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Don't let Nicaragua's Ortega become a Mugabe
Submitted by JGiraldezB on Wed, 2008/12/31 - 11:26.
A friend from Houston showed me this while visiting there. Have a look its a good read:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/csm/20081230/cm_csm/ycasazamora;_ylt=AmW5X60Eyv_...
Reality Check
Possibly the second sentence should be something like: "Nicaragua needs to kiss the ass of the U.S. in order to avoid another proxy war like it suffered in the 1980s."
Give us a break. Nicaragua couldn't afford what was inflicted upon it in the 1980s either. Clearly, Nicaragua paid a big price and in spite of the fact that the agressor was found guilty it didn't pay for the damage it caused.
Pro- or anti-Sandinista, Nicaragua became a victim of "the cold-war days" rather than creating them. Let's hope that 30 years later, the citizens living here in Nicaragua get to make the decisions for their future like they did in the late 1970s.
yes
one person, one vote. cedula or not, right?
2011 will be the key year
2011 will be the key year for Nicaragua.
The 2011 presidential election (assuming it happens) will determine whether Nicaragua remains Nica-cacca indefinitely or gets back to the path of progress it *might* have been heading toward before it was derailed in 2006.
We'll see. Here's to hope.
progress for some
I've seen more infrastructure improvements in the past two years than in the years preceeding. The bone jarring roads are smooth, transmission towers are rising all over the place. Sure, more transparency would be good - here and at home. But turning Nicaragua into a sweatshop for the developed world isn't a measure of progress, and neither are malls devoid of the majority of the Nicaraguan population.
Not just two years
Roads have been a big thing in the last two years but in the five years I have been here I have seen some pretty amazing changes. That includes:
I think Nicaragua is far from perfect but I certainly see it moving in a direction that will likely help the majority of the people. Some are going to say "Nicaragua is scaring off private investment". I will say "Nicaragua is the land of opportunity—much like the U.S. was 50 years ago".
Don't need to remind anyone
Don't need to remind anyone here that Nicaragua is the 2nd poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere and has underpeformed most other Latin American countries over the past two years, with the 2-year outlook grimmer than most.
We all know there's opportunity -- unrealized opportunity. Unrealized for a reason.
Key point is that it didn't have to be this way -- country could be doing a lot better, and we all know that's a gross understatement. Again, 2011 will be key.
without debating why that is . . .
without debating why that is . . . we can probably all agree on that key point. Felice año nuevo
y Feliz 2011, yo espero.
y Feliz 2011, yo espero.
roads and towers help...
but I think if most people had to pick between a country that attracts private investment and a country that doesn't, most would pick the country that attracts private investment because it's usually better off in the long run. Road building's great and all but -- mostly financed by foreign aid -- it isn't a real road (pun intended) to prosperity until there's more, real commerce. Donations from Chavez and the EU are not going to significantly reduce poverty. We'll see what happens in 2011, if Nicaragua's still a democracy by then.
private investment is great but . . .
private investment is great but . . . and I wish I could find an example to the contrary . . . usually revolves around how cheap the labour is, and is export driven. Neither of these are going to do anything for the mass of the population. ZF wages perpetuate poverty barely providing sufficient enough income to afford the canasta basica, forget about savings for a better future. Any upward pressure on wages is quashed by the threat of job flight. Nicaragua and it's neighbours are used as intimidation against Mexico to keep their wages inline but, that won't last. Wages will literally be driven south. Nicaragua needs investments to transform it's resources into products. We don't even have a canning, bottling or packaging company in the country. If we remain assembly only, the profits will be realized by offshore interests - moulded plastics, light industry, value-added agricultural products - juice, dried, leathered - made in Nicaragua, with the realized profits invested in Nicaragua. There's a hope for 2009. With improved infrastructure, all things are possible.
wish I could find an example to the contrary
Right now trading with this goverment as well as Cuba, Venezuela with our lumber interests means NO MONEY exchange! They just barder, this is not of much interests to us. In the 80`s Russia did the same thing with Nicaragua. Took food in exchange tanks, trucks and weapons, nasty whale oil.
We have to focus on the Caribbean Islands for more business and the middle East., but we are seeing that private investment is becoming more and more scarce.
Jorge Giraldez-Benard Latin American Advisors Company Ltd Texaco El Cortijo 1/2 C al Sur Casa 300 Res. El Cortijo, Managua, Nicaragua C.A.. e-mail JGiraldezB@yahoo.com Skype, YahooPager & MSN User name: JGiraldezB
build it and they will come?
build roads, and they will come, eh?
I agree -- Nicaragua could add a lot more value to its abundant raw production of commodities. It won't get there by scaring away investors, foreign and domestic -- roads or no roads. Look to Chile, Uruguay, Panama and Costa Rica for the directions to the real road to reducing poverty.
It starts with rule of law, secure property rights and a stability investors can count on before putting their capital at risk.
build it and they can get here . . .
there are countless foreign investors here. The ones who won't come have many reasons I'm sure - rarely is it rule of law or stability that attracts them though. And democratic isn't even on the list of consideration. Chile, Uruguay, Panama and Costa Rica are definitely interested in prosperity - poverty reduction - about as interesting to them as it is in the US or Canada. With CAFTA in place there's little to worry about for the business class.
I'd be curious to know who,
I'd be curious to know who, starting with Nicaragua and other road builders, you consider great models of economic development.
btw, I don't see large-scale emigration of Costa Ricans, Chileans, Uruguayans or Panamanians out of their own countries. Maybe they can't afford the plane fare and their roads aren't good enough to escape on.
Canada and the US
Canada and the US have made great strides but that doesn't mean millions are left behind. From what I saw in Panama, there was no shortage of desperately poor. I guess if migration is the great indicator of economic development, there no poverty in Canada. Or maybe they just can't afford a passport and a plane ticket. When you live in the greatest countries on earth, maybe the fault is all your own doing.
Why does he care?
Let's find out about the guy who wrote this article...
Quote: Kevin Casas stepped down from his posts as Second Vice-President and Planning Minister.
He has come under fire for a memo he wrote to President Oscar Arias recommending questionable and possibly illegal tactics in the government's campaign for the Central American Free-Trade Agreement with the United States (DR-CAFTA). The memo was leaked to the University of Costa Rica (UCR) weekly newspaper.
The document, co-written by National Liberation Party (PLN) legislator Fernando Sanchez, suggests that the government manipulate voters, blackmail mayors, and improperly use public resources to boost its CAFTA campaign.
http://tiquicia-cr.blogspot.com/2007/09/costa-ricas-second-vice-presiden...
Great character.... something stinks here.