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The stunning collapse of Colombia's peace agreement with the FARC, explained - Vox - 0 views

www.vox.com/...ce-deal-referendum-vote-defeat politics colombia war peace
shared by jblackwell2 on 03 Nov 16 - No Cached
  • On Sunday, Colombian voters narrowly rejected the government’s peace deal with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, in a stunning referendum vote that has thrown the peace process into disarray.
  • All that was left was for voters to approve it in a nationwide referendum on Sunday. Most observers saw the vote as a mere formality that would officially bring an end to the 52-year war that left 220,000 people dead and displaced millions.
  • nearly every poll predicted that it would be approved by the people with a comfortable margin.
  • ...6 more annotations...
  • But in what one UK pollster called “one of the biggest polling fails of all time,” the peace deal was narrowly rejected, with 50.2 percent voting against it. That means the peace agreement can’t be implemented — and is effectively dead.
  • he FARC is the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia). It’s a Marxist rebel group that since 1964 has waged a bloody rebellion against the Colombian government — and it’s the longest-running armed insurgency in the Western Hemisphere.
  • Starting in 2000, the United States began providing the Colombian government with billions of dollars in mostly military aid to help interrupt the country’s massive drug trade and fight the FARC and other smaller rebel groups. The hope was that social and economic conditions in Colombia’s “historically marginalized” rural areas in which the armed groups thrive would also be improved.
  • Under the agreement, called Plan Colombia, the US pledged nearly $10 billion in assistance. As reported by the Washington Post’s Dana Priest, this was paired with “a CIA covert action program that has helped Colombian forces kill at least two dozen rebel leaders.”
  • The deal would also have allowed rebels to avoid jail time if they confessed to their crimes. Per the BBC, the agreement would have created “a special legal framework” intended “to try those who committed crimes during the armed conflict, including Farc fighters, government soldiers and members of right-wing paramilitary groups.”
  • The peace agreement as written cannot be implemented without an approval by referendum, so it will have to be renegotiated. President Santos has promised to “continue the search for peace until the last moment of my mandate, because that's the way to leave a better country to our children ... I won't give up,” he said.
  • jblackwell2 on 03 Nov 16
     
    This article talks about the basics of the agreement between the Columbian government and the FARC.
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OAS probes Antigua's voting problems - News - JamaicaObserver.com - 1 views

www.jamaicaobserver.com/...obes-Antigua-s-voting-problems
shared by runlai_jiang on 03 Nov 16 - No Cached
  • 10 per cent of the polling stations in mainland Antigua were unprepared to facilitate voting before noon, six hours late.
  • Yesterday was a day of shame for Antigua and Barbuda. Never in our history of free and fair elections has there been this disgraceful experience of polling stations which should legally be opened from 6:00 am until 6:00 pm, failed to do so for at least four hours and in some cases for six hours.
  • said that the problems associated with the failure for timely opening of polling stations was "most regrettable, and quite irregular for elections in Antigua and Barbuda".
  • runlai_jiang on 03 Nov 16
     
    During the 2009 Antiguan Election, the OAS observers report that 10 percent of the polling stations in mainland Antigua were about six hours late to facilitate voting before noon.The head of the OAS observer mission, Ambassador Albert Ramdin sid the failure of being on time was "most regrettable, and very irregular for elections in Antigua". The good thing about the election was that it took place peacefully and orderly. 
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Editorial: Voters save democracy in Antigua and Barbuda | Caribbean News Now - 0 views

www.caribbeannewsnow.com/Antigua-and-Barbuda-21575.html
shared by runlai_jiang on 02 Nov 16 - No Cached
  • in spite of the eventual margin of victory, the result was always in doubt because of persistent allegations of widespread vote buying and other electoral manipulation by the now former government.
  • Whatever the truth or otherwise to the several allegations of attempted election fraud,
  • it was reported locally that the questionable activities more or less ceased as soon as the observers arrived in the country just a few days before the election itself
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  • the question has to be asked whether the observation missions mounted by three organisations: the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), the Commonwealth and the Organisation of American States (OAS), are capable of making any real difference to this kind of situation in Antigua and Barbuda or any other country.
  • CARICOM issued a 400-word statement that was essentially devoid of any meaningful observations or recommendations – or indeed anything worth publishing.
  • do these electoral observation missions have any real teeth or are they just for the purpose of paying lip service to the concept of free and fair elections?
  • runlai_jiang on 02 Nov 16
     
