Democracy Dialogues: Resilience and Repression in Nicaragua
Democracy Dialogues: Resilience and Repression in Nicaragua
Felix Maradiaga connects his story as a political prisoner with broader global trends among authoritarian regimes.
Speakers:
- Felix Maradiaga, Nicaraguan human rights advocate; former Nicaraguan presidential candidate
- Eric Farnsworth, Vice President, Americas Society/Council of the Americas
"The regime’s goal is to isolate, intimidate, and break the spirit of democracy advocates,” says Felix Maradiaga, Nicaraguan opposition leader, in a Democracy Dialogues interview with AS/COA Vice President Eric Farnsworth.
Maradiaga reflects on his time as a political prisoner of the Nicaraguan regime, detailing the conditions he endured, including solitary confinement, lack of access to reading materials, and restrictions on communication with fellow prisoners. "They tried to torture without leaving scars," Maradiaga explains, drawing attention to the sophisticated methods of repression used by modern autocratic regimes across Latin America.
In his testimony, Maradiaga underscores the resilience required to fight for democracy. "I think that an act of patriotism is basically to tell these guys that we will not allow them to steal our freedom," he says. He calls upon the government of the United States to reframe its free trade agreement with Nicaragua as a privilege.
"Autocracies go after religious freedom. They go after the rights of minorities. They go after the rights of the business sector, but we're not collaborating because we have our own niche," he says, referring to the need for Western democratic leaders to emphasize the fight against repression despite their own political differences. “We have to recognize that there are core democratic values.”
Democracy Dialogues is a series of conversations on the state of democracy in the Americas. Hosted by Eric Farnsworth, these one-on-one interviews with leading democracy practitioners explore the most difficult issues of regional democratic governance with an eye toward pragmatic, deeply-considered solutions. Previous guests have included Guatemala's president-elect Bernardo Arevalo, Colombia's then-President Ivan Duque, NBA Basketball Star Enes Kanter Freedom, OAS Secretary General Luis Almagro, Cuba Decide founder Rosa Maria Paya, founder and editor of Nicaragua's Confidential Carlos Fernando Chamorro, and numerous others.
Follow the conversation: #DemocracyDialogues | @ASCOA
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