Socialist International Condemns Worsening Crisis and “Brutal Repression” in Nicaragua

The Latin America and Caribbean Committee of the Socialist International expressed on Tuesday “its strongest condemnation of the grave situation in Nicaragua, where brutal repression against citizens has intensified, stripping away the fundamental rights and freedoms that sustain democracy.”

In a statement released by the Nicaraguan opposition political group Unamos, the Latin America and Caribbean Committee of the Socialist International warned that the sweeping  constitutional reforms, approved in the first legislative session on November 19, 2024, “not only violate the essential principles of a democratic and social rule of law but also institutionalize nepotism, eliminate municipal autonomy, and subordinate public institutions to the absolute control of the presidential family.”

Therefore, the Socialist International called on the member states of the Organization of American States (OAS), the United Nations (UN), and the international community “to firmly condemn this attack on democracy and adopt diplomatic and economic measures to end the repression and restore fundamental rights.”

“The Latin America and Caribbean Committee of the Socialist International reaffirms its unwavering commitment to the defense of democracy, justice, and human rights, and we advocate for a peaceful resolution to the crisis in Nicaragua that will reintegrate it into the community of democratic nations in the world,” stated this chapter of the Socialist International, which includes 132 social democratic parties and is led by Spanish Prime Minister and Socialist Party leader Pedro Sánchez.

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Two weeks ago, Ortega proposed a sweeping constitutional reform, already approved in its first legislative reading, which transforms the state into a “direct democracy” exercised through the Presidency. The reform introduces the figure of two “co-presidents” with six-year terms and eliminates the principle of the separation of powers.

This constitutional reform, the twelfth pushed through by Ortega since his return to power in 2007, also legalizes statelessness for dissidents and repeals the article prohibiting torture, among other changes.

This article was published in Spanish in Confidencial and translated by Havana Times. To get the most relevant news from our English coverage delivered straight to your inbox, subscribe to The Dispatch.