Nicaragua will hold a presidential election on November 7th, but absolutely no one believes it will be free and fair. Following the Vladimir Putin electoral playbook, Daniel Ortega has imprisoned, disappeared, or forced his main opponents into exile. One might ask why Ortega even bothers with elections. New York Times: "The Nicaraguan president, Daniel Ortega, who has most recently been in power since 2007, is running for a fourth consecutive term this year. Virtually all of

Authoritarian leaders in Russia, Iran, and Nicaragua follow similar playbooks when it comes to winning elections; find some pretense to disqualify or arrest your most popular opponents. Elections then are mere formalities, something to add a bit of legitimacy to your dictatorship. Don't get me wrong, many other autocrats engage in similar perversions of democracy, but these three have made headlines recently with their efforts. Iran has a presidential election today, but the

Just a year ago Nicaragua was seen as one of Latin America's rising stars with an expanding tourist industry drawn to its beautiful beaches, lakes, volcanoes, and quaint colonial towns. Travel writers encouraged their readers to forget Costa Rica and sample Nicaragua's "jungly landscape, peaceful waterways and scenic shores." In 2016 travel and tourism constituted about 10% of Nicaragua's economy and the World Travel and Tourism Council predicted strong growth in the sector.

Yesterday's national strike brought Nicaragua to a halt, but didn't bring the Central American nation any closer to a resolution to its political crisis. The strike was organized by Nicaragua's "Civic Alliance" seeking the release of activists and student leaders imprisoned by President Daniel Ortega's government. The Guardian: "Most shops and small businesses in the capital were closed on Friday, while in the nearby city of Boaco, local media reported only 7% of businesses w

There was a moment in history when Daniel Ortega represented the hopes and aspirations of the Nicaraguan people to end the brutal and corrupt reign of the Somoza family. That is why it is so sad, and a bit ironic, to see that he is now the one brutalizing the people that once looked to him as their savior. Since 2006 when he won the Presidency, he and his wife, Rosario Murillo, who he made Vice-President, have slowly crushed all opposition to their rule even changing the cons

After decades of tumultuous rule, Daniel Ortega is facing a major push by Nicaragua's youth to get him to see his exit from politics. Democracy Now! breaks it down. #Nicaragua