judicial branch consists of a supreme court of 16 judges who are elected by the National Assembly every 5 years as well appeals , civil, criminal, and military courts (The World Factbook: NICARAGUA). The biggest differences the Nicaraguan government has in comparison to Costa Rica involve Nicaragua’s military, Nicaragua's lack of major political parties, and Nicaragua’s poor economy. Unlike Costa Rica who doesn’t have a military, Nicaragua has a military that includes an Navy and Air Force and as of 2010 the country had around 3 million people fit for military service (The World Factbook: NICARAGUA). Also unlike Costa Rica whose republic consist of a plethora of different political parties who hold power in the government, Nicaragua's political
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The answer could lie in Nicaragua’s history, a history filled with political corruption (Nietschmann and Walker). Like Costa Rica, Nicaragua was originally explored by Christopher Columbus on one of his voyages (Nietschmann and Walker). It was then quickly settled by Francisco Hernandez de Cordoba who founded the settlements of Leon and Granada (Nietschmann and Walker). Then in 1821, it declared independence from Spain and became a part of the United Provinces of Central America and in 1831 it became a fully independent republic (Nietschmann and Walker). Nicaragua was briefly conquered by an American mercenary William Walker who seized power in 1856 before being promptly driven out in 1857 (Nietschmann and Walker). The country was also ruled by a dictator by the name of Jose Santos Zelaya from 1893 to 1913(Nietschmann and Walker) . Zelaya was forced to resign when the US military supported rebels to took over the government after a long dispute over a Nicaraguan canal which was never built …show more content…
Not only do they share a common border, but they also have a similar cultural makeup, religious makeup, and even have similarities in their political make-up. However, despite having similar early histories, their histories in modern years have been anything, but similar. Costa Rica over the past century has become more and more democratic, politically stable, and uncorrupt. Nicaragua, on the other hand, has went through numerous regimes of varying types and remains a corrupt nation. Because of these facts the Costa Rican economy has done much better than that of Nicaragua which has had its economy lag behind that of other Latin American
The answer could lie in Nicaragua’s history, a history filled with political corruption (Nietschmann and Walker). Like Costa Rica, Nicaragua was originally explored by Christopher Columbus on one of his voyages (Nietschmann and Walker). It was then quickly settled by Francisco Hernandez de Cordoba who founded the settlements of Leon and Granada (Nietschmann and Walker). Then in 1821, it declared independence from Spain and became a part of the United Provinces of Central America and in 1831 it became a fully independent republic (Nietschmann and Walker). Nicaragua was briefly conquered by an American mercenary William Walker who seized power in 1856 before being promptly driven out in 1857 (Nietschmann and Walker). The country was also ruled by a dictator by the name of Jose Santos Zelaya from 1893 to 1913(Nietschmann and Walker) . Zelaya was forced to resign when the US military supported rebels to took over the government after a long dispute over a Nicaraguan canal which was never built …show more content…
Not only do they share a common border, but they also have a similar cultural makeup, religious makeup, and even have similarities in their political make-up. However, despite having similar early histories, their histories in modern years have been anything, but similar. Costa Rica over the past century has become more and more democratic, politically stable, and uncorrupt. Nicaragua, on the other hand, has went through numerous regimes of varying types and remains a corrupt nation. Because of these facts the Costa Rican economy has done much better than that of Nicaragua which has had its economy lag behind that of other Latin American