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      China dice que es una democracia, antes de la cumbre de Biden

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      Pekín argumenta que su sistema representa una forma peculiar de democracia, una que ha manejado mejor que Occidente algunos desafíos como la pandemia.PEKÍN — Mientras que el presidente Joe Biden se prepara para ser el anfitrión de una “cumbre para la democracia” esta semana, China contratacó con la afirmación inverosímil de que también es una democracia.Sin importar que el Partido Comunista de China gobierna a los 1400 millones de habitantes del país sin ninguna tolerancia con los partidos de oposición, ni que su líder Xi Jinping ascendió al poder a través de un proceso político turbio sin elecciones populares, ni que pedir públicamente la instalación de una democracia en China conlleva severos castigos, a menudo con largas sentencias de prisión.“No hay un modelo fijo de democracia; se manifiesta de muchas formas” argumentó en un documento publicado el fin de semana el Consejo Estatal, el máximo órgano del gobierno de China. El documento se titulaba: “China: democracia que funciona”.Es poco probable que cualquier país democráctico quede persuadido por el modelo chino. Bajo cualquier estándar, excepto el suyo propio, China es uno de los países menos democráticos del mundo, y se ubica cerca del final de los ránkings de libertades políticas y personales.Sin embargo, el gobierno está contando con que su mensaje encontrará una audiencia en algunos países que están desilusionados con la democracia liberal o las críticas hacia el liderazgo de Estados Unidos, ya sea en América Latina, África o Asia, incluida China.Funcionarios en una rueda de prensa en la Oficina de Información del Consejo del Estado en Pekín el sábadoMark Schiefelbein/Associated Press“Quieren cuidarse la retaguardia, estar a la defensiva, lo que llaman una democracia occidental”, dijo Jean-Pierre Cabestan, politólogo de la Universidad Bautista de Hong Kong.El documento de China sobre la democracia fue la iniciativa más reciente en una campaña que durante semanas ha intentado socavar la cumbre virtual de Biden, que inicia el jueves.En discursos, artículos y videos en la televisión estatal, los funcionarios han aplaudido lo que definen como la democracia al estilo chino. Al mismo tiempo, Pekín ha criticado la democracia estadounidense como particularmente deficiente, buscando perjudicar la autoridad moral del gobierno de Biden, que se esfuerza por unir a Occidente para contrarrestar a China.Get Ready for the 2022 Beijing Winter OlympicsJust a few months after Tokyo, the Olympics will start again in Beijing on Feb. 4. Here is what you need to know:A Guide to the Sports: From speedskating to monobob, here’s a look at every sport that will be contested at the 2022 Winter Games.Diplomatic Boycott: The U.S. will not send government officials to Beijing in a boycott to pressure China for human rights abuses.Covid Preparations: With a “closed-loop” bubble, a detailed health plan and vaccination requirements, the Games will be heavily restricted.The Fashion Race: Canada partnered with Lululemon for its Olympic kit, and a Black-owned athleisure brand will outfit Team Nigeria.“La democracia no es un adorno que se usa como decoración; se usa para resolver problemas que el pueblo quiere solucionar”, dijo Xi en la reunión de altos líderes del Partido Comunista en octubre, según reportó la agencia de noticias estatal Xinhua. (En el mismo discurso, ridiculizó los “aspavientos” que se les da a los votantes durante las elecciones y afirmó que los votantes tienen poca influencia de nuevo hasta la siguiente campaña).El domingo, la cancillería emitió otro informe que criticaba la política estadounidense por lo que describía como la influencia corruptora del dinero, la polarización social que se intensifica y la injusticia inherente en el Colegio Electoral. Del mismo modo, los funcionarios buscaron minimizar el anuncio de la Casa Blanca de que ningún funcionario estadounidense acudirá a las Olimpiadas de Invierno en Pekín en febrero al decir que, de todos modos, ninguno estaba invitado. Un periodista tomaba una copia de “Democracia que funciona”, el informe producido por el gobierno en los momentos previos a una rueda de prensa en la Oficina de Información del Consejo de Estado en Pekín, el sábado.Mark Schiefelbein/Associated PressLa ofensiva propagandística de China ha producido sorprendentes declaraciones sobre la naturaleza fundamental del régimen del Partido Comunista y la superioridad de su modelo político y social. También insinúa que Pekín podría sentir inseguridad sobre el modo en que su gobierno es percibido en el mundo.