Nicaragua under Daniel Ortega has seen its presidential republic downgraded from a competitive democracy to an authoritarian regime, where the government has been more focused on the suppression of its opposition rather than improving the overall quality of life for citizens in the Latin American nation. Daniel Ortega has dismantled just about every aspect of procedural democracy in Nicaragua, seizing complete control of major state institutions and all four branches of government. Ortega accomplished such a feat by eliminating term limits, targeting opposition candidates, appointing loyalists to the judiciary, and ensuring the FSLN (Sandinista National Liberation Front) maintained a supermajority in the legislative. These factors have given Ortega complete unchecked power, eliminating just about any sense of horizontal accountability as he rules Nicaragua alongside his wife and co-president Rosario Murillo. Another key mechanism of democratic rule is vertical accountability, whereby elected officials must answer to the public, and be held accountable for their actions and decisions while in office. However, ever since Daniel Ortega returned to power in 2007, having been elected to his second presidential term, there have been multiple instances where each type of accountability has deteriorated, further resulting in democratic erosion throughout Nicaragua. Citizens have been unable to properly voice their political opinion, as horizontal, vertical, and diagonal accountability in Nicaragua has been extinguished by suppressive authoritarian oversight.
Horizontal accountability in Nicaragua has deteriorated through Ortega’s appointment of Sandinista loyalists in the Nicaraguan Supreme Court (judicial branch) and the maintenance of the FSLN supermajority in the Nicaraguan General Assembly (legislative branch). Having these two branches of government packed with loyalists has permitted Daniel Ortega to pass legislation aimed at either keeping himself in power or prosecuting his political opponents as enemies of the state. Ortega has been able to push legislation through the General Assembly that has ensured the longevity of his rule in Nicaragua, specifically the presidential term limit. According to an article from the BBC, it states, “The bill [passed in 2014] scraps limits to the number of terms Nicaraguan presidents can serve…Mr. Ortega’s Sandinista Party argues Nicaragua needs long-term stability to deal with its problems…constitutional changes were approved by 64 votes to 25. One independent lawmaker and 63 Sandinistas voted in favour…” (BBC, 2014). It is clear to see that having the majority in the National Assembly is a very much one-sided advantage, and the Sandinista argument that long-term stability is necessary to address issues in Nicaragua is more of a ruse to keep Ortega in office. Many of these “problems” that the Sandinista’s refer to likely originate from the degree of democratic erosion that has flourished under the Ortega regime.
As for the judiciary, Ortega has appointed loyalists to the Supreme Court, which has resulted in anything but free and fair rulings largely targeting opposition candidates. In an article from Exepediente Público, a Central American investigative journalism magazine, it states, “…the FSLN has positioned key loyal persons with a non-literary level of military discipline…Juana Méndez, former agent of the Ministry of the Interior in the eighties, current magistrate, and former judge that condemned former President Arnold Alemán for corruption.” (Exepediente Público, 2021). The FSLN has essentially placed foot-soldiers who will follow orders in the judiciary, imprisoning political opponents who threaten Ortega’s regime. Having a legislative and judiciary that no longer serve as independent bodies enforcing checks and balances on the executive has allowed Ortega to further consolidate power in Nicaragua, while simultaneously eroding any remaining horizontal accountability.
Diagonal accountability serves as a bridge between more formal horizontal and vertical accountability, holding elected officials accountable through NGOs and civil society organizations. Nicaraguan citizens attempting to employ diagonal accountability have organized protests and marches in the country, all of which have been met with violent force under the orders of President Ortega. Nicaragua experienced a series of protests aimed at reforms made by the Ortega regime, many of which ended in violence at the hands of local police and even casualties. In April 2018, protesters were set upon by police officers, as well as members of the Sandinista Youth, the youth organization of the larger FSLN, which began to function as a paramilitary group of sorts, instructed to carry out the orders of President Ortega. Riot police officers fired rubber bullets and teargas at protesters who were demonstrating peacefully on the streets. Pro-government groups, such as the Sandinista Youth, violently dispersed peaceful protests by punching and kicking them and using blunt instruments to beat demonstrators and journalists covering the protests. Dozens of student protesters lost their lives that day among the violence. Despite governmental intervention, videos and pictures of the atrocities that day emerged on social media.
A month later in May 2018, 300,000 protesters took to the streets on Nicaragua’s Mother’s Day to honor the mothers of those students killed in the April protests. Despite the peaceful nature of the march, police officers began firing upon the crowd. When the dust settled, 19 people were killed amid the violence unleashed by the Ortega regime; not to mention the countless other Nicaraguans injured. This instance of violence by a state controlled institution became known as “the Mother’s Day Massacre,” and further demonstrates that even peaceful attempts at holding President Ortega accountable have been suppressed due to his absolute control over state institutions and unchecked power.
Now in modern-day 2026 Nicaragua, the authoritarian regime of Daniel Ortega has installed a state of surveillance and suppression. All governmental power remains under the purview of the executive, as Nicaragua continues to lack any separation of power. With power consolidated under the executive, Nicaragua has maintained a status as a police state, with officers who take orders directly from Ortega, installing this reign of terror in the hearts and minds of all Nicaraguan citizens. Daniel Ortega has taken vast steps to eliminate any rhetoric aimed at opposing his regime, including his nationwide ban on political protests in September 2018, which has remained the regime’s policy regarding public demonstrations. Since 2023, Nicaragua has managed to combat influence from the international community and NGOs by forming strong ties with other nations under scrutiny by the international community, including security ties with Russia and economic ties with China. If current trends of erosion continue to persevere, it is likely that the quality of democracy in Nicaragua will get far worse before it has the opportunity to improve.
Elimination of Accountability in Nicaragua under the Ortega regime
Student Author: Brandon Venancio
This is a student blog post associated with the Democratic Erosion Course. This post does not represent the views of the Democratic Erosion Consortium.
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Your article provides a compelling depiction of how the Ortega government has methodically eroded horizontal, vertical, and diagonal accountability, and the organization is especially adept at demonstrating how these systems support one another. One aspect deserving further exploration is the extent to which “total removal” of accountability is occurring as opposed to its change into regulated or selectively applied accountability. For instance, although you effectively demonstrate how loyalists have populated the judiciary and legislature, it might be analytically beneficial to explore if these institutions still serve a legitimizing role for the regime. Instead of being completely non-functional. In numerous instances of authoritarian consolidation, governments uphold the structure of accountability institutions merely to mimic legality and procedural regularity, even when results are already decided.
Likewise, your analysis of vertical accountability might be enhanced by differentiating between electoral engagement and genuine electoral rivalry. Ortega persists with elections, yet the more pressing concern might be the limitation of electoral options instead of the total elimination of public accountability. This differentiation is important since it places Nicaragua in wider classifications of authoritarianism, where elections are present but significantly biased instead of entirely abolished.
Your examination of diagonal accountability is especially persuasive, particularly the connection between the repression of civil society and the violent suppression of protest movements. Nonetheless, a question arises regarding whether international NGOs and diaspora activism may still embody incomplete, externalized versions of diagonal accountability, even when local space has been restricted. In other terms, is accountability being removed, or shifted beyond national boundaries?
In general, your argument is convincing and well-substantiated. An additional explanation of the differentiation between institutional capture, institutional destruction, and institutional simulation. That distinction would help clarify your argument regarding the degree of democratic erosion.