political context

Nicaragua was conquered and colonised by the Spanish in 1523-24 and remained under Spanish rule until 1821, when it declared its independence from Spain alongside all the other Central American provinces. It became a republic in 1840.

The United States established military bases around the country from 1912 to 1925, a move that prompted guerrilla leader Augusto Cesar Sandino to mount a campaign in 1927 against the US military presence. The Marines fought Sandino and his forces until 1933 and Sandino was then brutally assassinated during peace talks in 1934 on the orders of the National Guard commander, General Anastasio Somoza Garcia. Somoza went on to overthrow the elected government in 1936 and assumed presidency in 1937.

Somoza ruled the country until his death in 1956 and his sons took over the dictatorship after his demise. They were ruthless and corrupt leaders but the US viewed them as offering an anti-communist stronghold and continued to back the regime.

In 1961, Carlos Fonseca founded The Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) and a revolutionary war was launched against the Somoza dictatorship.

The FSLN eventually seized power in 1979, to widespread support. The party's early initiatives included the launch of a National Literacy Crusade and dramatically improved health indicators. The FSLN also nationalised land owned by the Somoza family, partially turning the land into cooperatives. During this time, supporters of the National Guard and the Somoza regime fled to neighbouring Honduras, where they were given arms and ongoing support from the US. In 1981, US-sponsored Contra rebels began to attack the Nicaraguan borders from their bases in Honduras.  
 
In 1984, the US planted mines in the Nicaraguan harbours - an action that was condemned by the International Court of Justice. The Iran-Contra scandal that was exposed in 1986 revealed that the Reagan administration in the US had circumvented its own congress and violated international law. The FSLN leadership signed a peace agreement with the Contras in March 1988 and elections were held in 1990. The FSLN was defeated by the US-backed centre-right National Opposition Union and Violeta Chamorro became the country's first woman president.
 
During the presidential elections in November 2001, Liberal party candidate and vice-president Enrique Bolaños beat FSLN candidate and former president Daniel Ortega. Bolaños was sworn into office in January 2002, taking over from Liberal party colleague Arnoldo Aleman who had served as president since 1996. Aleman is currently under house arrest on charges of corruption, fraud and embezzlement.

The impact of years of war and structural adjustment policies has left Nicaragua impoverished. Nicaraguans have also had to deal with the aftermath of a series of natural disasters that have left thousands dead and rendered hundreds of thousands homeless and without the means to survive.

On 29 October 1998 Hurricane Mitch struck Central America causing extensive damage across the region, including in Nicaragua. This was followed by a severe drought that struck Nicaragua and Honduras in 2001. Hurricane Mitch and the drought of 2001 pushed environmental degradation to the top of the agenda. Topsoils vital to successful agriculture were washed away and water sources were contaminated. Poverty has pushed many men and women to migrate, permanently and seasonally, to Costa Rica and the United States.

The FSLN returned to power after 17 years winning the 2006 elections with 38 per cent of the vote, less than in previous elections. Alliances between parties have continued as there is no overall majority. The new government made agreements with its political rivals Arnoldo Alemán and Cardinal Obando, the latter taking part in a council for reconciliation. The new government signed the ALBA (Bolivarian Alliance of the Americas) and established strong economic and political relations with Venezuela, particularly on energy. The government has drastically reduced the salaries of executive officers and aims to increase education, health and energy budgets. It has also argued for a review of the national development plan to focus more on social issues, to be the basis for negotiations on the new IMF Programme. It aims to bring in free public education and health services and to freeze fares on collective urban transport, although it's announcement of a 'zero hunger' programme to encourage family-based rural production is now being played-down. In early 2007 a partial strike by teachers led to a salary rise of over 25 per cent.
 
The government has reformed CONPES (the national planning council) to include those loyal to the government, created four councils of government with local representation, and extended democratic central structures to the regions to ensure the laws of citizen participation and of local government autonomy are locally enabled.