How does the Daniel Ortega election affect life in Nicaragua for foreigners?
WOOD and BERMAN: It’s hard to say what the Ortega administration will look like. It’s clear this is not the same Ortega of the revolutionary years. He has radically changed his stance on most major issues in order to increase his opportunities in the polls. There is a very good chance he will have no effect at all on the lives of expats. Still, politics are always important in Nicaragua and the jury is still out on what Ortega will or will not do. The ghost in the closet is, needless to say, confiscation of foreign properties, something Ortega did back in the 1980s. But hardly anyone believes that’s is in any way a risk these days, and even Ortega has stated publically he intends to support the business class of the country as they play such an important role in the economy. Expats living in Nicaragua are an important source of income to the new Nicaraguan economy and Ortega knows it, so it’s hard to believe he would put the financial opportunity at risk with bad policy. GOABROAD.COM:
