Nicaragua, the right to defend democracy by stopping foreign money from influencing elections

Pictured above: Nicaraguans celebrating the 47th anniversary of the Sandinista Revolution

On 3 July the British government issued a statement entitled ‘tough new rules to crack down on foreign funding of elections.’

Steve Reed, Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government stated: ‘British democracy is not for sale. These tough new rules will shut down dodgy funding, stop foreign money influencing our elections and keep our democracy strong.’ He went on to describe the ‘world’s leading action’ the government will be taking … ‘to tackle the threats we face from abroad

In the US, the Trump administration is also concerned about foreign interference in elections. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said:…” the Trump Administration will rout out foreign interference in our elections and safeguard our democracy. America’s future belongs to Americans.”

On July 19th, tens of thousands of Nicaraguans celebrated the 47th anniversary of the overthrow of the US backed dictatorship by the Sandinistas.

In a speech to crowds gathered in Managua, co-president Daniel Ortega referred to elections making it clear Nicaragua will also rout out foreign interference in order to safeguard democracy.

He went on to explain that measures will be put in place so that “They [those backed with foreign funds] will never see another election where they can attempt to seize power by cheating their way into government.’

The following day National Assembly President Gustavo Porras reaffirmed that elections will take place as planned in November 2027 but these will be held under a new constitutional framework that strengthens national democracy and shields the country from foreign interference.

Hours later these remarks exploded into shock headlines in the mainstream press around the world to the effect that ‘Nicaraguan president says country will not hold any more elections.‘ In addition to choosing to translate only half of a key sentence in Ortega’s speech the articles were devoid of any domestic or international context.

So what is the context that’s lacking in these articles?

Global turmoil is playing out in the Americas through the Trump administration aggressively reclaiming and reshaping the Americas as their ‘backyard.’

In March the Administration took their first steps to implementing the ‘Donroe Doctrine’ and the National Security Strategy through launching the ‘Shield of the Americas’ attended by 12 countries of Latin America and the Caribbean with right wing leaders.

The aim of this ‘Shield’ is ‘to strengthen relations in our own backyard to promote freedom, security and prosperity.’ The US “will reward and encourage the region’s governments, political parties, and movements broadly aligned with our principles and strategy.” Colombia and Peru have since joined the ‘Shield’ after US electoral meddling – as had happened previously in Honduras – ensured US favoured candidates won elections in these countries.

In July Trump’s Secretary of State Marco Rubio launched a 100-page document entitled ‘Cuba, the Capital of 21^st Century Communism’ accusing Cuba of sponsoring ‘far left terrorism’ and linking the country to protests after the killing of George Floyd and the rise of Antifa.

This is yet another attempt to discredit Cuba this time though trying to convince the US public that the island is a threat to their security and looking to using this as a pretext for a possible invasion. The document also names and shames organisations and individuals in the US including the Democratic Socialists, Mayors of New York and Los Angeles, and the founder of Ben and Jerry’s. This kind of domestic repression is ominously reminiscent of the McCarthy persecution of the 50s.

The British Cuba Solidarity Campaign and Jeremy Corbyn are among those smeared in the document.

What‘s at stake in the Nicaraguan elections?

On 19 July Nicaraguans celebrated a country at peace with a stable economy and a government that has addressed the country’s number one enemy: poverty thereby restoring the social and economic rights of the population.

A holistic development plan integrates free health care and education, housing programmes for those on low incomes, subsidised transport, parks and leisure facilities. Five thousand kms of new roads have greatly improved connectivity throughout the country.

In his speech co-president Daniel Ortega highlighted the unrelenting US attempts to impose governments of their choice on Nicaragua. He referred to the 1937 to 1979 Somoza dictatorship that ruled Nicaragua, supported and financed by the US. “They had their elections, but in every election, they already knew who would win before going to the polls’.

Ortega also referred to the tens of thousands of people who lost their lives in the insurrection against Somoza and the 1980s US contra war and economic blockade ruled illegal by the International Court of Justice in 1986.

This was followed by the 1990 elections were won by a 15 party coalition glued together by the US: Nicaraguans voted with a gun to their heads. Subsequent elections were won by a series of neo-liberal governments until the Sandinistas returned to power in 2007.

As is the case with countries globally Nicaragua has the right to self- determination, to defend its national security without outside interference.

Nicaragua has suffered more than a century of US interference at the cost of tens of thousands of lives lost and livelihoods destroyed.

Nicaragua’s hard won democracy is not for sale. The government will rightly be following the UK’s example and implementing ‘world leading action’ to safeguard democracy and ‘to tackle the threats’ from abroad that the country faces.