Public employees, students, and Sandinistas tell how they are forced to attend constitutional reform consultations in Nicaragua. “It’s been hard to fill those streets,” they say.
HAVANA TIMES – The regime of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo has flooded its media outlets with dozens of photos and videos of events billed as “consultations” on reforms to Nicaragua’s Constitution. Among other changes, the reforms extend the ruling couple’s term in office from six to seven years and eliminate political participation by the opposition.
The events, held so far in more than 50 municipalities, are part of an initiative called “Hay Patria” (“We Have a Homeland”), which involves a second round of consultations ahead of the constitutional reforms’ final approval, scheduled for January 2027 during the next legislative session.
According to the regime’s propaganda apparatus, the events, which are expected to take place in at least 90 municipalities, bring together young people, entrepreneurs, farmers, athletes, religious groups, transportation workers, and representatives of other sectors. “A consultation that demonstrates, reaffirms, and strengthens our democracy, a consultation where we all express our opinions, speak out, and affirm the will of our people,” Murillo declared during one of her daily monologues.
CONFIDENCIAL spoke with public employees, students, and other Nicaraguans who were forced to attend several of these events in municipalities across the country. All say that, just like the first round of consultations, the process is a “sham.”
Joel: “It’s a circus where we’re treated like puppets”
“It’s all one big lie,” says Joel, a public employee in a municipality in northern Nicaragua. “This whole sham of a supposed consultation is a circus. They bring us there like puppets, just to applaud and fill up the venue,” he says.
“They bring us in to create the appearance of debate and consultation, but the reality is that these are events where the speakers are carefully selected and simply repeat rehearsed speeches,” he explains.
Between two and four public events are held in each of Nicaragua’s departments, bringing together participants from several municipalities. The costs are covered by various municipal governments, including transportation to the event venues.
“They print enormous banners promoting these supposed consultations. They spend money on buses, food, sound systems, and stages. On top of that, they must transport the lawmakers coming from Managua, the pro-government journalists, and an entire propaganda team,” Joel explains.
Javier: “It’s been hard to fill those streets”
For Javier, an employee of the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) in a municipality in southeastern Nicaragua, organizing the events has been an enormous challenge. “We were told we had to round up at least 3,000 people and position them along a strategically chosen street so it would look completely packed,” he explains.
“We’ve had a really hard time filling those streets because people don’t want to go. People are tired of pretending their opinions matter when all they’re expected to do is show up and say, ‘Yes, sir,’” he says.
Javier explains that, as a party employee, he was involved in selecting the people who would speak at an event bringing together participants from three municipalities. The speakers, drawn from various sectors, were chosen because of their loyalty to the party and their “commitment” to the dictatorship’s narrative.
“We discussed who we thought should be allowed to speak, and those people were told what to say. We talked it through with them, and there was very little room for improvisation,” he says.
Karla: “The consultations are a pointless lie”
The event Karla attended in a municipality in southern Nicaragua seemed to go on “forever.” “They kept us there for hours, until nightfall. It’s sad that they force us to take part in a consultation that’s a complete sham. Nobody debates anything. People just show up, raise their hands, and applaud,” says the young high school student.
Karla says she was forced to attend under threat of losing the graduation bonus she is due to receive. “It was one of the consultations with the most young people. Apparently, they couldn’t fill the three blocks they wanted to, so they brought us in to make up the numbers,” she explains.
Karla is about to graduate from high school and hopes to pursue a degree at a public university. She knows the political indoctrination and pressure to participate in party events will not end there. “I think these consultations are a pointless lie because they approve whatever they want anyway. They’re a dictatorship,” she says.
“If they think they’re fooling anyone with this staged spectacle, they’re very wrong,” she adds.
Martin: “It’s an unnecessary expense, but there’s plenty of that these days”
“Public employees were selected to attend the events, although the people who actually spoke were chosen by the party. We just had to be there,” reveals Martin, an employee of the Nicaraguan Social Security Institute (INSS) in a municipality in western Nicaragua.
They were instructed to wear either party T-shirts or civilian clothes, but not government uniforms. “But we all know that most of the people at these events were brought in under pressure and forced to attend, especially public employees,” he insists.
Martin said the second round of consultations on the constitutional reforms is “just another of the regime’s big lies,” because “everyone already knows the reforms will be approved in January 2027, without any opposition.”
“These consultations are completely pointless—they won’t change a single comma of the reforms—and they’re an unnecessary expense; a significant amount of money is spent on this whole charade. But that’s all too common in Nicaragua these days: events that serve no purpose other than to be featured in Sandinista media outlets—which, incidentally, nobody watches,” he asserts.
Petrona: ““Even though I’m not paid by the government, I was forced to attend”
Petrona is a merchant from a municipality she prefers not to identify for fear of reprisals. Although she says she was once a Sandinista supporter, she now devotes her energy to running her business. “But they [party members] come around every so often to invite me to their events, and it was the same with these consultations,” she explains.
She says they do not threaten her directly, but she knows it is better “not to provoke the wrath of those demons.” That is why she prefers to attend party events whenever she can. “Even though I’m not on their payroll or a public employee, I was forced to attend these consultations where nobody actually asked us anything. But I showed up,” she says.
According to Petrona, the “peace of mind” she gains by participating in party activities comes from knowing that “they’ll leave me alone, at least for now.” “The reality is that, as the saying goes, most of us just play along with them. The party workers know it, too, but all they care about is seeing people show up because they’ve been told to,” she explains.
Celeste: “The consultations and reforms only reveal their fear”
Celeste, has worked for the government for more than 15 years. She describes the consultation process as “a performance designed to deceive other countries,” because none of those attending has the right to speak unless called upon. “They’ve started pretending to hold consultations with the people, but here we know that the only people who call the shots are Rosario Murillo and Daniel Ortega,” she says.
“These so-called public consultations are nothing more than party events where people express gratitude for the supposed peace and good governance. And the constitutional reform, above all, only shows how terrified they are of holding real elections,” she argues.
According to Celeste, all the reforms are “unnecessary” because “they’ve stayed in power by force, and they could keep doing so with or without the reforms.”
“At these events, you hear people telling lies and praising themselves, but nobody can speak up and tell them they’re treating us like idiots,” she explains.