Angola - Introduction

Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in Southern Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city. The exclave province of Cabinda has borders with the Republic of the Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The Portuguese were present in some—mostly coastal—points of the territory of what is now Angola, from the 16th to the 19th century, interacting in diverse ways with the peoples that lived there. In the 19th century they slowly and hesitantly began to establish themselves in the interior. Angola as a Portuguese colony encompassing the present territory was not established before the end of the 19th century, and "effective occupation", as required by the Berlin Conference (1884) was achieved only by the 1920s. Independence was achieved in 1975, after a protracted liberation war. After independence, Angola was the scene of an intense civil war from 1975 to 2002. The country has vast mineral and petroleum reserves, and its economy has on average grown at a two-digit pace since the 1990s, especially since the end of the civil war. In spite of this, standards of living remain low for the majority of the population, and life expectancy and infant mortality rates in Angola are among the worst-ranked in the world. Angola is considered to be economically disparate, with the majority of the nation's wealth concentrated in a disproportionately small sector of the population.
Angola is a member state of the African Union, the Community of Portuguese Language Countries, the Latin Union and the Southern African Development Community

Rank of Nicaragua

The rank of Nicaragua from the poorest country is 55th and from the richest is 150th. As per other measurement lioke IMF, WB, and CIA are
rank/gdp.......rank/gdp......rank/gdp

133/946.......124/1,013.....134/1,008.
It is the second poor country of Latin america , first being Haiti.

Nicaragua - education

Elementary education is free and compulsory although this is not strictly enforced and many children are not able to attend due to their families need to have them work. Communities located on the Atlantic Coast have access to education in their native languages in both Spanish and the languages of the native indigenous tribes that live in the more rural areas of Nicaragua. Higher education has financial, organic and administrative autonomy, according to the law. Also, freedom of subjects is recognized. The school year runs from February through November.

The oldest institution of higher education in Nicaragua is the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Nicaragua, which was founded in 1812, which also dates back to the Spanish colonial period. Nicaragua became a part of the Central American Federation in 1821 and also declared its independence from Spain. It left the Federation in 1838 for full independence. There are many commercial schools and eight universities throughout the country. Between 2002 and 2003, a total of 100,363 Nicaraguan students attended universities and other institutions of higher learning. The National Council of Universities is the body responsible for strategic planning in Nicaragua.
Admission to higher education is on the basis of the Bachillerato, the leading secondary school qualification. Students are also subject to an entrance examination. The Licenciado, the main undergraduate degree, is a four or five year course of study. A professional title may also be awarded depending on the subject. Following the Licenciado, the first postgraduate degree is the Maestria, which lasts two years and culminates with the submission of a thesis.
Institutions of higher learning also offer two or three year courses in technical and vocational education. The main qualification studied for is the Tecnico Superior

Revolutionary Government (contd-1)

FSLN founded in 1961 by Marxists-Leninists who had quiet the Nicaragua Partido Socialista ( Communist Party), struggled as a tiny guirrilla movement until 1978, then emerged as the leader of the anti-Somoza coalition in the insurrection. Upon victory the FSLN marginalized its allies, took over the state , created a new party based military , and dramatically broadened its popular base. Economic deterioration , the counter-revolutionary war, and its abuses of power eroded FSLN support and brought electoral defeat in 1990; other larger parties, most quite small , numbered over 20 by 1990, larger ones included the Partido Conservador, Partido Liberal Independence, Partido Social Christiano.
Not only the party system but also the state institutions reflect Nicaragua's dramatic  changes in power and regime type. The Somozas expanded the state but also captured and corrupted it. the central Bank and the national Guard became the most modern and competent agencies because they helped the Somozas rule and enrich themselves and their allies. Revolutionary governmental  reorganization further expanded the size and scope of the government in its management of the economy and provision of services. FSNL penetration of the bureaucracy replaced that of the   PLN. The central bank remained strong while economic planning, presidential  and security ministries (interior and defence) grew rapidly. With special emergency powers and an FSLN majority during the 1980s, President Orega over shadowed the unicameral National Assembly. However, during the UNO government after 1990 the Assembly gained new policy influence. The regular judiciary , largely corrupt under the Somozas,  was polarized during the revolution but sometimes acted with independence.
       

