Protests against Daniel Ortega

Protests against Daniel Ortega
Part of Protests against democratic backsliding
List Protesters gathered on 10 December 2014 denouncing the Nicaraguan Canal. Campesinos gathered in El Tule on 23 December 2014. A woman holding a Nicaraguan national flag near a burning barricade on 20 April 2018.
Date	24 December 2014 – 31 December 2021 (7 years and 1 week)
Location	Nicaragua
Caused by	Democratic deficit, political repression, social security, environmental protection, Nicaragua Canal proposal
Goals	Democratic elections and end of political violence Acceptable pensions and stop of the Nicaragua Canal
Result	Reduced pension for small contributors Cancellation of social reforms Nicaragua Canal construction has not started
Parties
Opposition Independent Liberal Party Sandinista Renovation Movement Civil society Students Campesinos Private sector Superior Council for Private Enterprise (since April 2018) Government of Nicaragua National Police Sandinista National Liberation Front Sandinista Youth
Lead figures
Ana Margarita Vijil José Adán Aguerri Fabio Gadea Mantilla Maximino Rodríguez Martínez Walter Espinoza Suyén Barahona Juan Sebastián Chamorro Cristiana Chamorro Barrios Tamara Dávila Octavio Ortega Lesther Alemán Daniel Ortega Rosario Murillo
Number
Hundreds of thousands
Casualties
Deaths	2 (2014) · 325–568 (2018)
Injuries	20+ (2014) · 433 (2018)
Arrested	47 (2014)  · 200+ (2018)

Protests against Daniel Ortega, Co-president of Nicaragua, began in 2014, when the construction of the Nicaragua Canal was about to begin, and several hundred protesters blocked roads and clashed with police during the groundbreaking of the canal. Tens of thousands of Nicaraguans began to protest against Ortega for what they believe to be a corrupt electoral system.

The protests were renewed in April 2018 following the Ortega administration's decree of the Nicaraguan Social Security Institute's social security reform increasing taxes and decreasing benefits. Police and the paramilitary groups attacked and killed unarmed protesters, which made people to stand-up. After five days of deadly unrest, Ortega announced the cancellation of the reforms. Since then, Ortega faced the largest protests in his government's history, with the protest movement spreading to denounce Ortega in general and demanding his resignation. Related protests continue to the present day.

In regard to changes regarding protests: Assembly rights since 2018 have been limited and restricted. However, it was not until 2021 that an actual law was passed that fully limited the right to assembly. In September 2021, the Supreme Electoral Council, which was filled with members of the FSLN political party, “prohibited in-person rallies of more than 200 attendees for campaigning purposes.” The Council argued that they created this law due to the fear of COVID-19 spreading. Thus, during the 2021 elections, a very limited number of protests occurred due to this law. As a result, many who protested the elections were Nicaraguans outside of the country.