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INTERNATIONAL

Nicaragua’s Ortega cruises to

reelection after jailing opponents

Nov 3 (Reuters) - Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega is up for
re-election on Nov. 7 for a fourth consecutive term, with critics
saying the former Marxist revolutionary has become the sort of
authoritarian leader he once opposed as he suppresses growing
dissent.

Following are the main events that shaped the rise to power of
the longest-serving leader in the Americas and his consolidation
of political control in the face of protests:

1961 - The Sandinista Liberation Front (FSLN) begins campaign
to seize power from the Somoza family, which had dominated
Nicaragua since the 1930s. Ortega joins the Sandinistas two
years later as a teenager.
1967 - Ortega is jailed for seven years after robbing a bank to
fund the FSLN. Released in 1974 to Cuba, he trains in guerilla
warfare before returning to Nicaragua. April 2018 - Thousands of Nicaraguans begin demonstrations
1979 - The FSLN military campaign topples dictator Anastasio against a planned social security overhaul which morphs into
Somoza, replacing him with a junta that Ortega would come to a broader protest calling for Ortega to quit. Protests continue
dominate. after Ortega abandons the reform and more than 300 people die
1984 - Ortega is elected president. and hundreds are arrested in the government’s heavy-handed
1990 - Ortega is defeated in his bid for a second term by Violeta crackdown, which is internationally condemned.
Chamorro of the National Opposition Union. 2019 - Nicaragua releases dozens of political prisoners under an
2007 - Ortega returns to office after winning an election in amnesty law. Ortega rejects a proposal for early elections from
November 2006. His government begins receiving hundreds of the Organization of American States.
millions of dollars in oil funding from Venezuela. October 2020 - Nicaragua passes laws criminalizing what the
2010 - The Supreme Court lifts a ban on consecutive presidential administration considers “fake news”. The laws also bar people
re-elections, allowing Ortega to run again. from seeking office if they are believed to have financed attempts
November 2011 - Ortega wins a second straight term with to oust Ortega, or encouraged sanctions.
more than 72% of the vote in an election which rivals said was June 2021 - Police place opposition leader Cristiana Chamorro,
fraudulent. International election observers say irregularities a daughter of former President Violeta Chamorro, under house
were not enough to alter the outcome, but the disputed process arrest. Arrests of other presidential hopefuls follow.
gave his Sandinista party a two-thirds majority in Congress - just August 2021 - Prosecutors charge eight opposition leaders
enough votes to change the constitution. with conspiracy, including three who planned to challenge
January 2014 - Congress changes the constitution to remove Ortega. Police raid the office of La Prensa, the only remaining
term limits, allowing Ortega to run for office indefinitely. independent newspaper, and arrest the manager.
November 2016 - Ortega wins a third term, again with October 2021 - Police detain two top representatives of
over 72% of votes. Shortly before the election, the Sandinista- Nicaragua’s biggest business association, accusing them of crimes
controlled Supreme Court replaces the leader of the main “to the detriment of the Nicaraguan state.”
opposition party with someone with strong ties to Ortega. November 2021 - By the time of the election, 38 opposition
leaders are either in jail or under house arrest

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