Sofía Montenegro (Nicaragua)

Sofia Montenegro is a prominent Nicaraguan journalist, researcher, feminist, and civil society activist. Montenegro began her activism career when she fought in the Sandinista Revolution against the Somoza dictatorship. Montenegro edited Barricada, the official Sandinista newspaper.  In 1994, she founded the Center for Communication Research, a nonpartisan research organization. She later became an outspoken opponent of the Sandinista Party’s growing authoritarianism, highlighting in particular the regime’s nepotism and lack of transparency.

Recently, she emerged as a leading campaigner against the government’s proposed canal project, which threatens environmental health in Lake Nicaragua and its environs. The author of many articles and books on the nexus between power, gender and social relations, also participated in the 2015 Inter-American dialogue in Washington, DC.