Wall Street eyes the midterm election map
As midterms approach, the economic landscape could see significant shifts, suggests Libby Cantrill, Head of Public Policy at Pimco. She highlights the potential impact these elections might have on markets and tax policy. Cantrill notes that while Democrats might seize control of the House, the Senate sway remains uncertain, influencing future legislative clarity.
In a decisive move, Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega announced that the country would cease holding elections, effectively eliminating any avenues for opposition parties to contest his and his co-governing wife, Rosario Murillo’s, rule.
Ortega, Nicaragua’s longest-serving leader, initially came to power in the 1980s and has held office since 2007. His current term is set to end in 2027.
“There will be no more elections for them to attempt to take over the government and seize control,” declared Ortega.
Ortega’s statement came on Sunday during a speech marking the anniversary of the 1979 Sandinista revolution, a historic event in which he played a pivotal role in toppling the U.S.-backed dictatorship of Anastasio Somoza.
Nicaragua’s President Daniel Ortega said officials in the Central American country will no longer hold elections. (REUTERS/Leonardo Fernandez Viloria)
The declaration appeared to eliminate the possibility of a future electoral challenge as Ortega and Murillo continue consolidating control over the country’s political institutions.
“The days when parties backed by the Yankees (United States) and the Somocistas would return to power are over — never again,” Ortega declared.
News Media has reached out to the U.S. State Department for comment.
The Trump administration has described the Ortega-Murillo government as a dictatorship and imposed sanctions on members of the government and their allies. The State Department has also enacted visa restrictions targeting more than 2,350 Nicaraguan officials and their family members.
“The United States stands with the Nicaraguan people who, like Rivera, aspire to see a free Nicaragua,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in June.
The Trump administration has described the Ortega government as a dictatorship. (Carlos Becerra/Bloomberg)
The Biden administration previously said Ortega illegitimately awarded himself another term following Nicaragua’s disputed 2021 presidential election.
Authorities arrested presidential candidates, opposition figures, business leaders and journalists ahead of that vote as the government intensified its criminalization of dissent.
Ortega and Murillo further expanded their authority through sweeping constitutional changes that took effect in 2025. The reforms extended the presidential term from five years to six and elevated Murillo from vice president to “co-president.”
The changes also placed Nicaragua’s legislative, judicial and electoral institutions under the authority of the presidency, according to United Nations experts.
Ortega and Murillo now exercise control over nearly every branch of the government, including the armed forces, police and judiciary.
Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega and his wife, Rosario Murillo, have control over nearly every aspect of the country’s government. (INTI OCON/AFP)
Ortega had already effectively eliminated meaningful electoral competition during elections in 2011, 2016 and 2021, Salvador Marenco, coordinator of the Costa Rica-based Nicaragua Nunca Más Human Rights Collective, told Reuters.
Many prominent opposition leaders have been imprisoned, forced into exile or stripped of their Nicaraguan citizenship, while opposition parties and independent civic organizations have lost their legal status.
A United Nations group of experts has accused the Ortega-Murillo government of systematically violating human rights as part of a campaign to eliminate criticism and preserve its hold on power. The experts said some alleged violations may amount to crimes against humanity.
The government launched a violent crackdown on anti-government protests in 2018. More than 300 people were killed during the unrest, according to international human rights groups.