*Valeria Morales

In mid-April 2018, a civil resistance process unprecedented in recent history began in Nicaragua. Social discontent was not an isolated issue, there were years of institutional processes and state practices that restricted freedom of expression and deepened the cooptation of public institutions until power was concentrated in Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo. In that month, two events triggered the social and political crisis that the country is experiencing today: the delayed response to contain the fire in the Indio Maíz Biosphere Reserve and, later, the reforms to the Social Security System that put people at a disadvantage such as retirees by reducing their benefits and increasing the insurance contributions of affiliated workers and business owners.

These events triggered an escalation of peaceful protests in almost all departments of Nicaragua, taking over public spaces such as avenues, parks, squares and universities. However, they were repressed on several occasions by the State and its shock forces. The Report on the acts of violence between April 18 and May 30 in Nicaragua, carried out by the Interdisciplinary Group of Independent Experts (GIEI) by the OAS, described that starting on April 19 and 20, a repressive stage of greater intensity that meant, as a general pattern, the disproportionate and indiscriminate use of state force—including the use of firearms directly against protesters.

This investigation recorded that between April 18 and May 30, 2018 there were at least 109 people killed linked to peaceful protests due to gunshots impacting the skull, neck and thorax. More than 1,400 people injured and more than 690 arrested. In November 2021, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights updated the number of deaths to 355 victims.

During the first murders, the sisters, fathers, mothers and friends of the victims organized to demand truth, seek justice and build collective memory of civil resistance. This is how the April Mothers Association (AMA) was born, establishing itself as a non-profit organization, private, autonomous, independent, apolitical and independent of governments and economic interests.

AMA is the nonviolent response of mothers, fathers, relatives and friends of the victims against state repression since April 2018 in Nicaragua. It is the result of thousands of families who were directly and indirectly affected by violence and who, even without receiving justice, collectively built this space to demand the human rights of their victims, but also to show solidarity with those who continue to suffer repression. in prisons, in exile, in intimidation and in the endless violent measures that the misgovernment of Ortega and Murillo continues to carry out to this day.

But this resistance did not stop only in the creation of the Association that demands justice, democracy and freedom, it was possible to create the Museum of Memory against Impunity that was born from the need to dignify the memory of the relatives murdered in the context of the rebellion. of April. As explained on the Museum’s website, it seeks to dispute the official narrative that criminalizes the citizens who participated in the civic protests. The museum is disruptive in its entirety because it is virtual, free and available at any time. It can be accessed from cell phones, computers and other technological means.

Inside the Museum there are relevant data about the victims, accounts of the events, photos, videos and various documents that aim to record the context of the protests. In September 2019, despite the harassment, persecution and state harassment of the victims’ relatives, a temporary exhibition of the museum was installed at the Institute of History of Nicaragua and Central America of the Central American University. In this facility, altars were created with some of the victims’ belongings: clothing, books, toys and other objects. It was visited by students, family members, politicians, journalists, historians and diplomats.

Thus, the Museum of Memory against Impunity is building historical memory in the midst of repression because it is necessary to remember everything that has happened to us in the last four years. There is nothing more resilient and powerful than keeping memory in mind so as not to forget, so as not to repeat. For AMA, active memory reconstruction is a fundamental part of comprehensive repair. The existence of this museum means honoring the memory, the fighting spirit and the dignity of those who did not hesitate to give their lives for freedom. “It is a place of struggle to build a new Nicaragua”.

Currently, the Association continues to work to promote the culture of peace, non-repetition, justice and democracy through exhibitions in different countries. Precisely, in April, to commemorate four years of crimes against humanity, Museum exhibitions were held in Germany, the Basque Country, Bilbao and other cities, with the aim of inviting the international community to join the global action for justice In Nicaragua.

At the close of this article, there is nothing left to share that although the April rebellion is pain, fear, crying, depression, it is also student resistance, hope, dignity, the cry of mothers. It is the recognition of the native peoples, it is the construction of truth, of memory. It is the fight against censorship and freedom of expression.

April is transformation.

Freedom for political prisoners!

*Valeria Morales. Central American migrant, urban cyclist, lawyer with a special focus on vulnerable groups such as women and migrant children of Central American origin. Human rights, environmental and urban mobility activist with a gender focus.

Translated by Damian Vasquez