Nicaragua's Latest Authoritarian Moves
Nicaragua's Latest Authoritarian Moves
"It feels like an attempt to privatize the country for [Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo's] own interests," says AS/COA's Eric Farnsworth to Axios.
Nicaragua's regime announced dozens of constitutional amendments yesterday that include extending President Daniel Ortega's term without elections.
Why it matters: Observers say the changes could sound the death knell for the nation's democracy, after years of the regime increasingly cracking down on any perceived opposition. [...]
What they're saying: "It feels like an attempt to privatize the country for their own private interests," says Eric Farnsworth, vice president of the Americas Society and Council of the Americas.
"To strengthen their own political position constitutionally like this goes even further than Somoza ever tried," he adds, referring to the dictator Antonio Somoza, whom Ortega helped topple.
Farnsworth says it's doubtful there will be protests against Ortega's proposals because of the forceful and violent reaction from the government during the 2018 unrest. "I would suspect that they're not going to see any protests at all from within Nicaragua because the people are broken," he says. "So it's not a very optimistic scenario."
