WHY TROUBLED COUNTRY IS THE WAY IT IS

Civil war, American foreign policy, deadly hurricane all helped shape current state of life in Nicaragua

Published: Sunday, February 13, 2005
By Nathan Welton
The Tribune

Years of political strife, insurrection and natural disasters have left Nicaragua in shambles.

In this country of more than 5 million people, at least 1.5 million can't read or write. The same number live on less than a dollar a day, and there's little money for social services or educational programs.

Many Nicaraguans credit Daniel Ortega with reforming a country wrecked by years of dictatorship and strife. Ortega headed the government established by the Sandinista revolutionaries, who won a civil war in 1979. In 1984, Ortega was elected president.

Ortega's administration endorsed equality for women, built hospitals and schools, and redistributed land. For the first time in years, many Nicaraguans had milk to drink and ample food. A 1980 education campaign boosted the country's literacy rate from less than 50 percent to 87 percent, winning acclaim from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.

Then President Ronald Reagan charged that the Sandinistas had set up a communist dictatorship. Hoping to rid Central and South America of such governments, Reagan supported a group of guerrillas known as the contras to overthrow the Sandinista leaders. An embargo on U.S. trade weakened the economy, and the CIA mined harbors to disrupt commerce. The International Court of Justice in 1986 found the United States guilty of crimes against Nicaragua for these actions. U.S. officials rejected the verdict.

By 1990, Nicaraguans were tired of the continuing war between the contras and Sandinistas and voted Ortega out of office. With trade sanctions lifted, incoming president Violeta Chamorro, who left office in 1996, managed to control spiraling inflation, but the literacy rate dropped and unemployment is now rampant.

With the devastating impact of Hurricane Mitch in 1998, along with a downswing in coffee bean prices several years ago, the country remains one of the poorest in Latin America.

"I used to think this was a great country to put your effort into, but it's hard," says Granada-based charity director Donna Tabor. "It doesn't always seem sustainable because if you leave, it'll fall apart."