Language: Spanish, Miskito
Currency: Córdoba (NIO)
Calling Code: 505
Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua,
is an American country located in the Central American isthmus. Its
capital is Managua. Nicaragua is composed of 15 departments and 2
autonomous regions. The governing bodies are: the Legislative Power,
the Executive Power, the Judicial Power and the Electoral Power. In
separation of powers there is autonomy in each of these. The
Republic of Nicaragua is located in the northern hemisphere, between
the equatorial line and the Tropic of Cancer approximately between
11 ° and 15 ° north latitude and with respect to the Greenwich
meridian, between 83 ° and 88 ° west longitude. The territory of
Nicaragua has an approximate area of 129,494 km², 1 is bordered on
the north by Honduras, on the south by Costa Rica, on the west by
the Pacific Ocean and on the east by the Caribbean Sea. As for
maritime limits, in the Pacific Ocean it borders El Salvador,
Honduras and Costa Rica; while in the Caribbean Sea it borders
Honduras, Colombia and Costa Rica.
Nicaragua is a volcanic and tropical country, inside it also houses
two large lakes: Lake Xolotlan and Lake Cocibolca or "Great Lake of
Nicaragua".
The Nicaraguan people are
multi-ethnic in nature and Spanish is the official language,
although the languages of indigenous indigenous peoples such as
Creole Nicaraguan English, Miskito, Sumu or Sumo, Garífuna and Rama
are also recognized. Inhabited by pre-Columbian peoples, the
coast of the Pacific Ocean and part of the central region of the
current territory of Nicaragua was conquered by Spain in the
sixteenth century, where the Province of Nicaragua, which belonged
to the Spanish Empire (1502-1821), was established. the First
Mexican Empire (1821-1823), the United Provinces of Central America
(1823-1824), and the Federal Republic of Central America
(1824-1838). Nicaragua emerged as an independent country in 1838, under the
name "State of Nicaragua "and began to be called the Republic of
Nicaragua, since 1854.8
Regarding the integration of the
so-called Costa de Mosquitos (the former Province of Taguzgalpa) in
the Republic of Nicaragua, in 1860 the Managua Treaty was signed
between Nicaragua and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland, for which reason it renounced its Misquito protectorate and
recognized the sovereignty of Nicaragua; while Nicaragua recognized
the autonomy rights of the Miskitos. This is how the "Reserva
Mosquitia" was born. One year after the Treaty of Managua was
signed, 51 Witas (mayors) met in Bluefields and approved the
Constitution of the Reserve, inspired by the British consul and
which established, in general, English laws. The sovereignty of
Nicaragua was in fact a formality, until in 1894 the Mosquitia was
reincorporated officially and specifically to Nicaragua during the
government of José Santos Zelaya, through the so-called
Reincorporación de la Mosquitia carried out by Rigoberto Cabezas,
who had to face an attempt of restoring its domination by the
British, between July and August of that same year. Through the
treaty Altamirano-Harrison of April 19, 1905, Great Britain
recognized the absolute sovereignty of Nicaragua over the coast of
Mosquitos, which meant abolishing the "Reserva Mosquitia", in
exchange for guaranteeing the natives exemption from taxes and
service military and guarantee them to live in their villages and
ancestral territories according to their own customs.
After decades of intervention and strong foreign
influence, through the Nicaraguan Revolution, a Junta de Gobierno de
Reconstrucción Nacional (1979-1985) was established, constituted as
a transitory government board in charge of the executive power and a
Council of State in charge of the legislative power with the
participation of representatives of the political, social, communal
and religious spheres. In 1984, the first popular elections
were held in accordance with the new Electoral Law. The Government
Junta of National Reconstruction hands over power to the new elected
President: Daniel Ortega Saavedra. Thus The transitory Board is
dissolved.
Bosawas Biosphere Reserve is located in Jinotega Department of Nicaragua. Bosawas Biosphere reserve covers an area of 20,000 km² of tropical rain forest.
Juan Venado Island Natural Reserve protects wetlands of Juan Venado Island near city of Leon in Nicaragua.
Masaya Volcano National Park is named after Masaya Volcano that lies within its boundaries.
Miraflor Natural Reserve is located 30 km from Estelí from Nicaragua. Miraflor Natural Park covers an area of 206 km².
