By Stephen Sefton
[A naturalized Nicaraguan citizen, Stephen Sefton is a writer and community worker based in Nicaragua since 1994. Besides coordinating the web outlet Tortilla con Sal since 2008, he has supported community education and health programs in and around Estelí, where he lives, since 1996.This article was first published by Tortilla con Sal on February 1st, 2026.]
Nicaragua plays an essential role in the development of Central America not only because of its geographical position in the center of the isthmus but also because of the success of its revolutionary model of socio-economic democratization. Nicaragua has demonstrated that public policies for development focused on the needs of the human person yield better results than a neoliberal focus on corporate profits. Nicaragua’s productive economy is highly competitive with the economies of its neighboring countries, while its public sector responds much better to the aspirations of the families of the vast majority of its population.
The University in the Countryside Program reaches about 30,000 students in the country’s rural areas. Here veterinary students gather at the campus in Juigalpa, Chontales. Photo: National Agrarian University
The unquestionable success of revolutionary socio-economic development
How has it been possible for Nicaragua, being the geographically largest country in the region but with the smallest economy, to ensure its population’s access to electricity coverage at 99.7% nationally and access to drinking water at 95%, the best in the region? In addition, the government guarantees free health care for the entire population and free education from preschool to university, including technical education. At the regional level, among many other indicators, Nicaragua has the best roads, by far the largest number of hospitals in the public system, the best citizen security, the best agricultural and livestock health system and the best disaster prevention system.
The answer to the question, of course, is that all these extraordinary achievements are due to good government by the Sandinista National Liberation Front, led by Comandante Daniel Ortega and Compañera Rosario Murillo during almost 20 victorious years. The most important component of this Sandinista model of good government has been the fundamental concept of the People as President, which is expressed in the government’s constant attention to the needs and aspirations of the country’s people, of women and men of all ages, of all social classes and of all regions and ethnicities. Far beyond the reduction of poverty reflected in macroeconomic figures, it is a question of comprehensive socio-economic democratization that improves the life of the human person in every way.
The nominal figures for poverty in Central America indicate that Honduras and Guatemala have the highest percentages, above 45% in each country, while Nicaragua, El Salvador and Costa Rica have levels of about 14%. In Panama, the richest country in the region, it is reported that poverty affects about 20% of its population. A fundamental element for reducing poverty is full employment of the economically active population. With an unemployment rate of around 3% of its population, Nicaragua has the lowest unemployment level of the main countries in the region with the possible exception of Guatemala. El Salvador reflects 5%, Costa Rica almost 7% and Honduras and Panama more than 8%. In addition, low-income families are the protagonists of government policies which, for example, guarantee low-cost electricity for households with a monthly usage of less than 150kW and practically symbolic fares for the use of urban public transport.
The challenge of regional urbanization
One of the challenges common to all Central American governments has been how to assimilate the growing movement of their rural populations towards the cities. It has been calculated that by 2030, Central America will be among the most urbanized regions of the world with 77% of its population located in cities. Pressure will be tremendous on infrastructure such as housing, public transport, schools and hospitals from this rapid process of population movement, which is due to the desire of rural families to improve their standard of living. And, in this aspect of comprehensive planning to respond to the challenge of demographic movements, Nicaragua has also been a model for the region.
The permanent investment of the government in innovative credit and technical assistance programs for agricultural producers has made possible a remarkable and progressive increase in the productive activity of rural families. In itself, this economic advance of the rural sector mitigates and decreases any accelerated movement of the rural population to the cities. And the better standard of living of the rural population due to dynamic economic activity is also complemented by a better provision of health care and greater infrastructure for education and technical education. Now the University in the Countryside Program reaches about 30,000 students in the country’s rural areas.
Distance Secondary Education is taught in 450 schools in rural areas with 50,000 students who also participate in Productive Vocational Courses. A daily school meal providing 30% of the daily food needs for 1.2 million students is guaranteed throughout the school year through more than 11,000 School Meals Committees. At the beginning of the school year, the presidency guarantees a voucher [for the purchase of school clothes and supplies] to strengthen the economic capacity of families so as to ensure their children’s school attendance, which is of special importance in ensuring that rural families can realize their children’s aspirations for a better life.
