Nicaragua and Venezuela

Once Ortega started restricting civil rights, foreign donors and organizations ended their funding of the impoverished country. The restriction of civil rights goes against the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, such as Article 6: “Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law.” Also, Article 21 Section 3 is violated when Ortega’s government manipulated the election results. Strikingly, Nicaragua’s GDP per person is only around $1,000 USD. (Glassman) Millions of citizens desperately need international help in order to survive financially. The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) recently suspended the $64 million dollars that it was going to distribute in the country, because of the government’s poor handling of the municipal elections. (Glassman)

The government has focused on an alliance with Venezuela’s president, Hugo Chavez. Chavez has made several efforts in South America to distribute money and make economic policies with poorer nations. In Nicaragua, his planned projects include building 200,000 homes for the poor and donating 32 power plants, which has helped to reduce the power outages. (‘Twixt Washington and Caracas; Nicaragua) Yet, one must remember that the rapid increase in Chavez’s wealth came almost entirely from when oil prices were at their peak, as oil is what the Venezuelan economy mainly relies on. However, with a worldwide economic crisis and the lowering of the oil prices, Chavez’s money will not be distributed as easily as it used to be. After the 2006 presidential election, there were large plans to build an oil refinery in Nicaragua by using Venezuelan funding. With the economic downturn, the one brick laid for the inauguration of the construction is now perhaps the only part of the oil refinery that will ever be accomplished. There are concerns that, in this alliance with Chavez, the Nicaraguan government is undermining its relations with other countries, such as the U.S. and organizations like the MCC, that could provide it with significant social and economic aid. In addition, some fear that Nicaragua is giving up its independence, as Ortega echoes many of Chavez’s positions. Moreover, since Ortega is easily influenced by Chavez’s political model of being an eternal President, this could lead Nicaragua back into a dictatorship, which the country experienced in the past. In this case, it would be going against the Nicaraguan consitution, which prevents indefinite and consecutive re-election.

Works Cited:

• Arostegui, Martin. “Ortega pitches ties with Chavez; Claims ‘sovereignty’ on islands.” The Washington Times. 8 February 2008.

• Booth, William. “Democracy in Nicaragua in Peril, Ortega Critics Say.” The Washington Post. 20 November 2008.

• Caroit, Jean-Michel. “Nicaragua elections municipales; Le pouvoir sandiniste intensifie ses attaques contre l’opposition.” Le Monde. 21 October 2008.

• Casas-Zamora, Kevin. “Don’t let Nicaragua’s Ortega become a Mugabe.” Christian Science Monitor. 30 December 2008.

• Glassman, James. “Decline of Ortega’s Nicaragua; U.S. missing a chance to mend fences in Latin America?.” The Washington Times. 4 March 2009.

• “How to steal and election; Nicaragua.” The Economist. 15 November 2008.

• “Inglorious; Nicaragua.” The Economist. 7 June 2008.

• Lacey, Mark. “Sandinista Fervor Turns Sour for Former Comrades of Nicaragua’s President.” The New York Times. 24 November 2008.

• “Nicaragua vows to be “staunchest supporter” of Taiwan’s UN bid.” British Broadcasting Corporation. 15 September 2008.

• “Nicaraguan president speaks of need for “unity”, “justice” on arrival in Iran.” British Broadcasting Corporation. 10 June 2007.

• “Physical Map of Central America.” Physical Map of Central America. 2009. 24 March 2009. <http://geology.com/world/central-america-physical-map.shtml>.

• Ribando Seelke, Clare. “Nicaragua: Political Situation and U.S. Relations.” 17 March 2008. <http://74.125.95.132/search?q=cache:jbKNIyv4mmQJ:fas.org/sgp/crs/row/RS22836.pdf+nicaragua+relationship+with+the+US&cd=5&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=ca&client=firefox-a>.

• Rosenberg, Tina. “The Many Stories of Carlos Fernando Chamorro.” The New York Times. 22 March 2009.

• “Russia: Nicaragua’s recognition of Abkhazia, South Ossetia seen as “trial balloon”.” British Broadcasting Corporation. 7 September 2008.

• Schmidt, Blake. “Mayor fights turns violent in Managua.” The Washington Times. 19 November 2008.

• “Tearing up the rules; Nicaragua.” The Economist. 16 August 2008.

• “Trading Arguments: Central America.” The Economist. 14 July 2007.

• “‘Twixt Washington and Caracas; Nicaragua.” The Economist. 13 Jan 2007.