Wall Street eyes the midterm election map
Libby Cantrill, Pimco’s head of public policy, examined how the approaching midterm elections could influence financial markets, U.S. tax policy and the broader economy. She noted that Democrats may have a path to retaking control of the House, while a Senate shift appears less likely — a split that could shape expectations for future legislation and market stability.
Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega said the country will no longer hold elections, a move that would further shut down any remaining route for opposition groups seeking to challenge the government he runs alongside his wife, Vice President Rosario Murillo.
Ortega, Nicaragua’s longest-serving leader, has governed continuously since 2007 after previously holding power during the 1980s. His current presidential term is set to continue until 2027.
“There won’t be any more elections here for them to try to seize the government and seize power,” Ortega said.
He made the statement Sunday in a speech marking the anniversary of the 1979 Sandinista revolution, the uprising in which Ortega took part that toppled the U.S.-backed dictatorship of Anastasio Somoza.
Nicaragua’s President Daniel Ortega said authorities in the Central American nation will no longer stage elections. (REUTERS/Leonardo Fernandez Viloria)
The announcement appeared to close off the prospect of a future electoral contest, as Ortega and Murillo continue to tighten their grip on Nicaragua’s political system and state institutions.
“The days when parties backed by the Yankees (United States) and the Somocistas would return to power are over — never again,” Ortega declared.
INC News 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.
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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.
