The dictatorship of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo continues to exploit public sector workers in Nicaragua, threatening them with dismissal if they don’t comply with their orders. On this occasion, employees from municipalities and various state institutions in Nicaragua were compelled to vote in a survey promoted by the pro-government Russian news outlet, Sputnik Mundo.
The Sputnik Mundo survey invites participants to “vote for the most influential Latin American leader in the region over the past 12 months” of 2023.
Among the candidates listed by the state-run Russian news agency are: Andrés Manuel López Obrador, President of Mexico; Daniel Ortega, Dictator of Nicaragua; Gabriel Boric, President of Chile; Gustavo Petro, President of Colombia; and Javier Milei, the new President of Argentina.
Also, Luis Arce, President of Bolivia; Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, President of Brazil; Nayib Bukele, President of El Salvador; Nicolás Maduro, dictator of Venezuela; and Xiomara Castro, President of Honduras.
“Forced votes keep Ortega in the lead.”
The Nicaraguan dictator, Daniel Ortega, according to the results maintained by the official Sputnik Mundo website as of December 14th, leads with 74.3 percent of the votes, positioning himself so far as the “most influential Latin American leader in the region” of 2023, thanks to votes obtained through coercion with public workers in Nicaragua.
The official outlet Sputnik Mundo has reportedly gathered 31,265 votes, of which the dictator Ortega has secured 23,230, representing 74.3 percent and placing him at the forefront of the survey thus far.
According to the results provided by Sputnik Mundo, dictator Ortega is followed in the survey by Xiomara Castro, President of Honduras, who attained 10 percent of the votes; and by Andrés Manuel López Obrador, President of Mexico, with 5.9 percent.
Ordered to “support el Comandante”
Workers from municipal offices and government institutions in Nicaragua, in an interview with LA PRENSA, confirmed that earlier this week, they received messages from their immediate supervisors via WhatsApp groups from the Electoral Victory Units of the Municipalities. These messages instructed them to access the link provided by the official news outlet Sputnik Mundo to “support the commander.”
“Even if they don’t explicitly say that not doing it could get you fired, you know it’s a looming threat. Besides, they ask you to send a screenshot of your vote, and if it were voluntary, they clearly wouldn’t ask for that,” expressed a worker from a Nicaraguan municipality, all administered by the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN).
“Furthermore, he revealed that he has relatives working in public institutions who also received the survey with the same message: ‘support el Comandante’ and to send ‘proof’ of their support to the party, meaning a screenshot demonstrating that they voted.”
Journalist Miguel Mendoza, through social media, shared similar complaints that were brought to his attention. “The directive is causing ‘Zekeda’ (the dictator Daniel Ortega) to be ahead in that survey against Bukele, López Obrador, etc.,” mentioned Mendoza, a former political prisoner who was exiled by the Ortega regime last February.