The Embers of Radical Ecology and Revolutionary Ideology in Nicaragua’s Protests

Abstract

The recent social upheaval and political turbulence in Nicaragua are widely reported as the citizenry’s response to the Daniel Ortega administration’s new policy prescriptions. To date, hundreds of Nicaraguans have fallen victim to alleged extrajudicial killings by pro-government supporters and military police, while nearly 25,000 continue to seek asylum in Costa Rica and an estimated 131,000 have descended into poverty (Fundación Nicaragüense para el Desarrollo Económico y Social [FUNIDES], 2018; Partlow, 2018). Initial reports emphasized that protests arose in response to the government’s proposal to reduce pension benefits while raising social security taxes (Rogers, 2018; Thaler & Mosinger, 2018; Toro & Bosworth, 2018).