Provocation and Protest: University Students in Nicaragua's Uprising

by José Luis Rocha, Joseph Owens (Translator)

A translation of José Luis Rocha’s Spanish language study of the student movement as a key part of the demonstrations against the government of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo in 2018, this book explores the causes and possible future repercussions of the uprising in national and regional contexts. “This book reveals the willingness of university students to to imagine and fight for a new and different Nicaragua without the Achilles’ heels of social movements of the past. Rocha shows us why the student mobilizations happened, how they demand a cultural change toward a more open, just, and sustainable society; and how they reflect cultural changes that are already happening and that no government can hope to completely control. Whether changes come with or without blood, Rocha argues, 'the decision for change has already been made.’“Anthony Bebbington, Clark University (U.S.A.), University of Manchester (England), University of Melbourne (Australia)

208 pages, Paperback

Published December 2, 2019

Reviews

[Daniel Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent book that critically analyzes the recent April 19 University student uprisings in Nicaragua. The author examines the history of student activism (especially to compare the current situation to that during the Somoza era student uprisings). The author explores the subjective and objective condition of the current uprisings, their relationship to recent events, the nature of the social movement, and how they are perceived by people of various backgrounds from outside the movement. The author is thorough and includes rigorous analysis as well as both hopeful possibilities and critiques offered by other Nicaraguans. The author even includes a chart comparing the Anti-Somoza and April19 movements. I recommend this book.