To reduce the gap in the supply of decent housing and guarantee enough houses for the population, the government promotes the construction of 8,000 houses a year along with programs to help families repair and build their own houses that have helped about 150,000 families since 2007. In the public transport sector, the public transport bus fleet has been completely renewed, with thousands of buses imported from Russia and China. The constant improvements and permanent maintenance on the roads throughout the country ensure the ability to absorb future increases in vehicle transport. Similarly, the spectacular new urban highways in the capital Managua guarantee greater safety and more fluidity for the massive daily flow of vehicles essential to ensure the socio-economic development of the entire country
Nicaragua guarantees regional stability
All this enormous effort of the public sector led by Comandante Ortega and Compañera Murillo has ensured that Nicaragua acts as a strong influence for regional economic stability. In that regard, the country’s good government has been exemplary in its efforts to promote regional integration based on mutually beneficial economic development, respect for the sovereign interests of each country and cooperation on health, environmental and common security issues against organized crime and drug trafficking. In fact, as the Salvadoran Vice President Felix Ulloa has commented, the Central American region “constitutes the fourth largest economy in Latin America, surpassed only by Brazil, Mexico and Argentina.” Nicaragua’s Trade Ministry reports that Nicaragua receives 28% of its imports from Central America, which is also the destination of 16% of the country’s exports.
Thus, Nicaragua plays a crucial role in Central American economic integration. Its central geographical position on the isthmus makes it an essential transit area for regional trade, transport and tourism. Thanks to the regional stability promoted with so much effort by the Sandinista government, resulting from the historic commitment of the FSLN to regional integration, the economic growth of the Gross Domestic Product in Central America of about 4% per year significantly exceeds the average of Latin America and the Caribbean which is only between 2% and 3% per year. For the moment, mainly due to US government interference in the region, the Central American Integration System has been paralyzed, but several important aspects of regional integration are still working.
Among the institutions in which Nicaragua actively participates in regional coordination are the Council of Ministers of Health of Central America and the Dominican Republic, the Central American Commission on Environment and Development, the Central American Monetary Council, the Coordination Center for Disaster Prevention in Central America and the Dominican Republic, the Conference of the Central American Armed Forces and the Commission of Police Chiefs and Directors of Central America, Mexico, the Caribbean and Colombia. There are constant exchanges on regional health issues and also on the development of education at the regional level. Nicaragua is recognized as a regional and international reference in education, as the then representative of UNESCO explained in 2023, “We say inside UNESCO, Nicaragua teaches us, Nicaragua teaches you about many topics. People look to Nicaragua to offer guidance on education for other countries.”
The moral and spiritual strength of the revolutionary model
It is indisputable that only the Sandinista Popular Revolution could have made it possible for Nicaragua to achieve so many socio-economic victories in just 20 years after the catastrophe of 17 years of misrule by neoliberal administrations that served the US empire. Even the US dominated international financial institutions which continue to block new financing to the country recognize the outstanding honesty and efficiency of the government of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo. What guarantees this integrity in public administration distinguishing Nicaragua from its neighboring countries has been the commitment of the Government of Reconciliation and National Unity to social cohesion, prioritizing people’s love of their nation and of their cultural identity.
Compared to the neighboring countries of the Central American region, Nicaragua has a more highly developed moral and spiritual strength which was expressed in the recent reform of the country’s political Constitution. The Constitution’s new preamble names the national heroes and forebears: the caciques Diriángen and Nicarao, the priest Tomás Ruíz Romero, General José Dolores Estrada, Andrés Castro and Emmanuel Mongalo, Rubén Darío, Benjamín Zeledón, Augusto C. Sandino and Blanca Stella Aráuz Pineda, Rigoberto López Pérez and Carlos Fonseca together with Pedro Joaquín Chamorro and Cardinal Miguel Obando y Bravo and “all the generations of Heroes and Martyrs who forged and developed the liberation struggle for national independence.”
No other country in the region recognizes its heroic ancestors so passionately and with such commitment to their example. Although all Central American countries have outstanding cultural and political figures in their histories, in truth, none have such outstanding historical figures worldwide as Rubén Darío and General Augusto C. Sandino. Honduras rightly celebrates its cacique Lempira and General Francisco Morazán and Guatemala celebrates Tecún Umán. But only Nicaragua celebrates its national heroes with a love of country that comes from centuries of resistance and sacrifice, of overcoming all kinds of aggression and foreign imposition, which goes hand in hand with the commitment to ensure national reconciliation with all people of good faith. And only Nicaragua recognizes the contribution of all its generations of heroes and martyrs in defense of national sovereignty and independence, which is the cultural expression of the Sandinista revolutionary project to deepen true democratization of Nicaraguan society.
