Address by President Comandante Daniel and Compañera Rosario, Vice-President of Nicaragua, ahead of Tropical Storm Bonnie entering our Country
July 1, 2022
Words of Rosario
Good afternoon, beloved Families of our Blessed, Dignified, Sovereign, Always Free Nicaragua!
Here we are, introducing the address by Comandante Daniel, President of the Republic, accompanied by the government authorities of our People-President, who have been working following his guidance at all times, the guidance of Comandante Daniel, to fulfill our duty to our People, to recognize the protagonism and leadership of our People, and fulfill our duty to our People in the defense of Life, at all times and in all circumstances. Defending life is the primary task above all.
This afternoon, Comandante Daniel is addressing us all so as to summarize what this current experience, another experience, yet more learning, and to make sure that we are all absolutely aware and well-versed in how to apply more and more responsibly and seriously everything we have been learning throughout these years of experiences, of certainties, and we believe, Blessings.
Because, Thank God, thanks to our People, thanks to the Institutions, our Military, our Police, our Ministries, to SINAPRED, Dr. Guillermo Gonzalez, the compañer@s of INETER, thanks to everyone, that we make our way together and that we are together, the truth is that the result of each of these experiences, of these events, demonstrates the strength of the government's Model, the strength of our ability to learn and what we put into practice.
Accompanying our Comandante Daniel are Army General Julio César Avilés Castillo, who has also arrived with General Rogelio Flores, who is Head of the Civil Defense of the Nicaraguan Army. They have had a tremendous task, they have been evacuating Families, and as always, on the front line of the efforts to defend the lives of Families.
We also have Foreign Minister Denis Moncada, he is here with us; Comandante Lumberto Campbell representing his Peoples in the Autonomous Regions, of the Northern and Southern Caribbean Coast; compañero Doctor Gustavo Porras, President of the National Assembly, and also compañero Arlin Alonso, Vice President of the National Assembly.
Minister Iván Acosta is also here with us; the First Commissioner General Francisco Díaz, of our National Police at the service of Peace and Life, throughout the Country.
We have compañero Ovidio Reyes, President of the Central Bank; the Minister of the Interior, compañera María Amelia Coronel, and the Vice Minister, compañero Luis Cañas.
From INETER, its Director, compañero Vladimir Gutiérrez and compañero Marcio Baca, who is in charge of Meteorology.
From the MTI, the compañera Vice Minister Tania Díaz; the Minister is on a Work Mission making a visit to another Brother Country. We also have Professor Lilliam Herrera, Minister of Education; Dr. Martha Reyes, Minister of Health; compañero Salvador Vanegas, Advisor to the President for Education; compañero Salvador Mansell who directs ENATREL; compañera Nahima Díaz, from TELCOR always serving our People as Director; compañero Virgilio Silva at the head of the National Ports Company.
We have Dr. Guillermo González, Director of SINAPRED; compañera Deputy Director or Co-Director Xochitl Cortéz; compañera Herminio Escoto, head of ENABAS; compañero Ervin Barreda at the head of ENACAL; compañera Loyda Barreda at the head of INATEC; compañera Johana Flores, Minister of the Family.
We also have compañero Fidel Moreno and compañero Ivan Lacayo... Ivan is currently on a Work Mission also in the IV Region; compañero Fidel Moreno representing the Mayors.
Compañero Michael Campbell, Minister Advisor to the President for International Relations; compañero Ivan Lara, who is also Deputy Minister of the Foreign Ministry. And the compañera Minister who is here, who has been organizing this event all day, compañera Arlette Marenco.
I don't think I have left anyone out. I apologize to those whom I have not mentioned in the proper order.
Our Comandante Daniel is will now address us all and also with the latest information we have about this event which we expect will make landfall in the coming hours. We hope that God will take good care of us, that God will always keep us well as a People of Faith.
Words of Daniel
Good afternoon, Nicaraguan brothers and sisters, Nicaraguan Families, brothers and sisters of the South Caribbean Coast and the North Caribbean Coast, because the truth is that these events always affect the entire National Territory, the entire Territory of Nicaragua, and all of Central America, we already know, “the slim waist of Immortal America”, as Neruda called it.
It is a belt that connects the North of America, Canada, the United States, Mexico, with South America, starting with Colombia, Venezuela, and there it goes down. So, we are a Region with small, narrow territories and, therefore, these phenomena tend to affect all our countries' areas.
In Honduras, for example, it is already raining and they are taking evacuation measures; in Costa Rica they have also been evacuating the population. And so, as it crosses this area of the Central American Region, bordering Nicaragua and Costa Rica, from the Caribbean Sea it passes to the Pacific Ocean and in the Pacific then it takes a course North, and as it takes its course North, so then they are already preparing in El Salvador.