“El hecho de que el régimen sienta que debe justificar consistentemente su sistema político en términos de democracia es un poderoso reconocimiento del simbolismo y la legitimidad que contiene el concepto”, dijo Sarah Cook, una analista que cubre China para Freedom House, un grupo de defensa en Washington.Cuando los funcionarios presentaron el documento del gobierno el domingo, parecían competir por quién lograba decir “democracia” con más frecuencia y al mismo tiempo enturbiaron la definición del vocablo.El sistema de China “ha alcanzado democracia de proceso y democracia de resultados, democracia procedimental y democracia sustancial, democracia directa y democracia indirecta y la unidad de la democracia del pueblo y la voluntad del país”, comentó Xu Lin, subdirector del departamento de propaganda del Comité Central del Partido Comunista.La campaña hace recordar la rivalidad entre Estados Unidos y la Unión Soviética, que durante décadas lucharon por demostrar las ventajas de sus sistemas políticos, dijo Charles Parton, especialista en China en el Instituto Royal United Services, un grupo de investigación británico.Altos funcionarios del Partido Comunista de China en una reunión de noviembre en PekínYan Yan/Xinhua vía Associated Press“Están, de cierto modo, más aplicados en la competencia ideológica, y esto remite a la Guerra Fría”, dijo Parton, refiriéndose a China.La cumbre de democracia de Biden, que funcionarios de su gobierno han dicho que no está directamente enfocada en China, también ha enfrentado críticas, tanto de Occidente como de China, en parte por los que fueron invitados y por los que no.Angola, Irak y Congo, países que Freedom House clasifica como no democráticos, participarán, mientras que no lo harán dos aliados de la OTAN, Turquía y Hungría.La Casa Blanca, en una medida que probablemente enfurecerá a Pekín, también invitó a dos funcionarios de Taiwán, la democracia isleña que China reivindica como propia; y a Nathan Law, un exlegislador en el territorio semiautónomo de Hong Kong que solicitó asilo en Reino Unido tras la represión de China.En el centro de la defensa de Pekín de su sistema político se encuentran varios argumentos clave, algunos más plausibles que los demás.Los funcionarios mencionan las elecciones que se realizan en los barrios o municipios para elegir representantes para el más bajo de los cinco niveles de legislaturas. Dichas votaciones, sin embargo, son bastante coreografiadas y cualquier candidato que potencialmente pudiera estar en desacuerdo con el Partido Comunista enfrenta acoso o algo peor.Una protesta contra las nuevas leyes de seguridad en en Causeway Bay, Hong Kong, en mayo de 2020Lam Yik Fei para The New York TimesLas legislaturas luego eligen a los delegados para el siguiente nivel, hasta el Congreso Nacional del Pueblo, un cuerpo parlamentario con casi 3000 integrantes que cada primavera se reúne para aprobar las decisiones que el liderazgo del partido toma a puerta cerrada.Cuando Xi impulsó una enmienda constitucional para retirar los límites temporales a la presidencia —lo que le permite gobernar indefinidamente— la votación, realizada de forma secreta, fue de 2958 a 2.China también ha acusado a Estados Unidos de imponer valores occidentales en otras culturas, un argumento que podría encontrar eco en regiones donde ambas potencias compiten por influencia.El embajador de China en Estados Unidos, Qin Gang, se unió recientemente a su homólogo ruso, Anatoly Antonov, para denunciar la cumbre de Biden como hipócrita y hegemónica. En un texto que firmaron en The National Interest, una revista conservadora, aludieron al apoyo otorgado a los movimientos democráticos en países autoritarios que se conocieron como “revoluciones de color”.“Ningún país tiene derecho a juzgar el vasto y variado paisaje político con la misma vara”, escribieron.Al señalar las formas en que las sociedades estadounidense y occidentales se han visto azotadas por divisiones políticas, sociales y raciales y obstaculizadas por la pandemia de coronavirus, China también argumenta que su forma de gobierno ha sido más eficaz para crear prosperidad y estabilidad.Trabajadores sanitarios durante una alerta de covid en Wuhan, China, en eneroGilles Sabrie para The New York TimesLos funcionarios a menudo observan que China ha logrado más de cuatro décadas de crecimiento económico rápido. Y, más recientemente, ha contenido el brote de coronavirus que inició en Wuhan, con menos muertes en toda la pandemia que los que algunos países han registrado en un solo día.Los escépticos rechazan el argumento de que esos éxitos convierten a China en una democracia.Señalan sondeos como el realizado por la Universidad de Würzburg en Alemania, que ranquea a los países según variables como independencia del poder judicial, libertad de prensa e integridad de las elecciones. El más reciente pone a China cerca del final entre 176 países. Solo Arabia Saudita, Yemen, Corea del Norte y Eritrea están más abajo en la lista. Dinamarca está en primer lugar y Estados Unidos en el puesto 36.En China, el Partido Comunista controla los tribunales y censura fuertemente a los medios de comunicación. Ha suprimido la cultura y el idioma tibetanos, ha restringido la libertad religiosa y ha implementado una amplia campaña de detenciones en Sinkiang.Es más, la enérgica defensa de China de su sistema en los últimos meses no ha hecho nada para moderar el enjuiciamiento de la disidencia.Se espera que dos de los más afamados abogados de derechos humanos, Xu Zhiyong y Ding Jiaxi, enfrenten juicio a finales de este año, acusados de haber pedido mayores libertades civiles, según Jerome Cohen, profesor de derecho que se especializa en China en la Universidad de Nueva York. Una empleada china de Bloomberg News en Pekín hasta el martes llevaba un año detenida sin que se supiera cuáles eran las acusaciones en su contraEn el gobierno de Xi, los intelectuales chinos tienen más precauciones al expresarse que en cualquier otro momento desde la muerte de Mao en 1976.“Este es un momento extraordinario en la experiencia china”, dijo Cohen. “De verdad pienso que aplica la definición de totalitarismo”.Keith Bradsher More

