Nicaragua’s government, increasingly isolated and repressive, initially celebrated a public relations win when Sheynnis Palacios, Miss Nicaragua, clinched the Miss Universe title last week. However, their elation turned to fury upon discovering that Palacios had graduated from a college central to the 2018 protests against the regime and had apparently participated in the demonstrations.
Ordinary Nicaraguans, largely restricted from public dissent, seized the Miss Universe victory as a rare chance to rejoice openly. Using the blue-and-white national flag instead of the government’s red-and-black Sandinista banner, the celebratory atmosphere took a defiant turn.
Palacios’ win and her 2018 protest involvement delighted Nicaragua’s opposition, drawing praise from figures like Roman Catholic Rev. Silvio Báez, who, like many priests, has faced government persecution.
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Despite the opposition’s celebration, Vice President and First Lady Rosario Murillo, employing rhetoric reminiscent of North Korea, criticized social media sites supporting Palacios as conduits for opposition victory.
Since the government’s violent crackdown on 2018 protests, forcing many into exile, Ortega’s regime has closed universities, outlawed organizations, and arrested and expelled opponents. Ortega claims the protests were an attempted coup backed by foreign forces.
Palacios, the first Nicaraguan Miss Universe, has not commented on the situation. Despite her achievements, her past participation in protests, documented on a now-deleted Facebook account, raises questions about her alignment with the government’s critics. The protests, ultimately quashed, resulted in the deaths of 355 people according to human rights officials.