In Honduras they are already preparing, and in El Salvador too, because these are Phenomena that are being predicted there, but sometimes when they have crossed and are already approaching the northernmost area, Guatemala, Mexico, they suddenly pick up more strength and become hurricanes. Here I want to remember, it's always good to remember, not to forget, and not to forget for what? So as not to repeat mistakes.
I remember when Hurricane "Juana“, a hurricane that entered with all the force, with all the power, all the same, ”Juana“ came advancing, what would happen if it stopped, or if it headed North, that if it headed South, I remember the meetings we had here, following it, and in the end, ”Juana" broke over Corn Island, sweeping over Corn Island and then over Bluefields.
I remember that we went to Bluefields to talk to the people who were on the seashore, in their houses, and they did not want to evacuate. Of course, there was no evacuation culture, there were no mechanisms like those we have developed now with the National Disaster Prevention System, enabling the population to become aware that when threats like these arise, we should not underestimate them and that it is better to evacuate.
And we said there: Well, take what you can, but the house can be rebuilt, the clothes that you may leave there, and the furniture, they can be recovered or they can be bought again, and the Government will help to buy them. But life, that is something that cannot be recovered, and it was about saving Lives. That was our Principle, in the face of that Hurricane that was coming with fearsome force; the forecasts were that it was even going to hit Managua and the entire Pacific area with a good jolt. And it did get to Managua, it did get to this area, but it didn't hit us with the big shock that it seemed it was going to give us. A huge experience!
Then, faced with other hurricanes, while we were in the Government, well, we have been acquiring experience and created more awareness. I also remember that after the hurricanes we faced, already in our new period of government, starting in 2007, the first hurricane we faced was “Felix”, I remember Felix.
After “Felix", we made a tour with compañeros of the Army in the Communities that had been flattened, and there the experience we got was, well, from now on, the constructions here in this entire Area, which are very vulnerable areas in front of hurricanes, the constructions of schools, churches, health centers, they have to be constructions sufficient to be able to serve as shelter for the population.
Because at that time everything was vulnerable, schools, health centers, churches, all that was destroyed by the force of the winds and flooded by the force of the waters. And sowe have reached this point after gaining enormous experience.
And the alerts also in the face of earthquakes, may God preserve us from an earthquake, but we cannot neglect that ourselves either. We know that an earthquake is more complicated because one cannot see it coming in the distance. No! An earthquake happens by surprise, that's why we have to practice so much, hold so many exercises, for evacuations when tremors occur so as to seek protection, foreseeing that the tremor can be repeated with greater intensity and cause material damage and thus put the lives of Citizens at risk.
So I was telling you about that great experience learned, and by contrast, and I say this not wanting to speak ill, but it is the reality, by contrast... in the period when we were out of Government, Hurricane Mitch entered Honduras, and we all know that when a hurricane enters Honduras, just like when one enters Nicaragua, it affects Honduras, but it affects Nicaragua too, it rains until it causes floods and especially in the departments along the northern border with Honduras. And what experience do we have of a Liberal, neoliberal Government, blessed by Imperialism, put in place by Imperialism, what experience did we have with the “Mitch”? Well, as "Mitch" was approaching Honduras, it mattered little to the government to take any action.
And the Mayor of Posoltega, Felícita Zeledón, the Sandinista Mayor, communicated with us, when we were waging the battle from below, ruling from below, as we used to say, and she told us the entire area was being flooded and that there was a risk of landslides, and she told us how the hills there are being inundated with water, and that there was no signal from the Government to go there and address the situation.
And what she did was, when she saw that the President was on television, she called him by phone, the President was in an interview, they pass him the call on television, and when he heard the Mayor tell him about what was happening there, or what was going to happen, and that who knows how many people were going to die there, he told her she was crazy... "You're crazy", he told her, "you're crazy", that was the answer he gave her.
The result? Over 1,000 dead. That was one of the catastrophes, resulting from these phenomena, that caused the greatest number of deaths in our country ever; worse than that have been only the earthquakes we have had, but as regards hurricanes, cyclones... I remember that another one we faced at the time of "Juana“ was the ”Fifi", whcih threw water in vast quantities, flooding roads, cutting places off here along the Pacific coast.
I remember that we were in the West of the country and when we were advancing, almost arriving at León, we could no longer pass the bridge, it was cut off and we had to return to an intermediate point to wait for the flood waters to go down. But it did not cause the number of victims, of deaths, there was no precedent like that (of "Mitch"), as brutal as that, which occurred under a government of the Yankees, the governments run by the Yankees who have no Soul.
