Political upheaval is
underway again in Nicaragua due to corruption, socialism economic decline and
criminal cronyism under Daniel Ortega who was elected President again in 2006.
Nicaragua has a
population of 6.2 million and a land area of 50,338 square miles, It spans the
Central American isthmus on the drug road.
In 2017, nominal GDP
was $14.3 billion, nominal per capita GDP was $2, 229, GDP sectors are services
59%, industry 24% and agriculture 17%, Inflation is 7.3%, unemployment is 7.3%,
government debt to GDP is 31%
In 2012 the labor
force was 3 million and poverty was 45%.
Exports were $4
billion and included coffee, beef, shrimp, lobster, tobacco, sugar, gold,
peanuts, automobile wiring harnesses, textiles and apparel supplied to the US,
Canada, Venezuela and El Salvador. Imports were $6.5 billion and included
consumer goods, machinery, raw materials and petroleum products from the US,
Venezuela, Mexico, Costa Rica, China, Guatemala, El Salvador and Egypt. Public
debt was $5 billion. Government revenue was $2.62 billion and spending was
$2.56 billion.
Nicaragua has not been
politically stable since the 1960s. The Communist Party formed in 1967. The Sandinistas took over in the 1970s.
Literacy is 83%, All 5 current political parties are all Left-Wing.
Nicaragua was
colonized by Spain in 1524. It became part of Mexico in 1821, then part of the
Central America Union that included Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala and
Honduras in 1823 and became independent in 1838. The first military takeover
came in 1893 when General Zelaya established a military dictatorship ended by
the US in 1909. In 1937 General Samosa was elected and his family ruled until
1979. The Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN)
formed in 1961, fought the Contras in the 1970s. The FSLN Presidential
candidate Daniel Ortega won the election in 1979 and returned to the Presidency
in 2006.
Norb Leahy, Dunwoody
GA Tea Party Leader
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