    The OAS observation missions to 2014 Antiguan election is in doubt because evidence shows that vote buying and electoral manipulation by the government still exists. Doubt in the capability of OAS organization took place. Reports show that many illegal election actions disappeared only during the election when the observers came. Also, the observers did not report any meaningful observations after the mission. The OAS organization and other organizations have not responded any of the editors' recommedations. It let people doubt if the OAS is just doing some programs for the concept but not the real actions.
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OAS mission issues preliminary statement on the general elections in Antigua-Barbuda | ... - 0 views

www.caribbeannewsnow.com/-in-Antigua-Barbuda-21569.html
shared by runlai_jiang on 02 Nov 16 - No Cached
  • OAS mission issues preliminary statement on the general elections in Antigua-Barbuda
  • electoral observation mission issued the following preliminary statement on the general elections In Antigua and Barbuda:
  • n Antigua and Barbuda congratulates the people of Antigua and Barbuda for their extraordinary commitment to the electoral process, reflected in a high voter turnout and a peaceful exercise of their franchise during the Election Day.
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  • recognizes the efforts made by both the Antigua and Barbuda Electoral Commission and the Supervisor of Elections in the preparation of this election, enabling them to overcome several of the problems experienced in 2009.
  • collaborating to ensure a peaceful voting process.
  • runlai_jiang on 02 Nov 16
     
    On the June 12th, 2014, the OAS issued a electoral observation mission to supervise and reflect the voter turnout on the Election Day. A team of 16 members went to observe on the Election Day. Security was present to ensure a peaceful voting process. The team's purpose was to supervise the Election and enabling them to prevent the problems experienced in 2009. Finally, the election was very successful and smoothly. Women and all the people had the chance to vote. 
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SAP Secretariat for Political Affairs - 0 views

www.oas.org/...PeaceMissions sap affairs politics latin america nicaragua
shared by horowitzza on 02 Nov 16 - No Cached
  • The OAS has vast experience and expertise in conflict resolution and peace efforts. Since its inception, the Organization has been continuously called upon by its member states in times of crisis and has deployed dozens of peace missions of a different nature, ranging from short-term ad hoc and good offices assignments to longer term demobilization, disarmament and peace building missions.
  • it was its purpose as well to establish an international presence in the country and serve as a deterrent to those who might attempt again to disrupt democrac
  • The OAS has continuously supported Haiti in its efforts to achieve a full-fledged and stable democracy, and durable peace.
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  • Capitalizing on the demobilization and reintegration experience gained in the CIAV-OAS peace mission in Nicaragua (1990-1997), the OAS led an extremely successful reinsertion project
  • This conflict prevention and management program helped Guatemalans address ongoing social and political tensions by providing them with training on negotiation, mediation and conflict resolution skills.
  • Secretary General was asked to take urgent action to defuse a conflict in Nicaragua that threatened to upset the institutional order.
  • Experience in Bolivia, Ecuador, Haiti and Nicaragua showed that the OAS played a decisive role in resolving the political and institutional crises in those countries, and took an active part in overcoming various situations that threatened democratic stability.
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Revolutionary Drift: Power and Pragmatism in Ortega's Nicaragua - 0 views

