Nicaragua highlights accomplishments

While most of us are concerned with Nicaragua's territorial and maritime disputes with its neighbors, the Foreign Minister of Nicaragua took the time to highlight his country's progress on social and economic issues during the recent United Nations meeting in New York City.

Among the highpoints, Mr. Santos noted that the UN Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) recognized the country’s “remarkable and exceptional progress” to ensure food security and reduce the prevalence of undernourishment.

UN Women places Nicaragua among the first countries in the world with the highest percentage of women in government positions. Women occupy more than half of the positions in the Executive and Judiciary Branches, as well as in Municipal Courts. Some 42 per cent of female deputies are in the Judiciary Branch.

Nicaragua has also prioritized enrolment of children in school, reducing maternal mortality rates, and combating HIV/AIDS.

Nicaragua continues to perform well when it comes to tackling poverty, inequality and hunger. Its international relations are a bit schizophrenic cozying up to the Latin American left and a variety of unsavory actors throughout the world while simultaneously working with the US and European nations on trade and anti-narcotics issues, among others. However, there remain serious questions about the country's (well, maybe Daniel's) commitment to democratic procedures (elections, media freedom) and corruption. For all the hyperventilating that goes on about US policy towards leftist governments in Latin America, no one really seems to get worked up about US relations with Nicaragua unless we're talking about someone running for mayor of New York and the 1980s.