In April 2018, spontaneous social protests broke out in Nicaragua in response to unpopular reforms to the university and social security systems. These took place against the backdrop of prior electoral irregularities and a number of constitutional and legal reforms that increasingly concentrated political power in the hands of the executive - particularly Daniel Ortega and his wife and Vice President, Rosario Murillo.
In Guatemala, I learned key things about nonviolent struggle from the people we worked with, and also how very little humble we whites are, to the point of perpetuating violence unknowingly, in everyday power struggles and not-enough-listening to the right people!
Michelle
Guatemala and Nicaragua, 1986-1987
Following the political crisis in 2018, PBI began an accompaniment project for Nicaraguan organisations and civil society groups living in exile in Costa Rica. The project provides capacity development for exiled HRDs, from psychosocial support to organizational strengthening and security and protection strategies, focusing on improving their conditions and building resilience for an eventual return to Nicaragua.
Amidst an escalation of violence, PBI deploys 10 volunteers to Jalapa, Nicaragua, near the Honduran border, interposing themselves between US-backed contras and Sandinista forces in order to deter hostilities. This work was eventually taken over and continued by Witness for Peace.