Lula to Expel Nicaraguan Ambassador Amid Dispute With Ortega
(Bloomberg) -- President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva will expel Nicaragua’s ambassador to Brazil, deepening a rift between the leftist leader and traditional ally Daniel Ortega, according to a person familiar with the situation.
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The move came in response to Ortega’s decision to boot Brazilian ambassador Breno da Costa from Nicaragua after the diplomat declined to attend a ceremony marking the 45th anniversary of the Sandinista revolution in July, according to local media reports.
Lula and Ortega, a former guerrilla who first led Nicaragua in the 1980s and has been in power continuously since 2007, have long enjoyed close ties. But their relationship has frayed since last year, when Lula told Pope Francis that he would attempt to convince Ortega to release a bishop that had been jailed as part of a wider crackdown on the Catholic Church.
Nicaragua eventually released Bishop Rolando Alvarez, who had been imprisoned after being accused of supporting anti-government protests, in January. Alvarez was immediately exiled to the Vatican alongside 18 priests, according to the Associated Press.
Ortega’s deepening repression of opponents, critics and the clergy has posed political problems for Lula at home in traditionally Catholic Brazil.
Lula downplayed concerns about Nicaragua’s democracy in the wake of Ortega’s 2021 election victory, asking why he faced criticism for staying in power for more than a decade when leaders like former German Chancellor Angela Merkel did not. Throughout Brazil’s 2022 presidential campaign, Jair Bolsonaro repeatedly linked Lula to Ortega’s quelling of dissent and oppression of the Catholic Church.
After Ortega failed to answer a call to discuss the bishop last year, Lula asked Brazil’s foreign ministry to handle the issue. More than a year has now passed since the pair last spoke, Lula told reporters in July.
“The fact is that Daniel Ortega didn’t answer my call and didn’t want to talk to me, so I never spoke to him again,” Lula said, before criticizing the Nicaraguan leader who has been largely isolated by the international community.
“Nicaragua has become a problem for itself,” Lula said. “He is the guy who did a revolution. I took part in the first anniversary of that revolution. But what do you do a revolution for? Do you do a revolution because you want power, or do you do a revolution because you want to improve the lives of the people of your country? That’s what’s at stake.”
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