Nicaragua's ruling elite tightened its grip on power this week after the country's National Assembly voted to bar opposition parties from future elections, a move US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has denounced as the final collapse of the country's democratic pretences.
The reform, passed unanimously in a special outdoor legislative session on Tuesday, will formally exclude from office any opposition figures deemed to have taken part in planning or carrying out a coup. It also extends the presidential term from six to seven years, along with the terms of other elected officials and the heads of the army and police.
