By John Perry [This article was first published in The Morning Star on Nov. 7, 2023.] (John Perry is based in Masaya, Nicaragua, and writes for the Council on Hemispheric Affairs, London Review of Books, FAIR and other outlets.) Which country spends nearly two-thirds of its budget on tackling poverty? When I met Nicaragua’s finance…
By Nan McCurdy and Katherine Hoyt According to the international financial institutions, Nicaragua stands out because it completes projects in an efficient and timely manner. On Dec. 7, 2022, the President of the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI), Dante Mossi, stated that “Nicaragua is the country [in Central America] with the best execution…
By John Perry John Perry is based in Masaya, Nicaragua, and writes for the Council on Hemispheric Affairs, London Review of Books, FAIR and other outlets. In the photo his mother shows me, Alejandro is with a group of friends: seven Nicaraguan men and women, one with a 14-year-old daughter. There’s no apprehension in the…
By Nan McCurdy and Katherine Hoyt Since 2007, when the Sandinistas returned to power, until 2023, Nicaragua’s education budget has increased by a staggering 457%. Nicaragua places children and families at the center of all its educational policies. An inclusive multicultural model at all levels of education has been developed, from preschool through technical and/or…
By Marvin Ortega (A longer version of this article was published in Spanish by Cuaderno Sandinista on September 27, 2023. English translation by Jill Clark-Gollub.) Marvin Ortega is a Nicaraguan sociologist and political analyst. The propaganda machine of the Society of Jesus has trained its guns on Nicaragua by throwing mud from thousands of schools…
By Becca Renk Becca Renk is originally from the U.S. but has lived and worked in Nicaragua since 2001 with the Jubilee House Community and its project the Center for Development in Central America. She and her husband Paul have two daughters who have studied in Nicaraguan public schools for 15 years. Thanks to a…
By Nan McCurdy and Katherine Hoyt Nan McCurdy is the editor of NicaNotes. Katherine Hoyt is the former editor (now retired) of the Nicaragua News Bulletin and the Nicaragua Network Hotline. Nicaragua made some spectacular advances in health care so far this year. The country has done very well in Covid vaccination compared to most…
Margaret Kimberly Interviews Camila Escalante (This is a transcription of a podcast interview on Black Agenda Report on September 15, 2023.) Margaret Kimberley is Executive Editor and Senior Columnist of Black Agenda Report and the host of the Black Agenda Radio podcast. Camila Escalante is a Canadian journalist who has reported from different Latin American…
By Roger McKenzie [This article first appeared in the UK publication The Morning Star.] Roger McKenzie is a journalist from the UK who has spent time in Nicaragua. Here he reports on Nicaragua’s free family and community model of healthcare and the role of ‘brigadistas’ in assisting pregnant women and rural populations. He speaks with…
By Katherine Hoyt and Richard Kohn [Katherine Hoyt is a retired National Co-Coordinator of the Nicaragua Network/Alliance for Global Justice. In retirement she has published “Unequal Encounters: A Reader in Early Latin American Political Thought” from Lexington Books. Rick Kohn is a professor at the University of Maryland and member of Friends of Latin America.…
