Nicaragua strengthens its bi-oceanic position with the expansion of its road infrastructure; Nicaragua consolidates: “Three consecutive years that the economy has been expanding” Oscar Mojica, Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure, told Sputnik, “The expansion of land roads has contributed to reducing poverty from 48% to 24% and has been the main factor in reducing extreme poverty from 17% to 6% in our country.” Investment in roads for transportation and commerce is not only a factor of economic growth, it also impacts the social development of rural communities located in mountainous areas of the Central American country, he noted. “It means medical care, educational care, the solution to the big problems demanded by different social sectors, education programs in the countryside, school snacks, school backpacks, universities that are expanding throughout Nicaragua. “We are culminating the efforts of Nicaragua’s interoceanic communication with the construction of the future port of Bluefields, it is a wonderful work, dreamed of, but that is becoming a reality.”
Nicaragua’s economy is experiencing a stage of moderate but sustained expansion: with growth in the Gross Domestic Product estimated above 4%. Nicaragua shows financial strength in the accumulation of international reserves, which total around $5.3 billion in 2023, as well as the rising tourism industry. “We closed the year 2022 with $1.8 billion in foreign direct investment, and according to the Central Bank, the projection is that in 2023 we are closing with no less than $2 billion in foreign direct investments…we see a positive 2024, with expansion, with optimism, with a low unemployment rate that is oscillating between 3% and 3.5% and with businesses and entrepreneurs growing.”
January 2024 Webinar Nicaragua: Working to Make Earth Green Again75-minute webinar on Zoom, featuring Ambassador Valdrack Jaentschke, who led the Nicaragua government delegation to the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference, more commonly known as COP28. Learn how Nicaragua is combating climate change, both in Nicaragua through its renewable energy and other programs, and in the international arena through its leadership and concern for the earth.
Consortium News: ICJ Israel Ruling and the 1984 Judgment Against the US To gauge how South Africa’s genocide case against Israel might play out, Nat Parry looks back 40 years to a case that Nicaragua brought against Washington in the International Court of Justice, which ruled in favor of Nicaragua. In response, the US declared it must “reserve to ourselves the power to determine whether the Court has jurisdiction over us in a particular case” and what lies “essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of the United States.” – as if armed attacks against the sovereign state of Nicaragua was within US “domestic jurisdiction.”
Nicaragua then brought it to the UN Security Council, where Nicaragua argued that recourse at the ICJ was one of the fundamental means of peaceful solution of disputes established by the UN Charter. On Oct. 28, 1986, the U.S. vetoed the resolution calling for full and immediate compliance with the ICJ’s judgment, with France, Thailand and the United Kingdom abstaining. Nicaragua then turned to the General Assembly, which passed a resolution 94-to-3 calling for compliance with the World Court ruling. Only two states, Israel and El Salvador, joined the U.S. in opposition. (see also this issue of the Nicaragua newsletter)
Events & Actions:
End all Unilateral Measures in the Americas: Endorse the Americas without Sanctions Campaign
UNAC Conference, April 5-7, St. Paul: “Decolonization and the fight against Imperialism”
Protest at Republican National Convention, July 15-18, Milwaukee
Protest at Democratic National Coalition August 19-22, Chicago
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Upcoming Delegations to Nicaragua Casa Ben Linder 2024 delegations:
June 8-16: Global Health Intensive
July 9-21: Solidarity in Action: Celebrating 45 Years of Revolution in Nicaragua
November 8-17: Salud & Solidaridad: Hands-On Healthcare in Nicaragua
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Nicaragua Solidarity Coalition: nicasolidarity.net
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