Colonial period
The Atlantic coast of Nicaragua was discovered by
Europeans in 1502 (the 4th voyage of H. Columbus). The conquest of the
country by the Spaniards began in 1522 (Gil Gonzalez Davila).
With the Indians, one of the Aztec tribes, who inhabited the
southwestern territories (the isthmus between Lake Nicaragua and the
Pacific coast), the owner concluded an agreement, and the whole country
was named after the leader (caciq) of that tribe - Nicarao. However, in
the northern territories, the Spaniards had to fight for several years
with other Indian tribes.
In the 16th century, Spanish
conquistadors founded two cities: Granada, on the northwestern shore of
Lake Nicaragua, and Leon, near the Pacific coast. A significant part of
the Indian population was destroyed or died out from diseases introduced
by the Spaniards. The rest began to mix with the Spanish settlers.
In Nicaragua, the conquistadors did not find large deposits of gold
and silver, so Granada and Leon became agricultural colonies of Spain.
From the end of the 16th century, black slaves from Africa began to be
imported to work on plantations (indigo, sugarcane and cocoa), but this
labor force was used in Nicaragua on a relatively small scale.
From 1570 to 1821, Nicaragua was part of the Spanish captaincy general
of Guatemala. The territory of Nicaragua was divided among
landowners-latifundists who practiced encomienda and peonage.
The
eastern part of the country - the Mosquito Coast, with an unhealthy
climate and dense forests, was not colonized by the Spaniards. English
pirates settled there, preying on Spanish ships. Having gained a
foothold on the east coast, the British from the 17th century made raids
to the west of Nicaragua, along the San Juan River, and attacked the
Spanish colonies. During this period, the population of Mosquito Coast
grew mainly due to blacks who fled from the English colonies. In an
effort to strengthen their position in Mosquitia, the British organized
the election of a black king. The British retained control over the
Mosquito Coast until the middle of the 19th century, when they were
forced to withdraw from there under pressure from the United States, who
then planned to draw a canal through the territory of Nicaragua
connecting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
First decades of
independence
In 1821, during the war for the independence of the
Spanish colonies in America, the territory of Nicaragua became part of
the Mexican Empire.
1823-1838 - Nicaragua as part of the United
Provinces of Central America.
1838 - Independence of Nicaragua. From
the middle of the 19th century, a struggle began between the United
States and Great Britain for the predominant influence in Nicaragua
(mainly with the aim of building an inter-oceanic canal on its
territory).
1856 - June, President William Walker, September 1856 -
repeal of the decree abolishing slavery
1858 - the capital of
Nicaragua - Managua.
Military rule, American occupation, Somoza
dictatorship
1910 - beginning of the military junta
1912-1933 - US
occupation.
1927 - the beginning of the national liberation struggle
under the leadership of Augusto Cesar Sandino (1927-1934).
1934-1979
- the reign of the Somoza clan, a right-wing authoritarian oligarchic
dictatorship supported by the United States. The founder of the ruling
dynasty, Anastasio Somoza Garcia, was assassinated in 1956 by the
revolutionary Rigoberto López Pérez. From 1957 to 1967, the president of
Nicaragua was his eldest son Luis Somoza Debayle, in 1967-1979 (with a
short break) - the youngest son Anastasio Somoza Debayle. Since 1961,
the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) has been waging a
struggle against the dictatorship. In 1978, after the assassination of
conservative politician and journalist Pedro Joaquin Chamorro, mass
protests escalate into an armed uprising, suppressed by the National
Guard. The FSLN continues its guerrilla war against the regime.
Sandinista Revolution and Civil War
1979 - victory of the Sandinista
revolution. On the night of July 17, the Somoza family flees the
country; on July 18, Somoza's successor, Francisco Urcuyo, resigns. On
July 19, the FSLN rebel army enters Managua. (Anastasio Somoza Debayle
was killed in Paraguay in September 1980). Power passes to the
Government Junta of National Revival, representing the FSLN and other
democratic opposition forces.
1980-1981 - Liberal Conservatives
(Violetta Barrios de Chamorro), Social Democrats (Alfonso Robelo) and
Demo-Socialists (Eden Pastora) are forced out of government. The leader
of the entrepreneurial opposition movement, Jorge Salazar, was
assassinated. A one-party government of the FSLN is established, which
has declared itself a Marxist organization. Power is concentrated in the
hands of the leadership of the FSLN, headed by Daniel Ortega. The FSLN
begins the restructuring of the political regime on the model of Cuba
and the USSR, the DGSE intelligence service unfolds political
repressions, nationalization of industry and agrarian collectivization
are carried out in the economy. However, unarmed political opposition
and private enterprise are not completely destroyed, both are allowed to
a limited extent.
