The New Nicaragua: Lessons in Development, Democracy, and Nation-Building for the United States

Must read about Nicaragua

Reading Mr. Hendrix's work on Nicaragua provides those interested on current events and recent history in the country with a very professional assessment of where the country is coming from, and even better, where the country is heading in the near future. Development at its best is what the recount of a field worker is about, with lessons to be learned for the Latin American countries as a whole, not only Nicaragua.
'Right versus wrong, instead of right versus left' is the guiding principle, not on theory but applied foreing aid and cooperation on building institutions for the long run.
Nation-building and democracy have been making inroots just a couple decades back and there are much to do in the years to come, but,anybody in the development area will have to take a look at this great yet well written work by Hendrix.

A STORY ABOUT COMMITMENT

The New Nicaragua ia a fascinating and insightful account of events that took place in this troubled Central American Country from 2005 to 2007. The account is written by someone who by virtue of his work responsibilities and his commitment became an actor of such events. In a rather touching way and with a profound human content, the author weaves his role, and that of those working with him for the good of Nicaragua, with his personal and family live and shows how both mutually support one another. With courage and a wealth of detailed information and facts, Hendrix describes, for example, the events leading to the 2006 presidential election in Nicaragua where the role of the United States official community (with contractors and grantees, foreign and Nicaraguans))is clearly not a quest of the political right against the political left, but a generous battle of what was socially and politically right against what was evidently socially and politically wrong. The "wrong" in Nicaragua is represented by one of the most corrupt and unholy alliances in Latin America´s political history: "The Pact" or the alliance of the political left (Daniel Ortega and the Sandinistas)with the political right (Arnoldo Aleman and the PLC) that was made possible with the sole purpose of perpetuating a scheme of corruption, impunity and blatant abuse of power.

For these and many other reasons, The New Nicaragua makes a fascinating reading. In going through its pages, the uninformed reader will begin to understand why the offices that the US Government has established to provide assistance in developing countries are called Missions. Steve Hendrix is certainly one of many men and women with an acute sense of mission and purpose in their service overseas.

Another important aspect that becomes apparent in the pages of Steve Hendrx´ book is understanding how and why the roles of US Embassies (political, economic and diplomatic interests) find coinciding goals and objectives with the development agenda of USAID in developing countries and how they can work together, as they did in Nicaragua, to defend the best interest of the country and its population.

In sum, The New Nicaragua is the passionate and yet objective and accurate account of a US foreign service development assistance officer where he describes the mission of getting involved and caring about the misfortunes of a small country in the heart of Central America. Any and everybody interested in the international arena, political scientists, development experts, civil society activists, university students, should read the New Nicaragua by Steve Hendrix. It is not only a true story but also one that is told with the sincerity, the passion and the human warmth of someone who became a committed player in the story.

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