Nicaragua - Revolutionary Government

Daniel Ortega, the former Revolutionary President of the Sandinistas led Government in Nicaragua has broke the silence after 16 years and was re-elected as President of Nicaragua.
The revolutionary Government  expanded the state, reorganised the Government , developed a new constitution (1987), and held democratic elections ( 1984, 1990), FSLN National Directorate member Daniel Ortega Saavedr, elected president in 1984, lost the 1990 election to the Union National Opositora (UNO - a twenty party coalition)and transfered power to Violera Barriors & Chamarro. Even in defeat, the FSNL retained widespread popular support and close ties to organized labor and the military.
Nicaragua's party system, political institutions, state structures, and political economy bear the imprint of its complex political history and revolutionary experiences. The conservative and liberal (later PLN) parties arose from regional ideological cnflicts before independence and became loose, non-ideological, personalistic movements among the nation's agrarian bourgeoisie. Conservative dominance (1857-1893) was broken by rising middle sector support for the Liberals Conservative collaboration with US occupation after 1912 and later with the Somozas further eroded and divided the party.The Somozas' PLN lost crdibility , splintered, and eventually declined through its corruption .  Liberal and conservative splinter groups persisted throughout the revolution and several joined the victorious UNO coalition.    

Nicaragua - Recapitulation

Nicaragua has often held geographical significance greater than its size and population(around four million) in the nineteenth century. it had repeated external intervention to contribute the turbulance of the nation's politics.
The emergence of a ntion-state arguably continued in the last decade of the twentieth century as the Nicaraguan Revolution (1979-1990) ended, although independence came in 1823. despite periods of relative stability ( 1857-1893, 1936-  1977), power of conflicts between Liberal and Conservative elites were repeatedly violent from independence until 1960s.
The united States in 1911 installed a conservative regime to protect the US monopoly over the Panama canal, occpied Nicaragua (1912-1925) to contain Liberal rebellion. Liberal revolt again brought US occupation (1927-1933); US marines, and the US trained Nicaraguan National Guard fought anti-imperialist  guirrilla Augusto Cesar Sandino who seized power in 1936 till he was assassinated in 1956. The power passed to his sons Luis (1956-1967), and the more repressive Anastasio Somoza Debayle (1967- 1979). the dictatorial dynastry promoted rapid economic  " modernization characterised  by "corruption, increased economic inequality, and deterioration of the PLN conservative parties. Spiraling repression eventually deepened opposition, spawned a revolutionary coalition headed by Frente Sandinista de Liberation National (FSLN) , and caused widespread popular insurrection that toppledthe regime in 1979.
        

Nicaragua - Struggle for Independence

Spain's control over its colonies in the New World was threatened in the early 1800s by the struggle for national independence throughout the entire region. Weakened by the French invasion in 1794 and internal upheaval, Spain tried to hold onto its richest colonies, which led to even further neglect of its poorer Central American territories. Resentment toward the Spanish-born elite (peninsulares--those born in Spain and the only persons allowed to administer Spanish colonies) grew among Nicaraguan creoles. The first local movements against Spanish rule in Central America occurred in 1811, when the Province of El Salvador staged a revolt. Peninsular authorities were deposed and replaced by creoles, who demanded less repressive laws. Although the Province of Nicaragua officially refused to join the rebellion, a popular uprising soon broke out. Violence and political rivalry prevailed in all of the Central American colonies during the ensuing decade.

Establishment of an independent Nicaragua came in stages. The first stage occurred in 1821 when the Captaincy General of Guatemala formally declared its independence from Spain on September 15, which is still celebrated as independence day. At first the captaincy general was part of the Mexican Empire under General Agustín de Iturbide, but efforts by Mexico to control the region were resisted all over Central America. Separatist feelings throughout the isthmus grew, however, and five of the United Provinces of Central America--Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, andd Nicaragua--declared their independence from Mexico in July 1823. The sixth province, Chiapas, opted to remain with Mexico. Under a weak federal government, each province created its own independent internal administration. Inadequate communication and internal conflicts, however, overshadowed efforts to institutionalize the federation for the next decade and a half. Efforts to centralize power led to civil war between 1826 and 1829. The federation finally dissolved in 1837, and a Constituent Assembly formally declared Nicaragua's independence from the United Provinces of Central America on April 30, 1838.