Nicaragua Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Nicaragua - Essay Example Of the remainder, 17% are white and 9% are black The coastal plains rise to form a mountainous interior. The weather is warm and tropical, though it may be cooler in the mountainous areas. Nicaragua was settled by the Spanish in the 16th century and gained its independence in 1821. US Troops were sent to Nicaragua beginning in 1909 to quell uprisings and political unrest. The Samoza family ruled Nicaragua from 1936 until they were overthrown in 1979 by the Sandanistas. The religion is mostly Catholic which about three fourths of the people follow. Most of the rest are Evangelicals and less than 9% say they practice no religion. Nicaragua has a 68% literacy rate and Spanish is the official language. The government is formed as a republic with an executive, legislative, and judicial branch and they hold free elections on a regular basis. In 1978, due to corruption and government manipulation the people elected Daniel Ortega, a Marxist candidate. He ruled until 1990 when he was voted out when business was opposed to the slow pace of reforms. He was returned to power in 2006 in a free election. Nicaragua is one of the poorest nations in the hemisphere. It has a $2,900 per capita income and experiences high unemployment. It exports agricultural products such as bananas, coffee, rice, and tobacco. It has industries in chemicals, machinery and metal products and tourism is becoming more important. In 2004, they had a $4.5 billion dollar international debt forgiven. Though Nicaragua is poor, elementary education is free for all Nicaraguans. Elementary education is mandatory and many tribal areas have access to education in their native language. Nicaragua treasures academic freedom and Universities have autonomy in regards to the subjects taught. This respect extends to freedom of speech and ideas are openly welcome, as are diverse viewpoints. 30% of the