The Jesuit universities of Spain, acting together under the banner of the UNIJES network, have signed a solidarity manifesto denouncing the “human rights violations” and “repression” currently affecting the Nicaraguan people and, in particular, the Central American University (UCA) in Managua, which has had to reduce its teaching activity to a minimum in response to violent incidents in the surrounding area over the past several weeks. 

The manifesto denounces Nicaragua’s police crackdown, which has led to hundreds of deaths and disappearances. The document also highlights the “peaceful defence of social justice” promoted by the UCA, decries the threat faced by “the integrity of the university community as it calls for justice” and praises the community’s “contribution to building fairer and more human societies”. The manifesto also expresses support for the “autonomy of higher education institutions” as spaces for “critical thinking and freedom of expression in the search for truth”. 

Next week, the manifesto will be publicly presented on the campuses of Spain’s major Jesuit universities. It has been signed by the directors general, rectors and deans of the various schools: José M. Guibert, S.J., Rector of the University of Deusto; Julio L. Martínez, S.J., Rector of Comillas Pontifical University; Gabriel Pérez-Alcalá, Rector of Loyola University Andalusia; Pere Regull, Director General of the Chemical Institute of Sarrià (URL); Koldo Echebarria, Director General of ESADE (URL); Félix. A. Revilla, S.J., Director of INEA; Consuelo Burgos, Director of SAFA; Gonzalo Villagrán, S.J., Rector of the Theology Faculty of Granada; Jaume Flaquer, S.J., Director of the Institute of Fundamental Theology; and Ricard Santomà, Dean of the Sant Ignasi Faculty of Tourism and Hotel Management (URL). To date, nearly five hundred people have signed the manifesto. 

The Jesuit universities have also decided to launch a fundraising campaign to finance scholarships for UCA students. The campaign features testimonials from UCA students in Nicaragua who express their gratitude for the aid they have received through scholarships. 

Click here to sign the manifesto online.

For more information about donating to the scholarship campaign, click here.

For more details about the upcoming event at ESADE, click here.