President Daniel Ortega’s growing authoritarianism has prompted even former Sandinistas to express their concern. But now street clashes following last week’s municipal elections have left Nicaragua’s “fledgling institutional democracy struggling for its life”:
The last time rival political forces fought one another street by street for control of the Nicaraguan capital was three decades ago, in July 1979, at the culmination of the Sandinista insurrection that overthrew the Somoza dictatorship. This week, the streets of Managua were once again aflame amid the boom of mortar rounds, as the Sandinistas and their rivals battled for control – but it was the erstwhile revolutionary movement that now stands accused of being a dictatorship.
The political polarization is also evident in virtual confrontations on social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter.
The elections were marred by widespread abuses and the opposition has called for a recount. “Unless there is a proper recount, an ugly precedent for Latin America will have been set,” states The Economist. Not least for Venezuela where state and local elections take place later this month.
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