1981-1988 - the active phase of the civil war between the ruling FSLN
and the Contra movement. The Ortega government is increasingly
pro-Soviet, and the Contras enjoy the active support of the American
administration of Ronald Reagan. The Nicaraguan conflict is turning into
an important element of the global Cold War.
1984 - In elections
organized by the FSLN, Daniel Ortega is elected president of Nicaragua.
The armed opposition does not recognize the legitimacy of the vote.
1987 - Contra organizations - FDN, MDN, the Social Christian Party, the
Miskito YATAMA movement - unite in the Nicaraguan Resistance (RN)
coalition. The FDN and ARDE formations launch a coordinated massive
offensive from the north (from Honduras) and from the south (from Costa
Rica). The contras' military results are limited, but the government
agrees to political dialogue.
1988 - The Sandinista government, after
making peace with YATAMA, concludes the Sapoa Agreement with RN. The
civil war stops, the opposition is legalized, free presidential and
parliamentary elections are called.
Liberal governments
1990 -
as a result of democratic elections, the FSLN, despite all the forecasts
of sociologists, unexpectedly suffers a defeat. The National Union of
the Opposition comes to power, led by center-right President Violetta
Barrios de Chamorro. The FSLN goes into opposition, but retains its
cadre positions in law enforcement agencies. The new government is
implementing a set of liberal reforms in the political and economic
system.
1991 - Enrique Bermudez, military leader of the Contras, is
killed under unclear circumstances.
1992 - RN chief of staff Israel
Galeano dies in a car accident.
1993 - FDN co-founder Aristides
Sanchez dies of illness.
1996 - the leader of the right-wing Liberal
Constitutional Party (LCP) historically associated with the former
Somoza regime, Arnoldo Aleman, is elected as the new president. The LCP
concludes informal agreements with the FSLN, and a regime of "two-party
dictatorship" is established.
2001 - LCP representative Enrique
Bolaños is elected president. (At the same time, the son of the dictator
Anastasio Somoza, who was overthrown in 1979, Portocarrero did not
support Bolaños, but the candidacy of the leader of the FSLN, Daniel
Ortega, since he introduced the values and orders of the Somoz regime
more.)
2002 - Arnoldo Alemán arrested on corruption charges,
subsequently sentenced to 20 years in prison. The corruption scandal
dramatically undermines the prestige of the liberal government.
Second board of the FSLN
2006 - Daniel Ortega is re-elected president
in the next election. The FSLN returns to power under the slogans of
protecting traditional values. On this basis, the Ortega government is
supported by the Nicaraguan Resistance Party, which unites most of the
former contras.
2008 - FSLN wins municipal elections. In particular,
the well-known boxer Alexis Arguello is elected mayor of Managua (he
died the following year under unclear circumstances). The opposition
accuses the government of falsifying the voting results.
2009 - The
Supreme Court abolishes presidential term limits. This decision does not
pass approval in parliament, which causes protests from the opposition
Independent Liberal Party. Activists opposed to the Somoists and Ortega
accuse President Ortega of intending to remain in power for life. But
the Liberal Constitutional Party raises no objections. Arnoldo Alemán is
released from house arrest.
2010 - organizations of the armed
underground begin guerrilla and terrorist actions against the government
of the FSLN.
2011 - presidential and parliamentary elections. Daniel
Ortega is re-elected by a landslide, and the FSLN wins a large majority
in the National Assembly.
In November 2012, the consideration of
the case on the maritime border between Nicaragua and Colombia was
completed - the International Court of Justice ruled that all seven
disputed islands in the Caribbean belong to Colombia.
2013 - former
head of the Sandinista intelligence agency DGSE, Lenin Serna, is
appointed political coordinator of the judiciary. The leadership of the
FSLN continues to consolidate control over the political system and
economic assets.
2014 - On July 19, the 35th anniversary of the
victory of the Sandinista Revolution is widely celebrated. On July 20, a
resonant terrorist attack is committed: the underground organization
FASN-EP fires at buses with participants in the celebrations, 5 people
were killed, 19 were injured.
