Nicaragua has created a new National Ministry for Extraterrestrial Space Affairs, The Moon and Other Celestial Bodies, sparking scorn from critics in a nation that has experienced a constant erosion of human rights since a brutal crackdown on anti-government protests three years ago.
The new space agency was approved by 76 lawmakers on Wednesday at the country’s congress, which is dominated by President Daniel Ortega’s Sandinista party. Fifteen opposition lawmakers abstained.
In a country that has difficulty providing food, fuel and vaccines against the coronavirus to its people, it is unclear exactly what the ministry should do.
It will be under the control of the Nicaraguan Army, which has no space program. The law says that the ministry “will promote the development of space activities, with the aim of expanding the country’s capacities in the areas of education, industry, science and technology”.
Geologist Jaime Incer Barquero, president of the Academy of Geography and History of Nicaragua, told CNN: “Nicaragua has no scientific capacity or tradition, it does not have a serious (space) observatory. As a country, we are not scientifically capable of carrying out this type of research ”.
Social media users created memes for Ortega and his wife, Vice President Rosario Murillo, dressed as astronauts, and the Nicaraguan police expropriating the moon, as Ortega did with some buildings in Nicaragua that belonged to media and civic groups of which he disagreed.
Critics said the country has no money to spend on dreams of space exploration and accused Ortega of trying to divert attention from its bleak human rights record and faltering response to the coronavirus pandemic. The Nicaraguan government has systematically minimized the impact of Covid-19 and has not yet acquired a coronavirus vaccine. The country has been experiencing a deep social and economic crisis since the government suppressed mass protests in 2018.
The space agency is not the first time that Ortega endorses quixotic proposals. In 2013, he authorized a Chinese company to build a $ 50 billion channel in Nicaragua. The project has made little progress.
Meanwhile, human rights organizations said on Thursday that they will demand a “strong resolution” on the human rights situation in Nicaragua at the opening session of the UN Human Rights Council on February 22.
“Human rights violations continue in Nicaragua and require a mission to visit the country and make recommendations to overcome these challenges and for the country to return to normal before the elections,” said Clément Nyaletsossi Voule, UN special investigator on human rights. peaceful meeting and association.
National elections are scheduled for November 7. Ortega must run for the fourth term as president. If he wins, it will be his third consecutive term since 2007.
In the past few months, the Ortega government has proposed, approved and implemented a series of laws that hinder the functioning of non-governmental organizations.