Nicaragua's Daniel Ortega reappears to call coronavirus 'a sign from God'
After more than a month in which he was not seen in public, Nicaragua’s president has reappeared, giving a speech in which he claimed the coronavirus was “a sign from God”.
In the televised address on Wednesday night, Daniel Ortega claimed that Nicaragua had suffered only one death from the coronavirus pandemic and that the country’s three confirmed cases were “imported”.
There had been concerns about the health of the 74-year-old former guerrilla leader, but he appeared well and was not using a mask during his speech.
Ortega has refused to adopt the social-distancing and lockdown measures used in other countries, and has in fact encouraged Nicaraguans to participate in mass gatherings.
Nicaraguans “haven’t stopped working, because if this country stops working, it dies”, Ortega said. The government did extend Holy Week school vacations to two weeks; classes are scheduled to resume on 20 April.
Ortega did not comment on how many tests have been carried out. Experts suspect there are many undetected cases.
Ortega used the address to criticize the United States, saying it was holding Nicaraguan migrants in poor conditions and could not even provide healthcare to its own citizens.
“The biggest power on Earth isn’t able to provide for its own citizens in cities in the United States,” he said. “There is a lack of beds and medical equipment, because healthcare isn’t available to the people, to the poor” in developed nations.
Ortega said the pandemic was “a sign from God” against militarism and hegemony.
“These transnational forces that just want to take control of the planet, that is a sin,” Ortega said. “And the Lord is sending us this signal.”
In a statement on Wednesday, the rights group Amnesty International said “the government of President Daniel Ortega is flagrantly ignoring the recommendations of international human rights organizations regarding the Covid-19 pandemic, putting at risk the health and lives of thousands of people in Nicaragua.”
Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas director at Amnesty International, said: “It’s surprising that, after preventing and suppressing any form of social protest for the past two years, it [the government] is now promoting mass marches and gatherings, exposing the population to the pandemic.”