Nicaragua

Abstract

Nicaragua is one of Latin America’s least developed countries and has a tumultuous political past marked by US military intervention, a dynastic dictatorship, socialist revolution, a transition to democracy and regression to authoritarian rule. This makes Nicaragua an important case for understanding whether and how democracy can develop in very poor countries. Historically, Nicaragua’s authoritarian political culture and US domination combined to foster dictatorship. The 1979 revolution and post-Cold War international context helped establish democracy, but neither economic modernization nor lessening of US dependency permitted democracy to consolidate. In the twenty-first century, women’s empowerment was accompanied by slower population growth. High commodity prices and generous foreign aid from left-wing allies allowed consistent economic growth that reduced poverty and US hegemony. Nonetheless, by 2021 Nicaragua’s elections were widely understood as rigged by the Sandinista National Liberation Front party to retain power, and the government routinely violated human rights and civil liberties.