Nicaragua's one-time rebel hero Ortega and his slide towards authoritarianism

Record ID: 1644761

  • Title: Nicaragua's one-time rebel hero Ortega and his slide towards authoritarianism
  • Date: 4th November 2021
  • Summary: MANAGUA, NICARAGUA (FILE - MAY 16, 2018) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF ORTEGA DURING DIALOGUE WITH OPPOSITION WHERE THEY DEMAND HIM TO QUIT MANAGUA, NICARAGUA (FILE - JULY 8, 2018) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF POLICE FORCES DURING SANDINISTA MARCH IN SUPPORT OF ORTEGA VARIOUS OF ORTEGA'S SUPPORTERS DURING MARCH ORTEGA GREETING SUPPORTERS ORTEGA'S SUPPORTERS CHANTING MANAGUA, NICARAGUA (FIL
  • Embargoed: 18th November 2021 17:57
  • Keywords: Nicaragua President Daniel Ortega politics presidential election
  • Location: MANAGUA, JINOTEGA, NICARAGUA
  • City: MANAGUA, JINOTEGA, NICARAGUA
  • Country: Nicaragua
  • Topics: South America / Central America,Government/Politics,Elections/Voting
  • Reuters ID: LVA004F26LPVR
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: As Nicaraguans prepare for presidential elections next Sunday (November 7), current president Daniel Ortega is poised to win a fourth consecutive term, extending his run as the longest-serving ruler in the Americas until at least January 2027.
    Ortega was born on November 11, 1945 in La Libertad, a mostly rural municipality, located about 175 kilometres (108 miles) east of the capital, Managua.
    Raised in a middle-class family opposed to the regime of dictator Anastasio Somoza, he quickly identified with the Sandinistas.
    In 1963 he dropped out of college and joined the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN).
    At the age of 22, he was arrested for a bank robbery and spent seven years in prison until he was released in 1974, along with other FSLN detainees, in an exchange with senior officials of the Somoza government.
    Then, in 1979, FSLN military campaign finally toppled dictator Somoza, who was maintained with the support of the United States since 1934. He was replaced by a junta that Ortega would later come to dominate.
    Ortega debuted in power in 1981, as coordinator of the Governing Board of National Reconstruction.
    In 1984 the country held its first democratic elections in nearly half a century and Ortega overwhelmingly prevailed. Despite international observers declaring the elections credible and fair, the United States continued to support the "Contras," insurgent groups that tried to end the FSLN government.
    This led to an economic crisis that hit the leftist's popularity and led him to lose power in the 1990 presidential elections against Violeta Chamorro.
    The defeat left a deep mark on the leftist leader, who took 16 years to regain the power that analysts and opponents say he seems determined to keep at any cost.
    In 2006, he finally won elections and since then, Ortega has ruled Nicaragua uninterruptedly and after Sunday's disputed elections, he is preparing to extend his mandate until 2027, thus becoming the living president who has been in power the longest in the region.
    Since 2017, he has also ruled in tandem with Rosario Murillo, whom he married in 2005. The 70-year-old poet has become one of the most controversial and omnipresent figures in the second poorest country in Latin America, where, according to her critics, nothing happens without her consent.
    She is the Vice President and the government spokesperson, as well as the most visible face of it. Murillo accompanies Ortega, 75, in all his public appearances.
    In April 2018, Ortega's presidency was jeopardized when protests over a pension reform turned into large demonstrations against him and Vice President Murillo. In response, the couple sent the police to disband them, leaving more than 300 dead and thousands injured.
    Two years later, during the coronavirus pandemic, the presidential duo became even more radical by, for example, cutting the paper supply of the newspaper "La Prensa", known for being critical of the government and raided its offices in August 2021.
    In addition, dozens of opponents, including seven presidential precandidates that sought to compete in Sunday's elections, were also arrested in recent months.
    (Production: Manuel Carrillo, Andrea Rodriguez, Liamar Ramos)
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