CIVICUS discusses civil society in Nicaragua with Amaru Ruiz, a Nicaraguan activist, president of Fundación del Río and president of the board of the Central American Association for Development and Democracy (ACDD). Amaru has been living in exile in Costa Rica since 2018.

In recent years, the Nicaraguan government has stepped up its offensive against civil society, closing more than 5,600 organisations and leaving over 55,000 people unemployed. These systematic attacks are part of the strategy of the regime led by President Daniel Ortega and his wife, ‘co-president’ Rosario Murillo, to consolidate control by eliminating all independent voices. This has had a severe impact on freedom of association, labour rights, key civil society functions such as public policy oversight and access to essential services such as education and healthcare.

How does the Ortega regime justify closing down organisations?

The regime is destroying civic space in Nicaragua. Of the 7,227 civil society organisations (CSOs) that existed a decade ago, it has now shut down some 5,600, or about 80 per cent.

The legal argument initially used was the alleged violation of Law 147, which originally regulated non-profit organisations, and the ‘terrorist’ activities supposedly carried out by these organisations. Subsequently, the regime introduced Law 1.115, which imposed a stricter regulatory framework aimed at strengthening control, setting new conditions for the establishment of CSOs and allowing for their arbitrary closure. Many CSOs have attempted to comply with the new legislation, but the ministry in charge of controlling CSOs has deliberately obstructed the submission of documentation in order to force non-compliance, which it then uses to justify closure.

In addition, the new law has introduced a mechanism for ‘voluntary dissolution’. In practice, many CSOs are forced to take this route to protect their assets, as they risk losing everything if they are officially dissolved. What is presented as voluntary is in fact a form of forced closure.

Some organisations have been accused of money laundering or financing terrorism, which has also led to their cancellation for alleged failure to fulfil their mission.

The regime does not want any organisation outside the state that could be in a position to respond to people’s needs, so people see it as the only existing lifeline in the face of economic and social crisis.

How has the mass disappearance of organisations affected people?

The impact is devastating and multidimensional. The state does not have the capacity to replace the essential services provided by these organisations. For instance, horse therapy services for children with disabilities, free cleft lip and palate surgeries in rural areas, school strengthening programmes and nursing homes and other services run by religious congregations have all disappeared.

Historically, civil society has played a key role in fighting poverty and responding to natural disasters. A clear example was Hurricane Mitch in 1998, which killed over 11,000 people. The role of CSOs was crucial, particularly when the government at the time became implicated in corruption cases related to the management of humanitarian aid.

Mass closures have also had a significant impact on formal employment. Thousands of workers have lost their jobs and many have been forced into exile for fear of reprisals, which has contributed to the weakening of Nicaragua’s social fabric.

What actions are exiled activists undertaking?

The regime is counting on the disappearance of organised civil society, but this will never happen completely, as people will always look for ways to organise themselves in the face of crisis.

Many CSOs have continued to operate and condemn human rights violations from abroad. They have presented three emblematic cases to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights: one submitted by the Nicaraguan Centre for Human Rights, another by Fundación del Río and Popol Na and a third by the Segovias Leadership Institute. They also maintain an active presence before the United Nations Human Rights Council and its special rapporteurs.

In short, we have not stood idly by and are using all the legal and international mechanisms available to denounce human rights violations in Nicaragua.

What are the prospects of obtaining justice through international mechanisms?

It’s too early to predict how international judicial institutions will respond. Although there have been lawsuits in Argentina and declarations by the European Union calling for investigations, no international criminal proceedings have so far been initiated.

This is partly because Nicaragua is not a signatory to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and so is not obliged to comply with some international rules. There’s also a lack of political will: no state has dared to formally accuse the Ortega-Murillo regime before international courts, despite abundant evidence of its human rights violations and crimes against humanity.

We don’t expect immediate results in terms of adjudication of criminal responsibility, but we continue to document human rights violations to strengthen our call for international justice.

What conditions are needed for a democratic transition?

The regime is unsustainable in the long term. Although it retains control of all state structures and coercive forces, including paramilitaries and volunteer police, this absolute control cannot last indefinitely. Real political change will be possible when the regime loses the economic and military pillars of its power.

The vast majority want democratic change through the ballot box, but this requires guarantees of an electoral process allowing for the genuine expression of the popular will. A successful democratic transition would require guarantees of citizen participation in electoral processes and the establishment of internal accountability mechanisms.