Nicaraguan exceptionalism (Spanish: ''Excepcionalismo Nicaragüense'') is a belief that

Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the countr ...

is an exceptional nation, different from its

Central American Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Cen ...

neighbors, despite shared history in the

Federal Republic of Central America The Federal Republic of Central America ( es, República Federal de Centroamérica), originally named the United Provinces of Central America ( es, Provincias Unidas del Centro de América), and sometimes simply called Central America, in it ...

and regional integration in the

Central American Integration System The Central American Integration System ( es, Sistema de la Integración Centroamericana, or SICA) has been the economic and political organization of Central American states since 1 February 1993. On 13 December 1991, the ODECA countries (Spa ...

. This concept differs from the exceptionalism of other nations primarily as its basis rests solely upon the actions and institutions implemented since the Sandanista government took power in the

1979 revolution The Iranian Revolution ( fa, انقلاب ایران, Enqelâb-e Irân, ), also known as the Islamic Revolution ( fa, انقلاب اسلامی, Enqelâb-e Eslâmī), was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynas ...

, and again in 2006 after passing power to the

National Opposition Union National Opposition Union ( es, Unión Nacional Opositora, UNO) was a Nicaraguan wide-range coalition of opposition parties formed to oppose president Daniel Ortega's Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) in the 1990 election. Its can ...

. The difference here is, most nationalist claims to exceptionalism originate from the founding of nations and/or the development of their cultures due to long histories. The widely regarded exception within the current panorama of dystopian violence afflicting contemporary Central America, Nicaragua is often hailed as "the safest (sano) country in Latin America (despite also being the poorest)". Other exceptionalism claims include the concept that Nicaragua is highly resistant to drug trafficking as compared even to richer neighbors like Costa Rica and

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Co ...

. Even Western media have drawn on this notion in reporting on why Nicaraguan children are not migrating to the United States in the

2014 American immigration crisis The 2014 American immigration crisis was a surge in unaccompanied children and women from the Northern Triangle of Central America (NTCA) seeking Immigration to the United States , entrance to the United States in 2014. According to U.S. law, an ...

to flee drug trafficking violence (despite that there is heavy Nicaraguan immigration to neighboring Costa Rica).

References

Crime in Nicaragua Ethnocentrism {{Nicaragua-stub