Nicaragua approves constitutional reforms giving president expansive powers

Critics accidental the reforms are the latest to further ore powerfulness successful the hands of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo.

A bid of law reforms granting sweeping caller powers to Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega person been passed without dissent by the country’s legislature.

A unanimous ballot connected Thursday ushered successful what critics person described arsenic a powerfulness drawback by Ortega and his wife, Vice President Rosario Murillo. The reforms besides marque the vice president a “co-president”.

“We person to spell measurement by measurement and marque it wide that Nicaragua’s authorities is simply a revolutionary government, adjacent if that hurts immoderate people’s feelings,” the caput of Nicaragua’s National Assembly, Gustavo Porras, said earlier this month.

The determination is the latest to grow the power of Ortega, who has been criticised for wielding the powerfulness of the authorities to crack down connected dissent.

The reforms grow authorities power implicit the media, widen the statesmanlike word to six years, and let either co-president to prime immoderate fig of vice presidents. In the lawsuit of Ortega’s death, Murillo would besides automatically go Nicaragua’s president without caller elections.

“In this way, we proceed to comply with the guidelines of the presidency of the republic, Comandante Daniel Ortega and Companera Rosario Murillo, successful bid to proceed deepening our revolution,” a connection from the National Assembly asserted connected Wednesday.

The reforms to Nicaragua’s enforcement powerfulness were passed implicit 2 days.

In a study connected the authorities of rights successful Nicaragua successful 2024, the planetary watchdog radical Human Rights Watch said that Ortega and Murillo person continued to intensify repressive activities.

It added that the law reforms would supply ineligible screen for “systematic quality rights violations”, specified arsenic revoking the citizenship of expected “traitors”.

While Ortega was erstwhile a salient subordinate of the equipped Sandinista rebellion against the United States-backed subject person Anastasio Somoza, helium has since imprisoned erstwhile compatriots captious of his policies and rights abuses.

He archetypal served arsenic president from 1985 to 1990, earlier returning for a 2nd agelong arsenic president successful 2007. Critics accidental his 2nd play successful bureau has been defined by increasing anti-democratic tendencies and crimes against humanity.

A turning constituent came successful 2018, erstwhile anti-austerity protests met a convulsive authorities backlash that killed astatine slightest 355 people. In the years since, Ortega has moved to shutter nongovernmental organisations, spiritual groups and universities.

He has besides organised flights to deport absorption figures and protesters imprisoned nether his administration, stripping them of their citizenship erstwhile they were overseas and seizing their property.

One activist, Tamara Davila, told Al Jazeera successful 2023 that she felt defiant astir the government’s determination to revoke her citizenship aft sending her to the United States.

“I don’t attraction if they bash that. I’m inactive a Nicaraguan woman,” Davila said. But she added that being stateless created logistical problems portion navigating caller systems abroad. “In practical, day-to-day life, you request your documents for surviving these days.”

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Al Jazeera and quality agencies