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      Ahead of Biden’s Democracy Summit, China Says: We’re Also a Democracy

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      Beijing argues that its system represents a distinctive form of democracy, one that has dealt better than the West with challenges like the pandemic.BEIJING — As President Biden prepares to host a “summit for democracy” this week, China has counterattacked with an improbable claim: It’s a democracy, too.No matter that the Communist Party of China rules the country’s 1.4 billion people with no tolerance for opposition parties; that its leader, Xi Jinping, rose to power through an opaque political process without popular elections; that publicly calling for democracy in China is punished harshly, often with long prison sentences.“There is no fixed model of democracy; it manifests itself in many forms,” the State Council, China’s top governing body, argued in a position paper it released over the weekend titled “China: Democracy That Works.”It is unlikely that any democratic country will be persuaded by China’s model. By any measure except its own, China is one of the least democratic countries in the world, sitting near the bottom of lists ranking political and personal freedoms.Even so, the government is banking on its message finding an audience in some countries disillusioned by liberal democracy or by American-led criticism — whether in Latin America, Africa or Asia, including in China itself.Officials attending a news conference at the State Council Information Office in Beijing on Saturday.Mark Schiefelbein/Associated Press“They want to put on a back foot, put on the defensive, what they refer to as Western democracy,” said Jean-Pierre Cabestan, a political scientist at Hong Kong Baptist University.China’s paper on democracy was the latest salvo in a weekslong campaign seeking to undercut Mr. Biden’s virtual gathering, which begins on Thursday.In speeches, articles and videos on state television, officials have extolled what they call Chinese-style democracy. At the same time, Beijing has criticized democracy in the United States in particular as deeply flawed, seeking to undermine the Biden administration’s moral authority as it works to rally the West to counter China.Get Ready for the 2022 Beijing Winter OlympicsJust a few months after Tokyo, the Olympics will start again in Beijing on Feb. 4. Here is what you need to know:A Guide to the Sports: From speedskating to monobob, here’s a look at every sport that will be contested at the 2022 Winter Games.Diplomatic Boycott: The U.S. will not send government officials to Beijing in a boycott to pressure China for human rights abuses.Covid Preparations: With a “closed-loop” bubble, a detailed health plan and vaccination requirements, the Games will be heavily restricted.The Fashion Race: Canada partnered with Lululemon for its Olympic kit, and a Black-owned athleisure brand will outfit Team Nigeria.“Democracy is not an ornament to be used for decoration; it is to be used to solve the problems that the people want to solve,” Mr. Xi said at a gathering of top Communist Party leaders in October, according to Xinhua, the state news agency. (In the same address, he ridiculed the “song and dance” that voters are given during elections, contending that voters have little influence until the next campaign.)On Sunday, the foreign ministry released another report that criticized American politics for what it described as the corrupting influence of money, the deepening social polarization and the inherent unfairness of the Electoral College. In the same way, officials later sought to play down the White House announcement that no American officials would attend the Winter Olympics in Beijing in February by saying none had been invited anyway.A journalist takes a copy of a Chinese government-produced report titled “Democracy that Works” before a news conference at the State Council Information Office in Beijing on Saturday.Mark Schiefelbein/Associated PressChina’s propaganda offensive has produced some eyebrow-raising claims about the fundamental nature of Communist Party rule and the superiority of its political and social model. It also suggests that Beijing may be insecure about how it is perceived by the world.“The fact that the regime feels the need to consistently justify its political system in terms of democracy is a powerful acknowledgment of the symbolism and legitimacy that the term holds,” said Sarah Cook, an analyst who covers China for Freedom House, an advocacy group in Washington.When officials introduced the government’s policy paper on Saturday, they seemed to compete over who could mention “democracy” more often, while muddying the definition of the word.China’s system “has achieved process democracy and outcome democracy, procedural democracy and substantive democracy, direct democracy and indirect democracy, and the unity of people’s democracy and the will of the country,” said Xu Lin, deputy director of the Communist Party Central Committee’s propaganda department. The campaign carries echoes of the rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union, which sparred for decades over the merits of their political systems, said Charles Parton, a China specialist at the Royal United Services Institute, a British research group.Senior Communist Party officials at a meeting in November in Beijing. Yan Yan/Xinhua, via Associated Press“They are more keen, in a way, on an ideological competition, and that takes you back to the Cold War,” Mr. Parton said, referring to China.Mr. Biden’s democracy summit, which administration officials have said is not explicitly focused on China, has also faced criticism, in the West as well as from China, in part for whom it invited and whom it left out.Angola, Iraq and Congo, countries that Freedom House classifies as undemocratic, will participate, while two NATO allies, Turkey and Hungary, will not. In a move likely to anger Beijing, the White House also invited two officials from Taiwan, the island democracy China claims as its own; and Nathan Law, a former legislator in the semiautonomous territory of Hong Kong who sought asylum in Britain after China’s crackdown.At the heart of Beijing’s defense of its political system are several core arguments, some more plausible than others.Officials cite the elections that are held in townships or neighborhoods to select representatives to the lowest of five levels of legislatures. Those votes, however, are highly choreographed, and any potential candidates who disagree with the Communist Party face harassment or worse.People in Causeway Bay, Hong Kong, protesting new security laws in May 2020.Lam Yik Fei for The New York TimesThe legislatures then each choose delegates for the next level, up to the National People’s Congress, a parliamentary body with nearly 3,000 members that meets each spring to rubber-stamp decisions made behind closed doors by the party leadership.When Mr. Xi pushed through a constitutional amendment removing term limits on the presidency — effectively allowing him to rule indefinitely — the vote, by secret ballot, was 2,958 to 2.China has also accused the United States of imposing Western values on other cultures, an argument that might resonate in regions where the two powers are competing for influence.China’s ambassador to the United States, Qin Gang, recently joined his Russian counterpart, Anatoly Antonov, to denounce Mr. Biden’s summit as hypocritical and hegemonic. Writing in The National Interest, the conservative magazine, they alluded to support for democratic movements in authoritarian countries that became known as “color revolutions.”“No country has the right to judge the world’s vast and varied political landscape by a single yardstick,” they wrote.Pointing to the ways that American and other Western societies have been torn by political, social and racial divisions and hobbled by the coronavirus pandemic, China is also arguing that its form of governance has been more effective in creating prosperity and stability.Health workers during a Covid alert in Wuhan, China in January.Gilles Sabrie for The New York TimesAs officials often note, China has achieved more than four decades of rapid economic growth. More recently, it has contained the coronavirus outbreak that began in Wuhan, with fewer deaths throughout the pandemic than some countries have had in a single day.Skeptics reject the argument that such successes make China a democracy.They cite surveys like the one done by the University of Würzburg in Germany, which ranks countries based on variables like independence of the judiciary, freedom of the press and integrity of elections. The most recent put China near the bottom among 176 countries. Only Saudi Arabia, Yemen, North Korea and Eritrea rank lower. Denmark is first; the United States 36th.In China, the Communist Party controls the courts and heavily censors the media. It has suppressed Tibetan culture and language, restricted religious freedom and carried out a vast detention campaign in Xinjiang.What’s more, China’s vigorous defense of its system in recent months has done nothing to moderate its prosecution of dissent.Two of China’s most prominent human rights lawyers, Xu Zhiyong and Ding Jiaxi, are expected to face trial at the end of this year on charges that they called for more civil liberties, according to Jerome Cohen, a law professor specializing in China at New York University. A Chinese employee of Bloomberg News in Beijing has remained in detention for a year, as of Tuesday, with almost no word about the accusations against her.Under Mr. Xi’s rule, intellectuals are now warier of speaking their minds in China than at practically any time since Mao Zedong died in 1976.“This is an extraordinary time in the Chinese experience,” Mr. Cohen said. “I really think that the totalitarianism definition applies.”A police officer in 2020 walking past placards of detained rights activists taped on the fence of the Chinese liaison office in Hong Kong protesting Beijing’s detention of Xu Zhiyong, the prominent anti-corruption activist.Isaac Lawrence/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesKeith Bradsher More

