Background & History



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Nicaragua: The Comeback Kid

Brought to you by Stephen Kellner



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Background & History
The largest and most sparse country of the Central American nations, Nicaragua, is the second poorest country in Latin America behind Haiti. Nicaragua has a population of 5.9 million and the annual population growth rate since 2012 is 1.5%. The country won its independence in 1838 and since then politics have been dominated by the competition for power between Liberals and Conservatives.

Along with political instability, military dictatorships have been a major problem in both the economic and social lives of the people. The Somoza dynasty, a military dictatorship reigning from the years 1927-1979, came into power by brute force. The economy took a slow decline following their reign due to numerous wars and the Nicaraguan revolution. The 1990’s are referred to as the post- Sandinista era, where the anti-Sandinista parties led by Violetta Chomorro defeated the Sandistas. Chamorro came into power in the midst of an economic meltdown due to the costs of the Contra war. Since then several new Presidents been elected to try and help Nicaragua get out of their economic hole. However, proving unsuccessful, Nicaragua is still placed as one of the world’s bottom billion countries.



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Causes of Conflict

Natural Resources & Natural Disasters
Most of Nicaragua’s rural poor people live in the vast, dry central region where natural resources are limited. The majority of Nicaraguan residents depend on agriculture for their livelihood, causing a strain on the already desolate environment. Small-scale farmers are by far at the most risk of becoming impoverished. A few important crops that benefit the market are sorghum and maize in the lowlands, and beans and vegetbales in the highlands. The climatic conditions are also very important to take into consideration when talking about these specific crops that help the market grow. Recent droughts have extremely affected the market for these crops. Hurricane Mitch, the most powerful hurricane of the 1998 Atlantic Hurricane season, was extremely devastating. The hurricane killed 3,800 people and cost over $1 billion in damage.

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Government Corruptions
Many of Nicaragua’s anti-corruption initiatives have been ineffective due to the lack of enforcement. Corruption has been present in Nicaragua politics for many years. The government is challenged with ways to finally put an end to this phenomenon. On several occasions, the government has showed favoritism to certain economic groups. By not having a diverse market, this increases the chances of failure of the future economy. One way that the government, as well as business corporations show favoritism, is by discriminating certain ethic backgrounds. During the 1996 free election Arnoldo Aleman established presidency. After the devastating hurricane in 1998, the country set up relief funds, hoping to help some of the families who lost everything. Arnoldo Aleman, the President during this time, embezzled $100 million in government funds. And in 2002 he was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Another form of government corruption is evident in the most recent presidential election, Daniel Ortega, the current president of Nicaragua, was extremely dependent on the good economic performances during his time in office that helped him secure another term in office. Fraud and a “miscounting” of the votes were few ways that raised suspicion of his re-election.

After the devastating hurricane in 1998, the country set up relief funds, hoping to help some of the families who lost everything. Arnoldo Aleman, the President during this time, embezzled $100 million in government funds. And in 2002 he was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Conflict & Neighbors
Violence as well as a rapidly increasing Drug trade has caused severe social problems in most of the Western Hemisphere. Nicaragua is well known for being one of the safest countries in Central America. The military and police force have recently stated that they have created a “firewall” protecting the citizens from the massive $40 billion drug trade. Overall Nicaragua is a leading country in drug busts and has protected the citizens from very violent narco-gangs. This crack down on drugs and reduced homicides is extraordinary considering its two neighbors, El Salvador and Honduras, have the highest murder rates in the world. The recent accusation of the substitute Magistrate, Julio Cesar Osuna, has arose suspicion of the countries so called “clean profile”. Smuggling drugs, laundering money, and selling fake ID’s are a few things that this magistrate is being convicted of. This conviction has raised many questions for the corruptness of government officials.

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Resolving the Problem
Nicaragua is the fourth poorest nation in the western hemisphere and poverty is definitely a struggle. According to studies on Socialprogressimperative.org it has shown that the performance in comparison to the United States is substantially lower. However, Nicaragua is not seen as a successful country in the majority of categories. For example, malaria and tuberculosis continue to increase. One study shows that one out of three children suffer from malnutrition. Furthermore, both water and sanitation, and personal rights score below the 55 mark. Water and Sanitation is an important element for good health. If these necessities are lacking in a developing country, then one can see the overall health and life expectancy to drop. On a more positive note, Nicaragua does have some cities who prove to be pretty successful. Masaya and Jinotepe both have a population of more than 100,000. These cities have better infrastructure and are a solid backbone to help the economy of Nicaragua. These two locations in particular provide work at aiming to help the overall health and make life better in Nicaragua. A few ways they are doing this is by providing the youth with opportunities to learn about development experience. Finally, with an understanding of this experience it helps the children find ways to help solve Nicaragua’s biggest problems.

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