Pressures within Nicaragua’s government will build

Significance

The move came a month after Nicaragua’s ambassador to the OAS, Arturo McFields, resigned, publicly condemning human rights abuses by his government. Nicaragua’s state lawyer at the International Court of Justice, Paul Reicheler, resigned days later on similar grounds, illustrating tensions within the Nicaraguan state.

Impacts

• Sandinismo, representing an identity, rather than simply a political ideology, will cement loyalty to Ortega among many Nicaraguans.
• Mistrust of former Sandinistas among some long-standing opposition supporters will undermine efforts to drive political change.
• Ortega’s perceived centrality to Sandinismo could see the FSLN struggle to continue beyond his presidency.