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      ‘Aquí nadie va a elegir’: Ortega aplasta a la disidencia en Nicaragua

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      El presidente Daniel Ortega acalló a la oposición y sembró el miedo en los votantes, lo cual prácticamente garantiza su victoria en la contienda presidencial del domingo.MANAGUA, Nicaragua — Después de sofocar de una forma muy metódica a la competencia y la disidencia, el presidente Daniel Ortega prácticamente se aseguró la victoria en las elecciones presidenciales del domingo, lo que indica la caída de Nicaragua en un régimen autocrático.Ortega, en su búsqueda de un cuarto mandato consecutivo como presidente del país, arrestó a todos los adversarios con credibilidad que planeaban contender contra él, cerró los partidos de oposición, prohibió los actos de campaña multitudinarios y clausuró todos los centros de votación.La comisión que supervisa las elecciones quedó en manos de sus leales y no ha habido debates públicos entre los cinco candidatos restantes, todos ellos miembros poco conocidos de partidos alineados con el gobierno sandinista de Ortega.“No son elecciones, una farsa es lo que va a haber”, dijo Berta Valle, la esposa de uno de los líderes de la oposición que está en prisión. “Aquí nadie va a elegir. Es que el único candidato es Daniel Ortega”.El control casi absoluto de Ortega sobre Nicaragua, según los analistas, ha dado paso a una nueva era de represión y terror en el país, lo cual marca un giro hacia un modelo abiertamente dictatorial que podrían imitar otros líderes en toda América Latina. Su declaración de victoria supondría otro golpe a la agenda del presidente estadounidense, Joe Biden, en la región, donde el gobierno no ha conseguido frenar la caída antidemocrática ni el éxodo masivo de personas desesperadas hacia Estados Unidos.Miembros del ejército de Nicaragua preparan las boletas de votación para distribuirlas antes de las elecciones del domingo.Oswaldo Rivas/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesSe ha interceptado a un número inédito de nicaragüenses al cruzar la frontera suroeste de Estados Unidos este año, ya que miles de personas huyeron del país después de que Ortega comenzó a reprimir a la oposición. Y más de 80.000 nicaragüenses viven como refugiados en la vecina Costa Rica.“Este es un punto de inflexión hacia el autoritarismo en la región”, dijo José Miguel Vivanco, director de la División de las Américas de Human Rights Watch, quien describió la represión de Ortega como “una película de terror en cámara lenta”.“Ni siquiera está tratando de mantener una especie de fachada de gobierno democrático”, dijo Vivanco del líder nicaragüense. “De manera flagrante y abierta, está decidiendo hacer de las elecciones una representación”.En junio, Ortega acusó a la oposición de intentar organizar un golpe de Estado. “No estamos juzgando candidatos”, dijo sobre sus críticos que habían sido arrestados. “Aquí se está juzgando a criminales que han atentado contra el país, contra la seguridad del país”.Ortega llegó al poder por primera vez tras ayudar a liderar la revolución que derrocó la dictadura de Anastasio Somoza en 1979. Más de una década después, fue destituido por los electores nicaragüenses, en la que se consideró la primera elección democrática del país.Esa lección sobre los riesgos del gobierno democrático parece haber marcado el resto de la vida política de Ortega. Regresó a la presidencia en 2007, tras conseguir que un partido rival aceptara una reforma legal que permitía a un candidato ganar las elecciones con solo el 35 por ciento de los votos, y luego pasó años debilitando las instituciones que sostenían la frágil democracia nicaragüense.Dejó claro que no toleraría la disidencia en 2018, cuando envió a la policía a reprimir con violencia las protestas contra su gobierno, lo que provocó cientos de muertos y acusaciones de grupos de derechos humanos de crímenes contra la humanidad.Mujeres se enfrentan con la policía antidisturbios durante una protesta contra el gobierno de Ortega en Managua, en 2018.Inti Ocon/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesPero la repentina oleada de detenciones antes de las elecciones, que envió a siete candidatos políticos y a más de 150 personas a la cárcel, transformó el país en lo que muchos activistas describieron como un Estado policial, donde incluso las expresiones leves de disidencia son silenciadas por el miedo.Hace poco, un cronista deportivo fue encarcelado por una serie de publicaciones en Twitter y Facebook que criticaban al gobierno, en virtud de una nueva ley que impone hasta cinco años de cárcel a quien diga algo que “ponga en peligro la estabilidad económica” o el “orden público”.Tras el inicio de las detenciones, Estados Unidos impuso nuevas sanciones a funcionarios nicaragüenses y la Organización de los Estados Americanos condenó al gobierno. Este mes, el Congreso estadounidense aprobó una ley que exige más medidas punitivas para Nicaragua. Pero esa presión no le ha impedido a Ortega eliminar de manera sistemática cualquier obstáculo a su victoria del domingo.Una encuesta reciente mostró que el 78 por ciento de los nicaragüenses considera que la posible reelección de Ortega es ilegítima y solo el 9 por ciento apoya al partido gobernante. Sin embargo, muchos se niegan a cuestionar al gobierno en público, por miedo a ser detenidos o acosados por los representantes del partido sandinista que están apostados en todos los barrios para vigilar las actividades políticas.La lideresa de un grupo de vigilancia electoral, Olga Valle, abandonó el país después de que el gobierno de Ortega comenzó a perseguir a cualquiera que hablara en su contra.“Había mucho temor de dar la cara”, explicó Valle. “Hay una restricción absoluta de las libertades, la ciudadanía está sin ninguna posibilidad de reunirse, de organizarse”.La primera aspirante a la presidencia que fue atacada fue Cristiana Chamorro, la principal opositora nicaragüense e hija de la mujer que desbancó a Ortega en 1990 tras su primera etapa en el poder.La policía puso a Chamorro bajo arresto domiciliario un miércoles de junio, el día después de que Antony Blinken, el secretario de Estado estadounidense, pronunciara un discurso en la vecina Costa Rica sobre la importancia de fortalecer la democracia.Cristiana Chamorro, la líder de la oposición más importante de Nicaragua, fue puesta bajo arresto domiciliario en junio.Inti Ocon/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesFélix Maradiaga, quien también aspiraba a contender contra Ortega, fue encarcelado días después, y permaneció ahí durante meses antes de que a su hermana se le permitiera una visita de 20 minutos.Su esposa, Berta Valle, exiliada en Estados Unidos desde que recibió amenazas tras las protestas de 2018, dijo que su marido ha perdido 20 kilos y que durante meses el único baño en su celda era un agujero. El político nicaragüense le contó a la familia que se le obliga a permanecer en completo silencio, excepto cuando se le somete a interrogatorios diarios. “Es una tortura psicológica”, dijo su esposa.A Maradiaga se le ha permitido reunirse con su abogado en una sola ocasión, rodeado de guardias fuertemente armados, añadió su esposa. Poco después, el abogado huyó del país.Para el mes de agosto, el único de los partidos de la oposición que quedaba en pie era Ciudadanos por la Libertad, un movimiento de la derecha al que algunos especulaban que se le permitiría contender para dar al menos la impresión de una lucha justa. Pero después la comisión electoral dio una conferencia de prensa en la que anunció la desaparición del partido.“Ni siquiera terminé de verla”, comentó Kitty Monterrey, presidenta del partido. “Cogí mis pasaportes y salí corriendo. No miré atrás”.Se escabulló al caer la noche, a fin de evadir a la policía que se había apostado en la entrada. Para llegar a Costa Rica, Monterrey atravesó ríos a pie y a caballo durante 14 horas. Cumplió 71 años el día de su viaje.“Esto no es un proceso electoral en absoluto”, denunció Monterrey. “Las elecciones se dan cuando se tiene derecho a elegir, pero todos están en el exilio o en la cárcel”.Nicaragüenses en Costa Rica protestan contra el gobierno de Ortega, en San José, Costa Rica, en septiembre.Mayela Lopez/ReutersEn Nicaragua no hay observadores electorales, solo los llamados “acompañantes” electorales, una mezcla de funcionarios traídos de países como España, Argentina y Chile, muchos de los cuales son miembros de sus partidos comunistas locales. Su trabajo, dijo hace poco una integrante de la comisión electoral, no consiste en “intervenir” sino en “ver” y “disfrutar” del proceso electoral.En todo el país hay pocos indicios de que se esté disputando el cargo más alto de la nación.Imágenes gigantescas de Ortega y su esposa, la vicepresidenta del país, se ciernen sobre las calles. Los sitios de vacunación reproducen estribillos revolucionarios con títulos como “el comandante se queda”. En los edificios gubernamentales ondea la bandera del partido sandinista junto a la bandera de Nicaragua.Pero además de un puñado de folletos con logotipos de los partidos de la oposición en Managua, la capital, no hay espectaculares ni carteles de campaña en los que aparezca nadie más.“A Ortega se la cayó la máscara”, dijo Valle, la esposa del líder opositor encarcelado. “Él no va a poder esconderse nunca más”.Berta Valle, quien ha estado exiliada en Estados Unidos desde que enfrentó amenazas del gobierno, habla en un foro en Miami en octubre.Cristobal Herrera-Ulashkevich/EPA vía ShutterstockOscar Lopez colaboró con este reportaje desde Ciudad de México. More

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      In Nicaragua Election, Ortega Crushes Dissent

