February 16, 2021 CLOSING OF POLITICAL AND CIVIC SPACES: SPOTLIGHT ON NICARAGUA TABLE OF CONTENTS February 16 Agenda ................................................................................................................ 2 Part I: Nicaraguan Spring: The Rise & Repression of a Protest Movement ............. 5 State-Sponsored Violence & the Closing of Political Space Part II: How Did We Get Here? Background on the Current Political Landscape ... 7 State-Sponsored Violence & the Closing of Political Space El Pacto: Leftist on Paper but Not in Practice Questionable Reelections Reforms Favor Authoritarianism An Economy in Ruins Impacts of COVID-19 and Hurricanes Eta & Iota The 2021 Election Part III: Recent Laws Limiting Civic Space .......................................................................... 15 Law of Regulation of Foreign Agents Special Law of Cybercrimes Law of Life Sentence Law of Defense of the Rights of the People to Independence, Sovereignty, Self-determination for the Peace Penal Code Reform A Diverse and Divided Opposition Civic Alliance for Justice & Democracy White & Blue Unity Great National Coalition Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights U.S. Policy and the Biden Administration’s Challenges Speaker Biographies ................................................................................................................ 24 1 February 16, 2021 AGENDA AGENDA Welcome & Introduction Introduction to Topics for Meeting Understanding the Current Context of Nicaragua • Current Political Context & Closing of Civic Space ◦ Guest Speaker | Carlos Fernando Chamorro, Founder and Editor, Confidencial • Asociación Madres De Abril ◦ Guest Speaker | Francys Valdivia, President, Asociación Madres De Abril • Legal Challenges for Philanthropy ◦ Guest Speaker | Claudia Guadamuz, Senior Legal Advisor, International Center for Not-for-Profit Law. Open Q&A with Donor Roundtable Members Presentation & Discussion on Phase III Methodology Announcements: • Webpage & Evaluation • Grantmaking Database Tool • Upcoming Session 2 February 16, 2021 BRIEFING Key Discussion Points The future of democracy and human rights in Nicaragua face an enormous test in 2021. After three plus years of political turmoil, repression, and the closing of civil and political spaces Nicaraguans will head to the polls on November 7th to elect their next president. The electoral playing field tilts strongly in favor of the current regime of Daniel Ortega, and away from any opposition challengers. Ortega has served as Nicaragua’s president for over 20 years and has control of the country’s legislature, electoral council, and court system. Furthermore, he is taking aggressive steps to undermine the political opposition, civil society, and any independent press by ushering through a series of laws that weaken basic democratic and human rights guarantees. For its part, the opposition is fractured and facing enormous obstacles to competing in an election largely controlled by Ortega and his political machine. Given this context, what role can philanthropy play in supporting efforts to reopen political space, unify the opposition, and counter the regime’s repressive actions? 3 Economist Intelligence Unity Democracy Index Trends 4 Part I Nicaraguan Spring: The Rise & Repression of a Protest Movement On April 18, 2018, Nicaraguan students and pensioners took to the streets of the capital Managua and other large cities to protest proposed reforms to the social security system that would have reduced pensions by five percent and the government’s failed response to a wildfire that broke out earlier in the month in a biosphere reserve that is home to the ancestral lands of several indigenous groups. In response, the government cracked down with violence perpetrated by police and armed groups aligned with the ruling Sandinista Party commonly referred to as “turbas” by locals. Instead of quelling demonstrations, the repression sparked outrage and gave protesters greater purpose and more widespread support. Although President Ortega rescinded his proposed reforms to pensions within days, the protests continued as they were always about more than just the reforms or the wildfire. Tensions over Ortega’s drift toward authoritarianism and dismantling of checks on presidential power had simmered for years, particularly since his reelection to a third term in November 2016 was marred by allegations of fraud. The violent repression of protesters beginning in the spring of 2018 was the most visible manifestation of that authoritarianism since Ortega returned to power in 2007. Protests continued for months as the coalition, known as El Pacto, Ortega had built during his latest tenure as president collapsed, with many former allies