Abstract

LACOMBE, Delphine. Nicaragua under the terror of the Ortega-Murillo couple: antecedents and progressive construction of a dictatorship. Trace (Méx. DF) [online]. 2020, n.77, pp.146-163.  Epub Apr 13, 2021. ISSN 2007-2392.

On April 18th 2018, Nicaragua plunged into one of the most tragic political and social crises of its contemporary history. Following a presidential decree reforming the Social Security Institute that reduced pension benefits while raising contributions, a wave of protest spread across the country. This wave became a civic insurrection demanding the president’s resignation and early elections and it was repressed with the utmost violence. This article summarizes the predictors and reasons for this political crisis. It finally questions the delayed reaction of international public opinion toward the progressive building of dictatorial power in Nicaragua, begun as early as 2007.

Keywords : Nicaragua; Sandinism; Daniel Ortega-Rosario Murillo; Repression; dictatorship.