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      President Daniel Ortega quashed the opposition and struck fear in voters, all but guaranteeing his victory in a presidential contest on Sunday.MANAGUA, Nicaragua — After methodically choking off competition and dissent, President Daniel Ortega all but ensured his victory in a presidential contest on Sunday, signaling Nicaragua’s descent into autocratic rule.In his quest for a fourth consecutive term as the country’s president, Mr. Ortega detained all credible challengers who planned to run against him, shut down opposition parties, banned large campaign events and closed voting stations en masse.The commission that monitors elections has been entrusted to his loyalists and there have been no public debates among the contest’s five remaining candidates, all of whom are little-known members of parties aligned with Mr. Ortega’s Sandinista government.“This isn’t an election, this is a farce,” said Berta Valle, the wife of one of the opposition leaders who has been jailed. “No one will elect anyone, because the only candidate is Daniel Ortega.”Mr. Ortega’s path to near total control of Nicaragua has ushered in a new era of repression and terror in the country, marking a turn toward an openly dictatorial model that could set an example for other leaders across Latin America, analysts said. His claim to victory would deliver another a blow to President Biden’s agenda in the region, where the administration has failed to slow an anti-democratic slide and a mass exodus of desperate people toward the United States. Members of Nicaragua’s army prepared ballots for distribution ahead of Sunday’s election.Oswaldo Rivas/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesA record number of Nicaraguans have been intercepted crossing the southwest border this year as thousands fled the country after Mr. Ortega began crushing his opposition. And more than 80,000 Nicaraguans are living as refugees in neighboring Costa Rica.“This is a turning point toward authoritarianism in the region,” said José Miguel Vivanco, head of the Americas region for Human Rights Watch, who called Mr. Ortega’s crackdown “a slow motion horror movie.”“He is not even trying to preserve some sort of facade of democratic rule,” Mr. Vivanco said of the Nicaraguan leader. “He is in a flagrant, open manner, just deciding to treat the election as a performance.”Mr. Ortega in June accused the opposition of trying to foment a coup. “We are not judging candidates,” he said of his critics who had been arrested. “We are judging criminals who have threatened the country.”Mr. Ortega first came to power after helping lead the revolution that overthrew the dictatorship of Anastasio Somoza in 1979. More than a decade later, he was ousted by Nicaraguan voters, in what was considered the nation’s first democratic election.That lesson about the risks of democratic rule appears to have shaped the rest of Mr. Ortega’s political life. He took office again in 2007, after getting a rival party to agree to a legal reform that allowed a candidate to win an election with just 35 percent of the vote. He then spent years undermining the institutions holding together the country’s fragile democracy.He made it clear that he would not tolerate dissent in 2018, when he sent police to violently smother anti-government protests, leading to hundreds of deaths and accusations by human rights groups of crimes against humanity.Women clashed with riot police during a protest against Mr. Ortega’s government in Managua, in 2018. Inti Ocon/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesBut the sudden sweep of arrests preceding the elections, which sent seven political candidates and more than 150 others to jail, transformed the country into what many activists described as a police state, where even mild expressions of dissent are muted by fear.A sportswriter was recently imprisoned for a series of posts critical of the government on Twitter and Facebook, under a new law that mandates up to five years in jail for anyone who says anything that “endangers economic stability” or “public order.” After the detentions began, the United States placed new sanctions on Nicaraguan officials and the Organization of American States condemned the government. This month, Congress passed legislation demanding more punitive measures on Nicaragua. But that pressure has not stopped Mr. Ortega from systematically eliminating any obstacle to his victory on Sunday.A recent poll showed that 78 percent of Nicaraguans see the possible re-election of Mr. Ortega as illegitimate and just 9 percent support the ruling party. Yet many refuse to question the government in public, afraid that they will be arrested or harassed by Sandinista party representatives who are stationed in every neighborhood to monitor political activities.The leader of one electoral watchdog group, Olga Valle, left the country after Mr. Ortega’s government began targeting anyone who spoke out against it.“There was a lot of fear of showing your face,” said Ms. Valle. “There is a total restriction of freedoms, people have absolutely no ability to meet, to organize.”The first aspiring presidential candidate to be targeted was Cristiana Chamorro, Nicaragua’s most prominent opposition leader and the daughter of the woman who unseated Mr. Ortega in 1990 after his first stint in power.Police officers put Ms. Chamorro under house arrest on a Wednesday in June — the day after Secretary of State Antony Blinken delivered remarks on the importance of strengthening democracy next door in Costa Rica.Cristiana Chamorro, Nicaragua’s most prominent opposition leader, was put under house arrest in June. Inti Ocon/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesFélix Maradiaga, who also planned to run against Mr. Ortega, was tossed in jail days later and kept there for months before his sister was allowed a 20-minute visit.His wife, Berta Valle, who has been in exile in the United States since facing threats after the 2018 protests, said her husband has lost 45 pounds and for months his only bathroom was a hole in his cell. He told family that he is forced to remain in complete silence, except when he is subjected to daily interrogations. “It’s psychological torture,” she said.Mr. Maradiaga has been allowed one meeting with his lawyer, surrounded by heavily armed guards, his wife added. That lawyer has since fled the country.By August, the only opposition party left standing was Citizens for Liberty, a movement on the right that some speculated would be allowed to run to at least give the impression of a fair fight. But then the electoral commission held a news conference announcing the party had been shut down.“I didn’t even finish watching it,” said Kitty Monterrey, the party’s president. “I grabbed my passports and I ran. I didn’t look back.”She slipped out in the late afternoon, avoiding the police who had been stationed out front. To reach Costa Rica, Ms. Monterrey trudged through rivers on foot and horseback for 14 hours. She turned 71 the day of her journey.“This is not an election process at all,” Ms. Monterrey said. “Elections are when you have the right to choose, but everyone is either in exile or in prison.”Nicaraguans protested against the government of Mr. Ortega in San Jose, Costa Rica, in September.Mayela Lopez/ReutersThere are no election observers in Nicaragua, only so-called “election companions,” a hodgepodge of officials brought in from countries like Spain, Argentina and Chile, many of whom are members of their local communist parties. Their job, one member of the electoral commission recently said, is not to “intervene” but rather to “watch” and “enjoy” the voting process.Across the country, there are few signs that a contest for the nation’s highest office is underway.Gigantic images of Mr. Ortega and his wife, who is his vice president, loom over the streets. Vaccination sites play revolutionary jingles with titles like “the commander stays.” Government buildings fly the flag of the Sandinista party next to the national flag of Nicaragua.But aside from a smattering of fliers with opposition party logos in Managua, the capital, there are no billboards or campaign posters featuring anyone else.“Ortega’s mask is off,” said Ms. Valle, the wife of the imprisoned opposition leader. “He can’t hide anymore.”Berta Valle, who has been in exile in the United States since facing threats from the government, speaking at a forum in Miami in October.Cristobal Herrera-Ulashkevich/EPA, via ShutterstockOscar Lopez contributed reporting from Mexico City. More

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      El temor se apodera de Nicaragua mientras el país vira hacia una dictadura

