Nicaraguan Economy in Free Fall

Nicaragua’s economy is tanking as the violent chaos engulfing the nation paralyzes business activity. Police and pro-government paramilitary forces fired on government opponents hiding behind barricades and on university campuses this week, and besieged protesters who’d taken refuge in a church, as the clashes showed no sign of waning after three months. More than 350 people have died since April 18, when demonstrators demanding the resignation of President Daniel Ortega began squaring off against security forces, Bloomberg reported. Economic activity contracted 4.9% in May, the central bank said, the biggest drop since the aftermath of the global financial crisis a decade ago. Before the current crisis, the economy had been one of the region’s top performers, while the nation remained relatively free of the political and gang violence afflicting neighbors such as Honduras. Last year, Nicaragua’s economy expanded the most in the Americas after Panama.