Liberals across the world have condemned events in Nicaragua, as the government have dissolved the main opposition party, Ciudadanos por la Libertad (Citizens for Freedom), and stripped its leader, Kitty Monterrey, of her Nicaraguan citizenship.
In a joint statement, Liberal International and its regional grouping RELIAL (Red Liberal de América Latina) have said;
Democrats and human rights defenders around the world are outraged that, on Friday 6 August, the regime of Daniel Ortega in Nicaragua has dissolved the main opposition party, Citizens for Freedom, and stripped its leader, Liberal International Vice President Kitty Monterrey, of her Nicaraguan citizenship.
These are the actions of a regime that has acted to criminalize democracy and a president who is struggling to contain the desire of the Nicaraguan people to live in freedom.
We are deeply concerned for the safety of those targeted by the Sandinista government and the victims of arbitrary arrests. There is no democracy without opposition and we urge politicians the world-over to focus their eyes on events in Nicaragua and to demand the release of an ever-growing list of political prisoners. We call on Daniel Ortega to revoke his decision to suspend the citizenship of Ms Monterrey, desist from further punitive actions against the political opponents and to release, immediately, those political opponents he has detained ahead of elections scheduled for November 2021.
The President of Liberal International, Hakima El Haité, called for support from the global liberal family.
we urge #liberals to call on @DanielOrtega to desist from punitive actions against the political opponents and to release, political opponents he has detained ahead of elections. There is no democracy and no legitimacy of a regime without opposition pic.twitter.com/081w0ASPnA
— Hakima El Haité (@HakimaElHaite) August 7, 2021
whilst US Secretary of State Antony Blinken noted the consequences for democracy in Nicaragua
The Ortega-Murillo regime’s decision to ban all democratic competition from the 2021 presidential election means Nicaragua’s election cannot be considered credible by Nicaraguans or the international community.
— Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) August 7, 2021
It’s a reminder, once again, that being a liberal, indeed, being the opposition, isn’t always easy or safe…
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After the retirement of Fidel Castro in 2008, Ortega is currently one of the longest non-royal rulers in the world and the longest serving non-royal leader in the Americas. How to get rid of former revolutionaries that have become dictators is a problem that has dogged Central and South America since independence from Spain was won.
The Sandinistas’ forcefully took power in 1979, ousting the oligarchical Somoza family and fought a long campaign against Contra rebels in the 1980s. They won the 1984 general election, but were defeated in the 1990 elections by a coalition of left and right parties headed by Ortega’s former colleague, Violetta Chammoro, the first female president democratically elected in the America’s. The Constitutional Liberal Parry (PLC) won the 1996 and 2001 general elections. Ortega was returned to the presidency in 2006 and in 2016 was elected for his third consecutive term (fourth overall),
Large demonstrations erupted in 2018 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-44269498 with thousands joining anti-government rallies calling on Ortega and his wife to step down. Several protesters have been killed in clashes with security forces.
Ortega has reportedley “refused to impose strict, preventive quarantine measures seen in neighboring countries” to fight the COVID-19 pandemic and Nicaragua has been hit hard as a result https://edition.cnn.com/2020/06/18/americas/nicaragua-coronavirus-ortega-mystery-intl/index.html with news of mass express burials being suppressed by the government.
It is looking like the end of the road for Ortega’s presidency. Citizens for Freedom (CxL)was founded as a political movement in 2016 by citizens opposed to the Ortega regime, after a ruling by the Supreme Court of Justice stripped the members of the Independent Liberal Party (PLI) as party members and authorities of the main organization. opposition party in Nicaragua .
Ortega was one of the leaders of the revolution that led to the overthrow of the US- backed dictatorship and then went on to win democratic elections. However, the USA refused to accept the removal of their dictator so formed the Contras out of the remnants of the dictator’s National Guard who started a campaign of economic sabotage and murder to try to undermine support for the Ortega government. The USA kept up an economic embargo on Nicaragua but promised to lift it, and give aid, if the people voted for a different government – they duly obliged and Ortega lost power. Despite this setback, Ortega fought further elections until eventually winning again. Now wiser to how the USA only pays lip-service to ‘democracy’, and actively interferes to secure the outcome they want, he seems more willing to use undemocratic means to defend his position.