In an unprecedented consolidation of power, Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega and his influential wife, Rosario Murillo, stand poised to assume near-absolute control over the Central American nation following the approval of sweeping constitutional amendments by the country’s loyalist-dominated National Assembly.
Constitutional Overhaul Cements Couple’s Grip on Power
The controversial constitutional reforms, proposed by Ortega himself and rubber-stamped by lawmakers on Friday, elevate Murillo to the newly-minted position of “co-president” while simultaneously extending the presidential term from five to six years. The move has been widely decried by critics as a blatant power grab designed to entrench the couple’s already formidable authority over all aspects of Nicaraguan society.
Under the revised constitution, the ruling duo will wield expanded control over the media and enjoy enhanced powers to coordinate previously independent legislative, judicial, electoral, and municipal bodies. The amendment also introduces a provision allowing the government to strip the citizenship of anyone deemed a “traitor to the homeland” – a label the Ortega administration has liberally applied to hundreds of perceived opponents, including politicians, journalists, and activists.
Tightening the Noose on Dissent
The constitutional overhaul represents the latest move in an escalating crackdown on dissent that has seen the Ortega government shutter thousands of non-governmental organizations, muzzle independent media, and imprison scores of critics since anti-government protests rocked the nation in 2018. The unrest, which the UN estimates claimed over 300 lives, prompted a wave of Nicaraguans to flee into exile, with many now living abroad.
Everything in the reform is what has actually been happening in Nicaragua: a de facto dictatorship
Dora María Tellez, exiled Ortega critic
Analysts warn that the revised constitution not only cements Ortega and Murillo’s dynastic ambitions but also threatens to further erode political pluralism and the separation of powers in a country already under the shadow of authoritarianism. The document now defines Nicaragua as a “revolutionary” and socialist state, enshrining the red-and-black flag of Ortega’s Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) party as a national symbol.
International Condemnation and an Uncertain Future
The constitutional changes have drawn swift international condemnation, with Organization of American States (OAS) Secretary General Luis Almagro labeling the initiative an “aberrant form of institutionalizing the marital dictatorship” and an “aggression against the democratic rule of law.” The United States and European Union, which have imposed targeted sanctions on the Ortega government over human rights abuses, are expected to voice similar concerns.
As the septuagenarian Ortega tightens his stranglehold on power, many Nicaraguans are left wondering what the future holds for their beleaguered nation. With dissenting voices silenced, independent institutions subordinated, and the prospect of dynastic succession looming, the specter of unchecked authoritarian rule casts an ever-lengthening shadow over the land once hailed as the “country of poets.”
For now, all eyes turn to January, when the National Assembly is set to reconvene for the amendment’s all but certain second and final approval – a rubber-stamp session that will mark the dawning of a new era of untrammeled power for Nicaragua’s first couple. As Ortega and Murillo stand on the cusp of assuming near-absolute control, only time will tell what lies in store for this Central American nation and its long-suffering people.
