Nicaragua

From Open Encyclopedia

República de Nicaragua

Image:Flag of Nicaragua.svg	Image:Nicaragua coa.gif
(In Detail)	(In Detail)

National motto: Pro Mundi Beneficio
(Latin: For the World's benefit)

Image:LocationNicaragua.png

Official language

Spanish (official) (English and indigenous languages on Caribbean coast)

Capital

Managua

Mayor of the Capital

Ing. Dionisio Marenco

President

Enrique Bolaños

Area
- Total
- % water

Ranked 115th
129,494 km²
14.01%

Population
- Total
- Density

Ranked 131st
5,628,517
38,80/km²

HDI (2003)

0.690 (112th) – medium

Independence
- Declared
- Recognized

From Spain
September 15, 1821
July 25, 1850

Currency

Córdoba

Time zone

UTC -6

National anthem

Salve a ti

Internet TLD

.ni

Calling Code

505

Nicaragua is a sovereign and democratic nation in Central America. Although it is the largest republic in the region, it is also the least densely populated, as it is estimated that approximately 2 million people were in exile as of early 1980's of which a great many are now returning. The country is bordered on the north by Honduras and on south by Costa Rica. Its western coastline is on the Pacific Ocean, while the east side of the country is on the Caribbean Sea.

The country's name is a portmanteau of Nicarao, employed by the Spanish colonialists for the Nahuatl-speaking indigenous tribe, and the Spanish word Agua, meaning water, named after one of the largest fresh water lakes in the world Lago Nicaragua and the indigenous leader Nicarao.

At the time of the Spanish conquest, Nicaragua was the name given to the narrow strip of land between Lake Nicaragua and the Pacific Ocean. Chief Nicarao ruled over that land when the first conquerors arrived. The term was eventually applied, by extension, to the group that inhabited that region: the Nicaraos or Niquiranos.

Accepted etymologies:

Nic-atl-nahuac: "here near the water".

Nic Anahuac: "here the Anahuac" or "the Anahuac from here".

The pre-columbian Nicarao came to the area from northern regions after the fall of Teotihuacan, on the advice of their priests or religious leaders. According to tradition, they were to travel south until they encountered a lake with two volcanoes rising out of the waters... which is today known as Island of Ometepe, the largest fresh-water volcanic island in the world.

1 History
- 1.1 Sandinista revolution
- 1.2 The 1990 elections and U.S. involvement
2 Politics
3 Departments
4 Geography
5 Economy
6 Demographics
7 Culture
8 Arts
9 Miscellaneous topics
10 Further reading
11 External links

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History

Main article: History of Nicaragua

Colonized by Spain in 1524, Nicaragua achieved independence in 1821 when it was a province of the Audience of Guatemala and became part of the United Provinces of Central America. It separated from the federation in 1838, becoming a completely sovereign republic.

The nation's early history was marked by the desire of U.S. commercial interests to make use of Nicaraguan territory. When gold was discovered in California, Cornelius Vanderbilt's Accessory Transit Company undertook a steamship and carriage business to link Greytown (present-day San Juan del Norte), at the mouth of the San Juan River (linking the Lago Nicaragua with the Gulf of Mexico), to the Pacific. Nicaragua's strategic position has ever since been of interest to the United States.

Nicaragua offered token assistance during World War 2, and was the first country in the world to ratify the UN Charter.

Image:Granada street 1.JPG

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Sandinista revolution

Nicaragua has seen U.S. military interventions and lengthy periods of military dictatorship, the most infamous being the rule of the Somoza family (supported by successive U.S. governments) for much of the early 20th century. In 1979 the Somoza family was deposed, and a multi-factional coalition took control of the government. Conflicts within the coalition eventually resulted in power being consolidated by Daniel Ortega, who was elected President in 1984 elections in which some opposition parties refused to participate, complaining of government restrictions, but which were claimed to be free and fair by Western NGOs allowed into Nicaragua. Ortega and the FSLN leadership implemented a series of ambitious communist reforms to the country, but the new president's rule was undermined by increasing civil war in which the United States, under President Ronald Reagan, secretly funded anti-Communist rebel forces called Contras despite a 1982 Congressional amendment prohibiting aid. The US was found guilty of having supported terrorism at the International Court of Justice but refused to pay restitutions even when a United Nations General Assembly resolution was passed. A new government of Nicaragua abandoned its claim. Nicaragua v. United States

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The 1990 elections and U.S. involvement

Multi-party elections held in 1990 saw the defeat of the Sandinistas by a coalition of anti-sandinista (from the left and right of the political spectrum) parties led by Violeta Chamorro. The defeat shocked the Sandinistas as numerous pre-election polls had indicated a sure Sandinista victory and their pre-election rallies had attracted crowds of several hundred thousand people.

