From the roar of the cannon to hard work and honor: Contrasts between the real and the aspiring Nicaragua

Abstract

Human developmentThis article studies Nicaragua’s contrasts regarding human development, history and political context through its indicators, economy, institutions, quality of democracy, interculturality, environmental reality and equality indices. This nation decided to put aside the cannons of the fratricidal wars of the 19th and 20th Centuries and leave underdevelopment behind. Its efforts have been successful in terms of growth, birth rates and gender indices. Nonetheless, corruption, political clientelism and the lack of political representativeness generated resentment and distrust against the Sandinista National Liberation Front and President Daniel Ortega among some sectors of society.