Rosario Murillo, the eccentric and feared first lady of Nicaragua
There is someone who generates as much or more rejection than President Daniel Ortega in a part of Nicaraguan society: his wife and vice president, Rosario Murillo, a woman who daily professes messages of peace and love despite the serious crisis that the country is experiencing. that already leaves at least 200 dead.
There is someone who generates as much or more rejection than President Daniel Ortega in a part of Nicaraguan society: his wife and vice president, Rosario Murillo, an eccentric woman who daily professes messages of peace and love despite the serious crisis that the country is experiencing. , which already leaves at least 200 dead.
During the first phase of the anti-government protests, the protesters worked hard to knock down the so-called "trees of life", huge colored structures that recall the painting by the painter Gustav Klimt.
They were installed a few years ago by order of Murillo, who is popularly known as the "Chayo", and according to the local press they cost about $ 30,000 each. No one knows its true meaning and it is estimated that there are more than a hundred in Managua, of which at least a dozen were killed.
"She spent millions on the 'chayopalos' and the young people rushed to throw them out as a rejection of the regime. It is the ultimate proof of the rejection that people feel towards her," the novelist and ex-guerrilla Gioconda Belli, who participated with the tandem, told Efe. Ortega-Murillo in the Sandinista revolution that overthrew the dictatorship of the Somoza family in 1979.
Born in the capital in 1951, a poet and distant niece of the national hero Augusto Sandino, Murillo has spent more than forty years in the shadow of Ortega, whom she met in exile and with whom she has 9 children, several of whom control the official media. , as well as state oil distribution companies.
When Ortega returned to power in 2007, after leading the government that followed the dictatorship years ago, Murillo went on to lead the Council for Communication and Citizenship and since then he has been the face and voice of the government. In the 2016 elections, she also became vice president and the most powerful woman in Nicaragua.
"They don't want her even in the Sandinista Liberation Front of Nacional," the official party, told Efe a fierce taxi driver who defines himself as Sandinista but "antiorteguista."
The messages of the vice president about the crisis that plagues Nicaragua, the bloodiest since the 1980s, have contributed to further denigrate her image among the population that since last April has risked their lives on the barricades to demand their exit and the from her husband.
Official televisions know that at any time after noon they have to cut their programming and broadcast a message recorded by Murillo, in which there is room for everything: environment, health, economy, meteorology and, above all, a lot of religion, a lot of peace and lots of love
"His ability to lie and have two faces always caught my attention. When he took control of Ortega's campaigns, he began to 'go clean', as we say in Nicaragua, that is, he began to be religious and talk about God . A woman who never was and is suddenly Mother Teresa of Calcutta, "Belli ironically.
The last speeches that have had the greatest impact among public opinion have been delivered after two bloody events: the brutal police repression in the march of the mothers of the murdered young people and the death of several members of a family during a fire supposedly caused by paramilitaries related to the Government.
In them he recites phrases from the Bible, qualifies the massacres as "satanic practices" and "dantesque spectacle of hatred", and offers to "be reborn to life together with all Nicaraguan families", "recover peace and smiles on their faces" and "raising Nicaragua with love and faith", among many other things.
"She has a great need for power and is very messianic. She believes that she is doing the best for the people," added the author of "The inhabited woman," who also recalled that Murillo supported Ortega when his eldest daughter accused the president of having abused of her as a child, a case that was finally shelved by the Nicaraguan justice.
Her biggest opponents say she is "haunted" and justify it not only because of her esoteric messages and beliefs, but also because of her extravagant appearance, in which there are several rings on each finger, countless bracelets, hippie-style glasses and colorful clothes. and steamy.
"That woman has made a pact with the devil and wants to give him the lives of 666 young people to continue in power," a hooded young man behind a cobblestone checkpoint in Managua told Efe.
