Daniel Ortega won before the vote

President of Nicaragua, Daniel Ortega, As all of his fiercest rivals have been detained, ensuring he will be selected for a four-year term for the fourth time in a row. “A farce”, “a sham”: Washington and the European Union do not have strong enough words to condemn this election, which denies all legitimacy. Journalists for several international media outlets, including CNN and The Washington Post, Was denied access to the territory, and the government denied having independent visitors.

A week before the poll, Facebook’s parent company, Meta, announced it had removed 1,000 managed Facebook and Instagram accounts. A “troll factory”To handle the public opinion of the Nicaraguan government.

The beheaded opposition

Its leaders beheaded, detained, or deported I am in opposition He organized a demonstration of about a thousand people in San Jose, the capital of Costa Rica, where 100,000 Nicaraguans who had fled the persecution took refuge. Protesters have only one slogan for voters: “Stay home”.

All five candidates registered to face the head of state are seen by the opposition as mercenaries who have compromised with power. 76-year-old Daniel Ortega and his wife Rosario Murillo, 70, can provide an idea of ​​Nicaraguan’s true observance with a “ticket” created by Rosario Murillo, who has been vice president since 2017. With minimal participation, the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN, formerly guerrillas in power) organized door-to-door tours to mobilize voters.

Hunting for enemies

Six months before the election, three years after the repression that killed more than 300 protesters among protesters demanding the resignation of Daniel Ortega in the spring of 2018, the hunt for the enemy is raging: 39 politicians, businessmen, farmers, students and journalists have been arrested since June. Of those, seven potential candidates could pose a threat to the current president.

Opposition parties have stated they will not run in the by-elections. Protesters have been accused of undermining national sovereignty, supporting international sanctions against Nicaragua, “treason of the motherland” or “money laundering” under laws passed by parliament at the end of 2020, both in the executive and the judiciary and in elections. Tribunal.

Sanctions adopted by the United States and the European Union

Since the spring protests of 2018, more than 100,000 Nicaraguans have been deported, while 150 protesters are still behind bars. Nicaragua researcher Elvira Quadra said deportation could affect the country’s isolation, international investment and funding, social repercussions and growing immigration.

In addition to the new sanctions adopted by the United States and the European Union, relations with even historically friendly countries such as Mexico and Argentina have soured. Cuba, Venezuela and Russia are supporters of the government of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo.