Nicaraguans sound alarm over declining democracy. Who’s listening?
A former first lady. A leading independent journalist. Prominent business leaders. Five presidential hopefuls.
Over the past month, Nicaraguan officials and police have intimidated, detained, and put under house arrest more than a dozen high-profile critics. It’s drastically deepened an already widespread chill on willingness to speak out against the authoritarian government of Daniel Ortega, whose Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) is vying to extend its time in office in November presidential elections.
Observers agree there’s likely a combination of factors motivating the government to up the ante: upcoming elections; the possibility of a long-expected transition of power from Mr. Ortega to his wife, Rosario Murillo; and a pandemic that’s distracted much of the international community from human rights abuses and new
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