Briefs
By Nan McCurdy
56,000 Students Studying Agriculture
More than 56,000 students enrolled in the Distance Learning Secondary Education in Rural Areas program will be served this year throughout the country by the “Vocational Training for Work and Life” National Program. The program promotes sustainable practices among young people, such as learning to care for natural resources and protect the soil. It also promotes identity and belonging by fostering love and commitment to the countryside and its productive environment. The initiative also prioritizes technology in the countryside by applying new techniques that improve production and contribute to the family economy. This program is implemented by the Ministry of Education (MINED) and the National Technological Institute (INATEC). See photos: https://radiolaprimerisima.
Work Advances to Protect Lake Managua
The Nicaraguan Water and Sewerage entity ENACAL reported that progress is being made on the expansion of the sanitary sewer system in Managua, with 22 percent of the work already completed, for the sanitation of the southern shore of Lake Xolotlán [Managua is at the southern side of this large lake, second largest in Nicaragua]. The work consists of installing 35 kilometers of large-diameter pipes in four large collectors and constructing 400 deep manholes. Funding is provided by the Nicaraguan government and financial support from the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (BCIE) and KFW of Germany. (La Primerisima, 17 February 2026)
Nicaragua Mourns the Death of Jesse Jackson
Co-President Rosario Murillo mourned the death of the Reverend Jesse Jackson, social rights activist and a hero for millions of Americans. “This morning we learned of the passing of our brother Reverend Jesse Jackson, whom we had the honor of meeting and working with. The last time we met him was precisely at the funeral of President Hugo Chávez in Caracas. And today, when we learned of his passing to another plane of existence, we must say that we owe the people of the United States a message and a greeting of deep condolences. Reverend Jesse Jackson passed away at the age of
84. We remember him for his service to the American people; we remember him for his legacy in defense of civil rights, of the most vulnerable, the oppressed, the forgotten and marginalized, those who have no voice. We remember him for his unwavering commitment to justice, dignity and equality for all peoples of the world. We remember him because he knew how to keep faith and hope alive. And we are sure that his indelible mark, his legacy, lives on. And in the American people, it is a perennial flame lit for the rights of all. We lift up our prayers to Almighty God that his loved ones may find peace and comfort in his memory,” she emphasized. (Informe Pastran, 17 February 2026)
Nicaragua Celebrates its Fleet of 4,610 Buses and Minibuses
On February 16, Co-President Daniel Ortega informed the nation that Nicaragua has a fleet of 4,610 buses and minibuses thanks to countries including the Russian Federation and the People’s Republic of China. During the ceremony to deliver 180 Chinese Yutong minibuses on Bolívar Avenue, the Co-President asked himself, “In 1990, when the Yankees came to power, did they give away any buses? Did they bring any bus fleets? Zero.” He pointed out that during the neoliberal period, transport operators, through their own efforts, collected whatever money they could to buy used buses. In 2007, when the Sandinista Front took office, the inter-city bus fleet consisted of 1,400 units and the Managua fleet of 900, for a total of 2,300 units. “That’s what the three governments left behind, but it wasn’t investments from the government in the transport operators, nor was it donated by the Yankees, who didn’t donate even a single tire. This fleet was simply put together through the sacrifice of the transport operators and their families, a truly heroic effort that deserves our respect,” he explained. He pointed out that, in 2009, 300 GAS buses were purchased from the Russian Federation. He said that in 2012, the Russian Federation also delivered 170 GAS buses. In the same year, Mexico sent 350 DINA buses, then in 2021, a new agreement with the Russian Federation resulted in 200 GAS buses, and in 2023, the Russian Federation also sent 300 GAS buses.
Ortega said the big leap came when the People’s Republic of China sent 500 Yutong buses in 2023, 1,000 Yutong buses and minibuses in 2024, 500 Yutong buses and minibuses in 2025, and 100 Asiastar buses in 2025, and today in 2026, 180 minibuses. He explained that during this period, 350 buses were received from Mexico, 1,100 buses from Russia, and 2,280 buses and minibuses from the People’s Republic of China, for a fleet at the national level. of 4,610 buses and minibuses.
Addressing the Chinese ambassador to Nicaragua, Qu Yuhui, Ortega said, “Dear ambassador, convey to President Xi Jinping and the heroic people of the People’s Republic of China our affection and our gratitude for their unconditional generosity, without conditions, without any conditions whatsoever. That should be the behavior of humanity, that we treat each other as brothers and sisters, and not that we see so much fury, so much war, so much bloodshed. …. Honest men and women, honest young people are those who act as the people of the People’s Republic of China act.” Co-President Ortega also congratulated the Chinese ambassador at the time of the lunar new year when the beginning of the Year of the Horse is celebrated.
