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Opponents accuse the regime of imprisoning political rivals, violently suppressing protests, arresting intellectuals and clerics, and imposing control over the military and the judiciary...
Dictatorship and paranoia often go hand in hand. The latest sign of uncertainty comes from Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega, who declared at a rally on Sunday that the country "will never have elections again."
Even before that, Nicaragua was not considered a functioning democracy. Ortega, 80, a former leader of the Sandinista Front, which enjoyed support from some Western public opinion in the last century, has been in power without interruption since 2007. Elections held during that period, including those in 2021, have been widely viewed as rigged.
Opponents accuse the regime of imprisoning political rivals, violently suppressing protests, arresting intellectuals and clerics, and imposing control over the military and the judicial system.
In 2025, the Ortega-controlled parliament appointed his wife, Rosario Murillo, to the position of co-president, further consolidating the family's power.
However, according to the regime's opponents, even complete control over institutions has not allayed the ruling couple's concerns. They argue that increased pressure from the United States on the regimes of Venezuela and Cuba, two historical allies of Nicaragua, has increased Ortega's insecurity.
"Sunday's words are not an expression of strength, but an expression of fear ," Félix Maradiaga, a candidate in the 2021 presidential election who was later forced into exile by the regime, told The New York Times.
Nicaragua became an independent republic in 1838. In 1909 the country was invaded by the United States, which handed power to Anastasio Somoza and his family in 1937. During this period, the guerrilla movement led by Augusto César Sandino strengthened.
The Somoza regime, supported by Washington, was overthrown in 1979. The Sandinistas, with Marxist leanings and close ties to Cuba, then formed a ruling junta that included Daniel Ortega. He won the 1984 elections but was defeated in 1990 by the Democratic candidate Violeta Chamorro, who died last month. Ortega returned to power in 2007 and has been in power ever since.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has called on countries in the international community to act to prevent, according to him, the final elimination of the elections in Nicaragua. / Adapted from "Pamphlet" by "Corriere della Sera"
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