Business activity, from small to large businesses, was paralyzed on Thursday in all departments of Nicaragua during the 24-hour national strike or “paro nacional” in Spanish, called by the Civic Alliance for Justice and Democracy, in solidarity with the victims of the protests started on April 18 and in recognition of the legitimate forms of defense of the same.
Streets, highways, markets and commercial squares became, for 24 hours desolate, because the establishments closed the doors in protest.
Juan Sebastián Chamorro, one of the representatives of the Civic Alliance for Justice and Democracy, described it as “historic” and “extremely positive”.
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“The response of the population was excellent in all the departments of the country, it was a total strike and the objectives were achieved, the economic activities were paralyzed, the streets were empty and people joined in a peaceful and civic way to the protest,” appreciated Chamorro, also is executive director of the Nicaraguan Foundation for Economic and Social Development (Funides).
Chamorro added that the Civic Alliance continues “with the position of continuing to fight for the changes needed by Nicaragua through civic struggle,” despite the fact that the response of some sectors was an upsurge in violence.
In Managua it was unusual at 10:30 a.m. to observe empty the Gancho de Caminos, where there is usually a vehicular bottleneck and is one of the worst congested of the Mercado Oriental, where most vendors joined in the strike.
The Masaya highway, one of the main roads that connects Managua with the southeastern zone, looked deserted on Thursday. The squares, supermarkets and shopping centers closed their doors. Gas stations, restaurants, car washes and family businesses, such as pulperías, also joined the national strike, El Nuevo Diario said.
On the new Managua-León highway, between Ciudad Sandino and the community of Los Brasiles, traffic was almost nonexistent. The rows of vehicles that form every morning, this Thursday did not exist.
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The bus stops were also empty and the few collective transport units that circulated in the capital stopped circulating at noon.
The inter-municipal bus cooperatives that travel from Masaya, Carazo and Granada to Managua, did not provide service. The presence of taxis was almost zero in the center of the capital.
In Managua and other cities in the interior of the country, only the presence of police officers who took to the streets supposedly to regulate vehicular traffic was noticeable, but the roads were desolate.
The national strike called by the Civic Alliance was also felt in the municipality of Ciudad Sandino, located 12.5 kilometers west of the capital, where the main street that houses the main commercial businesses looked deserted.
The national strike on Thursday was also observed in the cities of the interior of the country, like in Managua and Masaya, commercial establishments remained closed and there were few vehicles and pedestrians in the streets.
Source (in Spanish): El Nuevo Diario
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