Now, beloved Brothers and Sisters, you have seen all the work that has been going on, how the Institutions have been meeting, how they have been visiting different territories, how they have held Assemblies at different points, in order to save Lives. That is our main goal - to save lives! And in that work we are still carrying out evacuations. So that when the rains arrive with greater force in terms of intensity, rains that will cause flooding, we will have the population already sheltering in their shelters, protected, taking into account that we know more or less the route the cyclone has taken and which it will possibly continue.
At the moment it has the category of Tropical Storm, it is approaching the Southeast coast of Nicaragua, there we have it on the map. Well, this was half an hour ago, now it will be closer. Half an hour ago it was 66 kilometers southeast of San Juan de Nicaragua, that is, it goes in the direction of San Juan de Nicaragua, that is, it follows practically the border area of Nicaragua with Costa Rica, from Costa Rica to Nicaragua.
The maximum winds have increased, because when it was advancing over the sea the winds had dropped to 65km an hour, now it is at 75, now, here in this report, the strength of the winds has increased by 10 kilometers and hour. What has decreased is the speed that this Storm is taking to advance, to walk; that is, its progress now at a speed of 28 kilometers per hour; at other times the speed is lower.
I remember with the "Juana", it even stopped dead, there were times when it stopped just off our coasts, and it was not known if it was going to head North or it was going to head South, it was just there and spent hours, days, without moving. Other times these events advance with greater speed, but this one comes with a speed of 26 kilometers per hour. So if half an hour or an hour ago it was 66 kilometers from San Juan de Nicaragua and has already advanced 28 kilometers, it would now be 50-odd kilometers away, already closer to San Juan de Nicaragua. With this speed, the forecast is that it is now about to make landfall in the next few hours.
I remember that in the Reports they gave us yesterday, it was calculated that it was going to make landfall at about 8 o'clock at night, the calculation was not bad, we are close, because maybe a at 8 or 10 at night it is already making landfall in an area near San Juan de Nicaragua.
And then there is the damage it can cause, as these phenomena do cause, if the rains, and we already know the damage intense rain causes, let alone a rain that comes with greater wind force. These rains undoubtedly cause damage and are also more abundant due to the amount of water they have been accumulating. In other words, hurricanes tend to take on more force when they go over water, because they carry more water, lift it up and then throw water, more water, more water and yet more water.
And this storm is in an area of waters, there is the San Juan River, and if we go a little further north there is the river Rama and there are other rivers in the area; and then there is Lake Nicaragua, when passing over the Lake it will take up a little more water, whatever more strength it can grab. Then it will move away, as the hurricanes that have entered along this route have always left, leaving through the Isthmus of Rivas, and then they are head North or maybe they could take another route. That's how hurricanes are, they are unpredictable in terms of the routes, the direction they may take.
So, beloved Brothers and Sisters, beloved Nicaraguan Families, this is the information we have so far, the most important thing is what has been done and the responsible behavior of the population. I have seen families on television, who immediately, even in Bluefields, agreed to go to Shelters, because they know what the risks are, the danger, the damage that a hurricane can cause that can cost Lives.
And trusting in the effort made by the Institutions, the effort made by the organized population that has increases awareness, we hope that, please God, we will have no victims to regret. But there is still a way to go that does not depend on us, it depends on the force of Nature.
This day, beloved Nicaraguan brothers and sisters, beloved Families, this day, July 1st in 2009, was the Transit to Immortality of our Brother Alexis Argüello, and he is present here also accompanying us in this great battle, that Hero of a Thousand Battles.
And on July 1, 1927, from San Albino, our General Sandino issued there the "Manifesto of San Albino", where he clearly said that Nicaragua was willing to give battle for Freedom, for Sovereignty, for Dignity, even before the most powerful forces, such as the forces of the Yankee Empire, which were already occupying Nicaragua and which our General Sandino would be facing.
And that Strength of our General reflects the Strength, the Spirit, the Dignity of our Heroes throughout our history and reflects the Strength and Dignity of our Heroes and Martyrs in the new times, which led to the Revolution, the New Times, which led to the defense of the Revolution, in different circumstances, including against those who attempted a coup in our country, burning, killing, destroying.
That strength that our Heroes leave us is alive in the Nicaraguan People, and thus is also alive in the Institutions of the Nicaraguan State, while in fact the Nicaraguan State is nothing if not an Institution at the service of the People, with a Revolutionary Consciousness and Spirit, in other words with a commitment to Christian Practice, to Socialist Practice and the Practice of Solidarity.