www.worldpoliticsreview.com/...agmatism-in-ortega-s-nicaragua revolutionary drift power pragmatism nicaragua
shared by horowitzza on 02 Nov 16 - No Cached
  • Thirty-six years after the 1979 revolution that overthrew the entrenched Somoza dynasty, Nicaraguans still fill Plaza La Fe in Managua to celebrate Liberation Day festivities every July 19
  • supporters of the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) and President Daniel Ortega view the revolution as an ongoing process
  • The conditions for his return to power in 2007 were created by a pact he struck in 1999 with then-President Arnoldo Aleman of the Constitutionalist Liberal Party (PLC).
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  • After being elected by only 38 percent of voters to a term that many expected to end in economic disaster, he was re-elected with more than 62 percent of the vote in 2011.
  • He owes his popularity to the success of popular social programs and improvements to the economy
  • his political opponents and some outside observers are highly critical of Ortega and the FSLN’s domination of Nicaragua’s political institutions.
  • corruption allegations in the 2008 municipal elections resulted in the loss of U.S. and European aid.
  • Opponents liken Ortega to Anastasio Somoza, calling him a corrupt dictator.
  • The resulting political imbalance has left the opposition with virtually no leverage in the legislature with regard to either policy or appointments.
  • Many presume that either Ortega will run for—and win—a fourth term, or that he will be succeeded by his wife, Rosario Murillo, or their son Laureano.
  • All of this has made for a particularly polarized political environment, much of it revolving around Ortega himsel
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Nicaragua closing digital divide | Nicaragua Dispatch - 0 views

nicaraguadispatch.com/...caragua-closing-digital-divide nicaragua closing digital divide divide politics
shared by horowitzza on 02 Nov 16 - No Cached
  • Despite the country’s gaping digital divide, the number of Facebook users in Nicaragua last year jumped from 150,000 to 700,000
  • Widespread accessibility to 3G cell phone technology makes it difficult to know just how many Nicaraguans are connecting to the Internet from hand-held devices, but estimates are that 10-30% of the Nicaragua’s 5.7 million people are now online.
  • The CINCO study estimates that Nicaragua has 579,000 Internet users with home connections, and another 250,000 who logon from Internet cafes, which are now found even the most remote corners of the country.
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  • Still, the total number of Internet users in Nicaragua is unknown, in part due to government secrecy. The last government figures on Internet connectivity are from 2006, before the Sandinistas returned to power.
  • In global terms, however, the Internet is gaining considerable ground in Nicaragua.
  • Prior to the elections last year, the presidential couple’s ruling party created more than 340 Facebook accounts to echo campaign slogans and Sandinista propaganda, the CINCO report found.
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The Trouble With Measuring Peace in Latin America - 0 views

www.insightcrime.org/...asuring-peace-in-latin-america trouble measuring latin latin america peace america
shared by horowitzza on 02 Nov 16 - No Cached
  • A new report ranks Colombia and Mexico as the least peaceful nations in Latin America -- however, this definition of "peace" may not accurately reflect the state of security in the region. 
  • The GPI's ranking system is somewhat perplexing, given that Central American countries with higher homicide rates -- namely, Honduras and El Salvador -- are considered more "peaceful" than Colombia and Mexico
  • Last year, both El Salvador and Honduras registered homicide rates higher than 60 per 100,000 people, more than double that of Colombia.
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  • the time murder rates began to decrease dramatically in cities such as in Tamaulipas and Ciudad Juarez, once hotspots for drug-related violence
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Latin America Less Peaceful In 2015 Due To Rising Instability: Report - 0 views

www.ibtimes.com/ing-instability-report-1971908 latin latin america america rising instability
shared by horowitzza on 02 Nov 16 - No Cached
  • Latin America emerged in 2015 as a less peaceful region than it was the year before, according to a new study on global peace released Wednesday.
  • The Global Peace Index, which gauges peace levels by measuring intensity of conflicts, pervasiveness of crime and violence and availability of weapons, issued its 2015 report Wednesday, showing that South America’s overall peace score dipped below the global average this year.
  • Latin America as a whole remained the most violent region in the world -- outside of conflict zones -- based on homicide rates and personal safety.
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  • Venezuela saw an increased risk of “violent demonstrations, violent crime and political instability as the economic crisis has deepened and anti-government sentiment has risen
  • Political instability and an increased likelihood of violent demonstrations accounted for Brazil’s low score as well
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Latin Americans Need Security to Enjoy Peace and Prosperity - Borderzine - 0 views

