Humberto Belli

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Belli and the second or maternal family name is Pereira.

Humberto Belli Pereira^[1] (born September 7, 1945) is a Nicaraguan politician and writer. The former Minister of Education in Nicaragua during the presidency of conservative Violeta Chamorro, Belli is also the author of five books.

Humberto Belli
Belli in 2018
Born	(1945-09-07) September 7, 1945 (age 79)
Alma mater	Central American University University of Madrid University of Pennsylvania
Title	Minister of Education
Relatives	Gioconda Belli (sister)

Biography

Humberto Belli Pereira was born September 7, 1945, in Managua)^[2] to Humberto Belli Zapata and Gloria Pereira Salazar.^[3] His sister is the author and former Sandinista revolutionary Gioconda Belli.^[4]

Humberto Belli was educated at the Central American University, the University of Madrid, and University of Pennsylvania, where he studied sociology.^[5] He joined the Sandinista student group, the Revolutionary Student Front (FER) in 1965, but broke with the FSLN and Marxism in 1975 while continuing to oppose the Somoza rule.^[2]

He converted to Catholicism in 1977^[2] and is a member of Opus Dei.^[3] He is the author of Breaking Faith: The Sandinista Revolution and its Impact on Freedom and Christian Faith in Nicaragua (1984; also released as Christians Under Fire)^[6] and Buscando La Tierra Prometida, Historia de Nicaragua 1492-2019 (Searching for the Promised Land, 2019).^[7] He is on the editorial board of La Prensa.^[8]

Belli became Minister of Education in Nicaragua during the presidency of conservative Violeta Barrios de Chamorro^[9] and also worked in the administration of her successor, Arnoldo Alemán of the Constitutionalist Liberal Party.^[3]

He is a critic of the FSLN, alleging fraud in the 2011 Nicaraguan general election (particularly as regards the National Assembly composition) and harshly criticizing his once-close friend of Cardinal Miguel Obando y Bravo for Obando y Bravo’s close relationship with the FSLN.^[3] In a 2012 interview, Belli said, “I regret that a member of the Church who should distance himself from power and especially from powers that disrespect the Constitution and commit fraud, is continually blessing it.”^[3]

In June 2021, Bellí was among a wave of arrest warrants for civic figures that began with four opposition pre-candidates for president in the November general election.^[10] On June 16, Bellí and 12 other former directors of Nicaraguan Foundation for Economic and Social Development (FUNIDES) had their bank accounts frozen in an investigation for alleged violations by the Foundation of the controversial Law 1040, the “Law on the Regulation of Foreign Agents”.^[10] The next day, arrest warrants were issued for two of them—Bellí and Gerardo José Baltodano Cantarero—for allegedly failing to respond to a summons.^[10]

Works

• Belli Pereira, Humberto (1977). Un ensayo de interpretación sobre las luchas políticas nicaragüenses: ponencia (in Spanish). Centro de Investigaciones Sociales Nicaragüenses. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
• Belli Pereira, Humberto (1983). Persecution of Protestants in Nicaragua: The Neglected Story. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
• Belli, Humberto (1984). Christians Under Fire. Instituto Puebla. OCLC 11372504.
• Belli, Humberto; Nash, Ronald H. (1992). Beyond Liberation Theology. Academic Renewal Press. ISBN 978-0-7880-9920-5. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
• Buscando La Tierra Prometida, Historia de Nicaragua 1492-2019 (2019).^[7]

References

1. "¿Guerra civil?". La Prensa (in Spanish). 2020-07-20. Archived from the original on 2020-12-09. Retrieved 2021-02-01.
2. Nicaraguan Biographies: A Resource Book. U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Public Affairs. 1988. p. 71. Archived from the original on 2021-01-31. Retrieved 2020-12-20. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
3. Cid, Amalia del (2012-01-29). ""Yo admiraba al cardenal"". La Prensa (in Spanish). p. 8A. Archived from the original on July 28, 2020. Retrieved 23 June 2021.
4. Smith, Calvin L. (2007). Revolution, Revival, and Religious Conflict in Sandinista Nicaragua. BRILL. p. 15. ISBN 9789047419358. Archived from the original on 1 February 2021. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
5. Nicaraguan Biographies: A Resource Book. U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Public Affairs. 1988. p. 71. Archived from the original on 2021-01-31. Retrieved 2020-12-20. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
6. Crahan, Margaret E. (11 May 1986). "Breaking Faith THE SANDINISTA REVOLUTION AND ITS IMPACT ON FREEDOM AND CHRISTIAN FAITH IN NICARAGUA by Humberto Belli (Crossways: $8.95; 271 pp.) : IN BLOODY TERMS: THE BETRAYAL OF THE CHURCH IN MARXIST GRENADA by Andrew J. Zwerneman (Greenlawn: $6.95; 113 pp.)". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 1 February 2021. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
7. "Un libro que rescata nuestra historia de una serie de mentiras y mitos ideológicos: "Buscando la tierra prometida"". La Prensa (in Spanish). 2019-11-22. Archived from the original on 2019-11-27. Retrieved 2021-02-01.
8. "Al menos 40 detenidos por la Policía Orteguista en marcha azul y blanco". La Prensa. March 16, 2019. Archived from the original on 17 November 2019. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
9. Baxter, Kevin (1995-01-15). "THE SUNDAY PROFILE : Poetry, Prose, Politics : Feminism and social change will always be major themes in Gioconda Belli's work. But she's learning to ignite the passions of others rather than lead their struggles". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on February 1, 2021. Retrieved 2021-02-01.
10. Torrez, Cinthya (2021-06-18). "Ministerio Público solicita captura contra dos exdirectivos de Funides". Confidencial (in Spanish). Retrieved 2021-06-18.