Image:Granada street 4.JPG

The unexpected result was subject to a great deal of analysis and comment, and was attributed by commentators such as Noam Chomsky and S. Brian Wilson to the Contra threats to continue the war if the Sandinistas retained power, the general war-weariness of the Nicaraguan population, and extensive U.S. funding of the opposition.

On the other hand, P. J. O'Rourke wrote in "Return of the Death of Communism" about "the unfair advantages of using state resources for party ends, about how Sandinista control of the transit system prevented UNO supporters from attending rallies, how Sandinista domination of the army forced soldiers to vote for Ortega and how Sandinista bureaucracy kept $3.3 million of U.S. campaign aid from getting to UNO while Daniel [Ortega] spent millions donated by overseas people and millions and millions more from the Nicaraguan treasury . . ."

Exit polls of Nicaraguans reported the largest plurality of voters voted for Charmorro due to American economic sanctions against the Ortega government. Exit polling also convinced Daniel Ortega that the election results were legitimate, and were instrumental in his decision to accept the vote of the people and step down rather than void the election.

In subsequent elections in 1996, Daniel Ortega and the Sandinistas of the FSLN were again defeated, this time by Arnoldo Alemán and the Constitutional Liberal Party (PLC) and its allies, but ran a reasonably strong second. President Alemán came to a strategic understanding with Ortega and the FSLN, and Nicaragua's politics seemed to settle into a two party system, with the PLC and FSLN cooperating in dividing certain government spoils and positions and helping to shut out smaller parties(Note that Dhimokratía is the greek word for Republic wich is in Latin (Roman)). In the 2001 elections, the PLC again defeated the FSLN, with Enrique Bolaños winning the Presidency. However, President Bolaños subsequently broke with the PLC and charged former President Alemán with corruption, securing a twenty-year prison term for embezzlement, money laundering, and corruption. The Sandinista party and Liberal members loyal to Alemán reacted by stripping powers from President Bolaños and his ministers, and threatening impeachment. This "slow motion coup" was averted partially due to U.S. pressure, with proposed constitutional changes delayed until the scheduled 2006 elections.

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Politics

Main article: Politics of Nicaragua

Image:Nicaragua flora.JPG

Nicaragua is a constitutional republic with an elected president holding executive power. The unicameral legislative body is the National Assembly, which has 92 members elected for 5-year terms. The President, and the runner-up are both members of the National Assembly, as well, and the government operates according to pseudo-parliamentary rules.

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Departments

Main article: Departments of Nicaragua

For administrative purposes, Nicaragua is divided into 15 departments and two autonomous regions. The departments are Boaco, Carazo, Chinandega, Chontales, Estelí, Granada, Jinotega, León, Madriz, Managua, Masaya, Matagalpa, Nueva Segovia, Rivas, Río San Juan. The two autonomous regions are Región Autónoma del Atlántico Norte and Región Autónoma del Atlántico Sur, often referred to as RAAN and RAAS respectively. Until they were granted autonomy in 1985 they formed the single department of Zelaya.

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Geography

Image:Nicaragua Departments.jpg

Main article: Geography of Nicaragua

Bordered by Costa Rica on the South and Honduras on the North, the balmy Caribbean Sea the east. It is a warm and friendly land of lakes and mountains; rivers and volcanoes, sea and sun.

Nicaragua has three distinct geographical regions: the Pacific Lowlands, the North-Central Mountains and the Atlantic Lowlands.

Image:Guardabarranco.JPG

The Pacific Lowlands:

Located in the west of the country, and consist of a broad, hot, fertile plain. Punctuating this plain are several large volcanoes, there are upwards of 40 volcanoes in the country, including Mombacho and Momotombo. The lowland area runs from the Gulf of Fonseca, on Nicaragua's Pacific border with Costa Rica south of Lake Nicaragua. From this lowland strip, the Maribios mountain range, with its 25 volcanic cones, towers overs some of the most beautiful and impressive beaches found anywhere else in Central America.

This region is the most populated. About 27 percent of the nation's entire population lives in and around Managua, the capital city, on the southern shores of Lake Managua. Few Latin American capital cities share Managua's picturesque location. Being on an open plain, it does not suffer the pollution of other capitals trapped in mountain valleys.

In addition to its beach and resort communities, the Pacific Lowlands is also the repository for much of Nicaragua's Spanish colonial heritage. Cities such as Granada and León abound in Spanish colonial architecture and artifacts.

The Central Region:

An upland region away from the Pacific coast, with a cooler climate than the Pacific Lowlands. About a quarter of the country's agriculture takes place in this region, with coffee grown on the higher slopes. An ecologically active area with mountains and ranges over 3,281 feet above sea level. Oaks, pines, moss, ferns and orchids are abundant in the massive cloud forests of the region. Large coffee plantations often welcome a weary visitor with a steaming cup of the homegrown product.

Hikers and backpackers, walking along the tree shaded paths can quench their thirst in the clear waters of the mountain springs.

A lucky bird watcher may be able to add a rare quetzal viewing to their inventory. Most certainly they will see goldfinches, hummingbirds, magpies or toucanets. Taking a branch of the famous Pan American Highway, the traveler can drive through the heart of this region to the border with Honduras.

The Atlantic Lowlands:

A large rainforest region, with several large rivers running through it, is very sparsely populated and is considered the second largest rainforest in the Americas after the Amazon in Brazil. The Río Negro borders the country with Honduras. The Caribbean coastline is much more sinuous than its generally straight Pacific counterpart: lagoons and deltas make it very irregular.

Nicaragua's tropical east coast is far different from the rest of the country. The climate is predominantly tropical with high temperature and high humidity. Around the area's principal city of Bluefields, English is widely spoken along with the official Spanish and the population more closely resembles that found in many typical Caribbean ports than the rest of Nicaragua which further enriches the diversity of this country.

Nature lovers will find much to peak their interest in the tropical forests of the area. A great variety of birds are to be studied including eagles, turkeys, toucans, parakeets and macaws. Animal life in the area includes several different species of monkeys, ant-eaters, white-tailed deer and tapirs.

It is well worth the time to take the short flight from Bluefields to the Corn Islands. These small, beautiful islands are fringed with white coral and are a popular resort area for many Central Americans. They are a perfect spot for bathing, surfing, fishing and the small island even has a mountain to climb. If you are a lover of seafood and shell fish, the Corn Islands is the place to be.

Because of Nicaragua is the central american country with the higest touristic potential Nicaragua is becoming the new touristic capital in the Americas [1].

Economy

Main article: Economy of Nicaragua

Image:Momotombo.jpg

The Nicaraguan unit of currency is the Córdoba (NIO) and was named after Francisco Hernández de Córdoba its national founder. It trades at around 16.450 to the U.S. dollar, trades at about 19.910 to the European euro, and trades at around 0.5139 to the Taiwanese dollar. Regardless of exchange rates, real value for foreign currencies tends to go much further in Nicaragua than the rest of the region.

Nicaragua's economy has historically been based on the export of cash crops such as bananas, coffee and tobacco. It is renowned to produce the best rum in Latin America; the second best tobacco in the world; and have the third ranking in beef quality only behind Argentina and Brazil. During the Contra War in the early 1980's, much of the country's infrastructure was damaged or destroyed, poor administration by the Sandinista regime and an economic blockade by the U.S. combined with the economic stagnation of the aligned Soviet bloc led to the virtual collapse of the economy. Inflation ran at that time at several thousand per cent. Since the end of the war almost two decades ago, many state-owned industries have been privatized. Inflation has been brought to manageable levels, and the economy has grown quite rapidly in recent years.

As in so many other developing countries, most of the poor in Nicaragua are women. In addition, a relatively high percentage of Nicaragua's average homes have a woman as head of household: 39% of urban homes and 28% of the rural ones.

The country is still a recovering economy and it continues to implement further reforms, on which aid from the International Monetary Fund is conditional. A new state agency (Pro Nicaragua) established in 2002 and the recent ratification of CAFTA have been instrumental for the democratic government of Nicaragua to launch an ambitious promotional campaign employing USA-educated nationals with executive expertise, to attract foreign investment and diversify the economy in such areas as BPO (Business Process Outsourcing) and Garment Sourcing.

By the end of 2005 these initiatives had already successfully launched Nicaragua as one of the fastest growing economies in Latin America and a prefered destination for tourism and business as well as a retirement haven for North Americans, Europeans and many others alike with its incentive packages (Law 306) and an inrivaled natural beauty and abundance of resources... Nicaragua is ripe for the picking as some say.

In 2005, finance ministers of the leading eight industrialized nations (G-8) agreed to forgive Nicaragua's foreign debt, as part of the HIPC program.

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Demographics

Main article: Demographics of Nicaragua

According to the 2005 census, Nicaragua has a population of 5,483,400, an increase of 20% on the 1995 census figure of 4,357,099.

Nicaraguans of European or Mestizo (to varying degrees) stock make up a combined 86% of the population, and effectively the largest majority. Although there are not always clear lines of differentiation due to the large and varying caucasoid composition across this group, the segment can be divided for the most part along the lines of 69% Mestizos and 17% of European descent (mostly Spanish, German and Italian).

In the nineteenth century, there had been a substantial indigenous minority, but this group was also largely assimilated culturally into the Hispanic mainstream. Primarily in the 19th century, Nicaragua saw several waves of immigration from other European nations. In particular the northern cities of Esteli and Matagalpa have significant 4th generation German communities. Most of the Mestizo and European descent population live in the western regions of the country as in the cities of Managua, Granada and Leon.

A minority comprising about 9 % of Nicaragua's population is considered black or afronicaragüense, and mainly reside in the country's sparsely populated eastern or Atlantic coast. The black population is mostly of West Indian (Antillean) origin, the descendents of indentured labourers brought mostly from Jamaica and Haiti when the region was a British protectorate. As the largest country in the region, Nicaragua also has the second largest black population in Central America after Panama. There is also a smaller number of Garifuna, a people of mixed Carib, Angolan, Congolese and Arawak descent.

Image:Nicaragua lake.JPG

The remaining 5 % is comprised of the unmixed descendants of the country's indigenous inhabitants. Nicaragua's pre-Colombian population consisted of the Nahuatl-speaking Nicarao people of the west after whom the country is named, and six other ethnic groups including the Miskitos, Ramas and Sumos along the Caribbean coast. While very few pure-blooded Nicarao people still exist, the Caribbean peoples have remained distinct. In the mid-1980s, the government divided the department of Zelaya - consisting of the eastern half of the country - into two autonomous regions and thus granted the African and indigenous people of this region limited self-rule within the Republic.

There is also a small Middle Eastern-Nicaraguan community of Syrian, Armenian, Palestinian and Lebanese people in Nicaragua with a total population of about 30,000, and an East Asian community of Japanese, Taiwanese and Chinese people of almost 8,000. These minorities speak Spanish while maintaining their ancestral languages as well.

Image:Nicaraguan children.jpg Spanish is spoken by about 90% of the country's population; Nicaraguans speak standard Iberoamerican Spanish with some similarities to Galician Spanish—structurally similar to Argentinian Spanish which uses "vos" instead of "tu" along with the "vos" conjugation, but with a different intonation. The black population of the east coast region has English as its first language. Several indigenous peoples of the east still use their original languages.

Roman Catholicism is the major religion, but evangelical Protestant groups have grown recently, and there are strong Anglican and Moravian communities on the Caribbean coast.

90 % of Nicaraguans live in the Pacific lowlands and the adjacent interior highlands. The population is 54% urban. An estimated 2 million Nicaraguans live outside of Nicaragua, popular destinations are Costa Rica, the United States, Mexico, Germany, and Spain.

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Culture

Main article: Culture of Nicaragua

The "Nicas" are friendly and obliging people, with a matriarchal society. The population is very young with 60 percent under 17 years of age. As a whole the country is rich in colorful folklore, music and religious traditions. A fusion of Old World and New World emerged as the national psyche creating a society largely founded on European-Iberian culture but enriched with Amerindian sounds and flavours. Nicaragua has historically been a literary treasure in poetry of the Hispanic world with internationally renowned contributors such as Ruben Darío who is widely acclaimed as the Father of Modernism and Prince of Spanish Literature.

Through education Nicaragua's Government promotes the formation of nationals, giving them a decisive, scientific and humanist conscience. Education is free and the same for all Nicaraguans. Elementary education is free and compulsory. Communities localted on the Atlantic Coast have access to education in their native language. Higher education has financial, organic and administrative autonomy, according to the law. Also, freedom of subjects is recognized.

Nicaraguan culture can further be defined in several distinct strands. The west of the country was colonized by Spain and its people are mostly Mestizos and European in composition; Spanish is invariably their first language.

Image:San Juan del Sur Nicaragua.JPG

The eastern half of the country, on the other hand, was once a British protectorate. English is still predominant in this region and spoken domestically a par with Spanish which is formally taught in schools, its culture is somewhat similar to Caribbean nations, although recent immigration by Mestizos has largely influenced younger generations and an increasing number of people are either bilingual at home or speak Spanish only. There is a large population of people of mixed African stock, as well as a smaller Garifuna population.

Of the cultures that were present before European colonization, the Nahuatl-speaking peoples who populated the west of the country have essentially been assimilated into the latino culture. In the east, however, several indigenous groups have maintained a distinct identity. The Sumos and Ramas people still use their original languages.

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Arts

Image:Mombacho.JPG

Atelier Yoyita www.yoyita.com (English, Spanish, French, Chinese, German, Italian)
Arte Nicaraguense www.artenicaraguense.com Contemporary art by Nicaraguan masters.
Images of Nicaragua Paintings of Nicaragua

FAMOUS "NICAS" IN THE WORLD OF ENTERTAINMENT, MUSIC AND TELEVISION IN THE U.S

Bianca Jagger - Socialite and Human rights activist

Denis Martinez- Former Orioles Baseball Player and Hall-of-Famer

Luis Enrique Mejia - Salsero singer/composer

Gioconda Belli - Writer/Poet

Maria A. Morales - Senior writer "People en Espanol"

Sal Morales - Telemundo Los Angeles weather anchor

Ivan Taylor - Telemundo Miami Weekend anchor reporter

Gabriel Traversari - Show Host/Actor/Model

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Miscellaneous topics

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External links

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