Q24N (VozdeAmerica) The government of Daniel Ortega, with more than 15 consecutive years in power, promoted deep reforms to the Constitution of Nicaragua that reinforce its influence in the country to the detriment of democracy, according to consulted experts.
Nicaragua will become the only country in Latin America to have a model of government shared between two people, both with the title of co-president and the same power, after the approval of one of the largest constitutional reforms in the history of Nicaragua.
The recent changes to the Nicaraguan Constitution have been evaluated by experts and criticized by activists, organizations, and countries such as the United States. The general secretariat of the Organization of American States (OAS) warned that the current president Daniel Ortega, with more than 15 consecutive years as head of state, seeks to formally share power with his wife and current vice president Rosario Murillo.
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“The ‘reform’ document is illegitimate in form and content, it merely constitutes an aberrant form of institutionalization of the marital dictatorship in the Central American country and is a definitive attack on the Democratic Rule of Law,” the OAS said in a press release.
In addition to the possibility of guaranteeing the continuity in power of the Ortega-Murillo couple and a succession of the vice president in the presidential chair, there are also other elements that call attention in this package of reforms, approved by a Nicaraguan Parliament dominated by the ruling Sandinista Front.
Two presidents for six years
Article 133 of the Nicaraguan constitutional amendment establishes that “the Presidency of the Republic will be made up of a co-president and a co-president, who are elected by universal suffrage, that is, votes.”
Previously, in Nicaragua, a president and vice president were elected. The figure of the second in the government disappears now after the approved changes.
Article 135 of the recently reformed Constitution now specifies that “the co-president and the co-president will exercise their functions for a period of six years, which will be counted from their inauguration.” The changes extend the presidential term – until now five years – by another twelve months.
According to the new provisions, both co-presidents will have the same functions and will be able to appoint or dismiss ministers, as well as call extraordinary sessions and sign decrees. They will also be able to appoint vice-presidents, without specifying the number. \
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“The model that Ortega is applying is a model that had only been seen in the Middle Ages with kings who had come by force and maintained themselves by force, which is what Ortega does. It is totally incompatible with democracy as we know it,” political analyst and former congressman Eliseo Núñez told the Voice of America.
The title of co-president had been informally transferred by Daniel Ortega to his wife and vice president Rosario Murillo in February 2023. Experts then warned that this was a dynastic succession in progress.
Disappearance of the independence of powers
President Daniel Ortega also asked that the reforms establish that the Presidency of the Republic would coordinate the Legislative, Judicial, Electoral and Public Administration control bodies, thereby effectively eliminating the independence of the powers of the State, established textually in the Constitution before the changes.
Former Nicaraguan legislator Eliseo Núñez said that this is the most important point of the constitutional reform promoted by Ortega.
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“The disappearance of the powers of the State and changing their name to organs is, for me, the essence of this reform. Everything else is part of what they had been applying, but eliminating the powers of the State and creating an entity that regulates them all is perhaps one of the strongest things that you can find in this reform,” he stressed.
Flag of the ruling party will be a “patriotic symbol” and there will be supervision of the media
Among the constitutional amendments, it was also established that the red and black flag of the ruling party Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) be considered a national symbol, along with the blue and white flag of Nicaragua.
Although it was not officially established, since Ortega assumed power in 2007, the official flag is used in all government activities.
On the other hand, a reform was added to the code related to the freedom of the Nicaraguan press. In article 68 of the Nicaraguan Constitution, a new clause now stipulates that the State will monitor that all media do not respond to what they consider “foreign interests” or spread “false news,” something that did not exist before the changes.
Ortega will have the power to use the Army in case of demonstrations
Article 94 of the constitutional reform establishes that “the Presidency of the Republic may order the intervention of the Nicaraguan Army in support of the National Police, when the stability of the Republic requires it.”
Some experts say that this change leaves open the possibility that the government may order the intervention of the Army in the event of any threat to its power.
Nicaragua has been experiencing a political crisis for more than six years. Since then there have been protests against the Ortega government, which calls its opponents traitors and agents of imperialism. Those who oppose Managua face prison, exile and the loss of their nationality.
Article was translated and adapted from the article in Spanish “¿Qué alcance tienen las reformas constitucionales en Nicaragua que refuerzan el poder del presidente Ortega y su esposa?” published on Vozdeamerica.com. Read the original here.
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