Somoza regime

Obando became a vocal opponent of the corruption of the Anastasio Somoza regime in the late 1970s by expressing criticism in his pastoral letters as well as through the columns he wrote for the Boletín de la Arquidiócesis de Managua. He was critical of the corruption of the regime as it manifested itself through the government's mismanagement of relief funds after the 1972 Managua earthquake, and became an outspoken critic of the human rights abuses carried out by the National Guard. He helped to delegitimize the regime by refusing to accept the Mercedes automobile Somoza gave him and rejecting invitations to attend official state ceremonies.

Sandinistas in opposition

Obando served as an intermediary between the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) and the Somoza government on two occasions during Sandinista staged hostage-taking incidents. In a pastoral letter written in June 1979 he spoke in favor of the Sandinistas' use of armed force to overthrow the Somoza regime and encouraged Nicaraguans not to fear socialism. As a result of his criticism of the Somoza regime, government officials sometimes referred to him in private as "Comandante Miguel", as if he were a Sandinista leader.^[7]

Sandinistas in power

Obando's relationship with the Sandinistas altered dramatically by the early 1980s; he ultimately became one of the most vocal domestic opponents of the revolutionary government. He opposed the "people's church" (radical clergy who supported liberation theology) and banned the Misa Campesina Nicaragüense (Nicaraguan peasants' mass).^[8] He insisted that clergy adhere to canon law and refuse to undertake the exercise of civil power.

Obando opposed what he called the "godless communism" of the Sandinistas. He criticized many of their policies, including military conscription and restrictions of press freedoms, and accused the Sandinistas of human rights violations. The Sandinistas, in turn, complained that he should have attacked United States aid to the Contras. Initially, Obando had promised to the public that if human rights abuses on the part of the Contras were verifiably reported, he would denounce them. When many such abuses were reported by organizations (including Human Rights Watch and several human rights groups established by clergy of the Catholic Church itself), however, he did not denounce them as he had pledged. Instead, he travelled to the United States in January 1986 and declared his support for the Contras, thereby encouraging the U.S. Congress to provide them with military aid. This set the stage for a sharp confrontation between Obando and the Sandinista government. The Sandinistas, who already in July 1984 had expelled ten foreign priests (who had expressed solidarity with another religious figure who had been accused of being a contrarevolutionary), responded by rebuking Obando repeatedly in public forums. Despite the popular support the Sandinistas enjoyed at the time, this episode certainly damaged that support, as Obando was (as reported by journalist Stephen Kinzer) enduringly popular among Christian Nicaraguans.

Volte-face and Support for Daniel Ortega

In 2004 Obando suddenly and unexpectedly announced reconciliation with Daniel Ortega in a deal which offered support for the FSLN in return for Ortega's acquiescence to extending the ban on abortion to all cases, as the then government subsequently legislated, and for not pushing for corruption charges against Obando's protege Roberto Rivas (who was subsequently appointed head of the Supreme Electoral Council).^[9]

Obando continued to support Ortega in the 2006 and 2011 presidential elections, despite increasing claims by opposition figures that Ortega had manipulated the electoral system (with the help of Rivas).^[10][11] Obando also presided over the 2005 marriage of Ortega and Rosario Murillo^[12]