Chasing windmills

Chasing windmills

By: Cristiana Guevara Mena

Don Quixote is a novel written in the golden age of Spanish literature, in which Cervantes tells the story of Alonso Quijano, a man whose only interest is books of chivalry. This reading suggests that his duty is to help the needy and fight imagined giants, which are actually windmills, in the name of freedom and justice. Don Quixote teaches us that you can tell the truth without fear of the consequences, fight for a just cause, and always keep your values ‌‌and convictions.

Those of us who want a better Nicaragua always have obstacles that prevent us from fighting for justice. There is an invasive and abusive mafia system of government that seeks to control everything, and is determined to annihilate anyone who threatens its grip on power. However, the people are tired of so many abuses and lost battles, to the point that they feel distrust, disillusionment, and abandonment, and settle for alms and whatever is left. There aren’t many of us who still struggle with any tool at hand for a cause larger than ourselves. Can we all really fight against the giant, which is nothing more than a windmill, to create a better future for all? Are there any heroes in Nicaragua like Don Quixote?

The moral, social, political, and economic crisis is increasingly asphyxiating most of the population. Prices of basic services, food, and fuel are becoming more expensive, because the gang that we have for a government does business selling everything at the highest price, while Venezuela has given low cost oil for the past few years. The salaries are not enough to live a decent life. The social inequality gap is getting bigger. Only a few of the gang live the high life, while the great majority suffers the most humiliating misery.

In this social helplessness, we citizens feel that the army and national police do not protect anyone but their own economic interests, representing with their performance the most vivid symbol of servility and perks. The National Assembly, which should be the actual first row of opposition, is a market where the government team buys cheaply. The so-called "opposition leaders" do nothing but lie to the media and negotiate the rights of the people with the government-gang in order to maintain their economic stability.

We are a nation kidnapped by unscrupulous people who apply the "law of the jungle," where corruption and insecurity are the order of the day. Phone lines and internet are more intercepted than ever and we have no privacy. The judicial system does not guarantee the equality of every citizen before the law. The violent abuses of the Nicaraguan citizens by the group in power apparently don’t cease because there is no one to stop them. According to them, they have managed to domesticate, intimidate, lull, and convince us with their lying and honeyed speech, buying our consciences with alms and gifts. They think that we no longer have the strength, courage, or organization to respond appropriately to such abuses. Apparently, we citizens are abandoned and helpless.

The values ‌‌that Don Quixote teaches are faith in justice and the desire for freedom, courage and love, but in the end, he’s "the knight of the sad figure" as Sancho Panza would say. In this sense, those of us who fight for a better Nicaragua resemble Don Quixote for being weak and alone facing a "giant", which is nothing more than a windmill with broken blades, without political wind to move it, although it seems that our struggle has no reason to be, because at the moment there is no possibility of change. I ask you, fellow citizen reader: Do you think that those of us who believe in a better Nicaragua are wasting our time fighting a lost cause, or is it worth fighting for our beloved Nicaragua? It is now up to you to answer this question with your actions. Now is the time to start.