Nicaragua Abolishes Elections and Completes Its Slide Into Dictatorship

Will Nicaragua Become the Next Venezuela?

For years, critics argued that Nicaragua’s elections had become little more than political theater. Now even that façade is gone. President Daniel Ortega has declared there will be no more elections, and Nicaragua’s parliament, firmly controlled by Ortega and his wife Rosario Murillo, is moving to write that declaration into the country’s constitution. Lawmakers say the change will ensure “peace, security and stability.” Critics see something very different. They see the formal end of democracy and the birth of a permanent dictatorship.

The announcement raises a larger geopolitical question. Is Nicaragua becoming the next Venezuela? While Nicaragua is a much smaller country and commands far less international attention, it occupies a strategic position in Central America and has become an increasingly reliable partner for China, Russia, Cuba, and other governments opposed to American influence in the Western Hemisphere.

From Revolutionary to Ruler

Daniel Ortega’s story is one of history’s great political ironies.

As a young revolutionary, Ortega helped overthrow the U.S. backed dictatorship of Anastasio Somoza in 1979. He emerged as one of the leaders of the Sandinista National Liberation Front, better known as the FSLN, a Marxist Leninist movement inspired by the Cuban Revolution. During the 1980s, the Sandinista government nationalized industries, redistributed land, expanded state control over the economy, and launched large literacy and health care campaigns while receiving support from Cuba and the Soviet Union.

Many Nicaraguans believed they were fighting tyranny.

Today, Ortega is accused by many governments, human rights organizations, and former allies of becoming exactly what he once fought against.

No More Elections

The latest announcement leaves little room for ambiguity.

“There won’t be any more elections here,” Ortega declared during celebrations marking the anniversary of the Sandinista Revolution. He said the days of parties supported by the United States returning to power were “over, never again.”

Parliament quickly moved to implement constitutional changes that would permanently eliminate elections, removing even the theoretical possibility that voters could replace the government.

This follows years of steadily concentrating power. Constitutional reforms have already extended presidential terms, elevated Rosario Murillo from vice president to co president, and placed the legislative, judicial, and electoral institutions under presidential authority. Critics also point to the imprisonment or exile of opposition leaders, the cancellation of opposition parties, restrictions on independent media, and the removal of civic organizations.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio summarized the Trump administration’s position bluntly.

“Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo have abandoned even the pretense of popular consent.”

The administration has imposed sanctions on officials connected with the government and visa restrictions affecting thousands of Nicaraguan officials and family members.

The Poorest Country in the Poorest Neighborhood

Politics is only part of Nicaragua’s story.

Economically, the country lags behind nearly every one of its Central American neighbors. Nicaragua has the region’s lowest GDP per capita, trailing Honduras and falling far behind Guatemala, El Salvador, Costa Rica, and Panama.

That contrast is striking because Ortega’s government has been in power continuously since 2007. Supporters argue that it has expanded social programs and maintained public order. Critics argue that decades of socialist oriented policies, growing state control, weak institutions, international isolation, and authoritarian governance have discouraged investment and left Nicaragua with limited opportunities for economic growth.

Whether one attributes Nicaragua’s economic performance primarily to socialism, authoritarianism, corruption, international sanctions, or some combination of all three, the outcome is difficult to ignore. Nicaragua remains the poorest major economy in Central America.

A New Strategic Outpost

Unlike Venezuela, Nicaragua lacks vast oil reserves.

Its strategic importance comes from geography.

Situated between Honduras and Costa Rica and connecting the Caribbean with the Pacific, Nicaragua occupies an important position in Central America. Ortega has steadily strengthened ties with Russia, China, Cuba, Venezuela, and Iran while distancing his government from the United States and many Western democracies. This alignment provides America’s geopolitical rivals with another dependable partner inside the Western Hemisphere.

For Beijing and Moscow, every additional ally in the Americas complicates U.S. influence in its own neighborhood. Nicaragua may never command the headlines that Venezuela does, but it still represents another foothold for governments seeking to challenge American leadership closer to home.

The Return of the Tyranny They Overthrew

Perhaps the greatest irony is historical.

The Sandinista Revolution promised freedom from dictatorship.

Nearly five decades later, Nicaragua appears to have arrived at another one party state centered on a single family. Elections are being abolished. Opposition leaders have been jailed or forced into exile. Independent institutions have largely disappeared. The presidency now dominates virtually every branch of government.

For many observers, this is not simply democratic backsliding. It is the formal abandonment of democracy itself.

The symbolism is difficult to miss. Ortega helped overthrow a dictatorship in 1979. In the view of his critics, he has now created another one.

What Comes Next?

Nicaragua is unlikely to become another Venezuela in economic scale or international visibility. It simply lacks Venezuela’s energy wealth and global importance.

But politically, the trajectory increasingly resembles that of authoritarian socialist governments that remove meaningful competition, consolidate state power, and align themselves with America’s principal geopolitical rivals.

Whether the international community responds forcefully remains to be seen. The Trump administration has already labeled the Ortega Murillo government a dictatorship and imposed sanctions. The United Nations has warned that citizens of every political viewpoint must be allowed to vote and run for office.

If elections truly disappear from Nicaragua, the issue will extend beyond one small Central American nation. It will represent another test of whether democratic norms in the Western Hemisphere still matter, and whether governments that openly abandon them will face meaningful consequences.

PB Editor: This is our fault. I was there when we fought against Ortega and the Sandinistas with the very brave contras and we threw Ortega out of power. Then rather than arresting Ortega and putting him out of commission, he ran under the newly democratic elections and managed to get elected. Now it has come full circle, the tyrant is the tyrant again.

Perhaps we will get a resurgence of the contras. They will have a tough time.