2015 - The opposition bloc of the
National Coalition for Democracy consolidates - a group of former contra
commanders adjoins the Independent Liberal Party of Eduardo Montealegre.
An intention was announced to remove the FSLN and Daniel Ortega from
power in the next elections.
2016 - supporters of the FSLN and LKP
carried out a raider takeover of the Independent Liberal Party. Ortega
wins the presidential election again. His wife becomes vice-president,
which was not even under the Somozas.
2021 - Incumbent President of
Nicaragua Daniel Ortega won the next presidential election with almost
75% of the vote.
Physical and geographical characteristics
Geography
Nicaragua
is the largest in territory among the countries of Central America
(129,494 km²), reaches 540 km in width, and has access to both the
Pacific Ocean, where its coastline is about 320 km long, and the
Caribbean Sea (480 km of coastline). lines); the total length of the sea
border reaches 800 km (the coastline is 910 km). On land, Nicaragua is
bordered by Honduras (922 km) to the north and Costa Rica (309 km) to
the south (a total of 1,231 km of land borders). The capital and main
city of the country is Managua. Nicaragua is one of the most sparsely
populated countries in Central America, second only to Belize in this
respect.
Within the territory of Nicaragua, which is
characterized by a wide variety of landscapes, four large natural areas
can be distinguished. Most of the country is occupied by a mountainous
region narrowing to the south, which has the shape of a triangle of
brown tones on the map - the Nicaraguan Highlands.
It is adjoined
to the east by a second region, framing the Caribbean coast, a wide
strip of lowlands known as the Mosquito Coast. The Caribbean coast of
Nicaragua is low-lying, mostly swampy and abundantly overgrown with
mangrove forests and almost impenetrable jungle. This area has never
attracted the attention of the Spanish conquistadors for its fertile
farmland or gold deposits, therefore, areas of flora and fauna
characteristic of pre-Columbian America have been preserved here.
The third region is formed by the lowlands stretching along the
southern land border of the country across the isthmus from the Gulf of
Fonseca southeast to the Caribbean coast, and the fourth is the volcanic
zone of western Nicaragua, with numerous active volcanoes. The latter is
the most populated, both because of the fertile volcanic soils, and
because of the more favorable - dry and not as hot as on the east coast
- climate.
The temperature of the coldest month - January - at an
altitude of 1500 m on the west coast is 16 ° C. In the windward, open
trade winds of the eastern parts of the territory - up to 5000 mm of
precipitation per year. Further west, precipitation decreases. Two
seasons are quite clearly traced here - dry (November - April) and wet
(May - October).
Nicaragua has a fairly diverse flora and fauna.
Among the trees, oak, pine (western and central (mountainous) parts of
the country), mahogany, and rubber plants are especially common. Among
the animals: puma, ocelot, deer, several species of monkeys, alligator,
a large number of hummingbirds and parrots. In Lake Nicaragua, the
largest lake in the country and throughout Central America, there are
freshwater sharks (2-3 m long) and swordfish. This is a consequence of
the fact that this lake, like all large lakes in Nicaragua, was
previously a sea bay until tectonic activity formed the Pacific Plain,
which now separates the lake from the ocean. Also, the Nicaragua
waterfall (74 meters) flows into this lake, which carries the waters of
two rivers (Moreira and Indelta).
The national bird of Nicaragua
is the Guardabarranco or Eumomota superciliosa of the Momot family.
Climate
Tropical, trade wind. The average daily temperature of
the dry period (from March to May) is 24-32°C. Rains are possible from
June to October, the average daily temperature is 26-28°C. The best time
to travel to the Pacific coast and the central regions of the country is
a dry and cool beginning of winter. You can go to the Atlantic coast at
any time of the year, except for very dusty April and May.
Population dynamics: 1.6 million (1962); 3.4 million (1988); 4.91
million (2000); 6.1 million (July 2015).
Annual increase - 1.3%
(fertility - 2.5 births per woman).
The average life expectancy
is 69.6 years for men, 74 years for women.
Infection with the
immunodeficiency virus (HIV) - 0.2% (2007 estimate).
Ethnic
composition:
mestizo 69%
whites 12%
blacks, mulattos and sambo
14%
Indians 5%
The official language is Spanish, Indian
languages are also used (1.7%), among Afro-Nicaraguans and Indians of
the east coast, a local dialect of the West Indian version of English is
common (0.8%).
