A man walks next to several closed stores in the Oriental market during the national strike called in Nicaragua, in Managua, Nicaragua, Sep. 7, 2018. EPA-EFE/Jorge Torres

View of a closed gas station with chains on fuel servers, during the national strike called against the president of Nicaragua Daniel Ortega, in Masaya, Nicaragua, Sep. 7, 2018. EPA-EFE/Esteban Biba

View of a closed medical center and laboratory, during the national strike called against the president of Nicaragua Daniel Ortega, in Masaya, Nicaragua, Sep. 7, 2018. EPA-EFE/Esteban Biba

Nicaragua Friday held the third national strike since the social upheaval of last April, in protest against the country's president, whom various sectors blame for the sociopolitical crisis that has left hundreds dead.

Streets, markets, private schools, shopping centers, bus terminals and other central points in different cities, had visibly fewer people than usual.

The national strike, scheduled to last 24 hours on Saturday, was convened by the Civic Alliance, which seeks the freedom of "political prisoners", calculated to be at least 135, but might be between 400 and 500 if you include people disappeared, according to local humanitarian organizations.

In central areas of Managua and other Pacific cities in Nicaragua, a fairly normal circulation of cars was observed at different times of the day.

This is the third national strike against Daniel Ortega, after one on Jun. 14, which forced the government to allow the presence of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (CIDH), and another on Jul. 13, to show its rejection of the annual Sandinista celebration known as "El Retiegue".

The police released on Friday student Alejandro Centeno, who was arrested on Tuesday.

The government tried to counteract the protest with fairs in several cities.

The cessation of activities was not the only form of protests. In at least eight cities in the Pacific and north of Nicaragua, the streets awoke with balloons carried by the wind, with phrases such as "Viva Nicaragua libre", "Libertad", "Justicia", "#SOSNicaragua", as observed in the photographs and videos that protesters posted on their social networks.

The balloons all included the colors blue and white, relating to the flag of Nicaragua, the same tones used in protests against President Daniel Ortega.

A survey released Friday by the Civic Ethics and Transparency Group (EYT) revealed that 81 percent of Nicaraguans want the 2021 elections to go ahead.

The survey, conducted among 1,200 people was made by telephone from a call center of French origin, on Sep. 1, and has a margin of error of 3 percent, according to EYT.

In the second quarter of this year, which coincided with the start of the crisis, the average daily spending of non-resident tourists fell to $37.7, $8 less than in the previous quarter, and the stay went from an average of 12.6 days to 11.8 days, according to the Central Bank of Nicaragua.

The crisis has left between 322 and 481 dead since April, according to figures from local and foreign human rights organizations, while the government claims there have been 198 deaths.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has blamed the government for "more than 300 deaths" from extrajudicial executions, torture, obstruction of medical care, arbitrary arrests, kidnappings, sexual violence, among other human rights violations.

These accusations were also denied by Ortega, who has maintained that it is an attempt at a "coup d'état".

The demonstrations against Ortega and his wife, Vice President Rosario Murillo, began last Apr. 18 amid failed social security reforms and called for the president's resignation, after 11 years in power, with accusations of abuse and corruption.