Despite the Nicaraguan reality of social and economic distress, the Ortega-Murillo administration’s mix of authoritarian democracy appears to be holding strong against the destabilizing effects of the pandemic.
The COVID-19 pandemic provides needed context for the growing environmental movement—mainly that the climate crisis could have outcomes conceivably more dire than the current pandemic.
Taking advantage of the demonstrations that flared across Latin America at the end of 2019, outside actors worked to push legitimate social protest to violent extremes as a part of a deliberate destabilization strategy.
By not inviting Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela to his inauguration, Uruguay’s President-elect Luis Lacalle Pou breaks the close ties of his predecessors with the region’s autocracies.
Washington can no longer take the Caribbean for granted. That means more than just impotently warning partners south of the hemisphere about China and Russia. Instead it will require more effective diplomacy and economic statecraft.
Reconstructing democracy and restoring social trust in Nicaragua is going to take significant time and effort. The current climate of political instability, economic crisis and international hostility make it impossible for Daniel Ortega to continue governing. So, what options are there?
Recent U.S. involvement in the Caribbean Basin has been defined by Whac-A-Mole-like reactionary policy. It’s time for a new coherent strategy for security and development in the Caribbean.
Unresolved challenges of organized crime, weak governance and extra-hemispheric actors threaten instability and to erode U.S. influence. It’s time for U.S. policymakers to face some tough questions.
At Global Americans, we’ve been following the crisis in Nicaragua very closely. For our latest interview we spoke to Richard Feinberg and discussed his recently published Brookings report “Nicaragua: Revolution and Restoration”
As the political crisis in Nicaragua continues to deepen, Global Americans’ Chris Sabatini and Ken Frankel from the Canadian Council of the Americas inaugurate their interview series, Two Gringos with Questions, by interviewing Nicaraguan Journalist Carlos Fernando Chamorro.