Literacy of the population - 78.0% (estimated in
2010, the proportion of illiterates over 15 years old).
According
to the Pew Research Center, in 2010, 4.97 million Christians lived in
Nicaragua, who accounted for 85.9% of the population of this country.
J.G. Melton's Encyclopedia of the Religions of the World estimates the
share of Christians in 2010 at 96% (5.597 million).
The largest
branch of Christianity in the country is Catholicism 58.5%. This is
followed by evangelicals 21.6% (Assemblies of God, Church of God and
Baptists), Moravian Brethren 1.6% (among Indians and Sambo Autonomous
Regions of the Atlantic Coast), Jehovah's Witnesses 0.9%, others 1.7%,
atheists 15, 7% (according to the 2005 census). In the capital of
Managua, the first mosque in Nicaragua was built in 2009, the Islamic
Cultural Association in Managua is regularly visited by about 320 men.
State-political structure
The state system is a presidential
republic. The head of state and government is the President of
Nicaragua, who is elected for a term of 5 years.
In October 2009,
the Supreme Court of Nicaragua overturned an article of the Constitution
that limited the presidency to a single 5-year term. This allowed FSLN
leader Daniel Ortega to run again and win the 2011 elections. The
decision of the Supreme Court and the re-election of Ortega provoked
sharp criticism of the legal opposition and the emergence of an armed
underground similar to the contras of the 1980s.
The legislature
is the unicameral National Assembly of 92 deputies. 90 deputies are
elected by direct universal suffrage for a 5-year term; 20 of them are
on the national list, 70 are from districts and autonomous regions. The
deputies are also the president who ruled the previous five years, and
the presidential candidate who received the largest number of votes
after the winner in the last election.
Political parties
represented in the National Assembly following the November 6, 2011
elections:
Sandinista National Liberation Front (adheres to a
specific ideology of the left variant of right-wing traditionalism,
leader Daniel Ortega) - 63 mandates;
Independent Liberal Party
(center-right opposition, leader Eduardo Montealegre) - 27 seats;
Liberal Constitutional Party (center-right, collaborating with the
government, leader Arnoldo Aleman) - 2 mandates.
(According to the
results of the vote, the Sandinistas received 62 mandates, the
independent liberals - 26, but their presidential candidates also became
deputies.)
About 20 legal parties are not represented in the
National Assembly.
The armed forces of Nicaragua include the Air Force, Navy and Ground Forces. The total number of troops is estimated at about 14,000. The military budget is $85 million, or about 0.7% of the country's spending. The armament is mainly Soviet and Russian weapons, there are also British, French, Turkish types of military equipment.
Nicaragua is a country with a predominantly agrarian economy, one of
the poorest in the Western Hemisphere (only Honduras and Haiti are
poorer than it in Central America). GDP per capita at PPP in 2009 was
$4,800 (168th in the world). The proportion of the population below the
official poverty level is 48% (in 2005). Unemployment - 8.2% (in 2009).
Public debt - 17% of GDP. According to the UN, 79% of the Nicaraguan
population lives on less than $2 a day.
Agriculture (17.5% of
GDP, 29% of employees) produces coffee, bananas, cane sugar, cotton,
rice, corn, tobacco, and soybeans.
Industry (26.5% of GDP, 19% of
employees) - processing of agricultural products, beverage production,
textile and footwear production, oil processing, sawmills.
Service sector - 56% of GDP, 52% of employees.
The problem is the
state of energy. 84% of electricity is produced at thermal power plants,
although back in 1990 half of the electricity was produced at GeoPPs and
hydroelectric power plants. Due to high oil prices, this structure of
energy production leads to inflation and a slowdown in economic growth
(in 2007, inflation was 16.88%, while GDP growth was only 3.7%). The
sectors of the economy leading in terms of growth rates are banking,
construction, food industry, tourism, and textile production.
Transport
Most of the vehicles and means of communication are
concentrated in the western part of the country. Intensive construction
of highways began in the 1940s, now their total length in the country is
about 30 thousand km, mostly without a hard surface; since on the east
coast the rainy season lasts nine months out of twelve, and there are
practically no paved roads, most of the year the east coast is cut off
in transport terms from the western part of the country; the local
population uses local rivers for movement, which abound in the east of
the country. The national airline "La Costegna" operates flights on
domestic flights from the capital's airport "Augusto Cesar Sandino";
from the same airport, international flights are carried out by foreign
air carriers. The main seaport of Corinto is located on the Pacific
coast. Since most of the country's trade turnover is trade with the
Atlantic countries, the ports of its neighbors on the Atlantic coast are
forced to use the ports of its neighbors on the Atlantic coast - Limon
in Costa Rica and Puerto Lempir in Honduras. The state of internal land
communications and insufficient depths do not allow the use of existing
ports on the Atlantic coast of Nicaragua, such as Bluefields, etc. The
deep-water port at Monkey Point is currently only a project.
