The initiative must be approved in parliament, controlled by Daniel Ortega’s party. Several institutions criticize the “attack on democracy” and the “normalization of nepotism and repression.”
The President of Nicaragua has proposed a constitutional reform that, if approved, would make Daniel Ortega and his wife, Vice President Rosario Murillo, officially co-presidents of the Central American nation.
The initiative, announced Wednesday, must be approved by the country’s parliament, which, like all government institutions in Nicaragua, is controlled by the party that supports Ortega.
The proposal also aims to extend the presidential term from five to six years..
Ortega simultaneously presented another bill that makes it illegal to apply sanctions by the United States or other foreign entities “in the territory of Nicaragua.”
The reform also provides for a reduction in the number of magistrates in the judicial system and in the electoral commission, as well as the extension of the terms of judges from five to six years.
The office of the secretary general of the Organization of American States, Luis Almagro, condemned the proposal in a statement.
“The ‘reform’ document is illegitimate in form and content, it does nothing more than constitute an aberrant form of institutionalization of the conjugal dictatorship in the Central American country and is definitely an attack on the democratic rule of law,” he stated.
The proposal arises as part of the continued repression by the Ortega Government since the massive social protests of 2018, which the authorities violently repressed.
The government detained opponents, religious leaders and journalists, many of whom were forcibly exiled and deprived of their property and Nicaraguan nationality.
Since 2018, authorities have closed more than five thousand organizations, most of them religious.
Dissident groups, including the Nicaraguan University Alliance, protested the measures, considering them an extension of repression.
“They are institutionalizing nepotism and repression, destroying the rule of law. Democracy faces its greatest threat“wrote the organization on the social network X.
The director of the migration, remittances and development program of the Inter-American Dialogue, Manuel Orozco, described the reforms proposed by Ortega as “nothing more than an approved formalization of a decision to guarantee presidential succession.”
Ortega has referred to Murillo in recent years as co-president.
While rejecting international sanctions would not have an immediate impact, Orozco said it could put the country at “high financial risk” and risk further sanctions from the US Treasury Department.
Orozco said the reform was part of a long-term plan to keep the government in power and was accelerated to avoid provoking the incoming administration of US President-elect Donald Trump.
The analyst said Trump may not prioritize repressing democratic freedoms in places like Nicaragua, but he is also unlikely to “tolerate provocations.”
Source: Observadora
