In this new episode of the Netflix series “Borders” we will try to answer the question is Nicaragua dangerous for a tourist?
No, sorry, we’re not on Netflix, sometimes I make these mistakes. But who’s the person that hasn’t had an idea for a TV series in this time and age?
Bullshit aside, the story that will occupy this episode of Borders is a story of ordinary authoritarianism in a country in Central America, Nicaragua. From that point of view, we can try to figure out if a trip to Nicaragua, when this COVID-19 hell will be finally over, is safe or not.
A promising beginning
Until a few years ago, this Central American state seemed to have started a path of continuous and stable development. It was so stable that it was possible to imagine that, thanks to foreign investments (Chinese), a channel would soon be opened to connect the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean, in competition with the Panama Canal (expansion included).
The end of the civil war and competitive prices had pushed tourism to become, after agriculture, the driving force of the Nicaraguan economy. Volcanoes, jungle, quiet beaches on two oceans, and relative proximity to the United States had led the number of tourists to touch the remarkable figure of 2 million (for a country of about 6 million inhabitants).
Then there was the terrible year, 2018, and the following one was not any better. In 2018 and 2019 tourism practically zeroed out due to the dangerous situation that has arisen in the country.
Is Nicaragua dangerous? because of a President?
Let’s jump back. Daniel Ortega, the current president, and aspiring dictator came to power in 2007.
He is a former guerrilla of the Sandinista Front (FSNL), the same front that fought the right-wing paramilitary forces of the Contras. After the civil war, the time comes to participate in real elections and Ortega, candidate of the left-wing front / Sandinista, lost in 1996 and then in 2001.
In 2001, however, the center-right government finds itself embroiled in a history of corruption, embezzlement, and money laundering (come on how could possibly be?!). President Bolaño is even sentenced to twenty years in prison.
So, in 2006, our Ortega, who is basically one of those who don’t give up even if you shoot him in the knee, tries for the third time. Make it or break it. To be a little more relaxed, however, a law is passed whereby, to be elected President, you need to reach 35% of the consensus in the first round and have a gap of more than 5% from the second.
Now it’s a little easier, things are downhill. Ortega wins in 2006 with 38% of the votes and becomes quite attached to the presidential chair. So much so that in 2019 he is still the president (3 mandates + one in the second half of the 80s).
Is Nicaragua dangerous? The hard life of a President
Political life, however, seems to be even more complicated than civil war. The Americans, his enemies, know it. Win the war and lose the peace.
As mentioned above, until a few years ago Nicaragua was not considered dangerous, at risk. Things were going well, there was hope. The economy was growing at a rate of 4-5% per year, a rate that people would find incredible in Europe, but in Nicaragua it is just enough to keep the system floating, considering a population growth rate of 1.7%, the highest in the western hemisphere.
In 2018 serious problems begin. A pension reform plan which, among other things, provided for an increase in the contribution payments both for employers and employees, is published and implemented by decree. A wide front of protests is unleashed, to which the police respond with … lethal force of course.
No more joking. About 30 demonstrators are killed, the protests do not stop and then the “social security” package is withdrawn. It is not enough. The demonstrations widened and began to demand respect for free speech rights, the rights of indigenous peoples, the cancellation of the Nicaragua Canal project and finally the resignation of Ortega and its government.
Is Nicaragua dangerous? for its citizens certainly
The Sandinistas were not ready to give up, however. They have seen the war and they will not fall because of students, indigenous people, and a few grandpas. They are not going to give up the palace so easily. It is time for repression. The arrests are counted around the thousands, the deaths between 350 and 500, and, at the end of 2018, the protests are declared simply illegal.
The dialogue established by the Catholic Church fails to resolve the stalemate and at present, in a pre-election year, Ortega is still in power, despite strong criticism from the international community, a shrinking economy (-5.7% GDP), and tourism in free fall.
In the middle of all this the Nicaraguan Canal
Maybe you heard the news. A few years ago they also talked about it on TV. I’m talking about the Nicaraguan canal. That is, the possibility of creating an alternative route to the Panama Canal and its expansion.
3 sections were planned:
- a Pacific one, of about 26 km, which would have left the Pacific Ocean and would have exploited the estuary and the course of the Rio Brito.
- a lake one, 106 km long, that would have crossed Lake Nicaragua.
- an Atlantic one, which from the lake would have led to the Atlantic, in Punta Gorda, about 50km north of the border with Costa Rica.
The company that was commissioned to build the canal, as well as a concession to manage it, was HKND (Hong Kong Nicaragua Canal Development Group). A company controlled by the Chinese billionaire Wang Jing.
The canal is not done, luckily
Two things, however, intervened to break the eggs in the basket:
- the collapse of the Chinese stock market in 2015-16 (don’t worry, I didn’t even know about this stock crash and apart from a few big boys in Davos, I don’t think many knew about it) which deprived the Chinese group of the necessary liquidity.
- The resistance that, fortunately, the Ortega government has found from the population in general, and from the natives in particular, who inhabit the forests and shores of Lake Nicaragua.
At the moment the project seems blocked. The government is certainly unable to cope with the economic costs of the planning, expropriation and construction and the HKND practically no longer exists (although it still has the right to build and manage the infrastructure on paper).
Is Nicaragua dangerous? an end that is not the end
The problems for Nicaraguans are not over, however. About 30% of the population lives below the poverty line, the pro-Ortega paramilitary squads are free to run around and hit those who do not align with the government’s position. The independent media are closed, threatened or openly assaulted and Daniel Ortega remains the strong man of Nicaragua.
In these conditions, it seems difficult to see how the 2021 elections could have been be held in an atmosphere of respect and tolerance. In a climate in which each of the entitled parties has the opportunity to manifest their will without the fear of being hit.
For this reason, the 2021 elections, won with 75% by Ortega, were considered unfree, a sham and essentially fake by the United States, the European Union, the Organization of American States and the community of South American and Caribbean states.
Is Nicaragua dangerous? update 2023
Even in 2023 the situation is still hot. The government of Nicaragua recently stripped the citizenship of some 300 political opponents and the 222 were flown on a plane and sent to the United States in exile. The only one who refused to board the plane, he is the Catholic bishop Rolando José Álvarez who received a 26-year prison sentence for treason as a reward.
From this news, you understand that the situation in Nicaragua, especially for Nicaraguan citizens, does not seem to be improving. A group of human rights experts, chosen by the United Nations to study the situation in the Central American country, said the government is committing crimes against humanity and heavier sanctions would be needed.
The post that tries to answer the question is Nicaragua dangerous? is finished. I hope you have now a slightly clear picture of this nation and if it’s dangerous or not. but if you are still curious I offer 5 destinations:
You can travel to Oslo and discover the barcode project
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Have a nice day trip in Quito.
Answer the question if Bogotà is dangerous or not.
Visit to the carnival of Las tablas and Chitrè
in the Peruvian capital. Is Lima dangerous?
