The Nicaraguan dictatorship presented a draft reform of the constitution before the national Parliament controlled by the same regime, which includes declaring the party flag Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) as a national symbol.
The measure taken by the government caused controversy on social networks because until now no national symbol is related to any political party or ideology. The flag of the ruling party is visible in official government institutions, mayor’s offices and public places along with the blue and white flag.
After the 2018 protests, the red-and-black flag became an object of rejection for the majority of Nicaraguans who were even arrested and convicted for burning the main symbol of the dictatorship. The opposition Sergio Beteta was arrested and convicted in 2021 for burning a flag of the ruling party in the Central American University (UCA) sector.
Related news: Daniel Ortega’s constitutional reform will impose “a totalitarian dynastic system”
«I categorically reject the constitutional reforms imposed by the Sandinista dictatorship. The red and black flag of the FSLN, a symbol of blood and death, will never be recognized as a national symbol. “Nicaragua deserves democracy and freedom, not authoritarian manipulation!”, published Jonathan Duarte, from the Nicaragua Freedom Foundation, on the X social network.
Related news: Luis Almagro “rejects and repudiates” the constitutional reform sent by Daniel Ortega
“The fact of having elevated the Sandinista flag as a national symbol tangibly manifests this vision that the regime has of consolidating Nicaragua as a state at the service of the party, in the best style of the Cuban or North Korean regime,” he says. the political activist Alexa Zamora.
For the opposition Ana Quirós, the Ortega regime with the imposition of the Sandinista flag as a national symbol seeks to demonstrate to Nicaraguans that they have the possibility of doing what they want in the country.
«The regime wants to show the world that everything is in their hands, the flag is the representation of their dictatorship and now they want to give a constitutional, legal color to their dictatorship, always violating the human rights of Nicaraguans and that no one can oppose. », says Quirós.
Once Ortega’s constitutional reform is approved, the Sandinista flag will be formally included among the national symbols and the regime will have an open letter to include it in the country’s education and cultural activities books.