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      Una ofensiva contra la oposición por parte del presidente Daniel Ortega ha dejado a los nicaragüenses con una duda: ¿quién sigue?MANAGUA — Las noches eran lo más difícil.Desde el momento en que Medardo Mairena decidió postularse a la presidencia, un desafío directo al líder autoritario de Nicaragua, él tuvo la certeza de que el aparato de seguridad en algún momento lo alcanzaría.A lo largo del verano, Mairena observó cómo desaparecían otros líderes de la oposición. Uno por uno, fueron sacados a rastras de sus casas en medio de una represión nacional orquestada por el presidente Daniel Ortega en contra de la disidencia. La cruzada de este último por asegurarse un cuarto periodo sumergió a la nación centroamericana en un estado de temor generalizado.Desde junio, la policía ha encarcelado o puesto en arresto domiciliario a siete candidatos a las elecciones presidenciales de noviembre, así como a decenas de activistas políticos y líderes de la sociedad civil, lo cual ha dejado a Ortega desprovisto de un contendiente creíble en la boleta y ha convertido a Nicaragua en un Estado policial.A Mairena mismo se le prohibió salir de Managua. Las patrullas de la policía apostadas afuera de su casa ahuyentaron a casi todas las visitas, incluso a su familia.Durante el día, Mairena se mantenía ocupado, haciendo campaña por Zoom y monitoreando anuncios en la radio oficial en busca de pistas de la creciente represión. Sin embargo, de noche se quedaba despierto, con el oído atento a las sirenas, seguro de que tarde o temprano la policía iba a llegar y él desaparecería en una celda.“Lo primero que me pregunto en la mañana es ¿cuándo van a venir por mí?”, comentó Mairena, un activista defensor de los derechos de los agricultores, en una entrevista telefónica realizada a finales de junio. “Es una vida en zozobra constante”.Su turno llegó días después de la llamada. Unos agentes fuertemente armados allanaron su casa y se lo llevaron la noche del 5 de julio.No se supo nada de él hasta el miércoles, cuando se les permitió una visita breve a sus familiares, quienes comentaron que lo encontraron demacrado y enfermo, completamente desconectado del mundo exterior.Parientes de los candidatos presidenciales visitaron este verano la cárcel de Managua en donde se les retenía.Inti Ocón para The New York TimesQuienes critican el gobierno aseguran que la imprevisibilidad y rapidez de la ola de arrestos han convertido a Nicaragua en un Estado más represivo del que fue durante los primeros años de la dictadura de Anastasio Somoza, quien fue derrocado en 1979 por el Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional que encabezaban Ortega y varios otros comandantes. Los sandinistas gobernaron el país hasta que en 1990 perdieron en unas elecciones democráticas y cedieron el poder. En 2007, Ortega regresó a la presidencia.Tras 14 años en el poder, Ortega, impopular y cada vez más aislado de la sociedad nicaragüense en su residencia privada, parece determinado a evitar toda competencia electoral verdadera. Los cinco candidatos presidenciales que siguen en la boleta con él son políticos poco conocidos que tienen una historia de colaboración con el gobierno. Pocas personas en Nicaragua los consideran desafíos genuinos para Ortega.La represión, la cual se ha extendido hacia los críticos de todos los ámbitos sociales, no ha perdonado a ningún disidente político, sin importar sus circunstancias personales o vínculos históricos con Ortega.Entre las víctimas de persecución se encuentran un banquero millonario y un guerrillero marxista, un general condecorado y una activista poco conocida de la provincia, líderes estudiantiles e intelectuales septuagenarios. Ningún detractor del gobierno se siente a salvo de las repentinas redadas nocturnas, de las cuales su constancia ha sido la única certeza, comentaron en entrevistas más de 30 nicaragüenses afectados por la represión.“Todos están en la lista”, mencionó un empresario nicaragüense, cuyo hogar fue registrado por la policía; habló bajo la condición de permanecer en el anonimato por temor a las represalias. “Nada más estás intentando saber qué tan alto o tan abajo está tu nombre, basándote en la última detención”.La ola de represión y temores de violencia política ha empujado a miles de nicaragüenses a huir del país, lo cual amenaza con empeorar una crisis de migración masiva en una época en la que el gobierno del presidente estadounidense, Joe Biden, ya tiene dificultades al enfrentar cifras récord de inmigrantes que intentan cruzar la frontera sur.La cantidad de nicaragüenses que han detenido los guardias fronterizos de Estados Unidos ha estallado desde la represión: un total de casi 21.000 personas cruzaron en junio y julio, en comparación con menos de 300 en los mismos meses del año pasado, de acuerdo con el Departamento de Seguridad Nacional. Durante esos meses, otros 10.000 nicaragüenses han cruzado al sur hacia el país vecino de Costa Rica, según la agencia migratoria costarricense.Una iglesia en Masaya, en la que periodistas y civiles fueron atacados por integrantes del partido gobernante en julioInti Ocón para The New York TimesEl éxodo ha incluido a ricos y pobres por igual, provocado tanto por los temores de la escalada de violencia como por la preocupación de la acechante crisis económica en un país que se dirige a paso constante hacia el aislamiento internacional.En los últimos meses, decenas de destacados empresarios nicaragüenses han huido con sigilo hacia Miami y paralizado sus inversiones en el país, según entrevistas con varios empresarios que no quisieron ser citados por temor a represalias. Y se espera que la mayoría de los bancos internacionales de desarrollo, cuyos préstamos han apoyado la economía nicaragüense en años recientes, dejen de entregar nuevos fondos después de las elecciones, las cuales Estados Unidos ha señalado que es poco probable que reconozca en su forma actual.Algunos nicaragüenses se han marchado por temor a un regreso a la violencia callejera que traumatizó al país en 2018, cuando paramilitares favorables al gobierno y fuerzas policiales interrumpieron las protestas de la oposición y mataron a más de 300 personas.“Tengo miedo de que venga otra masacre”, dijo Jeaneth Herrera, quien vende pan de elote tradicional en las calles de Managua. Sus ventas se han desplomado en meses recientes pues, dijo, la incertidumbre política ha elevado los precios de alimentos. “Yo no veo futuro aquí”.Los hombres y mujeres detenidos, algunos de los cuales ocuparon altos cargos sandinistas, han sido acusados de crímenes que van desde la conspiración hasta el lavado de dinero y el homicidio, imputaciones que, según familiares y asociados, son falsas. La mayoría pasó semanas o meses en la cárcel antes de tener contacto alguno con sus parientes o abogados.Varias de las personas arrestadas son septuagenarias y tienen problemas de salud. Según los familiares, compartieron la cárcel con otros presos y no tuvieron acceso a doctores independientes ni a que sus parientes les entregaran medicamentos.Un general sandinista retirado, Hugo Torres, fue arrestado a pesar de que había dirigido un ataque que le ayudó a Ortega a escapar de la cárcel de Somoza en la década de 1970, con el cual es probable que le haya salvado la vida. El exministro sandinista Víctor Hugo Tinoco fue detenido y la policía registró su casa durante horas enfrente de su hija, Cristian Tinoco, quien tiene cáncer terminal.Cristian Tinoco, hija de Hugo Tinoco, exviceministro de Exteriores, en la habitación de su padre, tras un operativo policial en junioInti Ocón para The New York TimesLa policía también irrumpió de noche en la casa del candidato presidencial Miguel Mora y lo sacó a rastras frente a su hijo Miguel, quien tiene parálisis cerebral, dijo la esposa de Mora, Verónica Chávez.“Esa noche repetía ‘¿Dónde está papá?’”, mencionó Chávez. “Parecía que estábamos en un corto de terror”.Los casos en contra de los prisioneros políticos se llevan en cortes cerradas sin la participación de asesores legales. Esto ha significado que los parientes y la ciudadanía desconocen qué evidencia se ha presentado, lo que agrava el clima de temor.Quienes intentaron documentar el proceso legal —familiares, abogados, periodistas— dicen que fueron amenazados o enfrentaron acusaciones similares y, en algunos casos, se vieron obligados a huir del país o esconderse. Un abogado de uno de los candidatos encarcelados fue arrestado a fines del mes pasado por ser miembro de un partido de oposición.“Nadie de nadie sabe de qué les están acusando, qué exactamente está en los casos”, dijo Boanerges Fornos, abogado nicaragüense que representaba a algunos de los políticos detenidos antes de huir del país en junio. “Hay una destrucción sistemática del aparato de información no oficial. Al régimen le gusta operar en la oscuridad”.Luego de desmantelar a los partidos de oposición y encarcelar a sus candidatos, el gobierno dirigió sus ataques a otros con puntos de vista independientes: el clero, los periodistas, abogados e incluso los médicos. En las últimas semanas, el gobierno ha dicho que los obispos católicos de Nicaragua son “hijos del demonio”, amenazaron a los médicos que dieron la alarma sobre una nueva ola de COVID-19 y tomaron las instalaciones del mayor diario del país, La Prensa.La incertidumbre detrás de los arrestos aparentemente arbitrarios ha hecho que la situación sea más difícil de soportar para los familiares de las víctimas.Verónica Chávez, periodista y esposa del candidato detenido Miguel Mora, en su casa de Managua.Inti Ocón para The New York Times“Ya tienen listo su tablero de ajedrez y uno solo es un peón”, dijo Uriel Quintanilla, un músico nicaragüense cuyo hermano, Alex Hernández, es un activista de oposición que fue detenido recientemente.Desde entonces, dijo Quintanilla, no ha tenido noticias de su hermano ni de los cargos que se le imputan.“El jaque mate en tu contra ya está planeado, nada más no sabes cuándo te va a llegar”.Alex Villegas colaboró con este reportaje desde San José, Costa Rica.Anatoly Kurmanaev es un corresponsal con sede en Ciudad de México desde donde cubre México, Centroamérica y el Caribe. Antes de integrarse a la corresponsalía de México en 2021, pasó ocho años reportando desde Caracas sobre Venezuela y la región vecina. @akurmanaev More

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      ‘Everyone Is on the List’: Fear Grips Nicaragua as It Veers to Dictatorship

