Nicaragua violence kills baby as 7 more die in clashes

Gregorio Marrero | LatinContent | Getty Images

Nicolas Maduro, Vice President of Venezuela and Daniel Ortega -President of Nicaragua- on January 10, 2013 in Caracas, Venzuela.

Ortega won power in 2007 and has slowly taken control of all aspects of government, including the judiciary. That is had led to accusations of a one party state and that those not loyal to Ortega’s “Sandinista National Liberation Front” cannot receive certain benefits or secure government jobs.

In April, Ortega proposed cuts to government pension and social security, tapping into existing frustration and triggering the latest clashes.

Ortega’s opposition, collectively known as the Civic Alliance for Justice and Democracy, is made up students, business groups and farmers. It has said that the country’s next general election, due in 2021 should now be held next year.

In May, a survey carried out by CID/Gallup found 70 percent of Nicaraguans felt Ortega should immediately resign.

On Friday Fitch Ratings downgraded Nicaragua’s sovereign credit rating to “B” from “B+” and revised its outlook to “negative” from “stable”. The agency has estimated that the political crisis and violence will slash Nicaragua’s economic growth to 1.7 percent in 2018.

The five-year average of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) during 2013-2017 was 4.8 percent.