This seminar focuses on the political, social, and economic reality of contemporary Nicaragua. It emphasizes the contrasts between the revolutionary and post-revolutionary periods, and analyzes the features of the Sandinista government in power since 2007. After years of struggle against the Somoza dictatorship, Nicaragua became the only other country in Latin America—after Cuba—to establish a socialist-inspired government by force of arms. In the midst of a counter revolutionary war financed by the U.S. and faced with a severe economic crisis, the Sandinistas lost elections to a broad coalition of political parties in 1990. Upon assuming power, the new government implemented far-reaching neoliberal reforms that once again confronted Nicaraguans and had mixed results. Today Nicaragua remains the second poorest country in the Western hemisphere, and constitutes the biggest recipient of international development aid in Latin America. Participants learn about the defects and virtues of the socialist and capitalist experiments, the role of the U.S. in the country's history, and international development efforts in the Central American region.
This eight-day seminar takes place in Managua and includes visits to the cities of Granada and Masaya.