For his part, China’s ambassador to Nicaragua, Qu Yuhui, said that “Today is a very special day because the Chinese people are celebrating the Spring Festival, and for me it has also been an unforgettable day, because I attended the social housing handover ceremony and this afternoon I am at this important event for the handover of 180 minibuses to our comrades in Nicaragua. See photos: https://radiolaprimerisima.
Heroine Nora Astorga: An Example of Solidarity
On February 14, the Sandinista Youth paid tribute to guerrilla fighter and Sandinista Front militant Nora Astorga, commemorating the 38th anniversary of her death.
During an emotional ceremony held at the General Cemetery in Managua, Russel Dávila, from JS 19 de Julio, said, “We gather in this cemetery to commemorate 38 years since our heroine Nora Josefina Astorga Gadea passed into immortality. Today, 38 years later, the youth pay tribute to her and say she is present in us. Today, 38 years later, we tell her that we are fulfilling her dream and that of so many heroes and martyrs.” During his speech, he recalled that Astorga had all the comforts of the world [as she was from a wealthy family], but chose to leave them behind and join the guerrillas to fight against the dictatorship of Anastasio Somoza. “Today, 38 years later, the youth say to her that we are here and that we will continue to fulfill and defend the peace, reconciliation, and unity of the Nicaraguan people,” he said.
For his part, Alberto Alvarado Astorga thanked Co-Presidents Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo for the tribute. “My mother was sure that she would not see the dream that we are seeing today, the promotion of sports, how the foundations are being laid with the Sandinista Youth, how all the heroes without capes, whom we sometimes do not name, are forming this Sandinista Front on a daily basis,” he said. “We have free education, we have first-world hospitals that treat cancer in women, we have all kinds of opportunities for women that did not exist before the Revolution, and this has only been possible under the leadership of Co-President Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo,” he emphasized.
[Nora Josefina Astorga was a Nicaraguan guerrilla fighter in the Revolution, a lawyer, politician, judge, Vice Minister of Justice, and ambassador to the United Nations from 1986 to 1988. From 1969 to 1973, she was responsible for finding safe houses and transportation for the revolutionary leader Oscar Turcios. After the assassination of newspaper editor Pedro Joaquín Chamorro in 1978, Astorga decided to take up arms against the Somoza regime. “I finally understood that armed struggle was the only solution, that a rifle cannot be met with a flower, that we were in the streets, but, if that force didn’t get organized, we wouldn’t achieve much,” she said. Astorga died of breast cancer at the age of 40 in Nicaragua.] See photos: https://radiolaprimerisima.Amanda Aguilar, the Peasant Woman who Resisted Without Betraying
Petrona Hernández López, known as the heroine Amanda Aguilar, was a peasant woman from the mountainous region of Matagalpa and was one of the Mujeres del Cuá (Women of Cuá), a group of 18 women who on March 10, 1970, were taken to the town of El Cuá and then to the banks of the river of the same name and accused of collaborating with the FSLN. A number of them were raped and tortured, remaining steadfast without betraying anyone.
Amanda Aguilar was born on May 3, 1890, in the community of El Carmen in the municipality of Tuma-La Dalia, and her life was spent working in agriculture and visiting communities while living through experiences that placed her at the center of one of the most cited episodes of repression against the peasant population during the Somoza period.
Accounts of the imprisonment of the Women of Cua describe constant interrogations, torture, sexual abuse, poor sanitary conditions, and food shortages and more. After several months in captivity, some of the peasant women detained alongside Amanda Aguilar regained their freedom and managed to leave the mountain barracks in poor physical condition, suffering from illness, malnutrition, and extreme weakness. Reports from the time indicate that several prisoners did not return, as military patrols took detainees away at night and they were never seen again, leaving the survivors convinced that many had been disappeared.
Public recognition of Aguilar was made on the day of her death on February 14, 2007, when the Sandinista National Liberation Front issued a statement highlighting Amanda Aguilar’s career and historical contribution. That same day, she was posthumously awarded the Augusto C. Sandino Order in the Battle of San Jacinto grade, and ceremonies were held. The brave peasant woman died at the age of 116 and is remembered for her participation alongside the Mujeres del Cuá. Her name is a permanent reference in Nicaraguan peasant history and beyond. (La Primerisima, 14 February 2026)
