Welcome to Nicaragua's English Magazine

by Darrell Williams
When you mention the word Nicaragua in the modern day world of boxing, one name, “Ricardo Mayorga,” the chainsmoking egomaniacal banger from Managua is the constant that comes to one’s mind.
But while Mayorga has been scooping up millions in Las Vegas for his own bizarre version of the sweet science, a positive revolution has […]

• Laboring under illusions of stability ---

  A wave of consternation swept through the ranks of free trade zone (zona franca) workers in early February. Labor union officials had issued a statement protesting a reported threat from eight multinational textile firms to pull out of Nicaragua, affecting more than 8500 workers. Álvaro Baltodano, the President of the Free Trade Zone Corporation (government […]

• For your viewing pleasure ---

  Couch potatoes rejoice! Nicaragua is a paradise for television viewers. The main local cable provider Estesa is expanding throughout the country, taking over small mom-and-pop cable operations in different towns, offering more than 80 channels. DirectTV has been supplanted by SkyNet with its different packages and DishNet has entered the fray, offering even US network […]

• Tourism investment trucks on ---

  Investment in tourism continues apace in different parts of Nicaragua. A new $2 million boutique hotel is going up on the Masaya Highway just outside of the capital. Construction at the Gran Pacifica oceanfront project one hour west of Managua continues. In San Juan del Sur, the Pelican Eyes – Piedras y Olas complex recently […]

• Where do you draw the line? ---

  The National Police have been recognized by the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) for their outstanding work in recent years against the drug trade, including numerous busts totaling several tons of cocaine. Top DEA officials recently met with President Daniel Ortega, who has been critical of the work of the agency here.
  Ortega took the opportunity […]

• No coup for you ---

  It was a classic set-up for Third World confrontation: a feisty populist government faces off against a multinational oil company that owns the only refinery in the country. Last century, it would have been resolved with a military coup as happened in Iran (1953), Guatemala (1954), and Chile (1973). But in Nicaragua in the 21st […]

• Tank you Venezuela ---

  Work has begun at the Piedras Blancas plant near Nagorote west of Managua to expand the tank farm for storing oil. The Venezuelan government approved $250 million last December for this first phase of construction leading up to the installation of a new refinery, for a total investment of $4.5 billion. That refinery will be […]

• Uncle Hugo Wants You ---

  Venezuela’s Hugo Chávez has been actively promoting an alliance of countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, including Nicaragua, to counteract the overbearing influence of the USA in the Americas. Trade, economic cooperation, sporting events, a movie industry, and a regional development bank have all been put forward, along with, of course, arrangements for distributing […]

• Changing the spots on the leopard ---

  A switch is being made at the recently-finished new US Embassy in Nicaragua. After doing his stint here as ambassador since September 2005, Paul Trivelli has been recalled to Washington. As per usual with US ambassadors, his mission has received mixed reviews.
  Trivelli’s approval rating is high among most Liberals and Conservatives, with the notable exception […]

• Amnesty travesty ---

  It’s unheard of, but then again this is Nicaragua where the anvil floats and the cork sinks. Where else would the legislature actually be discussing a proposal for a sweeping amnesty to let off anyone who was a public servant from March 14, 1990 to January 7, 2007 who has been charged or mentioned in […]

• They suck eggs, don’t they? ---

  Despite a law putting a permanent closed season on sea turtle eggs, several National Assembly deputies were caught late last year in León enjoying platters stacked high with the round leathery-skinned delicacies. A photo of some of them digging into a pile of parboiled eggs made the front page of local newspapers. Once again, lawmakers […]