NICARAGUA. Republic of Nicaragua
A country in Central America. Area - 148 thousand km². Capital - Managua (over 1 million). Administrative-territorial division - 15 departments and 2 autonomous regions. Population - 5.8 million (2005); ethnic structure (according to 2004 data): 72% - Spanish-Indian mestizos, 15% - whites, 7% - blacks, 6% - indigenous people. Official language - Spanish. Religion - over 80% of the population practices Catholicism.
Currency - cordoba.
Has diplomatic relations with the Russian Federation (established between the USSR and Nicaragua in 1944, but the exchange of diplomatic representatives did not occur until 1979),
National holiday - September 15 - Independence Day (1821).
Nicaragua is a republic. The constitution was adopted on November 19, 1986 (in effect with amendments from 1995 and 2000). The head of state and government is the president (since January 2002 - E. Bolaños), elected by universal direct voting for a term of 5 years. The highest legislative body is the unicameral National Assembly (92 deputies), elected by universal direct voting for a term of 5 years (the last elections were held in November 2001).
Main political parties: Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) - established in 1961 as a patriotic military-political organization, Liberal Constitutional Party (LCP), "Alliance for the Republic" (APRE - presidential party), Conservative Party "Christian Path" (evangelical), Party of Nicaraguan Resistance.
Trade union associations: Association of Agricultural Workers, General Confederation of Labor (independent), Confederation of Trade Union Unity and Action, Center of Nicaraguan Workers, National Front of Workers, Center of Workers of Nicaragua, Sandinista Center of Workers.
Before the arrival of the Spaniards (1502), indigenous tribes lived in the territory of Nicaragua: Nicarao, Miskito, Chontales, and others. In 1523, Spanish colonizers included these lands in the audiencia of Santo Domingo, then in 1539 they joined them to Panama, and in 1573 - to the Captaincy General of Guatemala. During the liberation war of the Spanish colonies in America, on November 15, 1821, Nicaragua proclaimed its independence. From 1823 to 1838, it was part of the federation of the United Provinces of Central America.
Since 1838 - an independent state. From the second half of the 19th century, there was an intensified penetration of U.S. monopolies into the country.
From 1912 to 1933 - occupied by U.S. troops. The national liberation struggle against the U.S. occupation forces that began in 1927 in Nicaragua was led by the national hero of the Nicaraguan people A. S. Sandino. The struggle took on the character of a mass anti-imperialist movement and ended with the withdrawal of U.S. troops. In 1936, the commander of the Nicaraguan National Guard General A. Somoza, with the support of the U.S., staged a coup and seized power. A military-police dictatorship of the Somoza family was established in Nicaragua for many years.
As a result of the national uprising led by the FSLN (Sandinista Revolution), the dictatorship collapsed. Somoza fled the country, and patriots created a democratic government of national revival. On November 4, 1984, elections were held in Nicaragua (several parties were not allowed to participate). The candidates from the FSLN, D. Ortega and S. Ramírez, were elected president and vice president of the republic. In the context of a severe economic crisis caused by civil war, in the elections of February 1990, the candidate from the opposition political parties' bloc, V. Barrios de Chamorro, won. In 1996, the right opposition led by the LCP won, which also won the elections in 2001. However, later, as a result of an anti-corruption campaign led by E. Bolaños, a split occurred within the LCP. Supporters of former president A. Alemán, convicted of corruption, expelled the president from their ranks and became opposition to the government.
Nicaragua is a member of the UN (since 1945), OAS (since 1948), LAES (since 1975), CAIS (since 1991), AGC, DN, and others.
Nicaragua is an agrarian country with a poorly developed industry. 35% of the country's territory is covered by forests rich in valuable species (rosewood and cedar). There are deposits of gold, silver, lead, and oil fields have been discovered in the shelf zone. Mainly gold, silver, and copper ore are extracted.
Nicaragua is one of the least developed countries in Latin America. The economy is primarily based on the agro-industrial sector - coffee production (the main export commodity), cane sugar, meat (beef), bananas (a significant portion is exported), tobacco products. In industry, the significance of enterprises in free economic zones is growing (mainly clothing, footwear, and food products). Up to 30% of the economically active population is employed in the agro-industrial sector (2004). The majority of industrial enterprises are related to the processing of agricultural products (meat-packing plants, sugar, leather factories). Cotton production in the country was almost completely phased out in the 1990s.
Nicaragua is heavily dependent on external aid (up to $450 million per year during the period of 2002-2004).
In 1998, Hurricane Mitch dealt a serious blow to the country's economy.
GDP in 2004 was $2.89 billion, with a growth of 3.8% compared to 2003. The external debt, after the cancellation of large sums under the international HIPC initiative, decreased to $3.09 billion. Unemployment is 51% of the economically active population, including 12.1% completely unemployed. Inflation is 6% (2004).
Foreign trade: trade turnover (2004, in million dollars) - 2570.4; exports - 670.5, imports - 1899.9. Export structure (2004, preliminary estimate): coffee - 15.5%, meat (beef) - 14.2%, seafood - 10.2%, sugar - 8%, others - 52.1%. Leading trade partners: the USA, Central American countries, Spain, Mexico.
The length of highways is over 22 thousand km (2003, estimate). Railroads in Nicaragua were dismantled by the mid-1990s.
In Nicaragua, there are branches of the Central American University (in Managua), the National Autonomous University (in León, 3 faculties are located in Managua), and several other universities. Several daily newspapers are published, including major ones - "Prensa" (46 thousand copies, 2004), "Nuevo diario" (35 thousand, 2004). There is a government information agency - Agencia Nicaragüense de Noticias (ANN). Currently, there are 10 national television channels and about 30 radio stations operating in the country.
