Six other NGOs are canceled in Nicaragua, including one belonging to the poet Gioconda Belli

The Nicaraguan National Assembly (Parliament), with a Sandinista majority, canceled this Tuesday the legal personality of six other NGOs, including two feminists, one human rights defender and one linked to the poet and writer Gioconda Belli.

With 75 votes in favor, 11 abstentions and 5 present who did not vote but by law become favorable, among the 91 deputies that make up Parliament, the majority Sandinistas and their allies, approved the cancellation of the PEN International Nicaragua Association, linked to Belli.

A year ago, the poet and writer announced the closure of the Nicaraguan chapter of the International PEN organization due to the controversial law regulating foreign agents, which sanctions those who receive financing and donations from abroad.

That organization, which at the time of its closure had been operating in the Central American country for 21 years, carried out programs “to encourage reading and the dissemination of national reading, language workshops,” and warned “about the violations of freedom of the press and of expression that have been intensifying” in the country, as Belli explained at the time.

The other NGOs banned this Tuesday are the María Elena Cuadra Association of Working and Unemployed Women, the Blanca Arauz Foundation for the Promotion and Development of Women and Children (Fundemuni), the Nicaraguan Association for Human Rights (ANPDH), the Nicaraguan Center for the Promotion of Youth and Childhood, and the Ibero-American Foundation of Cultures (Fibras).

The NGOs were canceled “as a matter of urgency” on the grounds that they do not report their financial statements, their boards of directors have expired, and they received donations from abroad, according to a report presented by the Ministry of the Interior to Parliament.

The total number of NGOs canceled since the massive anti-government demonstrations that broke out in April 2018 amounts to 93, including 14 universities, as well as humanitarian organizations, think tanks, among others.

The Nicaraguan Center for Human Rights (Cenidh), one of the first to be outlawed, has described as “political revenge”, “confiscation” and “theft” cancellations of legal personality, since, as has been documented, they are carried out without due process and the assets immediately become the property of the State.

The “María Elena Cuadra” Movement, which had denounced a “siege” by the National Police in 2020, is known for his defense of women’s rights, especially in labor disputes.

The ANPDH, founded by retired bishop Juan Abelardo Mata, a critic of Ortega, played a relevant role in humanitarian assistance to the victims of the armed attacks against the 2018 anti-government demonstrations, which left hundreds dead and wounded, in addition to thousands in exile, including its president Álvaro Leiva, who went to Costa Rica citing security reasons.

Fundemuni supported the economic independence and empowerment of women in northern Nicaragua. (I)