"He really sees not just that the opposition itself is very weak…but, frankly, that the international community is in disarray," said AS/COA's Eric Farnsworth to NPR.
Democracy & Elections
Ortega has been dismantling democracy for more than a decade. He is emboldened by impunity.
Despite threats against its very existence, the electoral authority successfully oversaw the biggest elections in the country's history, writes AS/COA's Carin Zissis for World Politics Review.
President Jovenel Moïse’s constitutional referendum stalled, but he’s found other ways to consolidate political power amid calls for his resignation.
"They are testing the limits of how far they can push," said AS/COA's Eric Farnsworth to The Wall Street Journal.
“You may have to start thinking about a radically different looking Latin America,” said AS/COA's Brian Winter to Bloomberg.
With nearly all votes counted, the first-time presidential candidate is ahead of rival Keiko Fujimori by less than half a percentage point.