(Reuters) – Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega proposed a constitutional reform to expand presidential powers over other branches of government, according to an official document seen by Reuters yesterday.
The reform also seeks to increase the presidential term to six years from five and formally change the role of vice president, held by the 79-year-old Ortega’s wife, Rosario Murillo, to that of “co-president.”
Lawmakers of the government-controlled National Assembly would also have their terms increased to six years, from five, the document said.
Murillo, married to Ortega since 2005 and made vice president in 2017, has become the face of the government as Ortega rarely makes public appearances. For years rumors have circulated that Ortega is in poor health.
The proposal also looks to expand state control over media outlets in order to “prevent them from being subjected to foreign interests.”
Nicaragua already has a so-called cyber crime law in which anyone found guilty of publishing fake news on social media or news outlets can face prison terms of up to four years.
Ortega’s reform proposal allows for the presidency to order the army to intervene “in support of” the country’s national police when necessary. It would also authorize military and police officials to “temporarily occupy” executive branch positions “when the nation’s supreme interest demands.”
The proposal was sent to the National Assembly on Tuesday and is expected to be debated and approved quickly.
Since 2018, the government of Ortega has led a crackdown on political opponents, jailing critics and leading to backlash and sanctions from the international community, including the United States and Europe.
Nicaraguan rights group the CALIDH said on X that the proposal was an “irreversible distortion” of the constitution’s text.