In an in-depth interview with the Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas, ICOA artist-in-residence Pedro X. Molina says “independent journalism has become one of the basic needs of the population” in Nicaragua since the government cracked down on dissent following street protests last year.

Molina fled Nicaragua last December but has continued to contribute cartoons to news outlets on a daily basis.

“[W]ith the closure of spaces to denounce and protest, not only in the media, but at a general level, where people cannot express themselves, nor march, nor organize, nor sometimes even carry the national flag, criticism and humor has become an escape valve for people, a source of encouragement to resist and persevere in the search for change,” he explains.

Read the entire interview here.

Molina will accept the Maria Moors Cabot Award from Columbia University School of Journalism in New York City on October 16.