Status: 03/18/2023 06:48 a.m
The former freedom fighter Ortega has become a brutal dictator in Nicaragua. But his wife Murillo is the power behind the power, observers say. What drives this couple?
The vice president and wife of Daniel Ortega, the president of Nicaragua, addresses the population every day in the state medium “Canal 4”. She is switched on over the telephone. Rosario Murillo then monologues about love, her beliefs, religion and social programs.
As a young woman, she still read her own poems against the dictatorship under Anastasio Somoza Debayle in church. But she has developed from an extreme leftist to a conservative, anti-feminist woman, says Nicaraguan-born “El País” journalist Carlos Salinas Maldonado.
He wrote a book about her: “Yo soy la mujer del comandante” – in English “I am the Comandante’s wife”. The book is a literary biography based on the evaluation of documents, writings and poems by the President’s wife.
A family dictatorship
Murillo is full of ambition, Maldonado said. 1998 was a turning point for her. When her daughter from her first marriage accused her stepfather Ortega of raping her for years as a teenager, Murillo backed her husband. Your ascent begins.
She becomes Daniel Ortega’s right-hand man. He is still the strong man, but she makes the day-to-day decisions, according to journalist Maldonado. They shared power in a special way. It’s a family dictatorship.
Murillo appears in public with chains and jewellery, garish, brightly colored clothes and lips that are always painted deep red. She is often described as spiritual, religious, fanatical, as a “bruja” – witch.
Nicaragua’s vice president and first lady is often described as a spiritual and fanatical – or even a “bruja” – witch.
Image: EPA
With trees against bad energies
“She believes that there are negative energies in the earth that could harm her. That’s why she had metal trees of life set up in Managua,” says Maldonado. There are 150 in total. Each one cost around 20,000 US dollars.
In a poor country like Nicaragua, these are obscene expenses. But according to her belief, the trees would protect the family against these negative energies. At night, the trees of life light up Managua, one of the region’s poorest capitals, like Disneyland.
The string puller
For many observers, Murillo has long been the real power puller in Nicaragua. “Vamos con todo” – we give everything – with these words she ordered the bloody crackdown on the student protests in 2018. More than 350 people lost their lives.
Since then, the regime has acted even more brutally against the ever-growing resistance. In a report that has just been published, experts from the UN Human Rights Council accuse the regime of murder, arbitrary detention, torture, sexualised violence and crimes against humanity.
The recent release of the 222 political prisoners was also an idea of his wife Murillo, as Ortega himself said. The members of the opposition and government critics were flown to the USA, their citizenship was revoked and their entire assets confiscated. Also among them is former Sandinista guerrilla fighter Dora María Téllez, who fought alongside Daniel Ortega against the Somoza dictatorship.
“War in the head”
“Ortega and Murillo have the war on their minds. They are fighting a war where everything is at stake, any means are right,” Tellez told the Argentine online medium Infobae. She wants to fight with civilian means, which should lead to free and fair elections. Nicaraguans should be able to choose which government they want.
Murillo and Ortega take repressive action against anyone who criticizes them. Oppositionists, church representatives, journalists, NGOs, intellectuals. There is a climate of fear. Foreign journalists are no longer allowed into the country. Maintaining contacts in Nicaragua is difficult. Hardly anyone dares to speak out on the phone anymore.
The journalist Carlos Salinas Maldonado also lives in exile in Mexico. He was forced to leave Nicaragua – the pressure had become too great. He says he received threats because of his critical reporting.
Also church in the line of fire
After hundreds of other non-governmental organizations had their legal basis withdrawn in recent months, the Catholic Caritas is now forced to stop its work. The church in particular was once considered an important critical voice, until it also came under fire. Even Easter processions are now banned – as are all gatherings and protests in general.
Bishop Rolando Alvarez was recently sentenced to 26 years. The accusation: disobedience and undermining national integrity. He had refused to leave Nicaragua. Pope Francis, who had held back for a long time, now reacted, although he avoided mentioning Ortega’s name.
All he can say is that the person running the country is out of whack. He compared Nicaragua to “the communist dictatorship of 1917 or the Hitler dictatorship of 1935”. The regime’s reaction was not long in coming. Now Nicaragua has apparently severed diplomatic relations with the Holy See, according to the State Department.
Ortega will do everything to secure power, according to “El País” journalist Maldonado. He also uses his eight children for this purpose. They work as government advisors, hold important positions and run the country’s media companies. And in a speech, Ortega announced that he wanted to install his wife Murillo as co-president.