A drastic fall in productive activity, outflows of investments and the disappearance of thousands of formal jobs are some of the consequences a year after the political and economic crisis in Nicaragua.
In March 2018, CentralAmericaData reported the figures that reflected the economic boom that Nicaragua was experiencing: formal employment grew at a year-on-year rate of close to 3%, economic activity each month recorded year-on-year growth rates of between 4% and 5%, while consumption and imports increased. Only a month later, on Friday, April 19, a series of events occurred that determined a radical change in the trend observed until then. The announcement of the reform of the Nicaraguan Social Security Institute triggered a social, political and economic crisis that the country is suffering so far.
The European Parliament will evaluate Nicaragua's possible suspension of the Association Agreement, which allows 91% of products, mostly agricultural, to enter the 28 EU countries under preferential conditions.
The European Parliament plans to discuss Nicaragua's suspension of the Association Agreement (AA), an agreement that allows 91% of products, mostly agricultural, to enter the 28 EU countries under preferential conditions.
Because of the crisis affecting the country since April last year, it is estimated that during 2018 the losses of the Nicaraguan tourism sector totaled $440 million, and more than 62 thousand jobs disappeared.
The arrival of tourists to the country is another figure reporting a considerable decline last year, since between 2017 and 2018 the number of visitors who came to Nicaragua fell 55%, going from 1.7 million to 800 thousand.
After the political and social crisis that began in April, the Nicaraguan economy will lose more than $1.3 billion this year, and GDP could decline by 4%, together with the collateral effects suffered by the countries of the region.
Several indicators have reflected the weak performance of the country's economy since the crisis began. One of them is the IMAE, as the Central Bank of Nicaragua reported that following the trend that has been observed since May, in September the index reported a 4.3% decrease compared to the same month in 2017.
Because of the social and political crisis, businessmen working in the freight transport sector in Nicaragua estimate that by the end of this year their operations will have been down by up to 25%.
According to the Transporters Association of Nicaragua (ATN), the crisis that began in April this year has caused losses in cargo transport activity in the country, and the operations of companies in the sector are estimated to register a 25% reduction in 2018 compared to 2017.
In September, sales of houses in Nicaragua reported a fall of 80%, and sales of vehicles and hotels were reduced 75% and 70%, respectively, compared to the same month last year.
According to the Second Monitoring of Economic Activities in Nicaragua, prepared by the Superior Council of Private Enterprise (Cosep) and the Nicaraguan Foundation for Economic and Social Development (Funides), during September sales of advertising agencies fell 48%, those of distributors of medical equipment 40% and those of restaurants 35%, compared to the ninth month of 2017.
Managua's restaurant trade association reports the closure of at least 700 fast food restaurants in recent months.
According to representatives of the Association of Restaurant Owners of Managua, due to the low levels of sales reported in recent months, at least 700 restaurants have closed their operations.
Regarding the massive closure of restaurants, René Hauser, president of the Managua restaurant trade union, said to Elnuevodiario.com.ni that "... That decision was made because of the socio-political crisis the country has been facing since April. Although shopping centers made discounts between 10% and 20% in the rental payment, the low influx of buyers was not cost-effective to continue operating."
The sector's guild reported that 24 charter flights scheduled to arrive in the country from Canada were cancelled between December and February 2019.
The representatives of the National Chamber of Tourism of Nicaragua (Canatur) confirmed that with the cancellation of flights, will stop arriving between 2,000 and 3,000 tourists.
In this regard, the president of Canatur, Lucy Valenti, explained to Laprensa.com.ni that "...
The complex economic and political situation that has affected Nicaragua since April continues to affect Central America, where exporters report losses of $45 million.
In the past months, cargo transport faced difficulties in moving goods along Nicaragua's highways due to demonstrators' blockades and insecurity, seriously affecting Central American companies.
Businessmen in Nicaragua expect to reduce by at least 50% the investments they had previously planned for 2018, waiting for the problems affecting the country to be solved.
The research by the Consejo Superior de la Empresa Privada (Cosep) and the Fundación Nicaragüense para el Desarrollo Económico y Social (Funides), takes place in the context of more than 160 days of political and social crisis, which has severely affected the performance of the country's economy.
The union has reported that five months after the outbreak of the social and political crisis in Nicaragua, the country has lost about 68,000 of the 120,000 jobs generated by the sector.
The National Chamber of Tourism (Canatur) presented a report highlighting the impact of the country's social and political crisis on the tourism sector.
Five months after the socio-political crisis in Nicaragua, it is estimated that this year Gross Domestic Product will contract between by 2.1% and 4%, in real terms.
The Nicaraguan Foundation for Economic and Social Development (FUNIDES) has updatedits estimates on the economic and social impact of the crisis in 2018, in which it poses a first scenario that assumes that people and companies will adapt to a "new reality". In this context, the losses in added value would amount to $946 million.
In 100 days of political and social crisis in Nicaragua, entrepreneurs estimate that businesses dedicated to trade and services have lost earnings of $1 billion.
Representatives from the Chamber of Commerce and Services of Nicaragua (CCSN), reported that companies dedicated to trade projected that by 2018 they would reach sales of $2.3 billion, however, due to the crisis that has affected the different sectors of the economy that will be impossible.
The complicated situation happening in the country since mid-April has forced nearly 70% of SMEs in the textile and clothing industry to suspend their operations.
According to information from the Chamber of Industries of Nicaragua (Cadin), 30% of small and medium size textile and clothing companies that are producing are doing so at 25% of their capacity.The situation in the sector has led to the temporary suspension of eight out of ten workers.
Nicaraguan business leaders estimate that in the months of June and July there will be drastic drops in exports.
In the first five months of the year, the country sold $1.282 billion worth of goods abroad, which is 2% more than what was reported in the same period in 2017.However, the business sector says that this increase was due to the fact that many exporters decided to liquidate most of their inventory at the beginning of the crisis.