International trade
Exports in 2017 - $5.34 billion Imports in 2017 -
$7.86 billion
The main export commodities (2017) are textiles
(28%), insulated wires (12%), coffee (9.7%), gold (8%) and frozen beef
(5.7%), fruits are also exported , nuts, sugar, tobacco and shellfish
The main buyers (in 2017) are the United States ($3.09 billion),
Mexico ($340 million), El Salvador ($275 million), Costa Rica ($154
million) and Honduras ($154 million) .
The main import goods
(2017) are machinery, equipment and electronics (16.9%), textile raw
materials, fabrics and semi-finished products (16.2%), chemical
products, including medicines (13%), as well as petroleum products,
metals and prepared food products.
The main suppliers (in 2017)
are the USA ($1.75 billion), China ($1.16 billion), Mexico ($1.01
billion), Honduras ($0.5 billion) and Costa Rica (0.478 billion
dollars).
External debt of Nicaragua - 4.7 billion dollars (at
the end of 2009).
The national currency is the golden cordoba.
The official exchange rate is 20.8 gold cordobas per 1 US dollar.
Nicaragua has a negative trade balance (imports exceed exports by
more than 1 billion dollars), the main reason for this is, on the one
hand, the policy of combating inflation that has been going on since the
mid-90s with the help of a high exchange rate of the national currency,
on the other hand, foreign currency loans from the IMF, which are the
material basis of such a policy (in 2006, Nicaragua's foreign exchange
reserves reached $869 million).
As a result, in 1994-2004. the
effective exchange rate of cordoba rose 2.5 times, which caused the
prices of export goods to rise sharply, while those of imports fell
significantly. Many traditional industries, such as coffee production,
have been undergoing a downward trend in recent years due to the
inadequate exchange rate of the national currency, even despite the
increase in coffee prices on the world market.
Money
The
monetary unit of Nicaragua is the cordoba. 1 cordoba = 100 centavos. 1
US dollar is approximately equivalent to 35 cordobas (February 2021).
Currency can be exchanged at one of the banks or exchange offices.
You can also pay anywhere in dollars. Euro in the country is accepted
only in banks. Credit cards are accepted everywhere.
Hyperinflation, 1980s
In 1980-1990, in Nicaragua, there was
essentially an "undeclared war" between the left-wing "Sandinistas" who
came to power at the end of 1979 and the "Contras" movement, which was
openly supported by the United States.
Rising military spending,
losses and destruction during the fighting and sabotage of the Contras
caused rapid hyperinflation, which in 1988 reached thirty thousand
percent.
As a result, over the course of several years,
overprints were made on banknotes of old years of issue, which increased
the denomination of these banknotes by thousands and tens of thousands
of times.
Overprints were made in 1987-1991 with plain black
printing ink (in one color) on banknotes of the Nicaraguan cordoba
currency of the 1979 and 1985 sample.
These overprints were often
of very poor quality: either on one side of the bill, or crooked, or
inverted overprints (upside down), or a poorly printed print.
Due
to the ease of counterfeiting, counterfeit money with these overprints
was widely distributed.
Minerals
Gold, silver, copper,
tungsten, lead, zinc, nickel, mercury in small quantities, oil and gas
have been discovered on the shelf, at the moment Western companies are
trying to get the rights to their development, which, however, is
hampered by environmental concerns of neighboring countries (in features
of Costa Rica, with its developed resort and tourism industry), as well
as border disputes that directly affect some oil fields.
In the second half of the 20th century, due to the increased
influence of the USSR, leftist ideas began to gain strength in
Nicaragua. This, in turn, led to a conflict with the United States,
which supported the dictator Somoza.
