_WORLD WATCH______________________________
_________________Nicaragua__________________

Fired for pro-life views
International pressure cost diplomat’s job

Max Padilla, a former Nicaraguan Cabinet officer, toured Washington, DC, early in March to tell American policy makers how he was fired from his job as head of the Ministry for the Family because of his views on abortion and family matters.

Padilla, who reported directly to the president of Nicaragua, came under criticism when he headed the Nicaraguan delegation to both the five-year review of the UN Cairo Conference on Population and Development (Cairo+5) and the five-year review of the UN Beijing Women’s Conference (Beijing+5). At both conferences Padilla and his colleague Elida Solorzano took stances that were unpopular with the representatives of the Clinton administration, the European Union, and radical non-governmental organizations. Because of their work, Nicaragua was labeled by media as part of the “unholy alliance” between Catholic and Muslim states.

Prior to the final session on Beijing+5 last spring, Padilla came under fire from the Scandinavian governments. At the time Nicaragua was negotiating to be named a “highly indebted country” and have its debts either eliminated or restructured. Nicaragua had been placed in an untenable financial position after the devastation of Hurricane Mitch. Padilla said the “donor countries” of Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, and others ordered him to change his government’s definition of gender to say that it was only a social construct. They allegedly threatened withdrawal of many millions in much needed financial assistance if Padilla did not follow their directive. Padilla refused to make the change and was fired by the Nicaraguan president last spring. Within weeks Solorzano was also fired.