Hosted by UCSB Latin American & Iberian Studies Program:

LAIS Tertulia: Social Movements, Identity, and Resistance in Contemporary Nicaragua

Tuesday, December 1st at 12:00pm to 1:30am

The people of Nicaragua have faced a series of compounding crises over the past decade: the growing authoritarianism of the Ortega-Murillo government, assaults on women’s and LGBT rights, colonization of indigenous and Afro-descendant communities’ territory, and, in 2018, mass protests that were harshly repressed by pro-government forces. In the face of these crises and threats, social movements, activists, artists, opposition politicians, and communities have mobilized to resist government policies and assert their rights. As Nicaragua confronts the COVID-19 crisis with a denialist and obstructive government response and with elections looming in 2021, this roundtable discussion explores the ideas and actions of different sectors of Nicaraguan society and what visions and lessons they might have for the country’s future.

Speakers: Cristina Awadalla (Sociology, UC Santa Barbara), Jennifer Goett (Comparative Cultures & Politics, Michigan State University), Mateo Jarquín (History, Chapman University) and Emilia Yang (Media Arts + Practice, University of Southern California).

Moderated by Kai Thaler (Global Studies, UC Santa Barbara) and with comments by Charles Hale (Dean of Social Sciences, UC Santa Barbara).