CovertAction Bulletin Nicaragua’s Evidence-Based Democracy Threatens U.S. Oppression Domestically and Abroad
In this episode, we turn to Nicaragua and the recent elections that just took place last month, on November 7th.
Daniel Ortega and the Sandinistas won the elections with over 75% of the vote. Nicaragua’s non-partisan, independent Supreme Electoral Council (CSE) reported that over 65% of the 4.4 million eligible voters (16 years and older) participated in the election.
Meanwhile, the mainstream media—including so-called progressive media outlets like National Public Radio—regurgitated U.S. State Department talking points on the elections highlighting the jailing of opponents without providing the much-needed background to the events including the activities of the U.S.-supported coup-plotters advocating the overthrow of the Nicaraguan government.
As reported in CovertAction Magazine, The Grey Zone and other trailblazing outlets, the reality on the ground couldn't be more different.
As is typical, U.S. covert activities were in full swing using National Endowment for Democracy and U.S. Agency for International Development money to finance the opposition, destabilize the country and the elections, not to mention support worldwide propaganda campaigns to deride President Ortega as a dictator. Its no wonder that so many people are confused about recent events in Nicaragua.
Today, we take an in-depth look at the electoral process and history of U.S. intervention in Nicaragua. We find that U.S. destabilization efforts are nothing new—efforts that are quite common around the world—particularly in countries that are forging independent paths to implement universal healthcare, literacy campaigns and economies oriented toward raising the standard of living for its own people. In the view of the U.S. plutocratic elite, such efforts undermine international corporate interests and serve as an example threatening U.S. hegemony.
CAM sent globetrotting correspondent Lauren Smith to Nicaragua to report on the elections first hand. See her in-depth article published in CovertAction Magazine entitled "Nicaragua’s Evidence-Based Democracy Threatens U.S. Oppression Domestically and Abroad." She joins us today with Mark Cook who has reported on Nicaragua for the past 4 decades.
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