The Three Laws of Daniel Ortega

The Nicaraguan National Assembly passed on December 13 three laws dealing with national security and border issues, which critics worry will give President Daniel Ortega the power to create a domestic spy network and rule by force. These laws represent Ortega’s latest effort to strengthen executive authority and extend the power of the military. Legislators supporting the bills claim they are “key” to the country’s national defense. The laws’ passage comes as Nicaragua faces a border dispute with Costa Rica, though congressmen in favor of the laws argue that they “renounce aggression and the use of force.”

Ortega quickly and quietly pushed the National Security Law, National Defense Law, and the Border Law through Congress with little media attention, but The Christian Science Monitor summarizes the salient points. The National Security Law stipulates the creation of a network of “institutions specialized in intelligence and information” that will report directly to the president. The National Defense Law gives the president authority to declare martial law and launch “national mobilizations” in the name of defending against domestic and foreign threats. The Border Law gives the Army control over the border zone, creates a five-kilometer-wide Border Security Zone, and makes that land state property. Critics worry this will facilitate the militarization of the country and “convert Ortega’s presidential chair into an autocratic throne.”

Ortega’s previous efforts to strengthen executive powers focused on finding a way to overcome Nicaragua’s constitutional ban on a president running for two consecutive terms. He has posed the idea twice since April 2009, and his attempt to overturn the constitutional ban enjoyed support from three Sandinista-aligned Supreme Court judges, but elicited widespread criticism even from within the Sandinista party.

The Nicaraguan president is not alone in the region in his desire to deepen executive powers or extend his rule beyond its constitutional mandate. Last summer, Honduras’ then-President Manuel Zelaya made an ill-fated attempt to extend his term and was ousted in a military coup for his troubles. A year after his May 2009 election, Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli argued that he was justified in rushing legislative reforms because the one-term restriction gives him limited time to secure reforms. Yet members of his Democratic Change party began rumbling earlier this month for a legislative change to allow Martinelli to run for reelection. Most recently—and beyond Central America—Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez announced on December 10 his request to the Venezuelan National Assembly for the passage of an “Enabling Law,” which would give him the power to rule by decree for the next 12 months. Chávez claims the law, which has drawn widespread criticism, is necessary to combat the “misery” of those affected by intense flooding from one of the rainiest winters in years.

An article from the summer 2009 issue of Americas Quarterly discusses Latin America’s recent shift towards allowing two-term presidencies. “The real issue is the process under which mandates are extended,” it argues. “When re-election is granted through unilateral or plebiscitary means, the result is often a concentration of executive power.”

Learn More:

• AS/COA Online coverage of Ortega’s previous legislative efforts.
• AS/COA Online coverage of the Costa Rica-Nicaragua border dispute.
• The Nicaraguan National Assembly page offers the full text of the National Defense Law, the National Security Law, and the Border Law.
• The Christian Science Monitor’s coverage of the laws before their passage.