Travel Safety during Presidential Elections
National Palace in Managua, Nicaragua. Image: jtstewart
This year, Nicaragua’s Presidential and National Assembly elections will take place on November 6, 2016. Traveling in Nicaragua during the presidential election period is safe given the precautions outlined below.
The U.S. Department of State issued a Nicaragua Travel Alert on June 29th cautioning U.S. citizens about “increased government scrutiny of foreigners’ activities, new requirements for volunteer groups, and the potential for demonstrations during the upcoming election season in Nicaragua.” The travel alert expires on November 30, 2016.
If you are traveling for leisure and do not hold a diplomat or U.S. official passport, this travel notice does not really concern your trip to Nicaragua. Essentially, this travel notice is primarily directed at U.S. officials, academics, diplomats, NGO workers, journalists, and volunteer/charity organizations who report or work on sensitive political topics. Thus, while traveling for leisure during the presidential election season is safe, we recommend that visitors be sensitive of or simply avoid controversial conversations regarding Nicaraguan politics.
While a few protests leading up to presidential elections have turned physical in the past, visitors should not worry about harm unless they willingly participate in political protests. Civic protests can be easily avoided. Keep an eye on media coverage of local events and be aware of your surroundings at all times. Protests tend to happen in the capital–Managua–or other departmental capitals, and the few demonstrations that do become violent tend to intensify in the early afternoon. So look to avoid crowds at major roads or intersections in capital cities at that time of day.
On that note, if you are staying at a remote resort, such as Pacaya Lodge & Spa, you will be far from any potential mayhem. Located in the heart of Laguna de Apoyo, Pacaya Lodge & Spa visitors can calmly relax amidst jungle canopies and mountain slopes not only during the presidential election season, but any season of the year.
On the whole, Nicaragua is a safe country to visit. In fact, Nicaragua enjoys the reputation of being one of the safest countries in Latin America. A study done by UNDP shows that Nicaragua’s petty crime rates are much lower compared to its surrounding Central American neighbors. In 2011, robbery rates per 100,000 were 397.6 in Costa Rica, 276.3 in Honduras, and 688 in Mexico, whereas Nicaragua only saw 71.5.
For more information about safety in Nicaragua, take a look at these sites:
