Agrarian policies in Nicaragua: From revolution to the revival of agro‐exports, 1979–2015
Published online on March 30, 2017
Abstract
In this paper, we question whether the attainment by the FSLN of power in 2007 represented any changes with respect to the neoliberal agenda implemented since 1990. In order to address this, the paper is divided into three main sections. In the first section, we analyse the transformation of agriculture under the Sandinista Revolution (1979–1990) to establish what the agricultural policies of the early FSLN had been. In the second section, we present the policies that have been implemented since 1990 to privatize land, commercial, and banking activities, and the new role of agricultural producers' and wage workers' organizations, which have remained unchanged until now despite the return of the FSLN to power. In the third section, we describe the social policies implemented by the administration of Daniel Ortega and the changes made to the productive model. Finally, in the conclusions, we explain why the policies implemented since the new Sandinista government have been so similar to the model developed between 1990 and 2007, and highlight the most significant changes that have been introduced since 2007.