Former Nicaraguan Vice President Speaks in Human Rights Lecture

On Tuesday, Trinity College hosted Sergio Ramirez, former vice president of Nicaragua under the Sandanista government. Mr. Ramirez read from his works in Spanish at Gallows Hill bookstore during the afternoon.

The second part of the event was presented as a lecture in which Ramirez spoke to a group of students, faculty, and administration assembled in the Rittenberg Lounge later on in the evening.

A faculty panel, comprised of Professors Dario Euraque and Kenneth Lloyd-Jones, as well as Maryam Elahi, director of the Human Rights Program, were also on hand to participate in the discussion.

Ramirez's lecture, entitled "Shared Trades: The Dual Role of the Writer in Promoting Social Change and Democracy", was a dialogue based on his own experiences as a writer, and addressing the problem that a writer immersed in politics faces: striking a balance he has had to strike between writing and other trades, journalism, for one, and in particular, politics.

Ramirez discussed his involvement with the Sandanista movement with enthusiasm, wondering aloud what he would have done if he had been born too early or too late to take part in the revolution, but always mentioning that he was, above all, a writer.

Ramirez talked about the difficulties in sharing the love for writing that he had always possessed with the love of power and revolution to which he was introduced while was fighting with the Sandanistas.

However, the mixed responsibilities produced a conflict for Ramirez.

He told the audience that for two years, he was unable to write and that had he not forced himself to write, he would have lost the ability to do so.

The involvement in politics also produced a fear in Ramirez that he would become a "caudillo", or political strong-arm just like the officials he and his movement fought against.

In regard to incorporating the two trades, Ramirez took a look at the power structure of the United States, saying, " Writers have never lived on the White House second floor."

Addressing the problem of co-existing with both trades, Ramirez stressed that he was a writer first, and also stated , "A writer always has another trade and they are all dangerous... do not think that politics is the most dangerous."

After the lecture, Ramirez took questions from the panel and from the audience.

The subjects addressed ranged from the magical realism specific to Latin American writers to the differences between the revolution in Nicaragua and the revolution in Cuba.

This event is the third in a lecture series presented by the Human Rights Program this semester. The theme of the program is "Artists and Writers: Shaping the Social Conscience."