ABSTRACT
Nicaragua for weeks stood alone in Latin America without official Covid-19 prevention measures, with the government even promoting mass events and tourism. Once Covid-19 hit, Nicaragua’s government claimed all cases originated abroad, denying growing community spread and obscuring testing, case, and death numbers as the virus’s toll mounted. This lax response across government institutions in Nicaragua is explained by the particular authoritarian nature of the ruling regime of President Daniel Ortega and Vice President (and first lady) Rosario Murillo, who have grown increasingly personalistic and insular since repressing mass anti-government protests in 2018. Ortega, Murillo, and their family thoroughly control Nicaraguan political institutions from the national to the local level, and they control a media and business empire. The Covid-19 crisis has made clear the depths of Ortega and Murillo’s domination and their lack of concern for anyone beyond their narrow inner circle, prioritizing their own power and wealth over the lives of even loyal supporters. International pressure has fallen on deaf ears as Ortega and Murillo have grown increasingly isolated. Nicaragua’s independent civil society, however, has proven resilient, working to respond to Covid-19 despite government inaction and interference, a sign of hope for Nicaragua’s post-crisis and post-Ortega-Murillo future.