borderzine.com/...-to-enjoy-peace-and-prosperity latin americans peace prosperity security
shared by horowitzza on 02 Nov 16 - No Cached
  • Despite the decay of democratic institutions in Latin America, democracy is on the rise in the region because citizens are demanding better government.
  • Challenges are big for the Western Hemisphere, but the principal idea behind solving those challenges is that governments should act responsibly to resolve them
  • A prime example of this insecurity can be found in México, especially in the border city of Ciudad Juárez, where nearly 5,000 persons have been killed in a bloody drug war that has been raging for three years.
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  • On the other hand, it is known that the United States has openly announced it will try to help resolve the problems in Latin America
  • “We are working with the World Bank to help economies in Latin America and also we are working to uphold the concepts of democracy in this hemisphere,
  • “There are too many poor people in Latino America, but mainly this is because most of them can’t speak up to their governments.
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In the Field: Notes from Nicaragua | United States Institute of Peace - 0 views

www.usip.org/...in-the-field-notes-nicaragua field notes nicaragua united peace
shared by horowitzza on 02 Nov 16 - No Cached
  • Nicaragua armed with audio and video recorders and a plan to capture the human dimension of the country’s conflict
  • In a country where the past is intensely alive, we realized we needed to learn some history before we set off.
  • For much of the 20th century, Nicaragua was subjected to dictatorial regimes under the control of the influential Somoza family
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  • In the 1970s, however, the Somoza government’s National Guard found itself increasingly challenged by the insurrectionary Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN). In 1978, violence escalated into civil war, which the Sandinistas and their allies quickly won.
  • When the Sandinistas took power in 1979, however, many Nicaraguans began to suspect that the new government was just another variation on the country’s authoritarian tradition.
  • The 1980s saw Nicaragua become a battlefield in the wider Cold War as East and West funded a war between the Sandinistas and the Contras (short for the Spanish word contra-revolucionarios--“counterrevolutionaries”).
  • In the past few years, allegations of electoral fraud, harassment of nongovernmental organizations and human rights activists, and efforts to amend the constitution to let the president run again in 2011, have tarnished Ortega’s democratic credentials.
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Witness for Peace : Informal Economies: Reflections from a recent delegation ... - 0 views

www.witnessforpeace.org/article.php witness peace reflections recent delegation nicaragua
shared by horowitzza on 02 Nov 16 - No Cached
  • In Nicaragua, I came to understand the reasons that poor people, sometimes accompanied by their children, sold newspapers, snacks, and washed windshields while standing in the swirl of traffic
  • observed the many ways that poor Nicaraguans struggled to support their families.
  • Clearly in both India and Nicaragua there are not enough job opportunities with fair wages, and poor people are unable to provide for their families by working in the formal economy
  • ...1 more annotation...
  • my experiences in Nicaragua changed my perspective. I hope to continue my travels in the developing world, and I want some of those travels to be with Witness for Peace
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Making Peace Is Political : Rejecting War, Nicaragua Now Relies on Democratic Support -... - 0 views

articles.latimes.com/..._1_central-american-presidents making peace war nicaragua support
shared by horowitzza on 02 Nov 16 - No Cached
  • Significantly, the presidents not only continue to make strides in conflict resolution in Nicaragua, but also have started to place more emphasis on the other focus of civil war--El Salvador.
  • progress is the result of a combination of changes in the terms of the original equation in the quest for peace
  • The United States, though, has a legitimate concern to see the Sandinistas fulfill their pledge guaranteeing the safe return of the rebels and their families to Nicaragua from Honduras
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  • President Bush could go a long way toward restoring peace in Nicaragua, and U.S.-Nicaraguan relations, if he proposed to use his influence and support--together with other heads of state, the World Bank and various other international agencies--to help launch a resettlement program, in Nicaragua
  • Nicaraguans who have sought asylum abroad would be enticed to return home. However, such a project to restore our dignity as Nicaraguans can be possible only if the Sandinista regime takes a sincere decision to adopt democracy.
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Silent War in Nicaragua: The New Politics of Violence | NACLA - 0 views

