# IACHR identified a fourth phase closing democratic space

Date: 2018

By December 2018 the IACHR described another phase of repression involving harassment of journalists, continued detention and prosecution of leaders and defenders, threats of expulsion, and formal measures that restricted expression, association and assembly. The Commission framed the development as an aggravation of repression and closure of democratic spaces rather than a return to normal [political competition](/drivers/political-competition). [Organization of American States](https://oas.org/en/iachr/media_center/PReleases/2018/273.asp?utm_source=chatgpt.com)

## Drivers

- Ortega–Murillo family autocracy: https://factrail.ai/drivers/ortega-family-autocracy

## Sources

- https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2020/country-chapters/nicaragua
- https://www.oas.org/en/iachr/media_center/PReleases/2018/273.asp

## Methodology

https://factrail.ai/methodology

Canonical: https://factrail.ai/facts/democratic-space-closure-december-2018