Preface

A decade of change that culminated in the 1979 ouster of Anastasio Somoza Debayle and the installation of a revolutionary, leftist governmant necessitated a replacement for the Area Handbook for Nicaragua, which was published in 1970. Like its predecessor, Nicaragua: A Country Study is an attempt to treat in a compact and objective manner the dominant social, political, economic, and national security aspects of contemporary Nicaraguan society. Sources of information included scholarly journals and monographs, official reports of governments and international organizations, foreign and domestic newspapers, numerous periodicals, and interviews with individuals who have special competence in Nicaraguan and Latin American affairs. Chapter bibliographies appear at the end of the book; brief comments on some of the more valuable sources for further reading appear at the end of each chapter. Measurements are given in the metric system; a conversion table is provided to assist those readers who are unfamiliar with metric measurements (see table 1, Appendix). A Glossary, which defines certain terms and fully expands acronyms used for the many organizations discussed in the text, is also included. Although there are numerous variations, Spanish surnames usually consist of two parts: the patrilineal name followed by the matrilineal. In the instance of Daniel Ortega Saavedra, for example, Ortega is his father's name; Saavedra, his mother's maiden name. In nonformal use the matrilineal name is often dropped. Thus after the first mention, we have referred simply to Ortega. In the case of the patrilineal Somoza, we have retained the matrilineal on occasions when there may be confusion about which individual is being discussed. A minority of individuals, William Ramírez for example, use only the patrilineal name. The patrilineal is used for indexing and bibliographic purposes.

Size: Largest country of Central America-area of 140,621 square kilometers; about size of state of Michigan.

Topography: Three major geographical regions. Pacific or western region characterized by line of still active volcanoes bordering Pacific coast. They intrude from a large structural rift that forms long narrow depression from Gulf of Fonseca to Río San Juan drainage. Two largest freshwater lakes in Central America also

located in Great Rift Valley. Atlantic Coast region covers about half of national territory-lowland region of tropical rain forest and pine savannas crossed by numerous rivers flowing to the Caribbean. Between Pacific region and 'Atlantic Coast are Central Highlands, most extensive in north.

Climate: Warm and relatively humid but much regional variation. Pacific region generally more salubrious than Atlantic Coast; east receives a great deal of rainfall; the west is drier. Rain is seasonal; May through October the wettest months.

Society

Population: In 1980 population estimated at 2.67 million. Rate of annual growth calculated at about 2.8 percent. Most of population concentrated in Pacific zone. Atlantic Coast region sparsely settled.

Education and Literacy: Literacy reported at about 50 percent at end of Somoza regime. Literacy campaign in 1980 reportedly raised functional literacy rate to about 87 percent. Education free but very few Nicaraguans completed primary school. Health: High degree of malnutrition, high infant mortality, many debilitating diseases (especially enteritis, malaria, tuberculosis). Health care for majority minimal. Major vaccination program initiated in 1979.

Language: Spanish is official language, spoken by at least 70 percent of population. Mainly spoken in Pacific region and Central Highlands. English is predominant language in Atlantic Coast region especially among Antillean Creoles and foreigners. Miskito is predominant Indian language, also spoken in the east. Spanish widely used as second language in the east.

Ethnic Groups: Although definitions imprecise, approximately 70 percent of population mestizo (Spanish and Indian or other), 17 percent white, about 4 percent Indian, perhaps 9 percent black. Indians and black populations predominate in the east; mestizo and white in Pacific region and Central Highlands.

Religion: Overwhelmingly Roman Catholic, especially in Pacific region. Protestants, especially Moravians, most influential group in east.

Economy

Gross Domestic Product (GDP): US$1,341 million in 1979 (US$540 per capita); GDP declined 25 percent in 1979; increased 11 percent in 1980.

Agriculture: Main products: cotton, coffee, sugar, tobacco, rice, beans, corn, and cattle.

Manufacturing: Largely food processing, beverages, textiles, clothing, chemicals, and light metals manufacturing.

Exports: US$450 million in 1980. Cotton, coffee, sugar, and beef were major export commodities.

Imports: US$800 million in 1980. Major commodities were machinery and equipment, raw materials, and semifinished components for industry.

Major Trading Partners: European Economic Community, Central American Common Market, United States, and Japan.

Exchange Rate: C (córdoba) 10 = US$1 (official rate). United States dollar worth twenty to thirty córdobas on parallel market, which was legal in mid-1981.

Transportation and Communications

Highways: 18,000 kilometers in 1980; 1,570 kilometers paved. Ports: Three principal (Corinto, Puerto Sandino, Bluefields) and seven secondary ports.

Airports: One international-the Augusto C. Sandino International Airport in Managua—and nine secondary airports.

Railroads: 344 kilometers; 1,067-meter gauge. Largely unused in 1981.

Communications: Three daily newspapers: Barricada (official Sandinista), El Nuevo Diario (leftist), and La Prensa (rightist). Two television stations, government owned. Numerous government and private radio stations.

Government and Politics

Government: In 1979 Government of National Reconstruction suspended Constitution of 1974 and replaced it with two basic documents: Basic Statute and Statute of Rights and Guarantees of the Nicaraguan People. In mid-1981 Sandinista National Liberation Front (Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional-FSLN), although having no formal role in government, established broad policy outlines through its nine-member National Directorate. Formal executive powers resided with Junta of the Government of National Reconstruction, installed on July 20, 1979. Junta (originally five-member) became triumvirate in 1981. Junta assisted by eleven-member consultative body known as Council of Government; shared legislative powers with Council of State. In 1981 Council of State had fifty-one members representing thirty-two organizations, including political parties, neighborhood committees, organizations of women and youth, labor unions, trade and employers' associations. Bureaucracy in 1981 consisted of twenty-one ministries, nine institutes, and four autonomous agencies.

Judicial system consisted of Supreme Court, which handled both civil and criminal cases, courts of appeal, and courts of first instance at departmental and municipal levels.