That gives strength to us all, beloved brothers and sister, to take our time, because we know that we all have families, we have compañer@s, sisters, brothers in all the Institutions, all without exception, who are not only willing to give their lives to save the Lives and Dignity of Nicaragua and its People, but are also willing to give all the time necessary and to work all the time it takes, answering the call of circumstances, the call of emergencies, the call of the tasks demanded for Nicaragua's People.
So, Nicaraguan brothers, we are going to continue monitoring, observing, following, in communication with the different territories where this Phenomenon is now approaching and with greater force. And so - a great deal of communication, to protect, to save lives.
And after all, we have a detachment of men and women, out int he territories, and a determining force accompanying this detachment, namely the strength of our Army and our National Police, who are out everywhere to protect, support, transport, save lives.
We have seen under other circumstances in recent years, the Army saving lives there in Bilwi, of those Communities that did not want to evacuate the place when storms were hitting, who would otherwise have died there in the end. And the Police saving Lives also of Families who were on the other side of a river that was swelling and there was no way to rescue them... And a child, I remember, we do not forget that image of the officer saving that child.
That is to say, our Institutions are the fruit of the Revolution, a Revolution that is the fruit of the Spirit of our Heroes, of our Martyrs, who throughout History have given countless Battles for Justice and Freedom.
Good evening, beloved Nicaraguan Brothers and Sisters.
Comments by Rosario, Vice-President of Nicaragua, after the address
by President Comandante Daniel to the People of Nicaragua
July 1, 2022
Good evening, Compañer@s. Giving thanks to Life that has given us so much... Giving thanks to Our Father who has given us so much. And when we say so much, we mean above all the possibility of serving all our Families, of serving our People, knowing how to recognize the Mandate of our People, which is the Mandate of Jesus Christ. Knowing how to distinguish and recognize where Power really lies: In the People!
We are proud to be able to serve you, day and night, as our Comandante Daniel said, no mater what time it takes. To serve, knowing that in this Service lies our Victory, our Triumphs.
Today we are learning more with this Storm for which we have prepared based on all the experience, all the knowledge, all the readiness, all the heart, all the responsibility, all the lessons. And here we are, humbly, asking God to keep us safe.
We do what we must do, and God disposes, and we humbly, earnestly ask Him to keep us safe, as a People of Faith.
We know that these are difficult times, especially for Families who live in the path of the Phenomenon. Although we also know that these are Phenomena that go on and leave us, as Commander Daniel explained, as we have explained in these recent days, water, more holy water, sacred waters indeed, but also a great deal of water is also risk, a risk to Life, to the Life also of Nature, of crops; so, we ask Our Father to keep us safe.
And these are also times when we have to be Brothers and Sisters, Fraternal, in Solidarity, with the Peoples of Central America, our Brother and Sister Peoples, who are also exposed to danger. A Fraternal Greeting of Solidarity to the People of Costa Rica. A Greeting of Fraternal Solidarity to the People of Honduras, to El Salvador, to Guatemala, because all of us, in a moment like this, in some way or other are going to be affected.
These are moments to express that Solidarity and that Union that we want to come about in Central America, facing these attacks of the Climate, of climatic disorder. You see, these hurricanes are becoming more and more frequent.
Thank God that today we know more, that we have better techniques and technologies that we can apply to monitor these attacks and prepare ourselves, to be able to work on responses in anticipation.
But even so, without all the experience of these times, without the work of Dr. González at SINAPRED who is traveling the country all the time so as to organize ourselves better in the face of threats, without the work of Vladimir at INETER, of Marcio, of all their colleagues who are there all the time attentive, warning and informing us all.
We want to recognize the work of this entire Government, which, as Comandante Daniel said, is an Institution proud to serve our People.
Here we are... We feel, as we said yesterday, comforted, proud, to see how we have all been growing, learning, and most of all, empowering ourselves through the Protagonism of a People that is President.
An embrace to all our country's families... Wherever they are, wherever we feel somehow exposed to this Phenomenon, applying everything we know so as to protect, defend, save Life. And an embrace to all the compañeras and compañeros Mayors, Councilors, Political Secretaries, Social Leaders, Community Leaders, who are there too, also proud, very proud to be able to serve our People, to be the living expression of a Revolution that is Christian, that is Socialist, that promotes Solidarity, promoting the best of ourselves, for Union, for Brotherhood, for Solidarity, for Work and Peace.
Here we are then, Compañer@s, and tomorrow, or later tonight, we will be in communication as necessary, to continue giving thanks to God for the protection, for keeping us, because this, our People is Christian, is Socialist, embodies Solidarity, it is a People of God!
Lets go ahead, then, let's go forward, building that Future that is becoming better every day in terms of Hope, Trust and Unity. Thank you Compañer@s.