The writer Sergio Ramírez, who already lived in exile from a dictatorship, that of Anastasio Somoza, who was overthrown by the Sandinista guerrilla of which he was a part, has now decided to go into exile in Spain before the order of persecution and punishment of whoever he was. leader of that guerrilla movement, Daniel Ortega, now president of Nicaragua, who signed the arrest warrant for Ramírez on September 9, 2018 Cervantes Prize winner. At the time of the edict of what is now also considered a dictator in his country, Ramírez was about to travel to Spain, where he had commitments due to the recent publication of his novel Tongolele did not know how to dance (Alfaguara), as well as to fulfill a European tour organized by the Cervantes Institute, which had prepared activities in various capitals.
The author of Bye guys As soon as he arrived in Spain, he suffered a heart problem for which he had recently undergone surgery in New Orleans (USA). When these symptoms were reproduced, the doctors who treated him in Madrid considered it inevitable that he would suspend all his commitments and that, for now, he should remain at rest, limiting his activities and travel as much as possible.
The news of Ortega’s decision to order his persecution and, if he returned to Nicaragua, of his arrest, unleashed a powerful Ibero-American reaction of support, which was joined by writers, intellectuals and politicians, including the Spanish Government and some Hispanic Americans, such as that of Argentina. The Ortega Executive affected these political entities the support expressed.
Ramírez was Ortega’s vice president in the first Sandinista government (1985-1990), after the dictator’s overthrow, with the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN). Losing the elections to Violeta Chamorro in February 1990, Ortega decided to fight against this democratic process, as well as to reverse some Sandinista decisions on the distribution of land. That was when Ramírez distanced himself from Ortega who, after imprisoning all his electoral opponents, has also decided to arrest his former partner.
The edict that led to Ramírez’s new exile was precipitated by the publication of the latest novel, which narrates, in a fictional way, the bloody repression suffered by hundreds of young people (there were about 300 dead) in the anti-government revolt of 2018. Ortega he had been re-elected in November 2016.
The novelist explained to EL PAÍS on Wednesday, from his provisional residence in Madrid, his previous exile, before being vice president of Nicaragua and, now, sent back into exile by the one who collaborated. “I was in exile until 1979, under order [dictada por Somoza] imprisonment for terrorism and conspiracy to commit a crime. In 1978 I decided to return, defying the prison order, along with the other members of the group of Twelve. [formado por empresarios, sacerdotes e intelectuales se constituyó en 1977 para respaldar la lucha del FSLN] and I lived clandestinely in Managua until December 1978 when I left for Costa Rica again, and from there until July 1979 when, with the other members of the Governing Board [sandinista]We flew at night in a small plane from León, a city that had been liberated by the guerrilla forces under the command of Dora María Téllez, now a prisoner ”.
There, after that flight, began a stage that was appreciated as a revolutionary light (Julio Cortázar said, in a book published in Spain by Muchnik Editores, that Nicaragua was “violently sweet”), to the disappointment of those who are now being persecuted. by Ortega and they were part of that radiance to which Cortázar put an adjective.
Ramírez, who also has Spanish nationality, is recovering well from his physical ailments, he told EL PAÍS, and his first public activity will be to attend the entertainment that the Círculo de Bellas Artes de Madrid gives him next Monday, which has awarded his Gold Medal.
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