# data[].attributes.body
These photos show a glimpse into what things looked like in Nicaragua during the 2018 crisis. You can see the different types of weapons created and used by civilians to protect themselves.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The photos that explain Nicaragua's crisis

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
What led to more than a month of widespread violent protests that have killed more than 70 people?

# data[].attributes.headline
Revolution --> 2018 Crisis --> Now, A Brief Overview

# data[].attributes.subject
Revolution --> 2018 Crisis --> Now, A Brief Overview

# data[].attributes.body
This article explains the social and political reasons for the the Sandinista revolution (1979-1990) which came after the Sandinista party overthrew Somoza, leading to the rule of the FSLN party. The article discusses the complexities of the Sandinista/FSLN party and how their values have changed. The reasons for the 2018 political and economic crisis are then discussed to provide background for the current state of fear that is present in Nicaragua.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
This post is a part of our "Latin America's Ongoing Revolutions" series, which explores the colonial and post-colonial angles of Latin America's revolutionary history. Check out the entire series.

"It was a beautiful revolution, but what happened is that it was betrayed."

In 2015, Ernesto Cardenal - the beret-wearing Catholic priest, acclaimed poet, and key personality of the Sandinista Revolution (1979-1990) - delivered this appraisal of Nicaragua's postrevolutionary legacy.[1] At the time, Latin America watched with concern as Nicaraguan democracy imploded. Daniel Ortega, president during the revolutionary 1980s and re-elected in 2006, used his office and grip over the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) to muzzle dissent and consolidate control over all branches of government. In doing so, the former Marxist rebel eschewed the Revolution's redistributive economics and progressive social policies. He instead presided over a stunning ideological metamorphosis whereby the Sandinista Front became a socially-conservative, pro-business party in tacit alliance with "the most conservative sectors of society."[2] The regime's corporatist pacts with the capitalist class and the Catholic Church hierarchies, in conjunction with Ortega's blatantly dynastic ambitions (he shared power with his wife, Vice President Rosario Murillo, and groomed his children for future leadership), suggested a bizarre reprise of the Somoza dictatorship the FSLN overthrew in 1979. "That's not what we supported," the elderly Cardenal lamented. Gioconda Belli, another influential literary figure, recently reflected that "what never should have happened is happening again in Nicaragua."[3] Like Cardenal and countless other high-profile Sandinistas, Belli abandoned the FSLN many years ago.

April 2018 was a watershed in the long history of the Sandinista Revolution. After a decade of quietly acquiescing to authoritarianism in exchange for economic growth and stability, much of the population erupted in rebellion. A panideological, multisectorial, and multiclass protest movement rocked the regime and demanded a democratic transition. The erection of barricades across the country, along with the defection of crucial elite allies, marked the end of the Ortega regime's first phase. Unable to restore the status quo, the FSLN government unleashed a wave of police and paramilitary violence which killed hundreds and sparked accusations of "crimes against humanity" by the Inter-American Commission for Human Rights (IACHR).[4] Since then, the regime has muddled through a protracted political and economic crisis by leveraging the loyalty of security forces and exploiting divisions within the fragmented opposition. The 2018 crackdown left behind a persisting "climate of widespread terror," as the UN human rights office put it.[5] It also left Nicaraguans looking to the past to help make sense of their present. Inevitably, the historical memory of the Sandinista Revolution takes on a different shape in this new light.

"Cuesto del Plomo," hillside outside Managua, a well-known site of many assasinations carried out by the National Guard. People searched here daily for missing persons. July 1978, from the series, "Reframing History," Managua, July 2004.

Cardenal passed away in March of this year at the age of 95. Dozens of government sympathizers, clad in the red-and-black colors of the Sandinista Front, crashed his funeral mass in Managua's Metropolitan Cathedral. In between bitter chants - ¡traidor! - they roughed up grieving relatives and threatened to profane his coffin.[6] He was eventually buried in secret. Evidently, the question of the Revolution's legacy is very much alive. Some Nicaraguans, like Cardenal, decry a revolution betrayed. Orteguistas claim a revolution fulfilled. Still others, from hardline anti-Sandinista backgrounds, consider the original 1979 revolution a national betrayal in and of itself.How can historians connect the history of the Sandinista Revolution, long understood in the West as a Cold War "hotspot", with contemporary crossroads in Nicaraguan and Latin American politics?
A (very) brief history of the Nicaraguan Revolution
The Sandinista Front was the first and only armed leftist organization to take power in Latin America after the Cuban Revolution. Their success in 1979 was made possible by an ideologically diverse, "multiclass coalition" which differentiated the Nicaraguan case from failed uprisings elsewhere in the so-called Third World.[7] The anti-Somoza alliances collapsed, however, soon after the ancien régime was defeated. U.S. intervention later militarized grievances with Sandinista rule that, absent Washington bullets or dollars, would likely have remained in the political sphere. The ensuing Contra insurgency led to a devastating civil war, itself part of a web of interlocking conflicts in Central America which pitted Cuban-aligned Marxist rebels in Guatemala and El Salvador against U.S.-backed anti-communist regimes in those countries. The war effort consumed the FSLN government and derailed its social transformation agenda.[8]

Their revolution ended in unexpected fashion. As a result of the 1987 Central American Peace Accords, Nicaragua held democratic elections which the ruling Sandinistas surprisingly lost. Thus, in 1990 the FSLN became the first socialist movement which, having come to power by the barrel of gun, turned it over after losing at the ballot box. The Revolution therefore left a peculiar balance sheet. As Sergio Ramírez (Vice President, 1985-1990) wrote in his memoir,

The revolution did not bring justice for the oppressed as had been hoped; nor did it manage to create wealth and development. Instead, its greatest benefit was democracy, sealed in 1990 with the acknowledgement of electoral defeat. As a paradox of history, this is its most obvious legacy, although it was not its most passionate objective.[9]

Reckoning with the Revolution
But as former FSLN Comandante Jaime Wheelock recently commented, "if the Sandinista Revolution can still be recognized as having contributed to a durable democratic transition, that's now in doubt."[10] Indeed, the violent consolidation of the Ortegas as a new family dictatorship forces us to ask more generally what the Sandinista Revolution changed, and did not change, in terms of the country's long-standing social inequalities, cultural cleavages, and political arrangements. The trauma of repression makes this reckoning difficult. But generational change makes it both possible and necessary.

In revisiting the Nicaraguan Revolution, scholars should resist two impulses. The first is the tendency to treat the Sandinista period primarily as a flashpoint in the history of U.S. foreign relations. The Reagan administration's belligerence in Central America inspired passionate and important debates among U.S. citizens about their country's interventions abroad.[11] However, viewing Nicaraguan politics exclusively through that prism can create unhelpful terms of reference. It can also obscure local complexities; while U.S. actors were extraordinarily influential in shaping and constraining the Nicaraguan revolutionary process, decisions made in Washington overlapped with a panoply of national and regional dynamics.

Second, new histories of the Revolution must refuse the temptation to either romanticize or demonize Sandinista leaders. The same goes for their opponents. All revolutions have a Manichaean quality, and contemporary polarization in Nicaragua has accentuated this facet in the Sandinista Revolution's historical memory. But recent works by a younger set of scholars, such as Irene Agudelo's discursive analysis of the Contra's complicated origins and legacies, demonstrate the value of moving beyond black-and-white visions of our contemporary history.[12]

After all, the university students who ignited the 2018 street protests came from Sandinista and anti-Sandinista backgrounds alike. Two years on, some of their movements have already slid back into the partisan, ideological rancor of yesteryear. But the most powerful voices among them have raised a more holistic critique of Nicaraguan political culture. Why did our parents' generation, despite the promise of renewal in 1979, ultimately fail to transcend the country's addiction to authoritarian caudillo politics? The new crop is especially critical of our historical tendency to resolve conflicts through armed violence, and they resent our repeated failure to create justice and accountability for its victims. As one young progressive put it, "we're not the children of the revolution, we're the children of unhealed traumas."[13]

