Nicaragua is golden

Unlike in Kyrgyzstan where the gold industry is tottering despite its potential, Nicaragua is enjoying the Midas touch of this golden age. Gold prices have been soaring in the past year and major producers are reaping the benefits. Nicaragua is one such beneficiary.

We saw in our post about the trouble in Kyrgyzstan due to the mistrust of foreign investment, the violence of the horsemen against locals who wanted the mines to come, the anger at the spillage of chemicals years ago and the general anathema to anything that smacks of Westernization. Nicaragua has its own history of foreign control and local violence. Spanish rule, American involvement and the succession of dictators under the Somoza dynasty gave way to revolution and then drug lords in Nicaragua. La Libertad, a mountaintop town had seen its fair share of violence throughout. But where Kyrgyzstan uses its history to keep foreign development out, Nicaragua is remembering what was and looking to push forward.

In La Libertad, a Canadian mining company has turned around a mine since it purchased it in 2009, doubling its output and bringing jobs badly needed to the Western Hemisphere's second poorest nation (Haiti is the only poorer nation). What's more, the reintroduction of foreign investment seems to have curbed and reversed some of the Marxist trends of the Nicaraguan government. The involvement of Canadian and American companies has eased some of the tensions that have been going on since probably the 1930's (when America became 'involved' in Nicaragua) but at least since the Iran/Contra affairs of the 1980's. But the change has not been all one-sided. Nicaragua is not simply conforming to North American style capitalism. The North American companies working in the country are engendering themselves to both the populace and the government by doing more than merely creating sorely needed jobs. They are paving streets, building houses for the miners, providing education, providing recreational activities for youths and, near and dear to the socialist agenda of Nicaraguan politicians, sponsoring health initiatives.

The Nicaraguan model shows that not only can capitalism create sustainable growth, but socially responsible capitalism can make lives better. As Americans fret over socialization of health care it might be good to remember that businesses can be a part of the solution if business leaders work for the good of the community and politicians don't work to do nothing but vilify the people that keep the population employed.