25 de noviembre 2024
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For over a decade, Nicaragua's Political Constitution has been molded to serve the interests of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo. These changes have enabled their indefinite reelection, stripped nationality from alleged “traitors to the homeland,” reshaped the National Police, and now, with the latest constitutional revision, grant them unchecked control.
The revised Constitution, tailored to Vice President Rosario Murillo, builds on eight constitutional reforms enacted since February 2014, according to a verified report by CONFIDENCIAL. However, the groundwork for these changes began in 2009 when Ortega secured a Supreme Court ruling to bypass constitutional limits and run for reelection in 2011.
In 2009, Ortega sought reelection through a constitutional reform to overturn the 1995 ban on presidential reelection but failed to secure enough votes in the National Assembly. Instead, he resorted to a legal appeal, which was upheld by the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court, staffed by Ortega loyalists.
2014 Reforms: A Turning Point
On February 10, 2014, ahead of the 2016 presidential elections in which he would run alongside his wife, Rosario Murillo, the first set of constitutional reforms came into effect, introducing 43 constitutional changes.
The refirns allowed for the indefinite reelection of leaders, enabled the president to be elected in the first round with a simple majority, and granted Ortega the power to issue decrees with the force of law and keep public officials in their positions indefinitely.
They also cemented an alliance between the business sector and the regime, “to promote dialogue and consensus,” and removed the prohibition against active military personnel running for presidential office.
“The 2014 reforms concentrated power far more than the constitutions from the era of the Somoza dictatorship,” said the late academic Carlos Tünnermann Bernheim in 2021.
In 2020, a constitutional amendment elevated Blanca Aráuz, Augusto C. Sandino’s wife, as a national heroine and included independence leader Tomás Ruiz.
In 2021, the Constitution was amended again to include a second paragraph in Article 37, allowing for the imposition of reviewable life sentences on those convicted of serious crimes “motivated by hate, cruelty, degradation, humiliation, or inhumanity, and that, due to their impact, cause shock, rejection, outrage, and revulsion within the national community.”
2023: Five constitutional reforms in one year
From February to November 2023, the regime of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo implemented five constitutional reforms. These reforms aimed to suppress opponents, punish defecting police officers, and strip the judiciary of its designated share of the national budget.
All these reforms were formally approved in the second legislative session of 2024, as required by law. However, they took effect as soon as they were published in the official newspaper La Gaceta in 2023.
On February 9, 2023, the National Assembly quickly approved a reform to Nicaragua’s Political Constitution to strip 222 political prisoners of their nationality. These prisoners had been “deported” to the United States just hours earlier and had their civil and political rights revoked through a judicial ruling.
The reform—approved with 89 votes out of 91—modified Article 21 of the Constitution to include: “Traitors to the homeland lose their status as Nicaraguan nationals.”
In July 2023, the regime implemented several legislative changes to completely subordinate the National Police, its main repressive arm, and punish defections.
The changes included a reform to Article 97 of the Constitution, which altered the apolitical nature of the institution and established that the National Police is a body subordinated to the President. Additionally, they removed the “civil” nature of the National Police, leaving it as only “an armed force.”
These reforms "set aside the notion of an apolitical, nonpartisan police force and the preventive, proactive, and community-oriented model. Instead, the focus shifted to 'the task of preserving social order and the internal order,'" noted a security expert, who spoke to CONFIDENCIAL on condition of anonymity.
In November 2023, the regime reformed Articles 165, 159, and 138 of the Political Constitution. The first modification was published on November 1, 2023, in the official newspaper La Gaceta.
The reform to Article 165 stripped the National Council of Administration and Judicial Career of the power to oversee the “administrative functioning of the Public Property and Commercial Registers, as well as the offices of common services.”
It also changed the wording of items 5 and 6, which established the Council's responsibility to appoint public registrars for property and commercial records. The reform also removed the Council's duty to instruct, review, and resolve disciplinary complaints. All these functions were transferred to the Attorney General's Office.
On November 24, 2023, the second reform related to the Judiciary was published, modifying Article 159. Through this reform, the Ortega government eliminated the minimum 4% of the national budget allocated to this institution by law.
On November 28, the National Assembly approved a reform to Article 138, which took away the legislature's power to appoint the Prosecutor and Deputy Prosecutor for the Defense of Human Rights, transferring this responsibility to the Attorney General's Office.
The “Chamuca” Constitution
On November 18, 2024, Ortega introduced what he called a “partial reform” to the National Assembly. In reality, it was a complete overhaul of the Constitution, designed to serve his and his wife Rosario Murillo’s interests.
The "Chamuca" Constitution creates a “co-presidency” for Murillo, removes political plurality and the autonomy of state powers, and modifies over a hundred articles of the Constitution. The word Chamuca, meaning witch, is a common nickname used for Rosario Murillo.
Given the scope of these changes, constitutional law experts told CONFIDENCIAL that this is a “total reform, not partial,” as Ortega suggests in his explanation of the initiative.
The reforms include making the flag of the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) a national symbol, establishing volunteer police forces, commonly referred to as “paramilitaries,” and subordinating the Nicaraguan Army to the presidency, among other alterations that essentially reshape the entire political structure of the country.
This article was published in Spanish in Confidencial and translated by our staff. To get the most relevant news from our English coverage delivered straight to your inbox, subscribe to The Dispatch.
