With 15 criminal proceedings against priests and people close to the Catholic Church, the closure of some 2,000 non-governmental organizations, more than 200 political prisoners and a refusal by the government of President Daniel Ortega to establish a national dialogue that seeks to solve the political crisis that he is experiencing. Nicaragua, the year 2023 should be one of “greater international pressure” for Managua, say opponents and analysts.
Benjamin Gedan, Director of the Winston Center, a think tank based in Washington, assures that the crisis in Nicaragua has been “easily” overshadowed by problems in other Latin American countries, such as the collapse of Venezuela that produces many more migrants or “the architect of the democratic decline in El Salvador”, President Nayib Bukele, “who is much more charismatic than Daniel Ortega”.
In El Salvador, Bukele is singled out for undermining democracy and the United States has sanctioned several officials of said country.
Meanwhile, Venezuela continues to be one of the main migrant-sending countries, according to UNHCR.
However, Gedan warns that “human rights abuses in Nicaragua” require urgent international responses, and must not go unnoticed.
The Biden Administration is getting creative, like its recent sanctions against the gold-producing sector ”
“The Biden Administration is getting creative, with its recent sanctions against the gold-producing sector and its new strategy to support the systematically oppressed institutions of Nicaraguan civil society,” says Gedan.
He adds that “the White House will need new partners in this campaign,” especially in Latin America and the Caribbean. “Nicaragua offers the region’s new leftist leaders an opportunity to demonstrate that their commitment to democracy is more important than political ideology,” the expert says.
The left in the region gained strength this year with the victory of Lula Da Silva in the elections in Brazil and Gustavo Petro in Colombia. In 2021, the former student leader won the elections in Chile gabriel boricwho has questioned the situation of political prisoners in Nicaragua, the same as Petro.
Alliances with Russia, Iran and China
Instead of finding a way out of the political crisis in Nicaragua, which in 2022 adds up to five years, the administration of President Ortega has put more opponents in jail, according to human rights organizations.
Until now Ortega has refused to negotiate a solution to the crisis. In early May 2022, the United States government confirmed to the VOA what maintains “bilateral communication” with Nicaragua.
However, at the end of the year, the dialogue has not taken place and the persecution against dissidents and civil society organizations has increased, their critics indicate.
Also the president has strengthened its alliances with China, Russia and Iran.
In 2022, the government accumulated more than 2,900 national and foreign NGOs closed since November 2018. “That is, we are talking about practically 42% of the existing legal entities in the registry of associations of the Ministry of the Interior,” he explained to the voice of america Nicaraguan activist Amaru Ruiz.
This year has been the year where the most legal statuses of national and international organizations have been canceled”
“Only in 2022 we are talking about 90% of the cancellations that have occurred from 2018 to date. This year has been the year in which the legal status of national and international organizations have been canceled the most,” laments the activist and assures that this implies an impact on the deterioration of the conditions and the execution capacities of international cooperation for development that Nicaragua has. .
Amaru regrets that there is no substitution process for the programs and projects developed by these organizations. “In other words, once the legal status of these national and international organizations is cancelled, the population that benefited from these projects and programs is left unattended because there is no level of substitution of these projects and programs by the Nicaraguan regime either.”
The Ortega Administration, for its part, assures that this year it has “consolidated peace” since the events of 2018, when the country erupted in a wave of violence that was repressed by the government, causing the death of more than 300 peopleaccording to international organizations.
This 2022 during the primary elections to elect the authorities of the 153 municipalities of the country, the ruling party obtained 100% of the posts.
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