The President of Nicaragua, Daniel Ortega, began his fifth term in the country on Monday, the fourth in a row.
(In context: In possession of Ortega, the US and the EU impose more sanctions on the regime)
His new period in power begins amid harsh sanctions from United States and the European Union (EU) and under the harsh criticism that the international community has made to Ortega for consolidating an authoritarian power in the country after imprisoning his opponents during the campaign in 2021.
Next, we explain what is happening in this Central American nation and what can be expected from new period of Ortega who will be in power until 2027.
How did Ortega rise to power?
Ortega ruled Nicaragua in the 1980s, in the midst of a civil war with insurgent groups, after the triumph of the revolution led by the leftist Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) that overthrew the dictator Anastasio Somoza in 1979.
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Defeated at the polls in 1990 by Violeta Barrios de ChamorroOrtega led the transformation of the FSLN for 17 years since the opposition and in 1999 negotiated a pact with the former liberal president Arnoldo Alemán (1997-2002) to distribute quotas of power in all state institutions. A “pact of the devil,” the famous Nicaraguan writer Sergio Ramírez, in exile in Madrid, has called it.
The pact led to Ortega’s return to power in 2007, when he won the elections and promoted a pragmatic leftist policy, negotiated with financial organizations and, contrary to the 1980s, had an alliance with big business and a commercial relationship with the United States.
How has he managed to stay in power since 2007?
The FSLN gradually assumed sole control of the state. Ortega was reelected in 2011 under a questioned 2009 court ruling that declared the constitutional prohibition of successive reelection inapplicable for him alone.
In 2014, another controversial constitutional reform was approved that endorsed indefinite presidential reelection.
The reforms “incorporated rules that restrict electoral competition and the exercise of political rights” of Nicaraguans, said a report by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (Cidh).
Ortega was reelected in 2016 in elections without significant rivals and marked by high abstentionism.
In the midst of a gradual loss of the FSLN’s electoral flow, reforms were approved that lowered the ceiling required to win an election and now the candidate with the “highest number of valid votes” wins.
The role of the institutions controlled by Ortega
Ortega’s control over state institutions is now total: Army, Police, Congress, Supreme Electoral Council, Judiciary and Prosecutor’s Office.
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“All powers are aligned with the Executive, so they do not represent limits to the exercise of power or prevent arbitrariness,” according to the IACHR.
At the same time, Ortega extended the influence of his family. Opponents accuse him of nepotism. His wife Rosario Murillo was first his official spokesperson and since 2017 his vice president (Rosario Murillo, who is also his wife).
“Here we have two presidents because we respect the 50-50 principle, that is, here we have a co-presidency with comrade Rosario,” said Ortega.
Their children own or run official media and some hold public office.
Relentless pursuit of opponents
After harsh protests in 2018 that staggered the government, a dialogue between Ortega and the opposition failed. When the demonstrations were crushed, there were selective captures.
At the end of 2020, the government enacted laws on “foreign agents”, defense of sovereignty and “cybercrimes”, which impose harsh prison sentences on those accused of “treason,” “money laundering,” on those who promote sanctions against country or spread “fake news” at their discretion.
Under those laws, 39 people were arrested in 2021: seven presidential hopefuls, political and social activists, businessmen and journalists. Washington and the European Union responded by imposing sanctions against Ortega’s family and friends.
More than 100,000 people have gone into exile since 2018 and there are more than 150 detainees.
With this path paved, Ortega achieved his fourth consecutive term in power at the end of 2021 with all his political rivals captured.
(In other news: ‘Latin America is between two poles: democracy and tyranny’: Sergio Ramírez)
Criticisms from the international community
The repression of protests, the capture of opponents and the control of democratic institutions have earned him harsh criticism from the EU, the United States and the OAS.
Washington has branded the Nicaraguan government a dictatorship and the OAS ignored the past presidential elections.
In turn, hours before the inauguration on Monday, the EU approved new sanctions against Camila Antonia Ortega Murillo and her brother Laureano Facundo, children of President Ortega and Vice President Murillo.
For its part, Washington announced new sanctions against six charges of the Nicaraguan government and vetoed the entry into its territory of 116 people it considers “accomplices in undermining democracy” in Nicaragua.
What allies does Nicaragua have left?
Ortega’s main allies in the region with Cuba and Venezuela.
However, in recent years he has reached out to Russia and China in the face of the immense challenges facing the country’s economy and the mounting sanctions from Washington and Brussels.
In this context, Ortega resumed diplomatic relations with China in December, after undoing the ties that the country had for more than 30 years with Taiwan and recognizing the principle of “one China.”
The reestablishment of relations with Beijing was accompanied by a donation of thousands of vaccines and, three weeks later, the opening of the Asian country’s embassy in Managua.
Managua also strengthened its ties with Moscow, which has provided it with extensive cooperation, from wheat, anticovid vaccines and buses to renew collective transport to a satellite station.
What challenges does the president have?
Manuel Orozco, analyst and member of the Inter-American Dialogue, told AFP that Ortega and Murillo inaugurate their mandate “not without challenges” due to international pressure, citizen discontent, a seriously deteriorated socioeconomic situation and strong dissent between their government base and the Sandinista elite.
INTERNATIONAL DRAFTING
TIME
* With information from AFP and Efe
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