nacla.org/...icaragua-new-politics-violence war nicaragua politics violence diplomacy
shared by horowitzza on 02 Nov 16 - No Cached
  • At 2:30 p.m. on June 15, 2000—more than ten years after the U.S.-sponsored Contra war officially ended in Nicaragua—a guerrilla unit of rearmed ex-Sandinistas and ex-Contras surrounded the small campesino home of Guadalupe Montenegro in the rural municipality of Siuna
  • Without saying a word, the men opened fire indiscriminately, killing Montenegro and all ten members of his family before burning the corpses and torching the house.
  • Perhaps nowhere else in Central America are the problems of demobilized soldiers, weapons left over from the Cold War and poverty more obvious than in the rural area of north-central Nicaragua—a region where the war that began in the 1980s has still not ended.
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  • "the Colombianization of the country,"
  • various residual groups of ex-combatants, some of whom are known by the government to be involved with international weapons and drug smuggling cartels, have started to take control of parts of the socially and economically isolated Caribbean region of Nicaragua.
  • Initially dismissed by the government as "hotheads," "groups of delinquents" or "dogs of war" left over from the 1980s, the rebel groups appear to be anything but a rag-tag army.
  • According to testimonies from local sources, the rearmados are well-armed, expertly trained, equipped with modern methods of communication
  • In response to increased rebel activity in a gold and silver mining area called the "Mining Triangle" (Siuna, Bonanza and La Rosita), the Nicaraguan Army declared a military offensive
  • The legacy of war and violence in Nicaragua is both heart-breaking and angering. In the recent history of the country, violence has always been answered with more violence.
  • During the U.S.-backed Somoza dynasty the state-sponsored repression of the poor by the National Guard was answered by the violence of the Sandinista Revolution, the triumph of which led to the violence of an eight-year-long, U.S.-funded war
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Nicaragua facts, information, pictures | Encyclopedia.com articles about Nicaragua - 0 views

www.encyclopedia.com/...nicaragua nicaragua environment facts
shared by malonema1 on 02 Nov 16 - No Cached
  • The nation lost an average of 3% of its forest and woodland each year between 1990 and 2000
  • As of 2002, 93% of Nicaragua's city dwellers and 65% of its rural population have access to improved water sources
  • Dumping of sewage and chemical wastes has made Lake Managua unsuitable for swimming, fishing, or drinking. Primary responsibility for resource conservation is vested in the Nicaraguan Institute of Natural Resources and Environment (Instituto Nicaragüense de Recursos Naturales y del Ambiente—IRENA), established in October 1979
  • ...1 more annotation...
  • Nicaragua's economy is predominantly agricultural. Arable land amounted to 2,161,000 hectares (5,340,000 acres), or about 17.8% of the total land area
  • malonema1 on 02 Nov 16
     
    This is a website that has facts about various topics in Nicaragua. The ones I highlighted focus mainly on the Environment and Agriculture
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Corruption in Colombia Could Derail FARC Peace Deal - 0 views

www.worldpoliticsreview.com/...a-could-derail-farc-peace-deal politics colombia war peace corruption
shared by jblackwell2 on 02 Nov 16 - No Cached
  • Last month, the mayor of Colombia’s main port city, Buenaventura, was arrested on corruption charges
  • Corruption is a very big structural problem in Colombia. It permeates all levels of government and society, public and private.
  • Corruption is closely linked to other illegal and criminal activities, such as drug trafficking and illegal mining, which makes it much more difficult to tackle. Some surveys show that Colombians see corruption as the country’s main problem, even more than violence.
  • jblackwell2 on 02 Nov 16
     
    This article talks about the corruption in the Columbian government.
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Colombia's peace deal with FARC risks dragging it further down the vortex of guerrilla ... - 0 views

www.telegraph.co.uk/...ks-dragging-it-further-down-th politics colombia war peace
shared by jblackwell2 on 02 Nov 16 - No Cached
  • jblackwell2 on 02 Nov 16
     