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      A crackdown on opposition by President Daniel Ortega leaves Nicaraguans to wonder: Who is next?MANAGUA, Nicaragua — The nights were the hardest.From the moment Medardo Mairena decided to run for president, in direct challenge to Nicaragua’s authoritarian leader, he was certain the security apparatus would eventually come for him.Over the summer, he watched as other opposition leaders disappeared. One by one, they were dragged from their homes amid a nationwide crackdown on dissent by the president, Daniel Ortega, whose quest to secure a fourth term had plunged the Central American nation into a state of pervasive fear.Since June, the police have jailed or put under house arrest seven candidates for November’s presidential election and dozens of political activists and civil society leaders, leaving Mr. Ortega running on a ballot devoid of any credible challenger and turning Nicaragua into a police state.Mr. Mairena himself was banned from leaving Managua. Police patrols outside his house had scared away nearly all visitors, even his family.During the day, Mr. Mairena kept busy, campaigning over Zoom and scanning official radio announcements for clues to the growing repression. But at night he lay awake, listening for sirens, certain that sooner or later the police would come and he would disappear into a prison cell.“The first thing I ask myself in the morning is, when are they coming for me?” Mr. Mairena, a farmers’ rights activist, said in a telephone interview in late June. “It’s a life in constant dread.”His turn came just days after the call. Heavily armed officers raided his home and took him away late on July 5.He had not been heard from until last Wednesday, when relatives were allowed one brief visit. They said they found him emaciated and sick, completely disconnected from the outside world.Relatives of arrested presidential candidates visiting the jail in Managua where they were being held earlier this summer.Inti Ocón for The New York TimesGovernment critics say the unpredictability and speed of the wave of arrests have turned Nicaragua into a more repressive state than it was during the early years of the dictatorship of Anastasio Somoza, who was overthrown in 1979 by the Sandinista Revolutionary Movement led by Mr. Ortega and several other commanders. The Sandinistas governed the country until losing democratic elections and ceding power in 1990. In 2007, Mr. Ortega returned as president.After 14 years in power, unpopular and increasingly isolated from Nicaraguan society in his gated compound, Mr. Ortega appears intent on avoiding any real electoral competition. The five presidential candidates still on the ballot with him are little-known politicians with a history of collaboration with the government. Few in Nicaragua consider them genuine challenges to Mr. Ortega.The crackdown, which has extended to critics from any social realm, has spared no political dissidents, no matter their personal circumstances or historical ties to Mr. Ortega.The victims of persecution have included a millionaire banker and a Marxist guerrilla, a decorated general and a little-known provincial activist, student leaders and septuagenarian intellectuals. No government detractors feel safe from the sudden night raids, whose only certainty has been their constancy, more than 30 Nicaraguans affected by the crackdown said in interviews.“Everyone is on the list,” said one Nicaraguan businessman, whose family home was raided by the police and who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal. “You’re just trying to figure out how high or low your name is on it, based on the latest arrest.”The wave of repression and fears of political violence have pushed thousands of Nicaraguans to flee the country in recent months, threatening to worsen a mass migration crisis at a time when the Biden administration is already struggling with record numbers of immigrants trying to cross the southern border.The number of Nicaraguans encountered by U.S. border guards has exploded since the crackdown, with a total of almost 21,000 crossing in June and July, compared with fewer than 300 in the same months last year, according to the Department of Homeland Security. About 10,000 more Nicaraguans have crossed south into neighboring Costa Rica in the same months, according to the country’s migration agency.A church in Masaya, where journalists and civilians were attacked by members of the governing party in July.Inti Ocón for The New York TimesThe exodus has included the rich as well as the poor and is driven as much by fears of escalating violence as by concerns over a looming economic crisis in a country heading steadily toward international isolation.Dozens of prominent Nicaraguan businessmen have quietly left for Miami in recent months, halting their investments in the country, according to interviews with several entrepreneurs who did not want to be quoted for fear of reprisals. And most international development banks, whose loans have propped up the Nicaraguan economy in recent years, are expected to stop disbursing new funds following the elections, which the United States has said it is unlikely to recognize in their current form.Some Nicaraguans have left out of fear of a return of the street violence that traumatized the country in 2018, when pro-government paramilitaries and police forces broke up opposition protests, killing more than 300.“I’m scared that another massacre is coming,” said Jeaneth Herrera, who sells traditional cornbread on the streets of Managua. Her sales have fallen sharply in recent months, she said, as political uncertainty has pushed up food prices. “I don’t see a future here.”The detained men and women, some of them top former Sandinistas, have been charged with crimes ranging from conspiracy to money laundering and murder, accusations their families and associates say are trumped up. Most spent weeks, or months, in jail before any communication with relatives or lawyers.Several of those arrested are in their 70s and have health problems. They were put in the same jail as other prisoners, relatives said, and denied access to independent doctors or to medicines delivered by relatives.A retired Sandinista general, Hugo Torres, was arrested despite having staged a raid that helped Mr. Ortega break out of Mr. Somoza’s jail in the 1970s, potentially saving his life. The former Sandinista minister Víctor Hugo Tinoco was detained and his house ransacked for hours by the police in front of his daughter, Cristian Tinoco, who has terminal cancer.Cristian Tinoco, the daughter of Hugo Tinoco, a former vice foreign minister,  in his room after a police raid in June. Inti Ocón for The New York TimesThe police also smashed into the presidential candidate Miguel Mora’s home at night and dragged him out in the presence of his son Miguel, who has cerebral palsy, said Mr. Mora’s wife, Verónica Chávez.“He kept repeating that night, ‘Where is Papa?’” Ms. Chávez said. “It felt like living in a horror movie.”The cases against the political prisoners are being heard in closed courts without the presence of legal counsel. This has left their relatives and the public in the dark about the evidence presented, adding to the climate of fear.Those who tried documenting the legal process — relatives, lawyers, journalists — say they were threatened or faced with similar accusations, and in some cases forced to flee the country or go into hiding. A lawyer for one of the jailed candidates was himself arrested late last month for being a member of an opposition party.“Absolutely no one has any idea what they are accused of, or what’s in their cases,” said Boanerges Fornos, a Nicaraguan lawyer who represented some of the detained politicians before fleeing the country in June. “There’s a systematic destruction of all nonofficial sources of information. The regime likes to operate in the dark.”After dismantling opposition parties and jailing their candidates, the government shifted its attacks to others with independent views: the clergy, journalists, lawyers, even doctors. In the past few weeks, the government has called Nicaragua’s Catholic bishops “children of demons,” threatened the medics who raised alarm about a new Covid-19 wave and taken over the installations of the country’s biggest newspaper, La Prensa.The uncertainty behind the seemingly arbitrary arrests has made the situation harder to bear for the victims’ families.Verónica Chávez, a journalist and the wife of the detained candidate Miguel Mora, at her home in Managua.Inti Ocón for The New York Times“They have their chess board already set up, and you’re just a pawn on it,” said Uriel Quintanilla, a Nicaraguan musician whose brother Alex Hernández, an opposition activist, was recently detained.Since then, Mr. Quintanilla said, he has not heard news of his brother or the charges against him.“The check and mate against you have already been planned out,” he said. “We merely don’t know at what moment it will come.”Alex Villegas contributed reporting from San José, Costa Rica. More

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      Pulling Levers in Exile, Belarus Opposition Leader Works to Keep Her Influence Alive

