragua cancels welfare reforms amid protest
ManagUa: Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega said a planned overhaul of the welfare system that sparked days of deadly protests had been cancelled, as he attempted to end the biggest crisis of his administration.
Ortega has been on the defensive since demonstrations began in much of the country on Wednesday against the plan to increase worker contributions to social security and to lower pensions.
Ensuing unrest killed at least eight people and sparked looting and panic buying, but protests in Managua died down considerably after Ortega’s announcement on Sunday, according to Reuters witnesses.
The pope, the US government and business leaders all urged Ortega to stop the violence before he announced the measures approved last week would be withdrawn.
“The previous resolution of April 16, 2018, which was the resolution that kicked off this whole situation, is being revoked, cancelled, put aside,” Ortega said.
The government argued welfare changes are needed to bolster Nicaragua’s finances, and Ortega said talks would be held to draft a new plan to strengthen the social security system.
But the government was stung by the protests, which one human rights group said had taken at least 25 lives. Stores in Managua were looted over the weekend, witnesses said.
The police crackdown on demonstrators and curbs on some media in the past few days have fuelled broader criticism of Ortega, who has tightened his hold on the country’s institutions since he took office for a second time 11 years ago.
The US State Department on Sunday called for “broad-based dialogue” to end the dispute and “restore respect” for human rights, urging the government to let the media operate freely.
“We condemn the violence and the excessive force used by police and others against civilians who are exercising their ... right to freedom of expression and assembly,” US State Department spokesman Heather Nauert said in statement.
Pope Francis called on Sunday for an end to the violence and called for differences to be “resolved peacefully and with a sense of responsibility”. — Reuters