    This article talks about the warfare that could occur between the Columbian Government and the Rebels.
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Colombia peace deal: Historic agreement is signed - BBC News - 0 views

www.bbc.com/...world-latin-america-37477202 politics colombia war peace
shared by jblackwell2 on 02 Nov 16 - No Cached
  • The Colombian government and left-wing Farc rebels have signed a historic agreement that formally brings an end to 52 years of armed conflict.
  • The last of the major Cold War conflicts killed 260,000 people and left more than six million internally displaced.
  • We will achieve any goal, overcome any hurdle and turn our nation into a country we've always dreamed of - a country in peace."
  • ...5 more annotations...
  • Correspondents say President Santos has risked his political future on the success of the peace deal.
  • President Santos said this historic moment was a message from Colombia to the world: no more war. "No more war," the crowd chanted in return.
  • But after 50 years of war, many Colombians still aren't ready to forgive. As President Santos put it, the hard work of building peace now lies ahead.
  • However, only hours before the signing, the EU announced it would suspend the Farc from its list.
  • 1964: Set up as armed wing of Communist Party2002: At its height, it had an army of 20,000 fighters controlling up to a third of the country. Senator Ingrid Betancourt kidnapped and held for six years along with 14 other hostages2008: The Farc suffers a series of defeats in its worst year2012: Start of peace talks in Havana2016: Definitive ceasefire
  • jblackwell2 on 02 Nov 16
     
    This article reflects the ending of the long war.
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Wife and Running Mate: A Real-Life 'House of Cards' in Nicaragua - The New York Times - 0 views

www.nytimes.com/...io-murillo-house-of-cards.html nicaragua
shared by Cecilia Ergueta on 02 Nov 16 - No Cached
  • She will be on the Nov. 6 ballot to become vice president.Her running mate? Her husband, President Daniel Orteg
  • “It’s not that she has as many followers as her husband — she has more,”
  • government was widely criticized for taking bolder steps to secure Mr. Ortega’s power, raising troubling questions about the state of Nicaragua’s young democracy.
  • ...9 more annotations...
  • Now the Ortegas and their allies control fuel companies, television stations and public construction projects.
  • She went public with rape accusations in 1998. But her mother, who has had seven children with Mr. Ortega as well, stood by him.Joined by Mr. Ortega and their adult children, Ms. Murillo held a news conference calling her eldest daughter a liar who suffered from psychological problems.
  • her loyalty to Mr. Ortega and her public defense of him were rewarded in the influence she has gained across the country.
  • war raged in Nicaragua as the victorious Sandinista revolutionaries fought insurgents known as the contras, who were backed by the administration of President Ronald Reagan. Mr. Ortega officially became president in 1984 and left office in 1990, when Nicaragua took steps toward peace.
  • The National Assembly and the courts were stacked with allies. The law was changed so that Mr. Ortega could run indefinitely.
  • Supreme Court banished a leading opposition figure from his own party, the Liberal Independent Party, preventing him from becoming an opponent in the November election.
  • even more power will be consolidated in the Ortega family.
  • “If a private company does not allow a married couple to work together, how is that allowed for a nation?”
  • “This is a movie we already saw, and we know how it ends,” said Mr. Ramírez, the former vice president. “It ends badly.”
  • Cecilia Ergueta on 02 Nov 16
     
    Here's a good article on the political issues in Nicaragua right now!
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Government's Website Is Again Up And Running After A Cyber Attack | ABS TV Radio Antigu... - 0 views

abstvradio.com/d-running-after-a-cyber-attack
shared by runlai_jiang on 02 Nov 16 - No Cached
  • Government’s Website Is Again Up And Running After A Cyber Attack
  • The Minister has confirmed that the hackers originated outside of Antigua and Barbuda but was careful not to release too much details saying the issue is still under investigation.
  • runlai_jiang on 02 Nov 16
     
    The Antigua and Barbuda government website was shut down following a cyber-attack. This shows that the Antiguan government does not have a strong cyber security. The votes database is at a risk to be hacked. If the votes database is at risk, then the Antiguan democracy is also at risk.
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