The focus should be on the Sandinista Revolution's enmeshment with broader narratives in Nicaraguan history. The implosion of the liberal democratic experiment of the 1990s, for instance, puts the collapse of the Somocista and revolutionary regimes in a different context: a much longer history, dating back to independence in the early 1800s, of frequently aborted processes of state formation.[14] Similarly, the special forms of violence inflicted on afro-descendant and indigenous communities under both the democratic transition and Ortega dictatorship suggests we should take another look at how the Sandinista Revolution's promise of inclusion intersected with the older, exclusionary myth of Nicaragua's mestizo identity.[15] In terms of political culture, the FSLN's remarkable rightward swing in the 21 st century makes one wonder about deeply rooted, ultraconservative strains in elite Nicaraguan thought which cut across traditional ideological divides.[16] Analysts are also beginning to connect the insurgent and counterinsurgent violence of the 1970s and 1980s with the various factors that gave rise to both the Ortega dictatorship as well as the surprising protest movement of 2018.[17] These are but a few examples that come to mind.

Finally, the Nicaraguan Revolution should be put in regional context. In my research, I link the Sandinista Revolution to broader late-Cold War changes in Latin America; one of them was the nearly simultaneous collapse of anti-communist military dictatorships and rise of liberal democratic transitions across the continent. Similarly, authoritarian regression in Nicaragua was clearly symptomatic of wider democratic backsliding seen across the hemisphere over the past two decades. And while the particulars vary by country, the 2018 anti-Ortega uprising - motivated not only by demands for individual liberties but also by calls for equality, inclusion, and transparency - is likewise tied to the wave of protests that electrified every corner of the region in 2019. Reckoning with the Sandinista Revolution's legacy also means recognizing that the ongoing crisis in Nicaragua is more relevant to wider Latin American politics than most scholars have considered.

Mateo Jarquín is Assistant Professor of History at Chapman University. Originally from Nicaragua, he earned his Ph.D. from Harvard University in 2019. His scholarship asks how 20th-century revolutions in the so-called Third World have framed global debates about development, democratization, and international relations. Based on archival and oral history research in several Latin American countries, his current project examines Nicaragua's Sandinista Revolution (1979-1990) through a transnational lens. Additionally, he has written about contemporary Nicaraguan politics in publications such as The New York Times, Axios, Política Exterior, and The Washington Post.

Title image: "U.S. documentary photographer Susan Meiselas captured the most famous images of the 1979 Sandinista Revolution. For her 2004 project "Reframing History," she installed murals of the photographs at the exact locations they were originally taken: http://www.susanmeiselas.com/latin-america/2006-present/#id=intro."
Further Readings (and one film):
Belli, Gioconda. "How Daniel Ortega Became a Tyrant." Foreign Affairs, August 24, 2018.

Carrión, Gloria, director. Heiress of the Wind. Journeyman Pictures, 2018.

Close, Martí I Puig, and McConnell, eds. The Sandinistas and Nicaragua since 1979. Lynne Rienner, 2011.

Francis, Hilary, ed. A Nicaraguan Exceptionalism? Debating the Legacy of the Sandinista Revolution. University of London Press, 2020.

Ramírez, Sergio. "Algo nuevo va a nacer." Revista ágrafos, no.9, August 2020.

Proceedings from Nicaragua 1979-2019: The Sandinista Revolution After Forty Years, Brown University, May 2-4, 2019. https://watson.brown.edu/events/2019/conference- nicaragua-1979-2019-sandinista-revolution-after-40-years

Selser, Gabriela. Banderas y harapos: Relatos de la revolución en Nicaragua. Editorial Anama, 2016.
Endnotes:
[1] "Lamenta Cardenal traición a la Revolución de Nicaragua en sus 90 años," Jornada, January 19, 2015.

[2] Salvador Martí I Puig, "Nicaragua: Desdemocratización y caudillismo," Revista de Ciencia Política, 36(1), 2016: 243.

[3] Belli, 2018. See suggested readings.

[4] "Report by independent experts affirms that government of President Ortega has committed crimes against humanity," Amnesty International, December 21, 2018.

[5] UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, "Human Rights Violations and Abuses in the Context of Protests in Nicaragua," July 5, 2018.

[6] "Simpatizantes de Ortega invaden el funeral del poeta Ernesto Cardenal para gritarle 'traidor'," El País, March 4, 2020.

[7] Mark Everingham, Revolution and the Multiclass Coalition in Nicaragua, (Pittsburgh: University of

Pittsburgh Press, 1996).

[8] For a longer survey, see my essay "A la sombra de la Revolución Sandinista: Nicaragua, 1979-2019" in Anhelos de un nuevo horizonte: Aportes hacia la construcción de una Nicaragua democrática, (San José, Costa Rica: FLACSO, 2020).

[9] Sergio Ramírez, Adiós Muchachos: A Memoir of the Sandinista Revolution, (Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2011), 4.

[10] See proceedings from Nicaragua 1979-2019: The Sandinista Revolution After Forty Years, Brown University, May 2-4, 2019.

[11] For the most comprehensive analysis of U.S. policy and the debates it engendered, see William LeoGrande, Our Own Backyard: U.S. Policy in Central America, 1977-1922, (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1988).

[12] Irene Agudelo, Contramemorias: Discursos e imágenes sobre/desde la Contra, (Managua: IHNCA, 2017).

[13] Madeleine Caracas, "No somos los hijos de la revolución," Confidencial, April 22, 2019.

[14] Victor Hugo Acuña, "La formación del Estado en Nicaragua y Costa Rica en perspectiva comparada: siglos XIX-XX," Anuario de Estudios Centroamericanos, no. 44, 2018: 1-42.

[15] Jeffrey Gould, To Die in this Way: Nicaraguan Indians and the Myth of Mestizaje, (Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 1998).

[16] Juan Pablo Gómez, Autoridad/Cuerpo/Nación: Batallas culturales en Nicaragua, 1930-43, (Managua: IHNCA-UCA, 2015).

[17] José Luís Rocha, Autoconvocados y conectados: Los universitarios en la revuelta de abril en Nicaragua, (Managua: UCA, 2019).

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
This post is a part of our "Latin America's Ongoing Revolutions" series, which explores the colonial and post-colonial angles of Latin America's revolutionary history. Check out the entire series. By Mateo Jarquín "It was a beautiful revolution, but what happened is that it was betrayed." In 2015, Ernesto Cardenal - the beret-wearing Catholic priest, acclaimed...

# data[].attributes.headline
Political context of the Sandinista Revolution

# data[].attributes.subject
Political context of the Sandinista Revolution

# data[].attributes.body
This video provides context of the Nicaraguan revolution and history of what followed politically. The video shows interviews with a variety of people involved, including the current president--Daniel Ortega. It discusses the disillusionment of many Sandinistas after the Ortega family gained power and contextualizes the political situation in Nicaragua by shining light on government connections to the USA.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Nicaragua: An unfinished revolution - 17 Jul 09 - Part 3

# data[].attributes.headline
Justification and Impact of United States Involvement: a Global Affair

# data[].attributes.subject
Justification and Impact of United States Involvement: a Global Affair

# data[].attributes.body
This video explains how the Reagan administration justified their involvement in the Sandinista Revolution and how that involvement impacted the revolution. The video also discusses the support of the Soviet Union and the global political schema. In the end of the video, we learn about another revolutionary group in Latin America, the FARC and are asked to think critically about who is good and who is bad.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Dining With Terrorists: America's Backyard. 17 Feb 09 - Pt 2

# data[].attributes.body
This concise PDF details the general impetus for the 2018 protests which mark the beginning of a 3 year political and economic crisis that we still see today. The PDF describes the legal changes that sparked Nicaraguans to protest, provides the aftermath in terms of number i.e. those in poverty, death toll, etc. The PDF then predicts the short and long term effects that will be felt in Nicaragua.

# data[].attributes.headline
Your Questions Answered: 2018 Crisis in Nicaragua

# data[].attributes.subject
Your Questions Answered: 2018 Crisis in Nicaragua

# data[].attributes.body
This article explains the causes and effects of the 2018 political crisis--published a couple of months after the crisis began it is an interesting insight into what the world knew at the time. The article shows many photos of the time.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Hundreds of people have been killed in Nicaragua since 18 April in what has become a popular uprising against the Central American country's president, Daniel Ortega, and his government. BBC News takes a closer look at how the crisis unfolded.

How did it all start?

The crisis started rather unexpectedly when pro-government groups violently crushed a small demonstration against reforms to Nicaragua's pension system announced on 18 April.

These pro-government groups, popularly known as "grupos de choque" (shock forces) had in the past been used to repress anti-government protests and had discouraged many Nicaraguans disgruntled with President Ortega from taking to the streets.

But this time footage of the repression, which was widely shared on social media, caused outrage and triggered more protests which in turn were met with further repression.

Three people, among them a police officer, were killed on 19 April amid attempts by the security forces to suppress the demonstrations.

What's happened since?

Hundreds of people have been killed and thousands injured as the protests have grown and attempts to suppress them intensified.

Anger at the government has kept on increasing with rising fatalities. The country is littered with roadblocks and barricades, which the security forces have been trying to clear.

There are almost daily reports of clashes turning lethal. Protesters blame the security forces and paramilitary groups loyal to the government for the violence while the authorities have labelled the protesters as "terrorists".

How many have been killed?

The government has not released any official figures in recent weeks, saying that each and every death has to be investigated thoroughly before accurate numbers can be given.

The Inter-American Commission of Human Rights (IACHR) said 264 people had been killed between the start of the protests and 11 July.

Human rights groups inside Nicaragua say the figure is now up to more than 300.

Why are the protest so deadly?

Protesters allege that the security forces employ excessive force, using live bullets and sharpshooters against demonstrators.

The United Nations Office for Human Rights has also warned of "the dangerous spiral of violence and impunity" it says Nicaragua is sliding into.

The government denies the violence is one-sided and points to the use of home-made mortars by the protesters as evidence that the security forces come under attack.

A number of police officers have been among those killed. The government has also pointed to instances in which government supporters have been attacked to back up their claim that the protesters are "terrorists".

But most human rights groups agree that the paramilitary groups, or "grupos de choque", have played a particularly deadly role in the conflict.

What do the protesters want?

With hundreds of thousands taking to the streets, the demands have become much broader than the original protests against changes to the pension system, which were scrapped shortly after the protests began.

University students are at the forefront of the protests but the movement prides itself on having the support of Nicaraguans from all walks of life and of all political affiliations.

They have also been joined by many in the business sector, who in the past broadly supported President Ortega.

They are united in their demand for justice for those killed during the demonstrations. They are also demanding deep democratic reforms, with many believing neither can be achieved if President Ortega - who is on his third consecutive term in office - remains in power.

Many are therefore calling for Mr Ortega to step down or at least for early elections to take place, both of which the leader has ruled out arguing that it would go against the constitution.

What does the government say?

The government has blamed the situation on criminal groups and "opposition political groups with specific political agendas".

It says the protesters are "inflicting suffering on Nicaraguan families" by severely disrupting everyday life.

In a statement published on 9 July, the government accuses the protesters of killing, torturing and kidnapping hundreds of citizens and of looting and setting alight homes and businesses.

The government says it has "the duty to defend the security and peace" of all Nicaraguans, including "the right of people, vehicles and goods to move freely throughout the territory".

It has launched an operation dubbed "clean-up" which it says is aimed at restoring order, but protesters accuse the security forces deployed of dragging opposition activists from their homes and illegally detaining them.

What might happen next?

There has been widespread international condemnation of the Nicaraguan government and calls for the security forces to be reined in but so far to little effect.

Businesses have been suffering, especially those in the tourism sector, and with protesters threatening to call further strikes an estimated 85,000 jobs could be lost this year.

A "national dialogue" in which protesters sat down with members of the government with the mediation of the Catholic Church has so far achieved very little and stalled repeatedly.

With talks stalled, President Ortega ruling out early elections and protesters saying that there is no going back, the crisis seems likely to further escalate.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Downward spiral: Nicaragua's worsening crisis

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Hundreds of people have been killed in Nicaragua since 18 April in what has become a popular uprising against the Central American country's president, Daniel Ortega, and his government. BBC News takes a closer look at how the crisis unfolded. How did it all start?

# data[].attributes.headline
Interview with Nicaraguan Journalist During the Crisis

# data[].attributes.subject
Interview with Nicaraguan Journalist During the Crisis

# data[].attributes.body
This interview gives a perspective of what people in Nicaragua were thinking and feeling during the time of the Crisis. The journalist (Chamorro) who is interviewed discusses the gravity of the situation and the ways in which the Ortega dictatorship sought to sway the facts to serve their agenda.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
MANAGUA, Nicaragua -- Nicaragua is experiencing the "worst political crisis" in the country's history, says investigative journalist Carlos Fernando Chamorro, who has been following recent unrest on the ground. Speaking on CBSN Tuesday from Managua, Nicaragua's capital, Chamorro said many Nicaraguans consider President Daniel Ortega incapable of governing and believe he should step down.

In April, the country saw a wave of protests against social security reforms. Human rights groups say dozens of people were killed or went missing during the protests when police and Sandinista youth groups violently suppressed demonstrations.

Chamorro said more than 40 people died, including university students, a 15-year-old and two policemen. "This has been a bloodbath," he said.

Ortega abandoned the social security overhaul that sparked the protests. The rescinded reforms would have increased contributions and reduced pensions. But the protests, which have been largely led by university students, had expanded beyond the original opposition to the social security overhaul to include broader anti-government grievances.

A "Peace and Justice" march on Saturday called by the Episcopal Conference of Nicaragua brought in students, representatives of the private sector and opponents of the construction of an interoceanic canal. It drew tens of thousands of Nicaraguans, and was the second massive demonstration in less than a week following the wave of deadly protests.

Francisca Ramirez, a leader of the anti-canal movement, said "it is time for Daniel Ortega to understand that he cannot continue doing whatever he wants with this country."

"It has been enough. We want peace but with justice for the murders," Ramirez added.

Similar demonstrations were held Saturday in other cities such as Matagalpa and Leon.

Chamorro, the journalist, described the unrest as a peaceful uprising.

"There are no armed groups, there's no even visible leaders or organization," he said. "This is a spontaneous, popular revolt against a dictatorial government, and everybody [is] hoping in Nicaragua that we will be able to achieve a peaceful transition."

Chamorro said, however, there is no indication that Ortega "has understood the dimension of this crisis." He said Ortego organized a demonstration of support on Monday.

Ortega, a former guerrilla fighter, began his third five-year term in office last year. His wife, Rosario Murillo, is Nicaragua's vice president.

Last week, the government's Sandinista Front party released a statement in which it blamed the rise of violence on students, The New York Times reported. It said protesters went after officers with mortars when authorities sought to clear a highway blocked by students. It also said the demonstrations were not spontaneous and that the two universities where the protests started were religious institutions "subsidized by the state."

On Friday, National Assembly president Gustavo Porras announced the creation of a truth commission to look into the deaths and violence during the clashes.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Nicaragua undergoing "worst political crisis" in country's history, journalist says

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
MANAGUA, Nicaragua -- Nicaragua is experiencing the "worst political crisis" in the country's history, says investigative journalist Carlos Fernando Chamorro, who has been following recent unrest on the ground. Speaking on CBSN Tuesday from Managua, Nicaragua's capital, Chamorro said many Nicaraguans consider President Daniel Ortega incapable of governing and believe he should step down.

# data[].attributes.headline
Theories and Ideologies of Socialism in Nicaragua

# data[].attributes.subject
Theories and Ideologies of Socialism in Nicaragua

# data[].attributes.body
This book discusses the base ideas of Marxism and Socialism that influenced the politics in Nicaragua. It also touches on the political power dynamics between the super powers of the Soviet Union and the USA in regards to Nicaragua.

# data[].attributes.body
This website provides some statistics that highlight how the touristic economy of Nicaragua was in a period of strong growth before the 2018 crisis.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
In 2010 the The former president of the Association of Inbound Tourism of Nicaragua (ANTAR), Antonio Armas, believes that "See also "Elnuevodiario.com.ni reports that " Nicaraguan Tourism Institute counted 62 businesses dedicated to providing travel organization services, and last year, this figure reached 161, thanks to the growth experienced in tourism in the country.
... this dynamism in tour operator trade is related to the easing of bureaucracy linked to setting up companies in this sector, greater entrepreneurship and the boom in tourism which the country is experiencing."

Nicaragua: Average Tourist Stay Lengthens"

"In Rivas we have a lot of business opportunities, Ticos come all the time to Nicaragua", he acknowledged. The general manager of the travel operator Macua Tours, Edwin Ruiz, opened his company three years ago in Rivas and one of the reasons that motivated him was the high demand for transport that exists in that area of the country, due its proximity to Costa Rica.
...
The businesses that registered the greatest growth, after companies providing land and aquatic tourist transport are recreational centers and coffee shops with 114.71 and 94.89%." Jinotega, Rivas and León have also expanded their tourism supply to almost double in the last six years, with increases of 117.8%, 112.8% and 108.4%, respectively.

Source: elnuevodiario.com.ni

Request more information:

More on this topic

A new measure imposed by Nicaraguan immigration authorities requires foreigners who intend to enter the country to file a "notice of entry" seven days in advance.

The Nicaraguan business sector, particularly companies working in the tourism industry, regret the government's decision to implement this measure.

On June 29, Nicaraguan entrepreneurs will be visiting San Salvador to meet with travel agencies and tour operators in order to explore business opportunities.

The objective of the Nicaraguan Tourist Entrepreneurs Projection (Preturnic), which is organizing the activity, is to improve the promotion of Nicaragua as a tourist destination in the neighboring country, and generate alliances with travel agencies, car rental companies and hotels, among others.

The tourist sector is proposing to develop a long-term strategy be create a market segment aimed at bird watching tourism in the country.

Authorities from the Nicaraguan Institute of Tourism and entrepreneurs say the birding business generates significant revenue in markets such as Peru, where it "...

In light of the announcement of a campaign to promote tourism in Nicaragua "through embassies and consulates," entrepreneurs are recommending the utilization of professional methods.

Tourism entrepreneurs believe that the "Pride of my country" campaign is insufficient to achieve the impact required to Nicaragua as an important tourist destination in the region.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
In 2010 the The former president of the Association of Inbound Tourism of Nicaragua (ANTAR), Antonio Armas, believes that "See also "Elnuevodiario.com.ni reports that " Nicaraguan Tourism Institute counted 62 businesses dedicated to providing travel organization services, and last year, this figure reached 161, thanks to the growth experienced in tourism in the country.

# data[].attributes.body
This website shows a graph of the generated revenue in Nicaragua from tourism before and after the 2018 crisis.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Nicaragua is located in the heart of Central America, an ideal destination for those looking for something different and adventures. In 2019, the country's internal travel and tourism consumption generated around 1.14 billion U.S. dollars, down from the 1.16 billion made the year prior. The Latin American nation reported its highest internal tourism consumption of the decade in 2017, with 1.45 billion U.S. dollars.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Internal tourism consumption in Nicaragua 2019 | Statista

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Nicaragua is located in the heart of Central America, an ideal destination for those looking for something different and adventures. In 2019, the country's internal travel and tourism consumption generated around 1.14 billion U.S. dollars, down from the 1.16 billion made the year prior.

# data[].attributes.headline
The US Department of State Asks For a Free and Fair Election in Nicaragua

# data[].attributes.subject
The US Department of State Asks For a Free and Fair Election in Nicaragua

# data[].attributes.body
This press release addresses the President and Vice President of Nicaragua in efforts to push them to react more cautiously to COVID-19 and to hold a fair election in 2021.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
PRESS STATEMENT
MICHAEL R. POMPEO, SECRETARY OF STATE
APRIL 18, 2020

Today, we mark precisely two years to the day since the Nicaraguan people rose up peacefully to call for freedom and democracy, demanding change from the corrupt and repressive rule of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo. Unfortunately, the people's calls for freedom and democracy were met with bullets. At least 325 innocent people have been killed, many by Ortega/Murillo regime snipers.

Last July, Ortega abandoned the national dialogue with the political opposition and to date has not complied with the terms to which his representatives agreed back in March 2019, including restoring civil liberties, freeing political prisoners, and instituting meaningful electoral reform.

Still, more than 70 political prisoners remain incarcerated. The Nicaraguan National Police and masked parapolice continue to spread fear through intimidation and violence against activists and critics. Attacks on the press continue unabated. Individual reporters are abused, and there are ongoing efforts to quell free speech and independent media.

The COVID-19 pandemic illustrates Ortega and Murillo's misrule once again. This public health crisis raises the stakes even higher for the entire nation. President Ortega continues to fail to provide leadership to the Nicaraguan people, and their regime demonstrates its ongoing, blatant disregard for the well-being of their people by eschewing the public measures necessary to contain COVID-19. While the rest of the world cancels large gatherings and events, suspends non-essential economic activity, and adopts social distancing measures to slow the spread of coronavirus, Ortega and Murillo's regime refuses to even acknowledge the danger of this deadly pandemic. The Nicaraguan people deserve responsible COVID-19 containment measures be instituted without delay.

We call on President Ortega and Vice President Murillo to initiate immediately a democratic transition - including the restoration of human rights guarantees and free and fair elections - to provide for a healthy, prosperous, and free Nicaragua.

Suggested for You

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Two-Year Anniversary of the Crisis in Nicaragua

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
PRESS STATEMENT MICHAEL R. POMPEO, SECRETARY OF STATE APRIL 18, 2020 Today, we mark precisely two years to the day since the Nicaraguan people rose up peacefully to call for freedom and democracy, demanding change from the corrupt and repressive rule of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo.

# data[].attributes.body
A photo of graffiti in Nicaragua that stands for the power of the people. The country's colors are blue and white and the fist is a long used symbol for freedom. In Nicaragua, the red and black flag represents the FSLN party and the blue and white National flag represents all others.

# data[].attributes.body
Tweet from a US government official that is responded to by an individual who states that Nicaragua still has political barriers to surpass.

# data[].attributes.body
This article explains the widespread jailing of those who are running against or opposing current president Daniel Ortega.

# data[].attributes.headline
Political Reform and Crack Down Before Election

# data[].attributes.subject
Political Reform and Crack Down Before Election

# data[].attributes.body
This video explains the variety of people being repressed and/or jailed in efforts to maintain power and control as the elections near.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Nicaragua elections: New reform challenges presidential candidates

# data[].attributes.body
Tweet from an FSLN support describing his political views since the revolution

# data[].attributes.body
Tweet from and FSLN supporter charting some of the reasons people have to support the FSLN party and Daniel Ortega.

# data[].attributes.body
Photo taken from instagram stating "Forever April 19th" -- the day that the 2018 protests began.

# data[].attributes.headline
Miami Government Declares FSLN a Terrorist Organization

# data[].attributes.subject
Miami Government Declares FSLN a Terrorist Organization

# data[].attributes.body
Photo of an article posted to instagram that declares FSLN a terrorist organization.

# data[].attributes.headline
In Search of Testimonials From Asylum Seekers

# data[].attributes.subject
In Search of Testimonials From Asylum Seekers

# data[].attributes.body
An instagram post that says:
"We are looking for testimonials from Nicaraguans who have arrived in Miami over the past few months to escape the socio-political situation."