becoming prominent critics, forcing the government to enter into a dialogue with the opposition mediated by the Catholic Church. One of the major flashpoints was a Mother’s Day protest on May 30 that was led by mothers whose children had been killed during the protests. That protest ended with another 15 dead. Protesters employed some of the tactics used by Sandinistas in the ‘70s against the Somoza dictatorship, including the construction of barricades, while ongoing violence by the government and party loyalists fueled indignation. But by August, demonstrations had grown scarce after the government, in an offensive called “Operation Clean-Up,” dismantled the barricades, arbitrarily detained protesters en masse, and committed more acts of violence against protesters, swelling the casualty count to over 300 suspected to have been murdered by government security forces or its para-military turbas. Tens of thousands of Nicaraguans fled to Costa Rica to escape persecution. Many of whom live there to this day. 5 State-Sponsored Violence & the Closing of Political Space From the very beginning of demonstrations, the violent repression of protesters carried all the hallmarks of a coordinated attack. The National Police not only turned a blind eye to the violence caused by the turbas – mobs of Sandinista loyalists which first emerged in the 1980’s to harass and intimidate opponents – it also coordinated with them. Furthermore, it oversaw the repression undertaken by its own diverse units, which according to a report by the Interdisciplinary Group of Independent Experts, “can only be explained as being the result of a decision taken at the highest level and sustained over time,” implicating President Ortega, who is also the Supreme Chief of the National Police. Additionally, the GIEI found substantial evidence that the Nicaraguan State engaged in crimes against humanity in putting down the 2018 uprising. “From the information available, it can be deduced that the State of GIEI | Nicaragua Report Nicaragua has carried out behaviors that according to international law, they must be considered crimes against humanity,” the expert panel found. They based their findings, in part, on evidence that the state engaged in “widespread and systematic attack on the civilian population. This conclusion is based on the geographical and temporal extension of the events, on the amount of victims, the seriousness of the repressive actions, as well as the existence of certain patterns of conduct carried out with State resources, and that responded to a policy defined and endorsed from the pinnacle of state power.” According to a Freedom House report, “[i]n 2018, state forces, with the aid of informally allied armed groups, responded to a mass antigovernment Freedom House | Nicaragua: movement with violence and repression. The rule of law collapsed as Country Profile the government moved to put down the movement, with rights monitors reporting the deaths of at least 325 people, extrajudicial detentions, disappearances, and torture.” The Ortega government has continued its efforts to repress dissent and opposition throughout 2020. Several independent media outlets had Associated Press | Media, their offices seized and were prohibited from broadcasting on television. NGO offices taken over by The Associated Press reported on December 23, 2020 that the offices of government in Nicaragua several independent media outlets and NGOs were taken over by the government. “Two media outlets and several non-governmental groups said Wednesday (12/23) that their offices apparently were confiscated by the government of President Daniel Ortega, with placards posted at the properties reading “Property of the Health Ministry.” Both Confidencial and Hora Cero – leading independent media sources – were affected. AP quoted Carlos Fernando Chamorro, founder and editor of Confidencial saying, “the regime is officially practicing confiscation, in violation of Nicaragua’s constitution...We have lived in a state of total illegality for two years, and today Ortega has confirmed there is no rule of law in Nicaragua.” 6 Total Number of Political Prisoners Source: Presas y Presos Politicos Nicaragua According to one calculation, of the total number of political prisoners detained since 2018, about 111 remain in custody. Many more have been released to house arrest. Opposition members are often arbitrarily detained or placed under house arrest without justification. For example, Felix Maradiaga, a leading opposition voice and possible presidential contender from the UNAB, is under constant surveillance and effectively under house confinement even though he’s never been charged with a crime. Brandishing the Nicaraguan flag – whose blue and white colors become the symbols