At present, the
anti-American movement is gaining momentum in Nicaragua, which has led
the country to rapprochement with Cuba, Venezuela, Bolivia and other
countries. Recently, due to the actions of the American military (Iraq,
Afghanistan, etc.), pro-Russian sentiments began to intensify in the
leadership of Nicaragua, reinforced by the memory of the generous
support of the pro-Soviet regime by the government of the USSR. The debt
of Nicaragua to the USSR at the time of the collapse of the latter
amounted to about 3.5 billion US dollars (slightly less than 1,000 per
Nicaraguan). Russia gradually wrote off the entire debt.
The
foreign policy of Nicaragua is directly related to the activities of
Daniel Ortega, the president of the country, head of the Sandinista
National Liberation Front party, who won the presidential election in
2006. Since coming to power, Ortega has made a number of changes in the
foreign policy, but some directions have remained unchanged under him in
comparison with the previous liberal government. Like the previous
administration, the Sandinista leadership sees large-scale foreign aid
as a necessary condition for the country's economic survival. D. Ortega
accepted all the conditions of the United States and other major
international donors, guaranteeing the allocation of new portions of
financial support. The main donors for Nicaragua are the US, the EU,
Japan and Taiwan.
Since the United States remains the main
competitor in the domestic market of Nicaragua, accounting for about 24%
of the country's trade turnover, relations with this state remain cool.
The main political partners are the countries of Latin American
socialism, Venezuela-Cuba-Bolivia, and also Ecuador.
The
International Court of Justice - the highest court of the UN - in
November 2012 decided on more than 10 years of litigation between
Colombia and Nicaragua over a group of disputed islands in the
Caribbean, ruling that they belong to Colombia, but also changing the
maritime border and thereby expanding the territorial waters Nicaragua.
This was reported by the BBC. The archipelago in dispute is located
about 775 km from the coast of Colombia and 230 km from Nicaragua. The
court decision states that the islands of Roncador, Kitazueño, Serrana,
Serranilla, Bajo Nuevo, Cayo Bolívar and Albuquerque, as well as the
waters and the seabed around them, belong to Colombia. At the same time,
the court ruling, according to which the territorial waters of Nicaragua
have been increased, potentially provides the country with the
opportunity to expand the fishing industry, and also gives it access to
oil and gas fields. The decision also emphasizes that it does not affect
the boundaries of the territorial waters of Costa Rica and Honduras.
January 1 - New Year
January 6 - Epiphany (the arrival of the
Magi) (Epifanía)
March 8 - International Women's Day
Movable date
in March-April - Holy Week (Semana Santa), including Palm Sunday
(Domingo de Ramos), Good Thursday, Friday and Saturday, Resurrection of
Christ (Easter, Pascua Florida)
May 1 - Labor Day
May 3 - Day of
the Cross
May 30 - Mother's Day
June 1 - Children's Day
June 27
- Day of Nicaraguan resistance, peace, freedom, unity and national
reconciliation
July 19 - Sandinista Revolution Day (1979)
August 1
- Feast of Santo Domingo
September 14 - Anniversary of the Battle of
San Jacinto
September 15 - Independence Day
September 29 - Bible
Day
November 2 - Day of the Dead
December 8 - Immaculate
Conception
December 12 - Friendship Day between Russia and Nicaragua
December 25 - Christmas
Each locality in Nicaragua once a year
celebrates the day of its guardian angel - "fiesta patronal".
Entry rules
Since 2009, Nicaragua has abolished visas for citizens of
Russia, Ukraine and 70 other countries. When entering the country, you
must pay 10 dollars, and when departing, an airport tax in the amount of
35 dollars, if it was not included in the cost of air tickets. A
vaccination certificate is not required. When importing and exporting
pets, you must present the relevant documents and pay an import / export
permit in the amount of $ 20. Allowed to import: 200 cigarettes, or 50
cigars, or 500 g of tobacco, 3 liters of spirits, 2 kg of sweets or
chocolate. You can also bring in a mini-computer, binoculars, photo,
audio and video equipment - one item of each item.
Locals eat dishes made from rice and local vegetables; iguanas are
eaten from meat dishes. In hotels and restaurants, tourists will be
offered dishes prepared mainly from seafood. The most famous alcoholic
drink in Nicaragua is Flor de Caña rum, which is exported all over the
world.
Traditions
Each locality in Nicaragua once a year
celebrates the day of its guardian angel - "fiesta patronal". During one
of these holidays, for example, January in San Sebastian and July in
Santiago, you can see a lot of colorful folklore performances and
masquerade processions.