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1 1 (April 5, 2023)

handle is hein.crs/govelfb0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Con gre &on I Resedrch Serv lnfrn in j t Ia i I tive ci )ate 'o 1914 Updated April 5, 2023 Nicaragua Nicaragua, a Central American country bordering Honduras and Costa Rica, is experiencing significant political repression under the authoritarian rule of President Daniel Ortega, and his wife, Vice President Rosario Murillo. The erosion of democracy under the Ortega-Murillo government has strained relations with the United States and raised congressional concerns. Political Situation Daniel Ortega first rose to prominence as a leader of the leftist Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN), which toppled the U.S.-aligned Somoza family dictatorship that ruled Nicaragua from 1936 to 1979. Ortega was elected president in 1984 but was defeated in 1990 after more than a decade of armed conflict between the FSLN government and U.S-backed Contra insurgents. From 1990 to 2001, Nicaragua held three relatively free and fair elections in which power changed hands peacefully between non- Sandinista presidents. Ortega returned to power in 2006 in elections that many observers also judged to be free and fair. In the ensuing years, Ortega's FSLN government increasingly manipulated democratic processes. Subsequent elections won by Ortega in 2011 and 2016 were widely judged to be seriously flawed. In 2021, the Organization of American States (OAS) adopted a resolution asserting that Ortega's most recent election (his fifth overall and fourth consecutive term), had no democratic legitimacy, given that all viable opposition candidates and parties were barred from participation. In the past, the Ortega government's social welfare programs helped improve Nicaraguans' standard of living and maintained a strong support base for the FSLN, which Ortega used to consolidate power. In 2018, however, government-approved tax reforms that included tax increases and a reduction of social security benefits sparked mass protests. The Ortega administration's repressive response-which resulted in over 300 dead, thousands injured, and hundreds detained and tortured- generated global condemnation. Despite domestic and international calls for Nicaragua to reform its electoral laws and hold free and fair elections, the Ortega administration's antidemocratic practices have continued. Between 2007 and 2022, the Ortega government closed more than 3,100 nongovernmental organizations focused on issues such as human rights, medical care and resources, education, and civil and social matters. More than 200,000 Nicaraguans have fled the country for political and economic reasons since 2018. A majority of those displaced have sought asylum in neighboring Costa Rica, and some have sought entry into the United States. In February 2023, the Ortega administration released 222 political prisoners to the United States. A week after the prisoner release, the Nicaraguan government stripped 94 political opponents of their citizenship and described them as traitors to their homeland. As of April 2023, 37 political prisoners remained in Nicaragua, including Bishop Rolando Alvarez, who is serving an internationally condemned prison sentence of more than 26 years. Nicaragua at a Glance Population: 6.7 million (2023, IMF est.) Area: 46,883 square miles, slightly smaller than Mississippi Gross Domestic Product (GDP)/Per Capita GDP: $15.7 billion/$2,380 (2022, current prices, IMF est.) Key Trading Partners: Exports: United States (52.3%), Mexico (12.9%), Honduras (7.3%) (2022, TDM) Imports: United States (26.9%), China (12.3%), Honduras (9.1%) (2022, TDM Sources: International Monetary Fund (IMF); Trade Data Monitor (TDM). Economk Environment Nicaragua has the second-lowest per capita income in the Western Hemisphere, according to the World Bank. The Ortega administration generally has maintained market- oriented economic policies, and economic growth averaged 4.2% from 2007 to 2017, according to the IMF. However, Nicaragua's GDP contracted by 1.8% in 2020. Unemployment nearly doubled, from 6.2% in 2019 to an estimated 11% in 2021. Economists have attributed this economic downturn to the effects of the country's political crisis, the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, and two major hurricanes. The Nicaraguan economy began to recover in 2021 with 10.3% growth and 4.0% growth in 2022. The IMF projects that growth will slow further to 3.0% in 2023. High inflation and weaker global demand for the country's textile and coffee exports have taken a toll on Nicaragua's small, open economy. Economic growth could slow further due to U.S. sanctions on Nicaragua's gold sector, announced in October 2022. According to the Nicaraguan Central Bank, gold is Nicaragua's top export and accounted for $927.4 million worth of exports in 2022, including $893.5 million in exports to the United States. U.S. Policy U.S. policy toward Nicaragua aims to promote the reestablishment of democratic practices, including free and fair elections, support for human rights, and attention to humanitarian needs. The Biden Administration, with support from Congress, has enhanced U.S. sanctions against Nicaragua in a stated effort to advance those policy goals and hold the Ortega government accountable for its antidemocratic practices and attacks on civil society.

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