The democratic transition that we Nicaraguans began in 1990, and the peace process that went with it, rested on an essential pillar: the elections in February of that year. Respect for the popular will freely expressed at the ballot box allowed us, for the first time in our history, to start a period of rights and freedoms and the rule of the law. This new reality created a favourable environment for overcoming economic chaos and restoring the country's economy.
We then had three consecutive elections which met basic international standards, we devised an incipient institutional framework, and we promoted economic growth. This notwithstanding, social inequalities persisted, and so did the lack of opportunities for the majority of the population, a lacerating shortfall that any alternative for change should strive to resolve.
The corruption of the democratic structure that was arduously being built started with the pact between Arnoldo Alemán and Daniel Ortega and, from 2007 onwards, began to be undone with the deliberate intention of imposing a new regime characterized by the concentration of power, the demolishing of the Constitution and the rule of law, the arbitrary manipulation of the branches of government, corruption, political exclusion, electoral fraud, impunity, disrespect for human rights and eagerness to stay in power. In short, a condensation of all the vices we have endured throughout our history – the very same vices which are the roots of past conflicts and of our current economic and social backwardness.