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      As a crackdown widens in her country, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya is trying to build a broad phalanx of Western opposition to a dictatorship that she says is on its “last breaths.”VILNIUS, Lithuania — She has met Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, and President Emmanuel Macron of France. Just this week, she was feted in Washington, where she was received by Secretary of State Antony Blinken.But while Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, the unlikely pro-democracy leader from Belarus, may have little trouble getting a meeting, her high-flying company only underscores her predicament.It’s been almost a year since Ms. Tikhanovskaya was forced to flee Belarus after claiming victory in presidential elections. Now the challenge she faces is how to maintain influence in Belarus from abroad. The support of Western leaders may help, but goes only so far.Still, the meetings are part Ms. Tikhanovskaya’s strategy to build a broad Western phalanx against the Belarus dictator, Alexander Lukashenko, who has limited her ability to challenge him inside the country, where her return would mean certain imprisonment.Only months ago, hundreds of thousands of protesters took to the streets to demand that Mr. Lukashenko resign. It was a rare democratic outburst in an eastern European country — outside the European Union and NATO — that has carefully tried to maneuver between Russia and the West, but has turned to Moscow as a primary source of support.But now opposition figures are disappearing into prisons, and protests are dwindling.“Now it’s impossible to fight openly,” Ms. Tikhanovskaya said. “It’s difficult to ask people to go out for demonstrations because of a sense of fear. They see the brutality of the regime, that the most outstanding leaders and prominent figures are in jail. It’s really scary.”An opposition rally protesting the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus, in October, 2020.Associated PressUnable to encourage protests inside Belarus, and with Moscow supporting Mr. Lukashenko, Ms. Tikhanovskaya is using the primary tool available to her in exile: Western support.This week, she had meetings at the State Department, the White House, the Senate and attended the launch of the Friends of Belarus Caucus in the House of Representatives.“I asked the U.S. to be the guarantors of our independence,” she told the Voice of America on Tuesday after meeting with Jake Sullivan, the national security adviser.In a series of meetings, she sought more comprehensive sanctions on Belarus’s elites and businesses, to show them that it was “becoming more costly for them to support Lukashenko.”Though there were statements of support and admiration from members of Congress and the Washington elite, no new measures were announced.She and her team also sought to postpone a nearly $1 billion planned disbursement by the International Monetary Fund to Belarus, but have so far been unable to convince the institution to cancel the payment.Ms. Tikhanovskaya’s trip will continue in New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles, underscoring the value of Western support — and its limits.Her task, she said in an interview in Vilnius, Lithuania, where she and her team have made their base, was to convince her international supporters that change can come to Belarus with their assistance.“We can’t postpone this aim because we postpone freedom of our prisoners and we have to convince other countries in this as well,” she said before leaving for the United States.Supporters of Ms. Tikhanovskaya rallied in June in Warsaw, Poland, where they held up posters of prominent opposition bloggers who are in detention.Omar Marques/Getty Images“And with these detentions, with this violence, they show that they don’t have other methods of persuading people that they are strong, except violence,” she said. “It can’t last long, really. This is like the last breaths before death, because you can’t tighten the screws endlessly.”Some who support Ms. Tikhanovskaya’s movement worry about how it can remain relevant inside Belarus with its leader abroad.“When you are abroad in a safe situation, then all your calls to action will be very skeptically accepted in Belarus,” said Pavel Slunkin, a visiting fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations and a former Belarusian diplomat.Ms. Tikhanovskaya was clear that local actors make the decisions, and that when she sought funding, it was for supporters in Belarus. “When they are ready, it’s they who decide, not us,” she said.Mr. Slunkin acknowledged that Ms. Tikhanovskaya has been a tireless and effective advocate for her country internationally. Even so, the repression in Belarus is widening.This month, the Belarus Supreme Court sentenced Viktor Babariko, a former bank chief who was barred from running for president in elections last August, to 14 years in prison for bribery and money laundering in a verdict widely seen as politically motivated.On July 14, Belarusian law enforcement officers conducted what Amnesty International called an “unprecedented wave of searches and detentions,” raiding the offices of at least a dozen civil society and human rights organizations and opposition groups.In the past year, more than 35,000 people have been detained, according to the United Nations. Tens of thousands of Belarusians have fled abroad. The list of political prisoners kept by the human rights organization Viasna, itself raided recently, includes 577 individuals.In May, a European plane traveling through Belarus’ airspace was forced to land in Minsk, where Roman Protasevich, a prominent Belarusian dissident aboard, was seized.Belarus riot police detaining a demonstrator during an opposition rally in Minsk, Belarus, in 2020.Associated PressThe environment was “very dangerous,” Ms. Tikhanovskaya acknowledged, but she insisted she and her supporters could still be effective.“God bless the internet,” she said. “I am in constant dialogue with people who are on the ground. I don’t feel like I am in exile.”There are complications as she tries to coordinate the opposition from Lithuania, which borders Belarus and where she and her team were give special diplomatic status in early July.“The more time you spend abroad, the more time you are detached from the public you represent,” Artyom Shraibman, founder of Sense Analytics and a nonresident fellow at the Carnegie Moscow Center, said by phone from his self-imposed exile from Belarus in Ukraine.“If we are honest, spending a year outside of the country where the society is changing and you have not been observing it — you are only communicating with the part of society that is as engaged as you are.”Many experts, like Mr. Slunkin, believe the key way to resolve the crisis is to increase the price of Russian support for Belarus. Ms. Tikhanovskaya has been careful not to criticize Moscow openly, but neither have they succeeded in reaching out to Russian officials.“She is being perceived by many as being pro-Western, and unacceptable to Moscow, which is true,” Mr. Shraibman said. “And this is not her choice.”President Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus with his primary backer, President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, in May.Pool photo by Sergei IlyinWith everything she does, Ms. Tikhanovskaya said, she is mindful of how her actions can affect people behind bars in Belarus, including her husband, Sergei Tikhanovsky, who ran a popular YouTube channel before announcing his own candidacy for president.He, like Mr. Babariko, and a prominent opposition politician, Valery Tsepkalo, was barred from running and jailed ahead of the ballot. Ms. Tikhanovskaya collected signatures for her candidacy and ran in the place of her husband.In detention since May 2020, he is currently on trial, accused of organizing riots and “inciting social hatred.”“I’m always keeping in mind that my husband is a hostage, the same as thousands of people,” Ms. Tikhanovskaya said.But she was adamant that she wants to keep the promise she campaigned on last August: new elections in which she is not necessarily on the ballot.“I’m the same woman, already with experience, already with more braveness than I had before. But look, I’m not I’m not making my career here. After elections, I will step away from all this with ease.” More

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      Nicholas Kristof, Times Columnist, Weighs Bid for Oregon Governor

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      Nicholas Kristof, the award-winning columnist for The New York Times, is considering running in the Democratic primary race for governor of Oregon.Mr. Kristof, who grew up on a farm in Yamhill, about 25 miles west of Portland, said in a statement that friends were trying to recruit him into the race to replace Gov. Kate Brown, a Democrat who is prevented from running for re-election by term limits. Last month, he decided to take a leave from The Times to consider the possibility of a political campaign.Any bid for governor would most likely be difficult for an outsider, even one with local roots and a national media platform. At least six candidates are considering entering the race, including the state treasurer, the speaker of the state’s House of Representatives, the state attorney general and a top union leader. News of Mr. Kristof’s potential candidacy was earlier reported by The Willamette Week.Mr. Kristof, 62, is known for his coverage of human rights abuses and women’s rights, winning Pulitzer Prizes for his reporting on the Tiananmen Square protests in China and on genocide in Darfur.Last year, he published a book, “Tightrope: Americans Reaching for Hope,” with his wife, Sheryl WuDunn, that explored stories of poverty, addiction and inequality through the stories of several of his childhood schoolmates.He became more involved in managing his family farm two years ago, when he returned to the state with Ms. WuDunn, to transition its business from growing cherries to cider apples and wine grapes.“Although Nick has not made up his mind about whether to pursue a political candidacy, we agreed he’d go on leave from The Times, in accordance with Times standards, after he brought this possibility to our attention last month,” said Danielle Rhoades Ha, a spokeswoman for the newspaper.Mr. Kristof, a Democrat, said in his statement that he was interested in hearing what Oregonians thought about his possible bid.“I have friends trying to convince me that here in Oregon, we need new leadership from outside the broken political system,” he said. “All I know for sure is that we need someone with leadership and vision so that folks from all over the state can come together to get us back on track.” More