Death of Democracy in Nicaragua: Ortega Outlaws Voting

The ballot box in Nicaragua has officially reached its demise. In a speech that stripped away any remaining illusions of democracy, Dictator Daniel Ortega told his nation that elections are over, promising that ‘never, never, never’ again will opposition parties be allowed to take power in Nicaragua. The explicit rejection of elections as a whole solidifies what many free nations have known for years: that Nicaragua is a lawless and unchecked family dictatorship. 

To understand how this country lost its freedom ,it’s important to look at the country's history and the Sandinista Revolution. This revolution against the previous dictatorship ended with Ortega seizing power in 1979, which he held until he was voted out in 1990. Ortega managed to claw his way back into the presidency in 2007, a role he’s held onto since. Over the last two decades, Ortega and his wife, now "co-president," Rosario Murillo, have systematically destroyed every democratic guardrail in the country. They rewrote the constitution to strip term limits, packed the courts with loyalists, jailed or exiled political opponents, and turned state security forces on their own citizens during the bloody 2018 crackdowns. 

By banning elections entirely, Nicaragua is aligning themselves with the failed Communist models of Cuba and Venezuela. Like the Castro dynasty suffocated the Cuban people for over six decades, Ortega is forcing Marxism-Leninism onto Nicaragua, effectively destroying the free market, outlawing independent civic groups, and crushing individual liberty. Managua, the nation's capital, is now acting as a loyal satellite to communist forces, proving again that left-wing authoritarianism brings with it poverty, corruption, and the suppression of human rights.  

Staying true to the communist strategy, Ortega’s war on freedom isn’t limited to political dissent; faith itself is under attack. In a desperate desire to control every aspect of citizen’s lives, Ortega and his regime have launched a campaign against religious institutions, expelling the Catholic clergy, arresting priests, and outlawing thousands of religious practices. Dictators frequently attack Godly religions and faiths due in part to the fact that God is a higher authority than the state to those who follow Him. Ortega's war on the Church continues to solidify this point 

The free world, led by the United States and its regional allies, cannot stand idly by as a communist dictatorship entrenches itself in Central America. Speeches and dissent from foreign countries will not stop a tyrant who disagrees with the very concept of the consent of the governed. It is time to impose crushing economic sanctions, isolate the Ortega-Murillo regime on the global stage, and stand with the Nicaraguan people in their fight for their right to liberty.