Nicaragua

C

Judiciary

Nicaragua has a centralized judicial system with federal control over all courts. The system is headed by a 12-member Supreme Court, nominated by the president and approved by the assembly. The Supreme Court selects the judges for all lower courts. The Supreme Court's powers include the authority to determine the constitutionality of laws and to resolve disputes between government branches.

D

Local Government

In 1990 Nicaraguans began to elect local government officials, who had previously been appointed by the central government. Nicaragua is divided into 15 departments plus two autonomous regions on the Caribbean coast. Within the departments there are 143 municipal governments authorized to elect their own officials. The autonomous regions have an elected Regional Council with limited powers, including the ability to control contracts for developing regional resources. Municipal governments, consisting of mayors and councilors, are directly elected, have limited taxing authority, and control most municipal activities and services.

E

Political Parties

From the time of independence until the 1970s, Nicaraguan politics were dominated by the Liberal and Conservative parties. These parties represented rival factions within the elite class, while other groups had little political voice. Traditionally, the Conservatives supported the Catholic Church and were closely tied to rural, landowning interests, while Liberals emphasized free trade, were more open to influences from abroad, and sought to restrict church power. But by the 20th century their ideological differences had decreased, and both parties splintered into many smaller factions. From 1936 until the 1970s, the Somoza dictatorship dominated the political arena, controlling most of the Liberals and facing little effective opposition.

After the overthrow of the Somoza dictatorship in 1979, the number of political parties in Nicaragua grew. But many of them failed to survive for more than one election. For many years, the major political force was the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN), the leftist guerrilla force that toppled Anastasio Somoza in 1979. The Sandinistas governed the country until 1990. A coalition of opposition parties defeated the Sandinistas in 1990 elections, but the coalition soon split, leaving the Sandinistas with considerable power.

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Thirty-two national political parties plus several local civic associations participated in Nicaragua's 1996 elections. The Liberal Alliance, a coalition of factions of the traditional Liberal Party, won the presidency and the largest number of seats in the National Assembly. The alliance drew support from the business community and from areas of traditional Liberal strength such as León and Matagalpa. Its policies favored business interests, welcomed U.S. involvement, and sought to privatize government enterprises.

The Sandinistas finished second, drawing their strongest support from the urban poor and organized labor. As an opposition party, the Sandinistas sought to retain what they regarded as the political, social, and economic gains made under their revolution. They favored moving more slowly to privatize government-run businesses, protecting the interests of the poor, and following an independent foreign policy rather than being closely linked to the United States.

The Liberal Party and the Sandinistas together drafted an amendment to the constitution that limits seats in the National Assembly to candidates whose parties gain at least 4 percent of the vote. Critics said the amendment, added in 2000, would stifle opposition to the two largest parties. The two parties retained most of the seats in the legislature.

F

Social Services

Nicaragua has an extensive network of government social programs, including a social security system that provides health care, retirement, and rural health benefits. Many programs were established under the Sandinistas to aid youth, women, and the poor, and most still exist. However, health and other social programs are badly underfunded, and available services are limited and often of poor quality. As a result of limited health services, 26 infants die for every 1,000 live births, one of the highest infant mortality rates in Central America.

G

Defense

During the contra war of the 1980s Nicaragua's army reached a strength of 134,000. Chamorro won the 1990 presidential elections in part because she promised to end conscription and reduce the military, which was quickly accomplished. In 2004 military strength had declined to 14,000 members. Nicaragua's army includes small air and naval components. In 1994 a new military code strengthened civilian control over the army and limited the term of the military commander. Civil-military tensions have declined since then.

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