costa rica presidential election 2010
Six months before the 1979 Nicaragua presidential election, the shelves in Managua stores began to empty. People ran out of some fairly basic supplies. Business and foreign investment all but dried up. International organizations closed their doors as the perceived presence of Daniel Ortega’s Sandinistas loomed large on the political horizon.
During the Sandinista Revolution of 1979, many private properties were confiscated by the government. Armel Gonzalez, then 17, remembers that his family and friends lost everything. His memories, and those of a generation of Nicaraguans, still are vivid.
“So many of us were broken, lost, homesick,” Gonzalez said. “Going through what we did then, there’s no way I thought we could ever get to where we are now.”
Where Gonzalez and his fellow countrymen are today is the antithesis of 1979. The nation has enjoyed peace and the constitutional democracy for more than 16 years and appears to be continuing down the same serene track despite the re-emergence of Ortega, who was re-elected as president in November, 2006. Ortega has reconciled with former enemies and former commanders of the right-wing contra army who fought to overthrow him in the 1980s. In fact, the home Ortega had expropriated during his previous term belonged to banker Jaime Morales. For years, Ortega and his comrades used it in strategy meetings during the war against the contras. Morales is now Ortega’s vice-president. Talk about a turnaround…
So what changed this time? What was so different, especially given that 90 percent of the nation turned out for the 2006 elections? Ten years of Civil War is not easily forgotten by many of those who lost everything including family members.
“Ortega has no wish to be responsible for the loss of the huge momentum that we’ve established,” said Gonzalez, now president of residential property developer Grupo del Sol (www.grupodelsol.net). “He understands that it will do him no good to screw it up and he knows the people would not go along with it. He wants to make amends, not a revolution.”
Ortega’s campaign platform was to continue the economic prosperity through foreign investment and tourism. He has promised to respect private property, one of the reasons the real estate and tourism industries supported his bid for office. His government will not only be checked in Parliament by the opposition, but also several of his key cabinet members will be former contras and current liberals. Look closely on a map, and you will see that Nicaragua’s southern border touches one of the most popular regions for second homes in Central America – the province of Guanacaste in costa rica, which geographically lies closer to Nicaragua’s capital (Managua) than Costa Rica’s capital (San Jose). Travel to Nicaragua and wait for the surprises to begin. It is a stunningly beautiful country with lush tropical forests and miles of sandy beaches. The beachfront area is just now beginning to take off, and it is affectionately referred to as “Costa Rica 20 years ago”.
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Tom Kelly is a real estate columnist and radio show host with 33 years of experience as a professional journalist providing consumer tips and helpful hints as well as explaining concepts and terms in a friendly, understandable style. His two books, Cashing In On a Second Home in Mexico and Cashing In on a Second Home in Central America are considered indispensable guides to Latin America real estate purchase south of the border.
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