On Wednesday, August 12, last week, when due to a lack of necessary votes the United States proposal to convene an extraordinary meeting of Foreign Ministers of the Americas to consider Nicaragua’s escalating political crisis could not be put to a vote in the OAS Permanent Council, the Ortega-Murillo dictatorship claimed a political victory for itself. That is the truth, and it noisily celebrated its victory as a major defeat for the Nicaraguan opposition and the region’s democratic governments.
However, that political victory for the dictatorship at the OAS—an organization of which it is not even a member—was fleeting and Pyrrhic. It lasted barely a week, because this Wednesday, August 19, it turned into an overwhelming defeat when the OAS Permanent Council approved, with 29 votes in favor and only one against, the convening of the Foreign Ministers of the Americas to specifically discuss the situation in Nicaragua. Above all, it was convened to adopt the necessary and feasible measures to help the Nicaraguan people recover their freedom and democracy.
And it must be acknowledged that Wednesday’s vote at the OAS was a triumph for the Nicaraguan opposition in exile, as it was largely the result of intense diplomatic efforts conducted with the governments of the Americas—particularly those that appeared little or not at all convinced that Nicaragua’s political crisis is also their problem.
Related: Murillo Defies OAS Pressure as Nicaragua Moves Ahead with Electoral Reforms
As one of the member ambassadors of the OAS Permanent Council expressed, the outcome of the vote on Wednesday the 19th is a step forward in the search for a peaceful resolution to Nicaragua’s political crisis. Meanwhile, another remarked that with this OAS decision, Nicaraguans have at least regained hope.
That is true. Although skeptics may belittle hope, it is a factor of great importance for those living under an oppressive regime, who long for freedom and fight for it as best they can.
The distinguished Czech democratic thinker, Václav Havel—who, after being a political prisoner of Czechoslovakia’s communist dictatorship (now the Czech Republic), went on to become president of his country—explained that “hope, in this deep and powerful sense, is above all a state of mind, and as such, either we have it or we don’t, regardless of the circumstances around us.”
Havel’s words are true, but political victories, even when partial and limited, strengthen hope. This was noted by Argentina’s ambassador to the OAS when justifying his vote in favor of Nicaragua: “It is good to recognize that these moments of hope and collective achievements,” he said, “even if for now they are more symbolic, represent one more step.”
Shortly before the OAS Permanent Council session that approved the call for the extraordinary meeting of the hemisphere’s foreign ministers to consider the situation in Nicaragua, LA PRENSA interviewed Costa Rican academic and international relations specialist Carlos Murillo. Speaking with the candor and realism characteristic of academics, he stated that what could occur at the extraordinary meeting of foreign ministers regarding Nicaragua would be agreeing to and implementing “a sanction pursuant to the Inter-American Democratic Charter.”
Murillo warned that “that will not bring about any change in the Managua regime, given that it is not part of the OAS, and even if it were, there is no coercive mechanism short of armed force to compel the regime to change course.”
Also of interest: Nicaragua Army Chief Backs Ortega as U.S. and OAS Pressure Mounts
Yet the truth is that it is impossible to know what agreements the foreign ministers of the Americas might reach against the Ortega-Murillo dictatorship, or what each OAS member State might be willing to do unilaterally for the restoration of freedom and democracy in Nicaragua.
In any case, the fact remains that the OAS Permanent Council’s decision on Wednesday, August 19, holds immense symbolic significance for the democratic struggle in Nicaragua. Historical experience shows that symbolic political victories generate a strong emotional impact, even if they do not immediately alter the situation. They raise morale, demonstrate the ethical strength of the opposition against dictators, help people feel part of the cause, and encourage them to fight with greater energy to achieve their goals.
Therefore, one must hold onto hope that the OAS extraordinary meeting of foreign ministers will be capable of approving effective agreements that further corner the dictatorship and bring closer the day of Nicaragua’s liberation.
