“The enemy of my enemy is my friend” Ancient proverb

It was in the news recently, that Nicaragua has recognized Afghanistan, run by the Taliban. Their ambassador is Michael Campbell. It was announced by their Vice President, Rosario Murillo. The only other country to appoint an ambassador to Afghanistan is China.

It was weird. For all it’s human rights violations, Nicaragua is highly supportive of women’s rights, while Afghanistan under the Taliban with their autocratic, radical islamic edicts ignores women’s rights. First, Afghanistan:

Among the dozens of gender-based decrees imposed by the Taliban emir, Hibatullah Akhundzada, some of the most damaging have been edicts banning women and girls from attending public secondary schools and universities. Women have also been impeded from working for the UN and NGOs [Non Government Agencies], while other rulings have blocked them from going to parks, public baths, gyms and beauty salons.

Every year that goes by, young women are deprived of basic education. Compare this with Nicaragua (from Wikipedia):

When it comes to gender equality in Latin America, Nicaragua ranks high amongst the other countries in the region.[1] When it came to global rankings regarding gender equality, the World Economic Forum ranked Nicaragua at number twelve in 2015, while in 2016 it ranked tenth, and in 2017 the country ranked sixth.[1] Nicaragua was amongst the many countries in Latin America and the Caribbean to ratify the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, which aimed to promote women’s rights.[2]

The announcement was not made by Daniel Ortega, but his wife Rosario Murillo, who was elected vice president in 2017. Many suspect she is running the show right now.

See link: Nicaragua’s Daniel Ortega establishes diplomatic ties with the Taliban

The link below from El Pais, gives further insight on the communality of these two very different countries, which is the goal of absolute control of the populace. In Nicaragua, the continuance of Ortega-Murillo will depend on the full repression of any dissent. So, in both Afghanistan and Nicaragua, the people can hear only what the government wants them to hear. The reality on the ground is very different.

See link: A ‘tropicalized Taliban regime’ and a family succession plan underway: Ortega and Murillo radicalize repression in Nicaragua

President Daniel Ortega has ruled Nicaragua since 2006. He is 78 years old. As explained in the above link, “All signs indicate that Laureano Ortega Murillo, the opera-loving son of the presidential couple, is next in line.”

I think we’ve seen this before. Or at least similar in North Korea, as Kim Jung II died in 2011, and his son, Kim Jung Un became president for life.

Per Wikipedia:

Since Daniel Ortega’s election in 2006, liberal democratic norms and individual rights in practice have deteriorated. Parties other than the ruling FSLN have been repressed through arbitrary arrest and detention of opposition candidates and activists. Most government jobs de facto require membership in the FSLN. Opposition media has been repressed through arrests of journalists and seizure of broadcasting and printing materials.

On Aug 22, Nicaragua again went totally counter their best interest (or at least the interest of their people) and closed the US Chamber of Commerce and 150 other organizations.

Per link below: “On Monday, Ortega decreed that 1,500 organizations, mostly religious and including churches, be closed. Officially, the government said they had not correctly reported their financial statements to the government.”

Another excellent quote from this new story: “They’re shooting themselves in the foot with a shotgun,” he said, noting that the government is reducing public spending and now will lose the jobs those organizations created.

See link: Nicaragua closes US Chamber of Commerce and 150 other organizations

I would call it, self inflected wounds, to shut down organizations which really give assistance to the needy, plus improve the economy in general. Agricultural trade, mainly coffee, and tourism drives the Nicaraguan economy. So, shutting down these organization which help develop the country at a local level, makes no sense, unless the aim is to control everything (and everybody) from Managua.

So, Nicaragua in many ways will follow the model of Afghanistan, Cuba, Belarus, Iran, Russia , North Korea and China, which are designed to help only the rulers, or the party in charge, not the people.

Stay tuned,

Dave