Nicaragua’s Anti/Authoritarian Returns “Us” versus “Them” in the 2018 Protests and Their Repression

This chapter discusses Nicaragua’s anti/authoritarian returns at the hands of the 2018 protests and their repression. Over the course of the mass protests and their aftermath, both government opponents and supporters drew historical parallels to foster anti- or pro-government “Us” versus “Them” discourses, pitching each other to stand in opposition to “the people’s will” and the Sandinistas’ historical legacy. Young, urban protesters invoked the insurrectional practices leading up to the 1979 Sandinista revolution against the current Sandinista government, while its proponents organised around the conservation of its legacy. In doing so, both sides drew on local practices and discourses stemming from the same historical period, while building transnational alliances to buttress their positions.