Quilalí (Municipio de Quilalí)
Quilalí is a town and a municipality in the Nueva Segovia Department of Nicaragua.
Situated in a high mountainous region of Nicaragua lies Quilalí, the remote, large municipal head in the department of Nueva Segovia. It is 264 km north of Managua and 80 km east of the departmental capitol of Ocotal. The town has a population of more than 13,000 inhabitants but in the entire municipality itself, there are nearly 30,600 people. The pueblo is made of 17 barrios laid out in a cobblestone grid around a central park and 54 rural communities. The people in Quilalí make their living primarily in basic grains farming (corn and beans) as well as coffee cultivation.
In contrast to all its soil riches, the people of Quilalí are poor. Unemployment and underemployment are high and continue to grow as the global economic slowdown sinks in deeper. Many people work in the homes of others earning a dollar a day, all that the other families can afford to pay them. Even those with coveted government jobs go months without receiving pay as the government has no money to pay them.
Goods are also more costly here than in other parts of the country. The town is isolated from its economically prosperous neighbors by rough terrain including mountains and rivers that swell to overtake the highway during rainy season, making transportation of goods to the town costly.
Families also tend to be large. According to the Ministry of Health, nearly twenty percent of the population is made up of women of birthing age. This, among other factors such as job scarcity and lack of culturally appropriate family planning methods, leads many families to have upwards of 5 children with only one parent working. The scarcity also causes many children to quit school early to help their families by finding whatever small jobs they can.
Not all families in Quilalí suffer. The people who belong to the national ruling government party, the Sandinistas, have more opportunities for employment. This is important because the local ruling government party in Quilalí is the Constitutionalist Liberal Party (Nicaragua). This means the local government provides jobs to one political party, while the national government provides jobs for the other. It also makes Quilalí one of the only towns where Sandinistas do not control local politics. This fact is due to the memory by most inhabitants of Quilali of the savagery of Sandino and his troops during their existence in the 1930s.
Situated in a high mountainous region of Nicaragua lies Quilalí, the remote, large municipal head in the department of Nueva Segovia. It is 264 km north of Managua and 80 km east of the departmental capitol of Ocotal. The town has a population of more than 13,000 inhabitants but in the entire municipality itself, there are nearly 30,600 people. The pueblo is made of 17 barrios laid out in a cobblestone grid around a central park and 54 rural communities. The people in Quilalí make their living primarily in basic grains farming (corn and beans) as well as coffee cultivation.
In contrast to all its soil riches, the people of Quilalí are poor. Unemployment and underemployment are high and continue to grow as the global economic slowdown sinks in deeper. Many people work in the homes of others earning a dollar a day, all that the other families can afford to pay them. Even those with coveted government jobs go months without receiving pay as the government has no money to pay them.
Goods are also more costly here than in other parts of the country. The town is isolated from its economically prosperous neighbors by rough terrain including mountains and rivers that swell to overtake the highway during rainy season, making transportation of goods to the town costly.
Families also tend to be large. According to the Ministry of Health, nearly twenty percent of the population is made up of women of birthing age. This, among other factors such as job scarcity and lack of culturally appropriate family planning methods, leads many families to have upwards of 5 children with only one parent working. The scarcity also causes many children to quit school early to help their families by finding whatever small jobs they can.
Not all families in Quilalí suffer. The people who belong to the national ruling government party, the Sandinistas, have more opportunities for employment. This is important because the local ruling government party in Quilalí is the Constitutionalist Liberal Party (Nicaragua). This means the local government provides jobs to one political party, while the national government provides jobs for the other. It also makes Quilalí one of the only towns where Sandinistas do not control local politics. This fact is due to the memory by most inhabitants of Quilali of the savagery of Sandino and his troops during their existence in the 1930s.
Map - Quilalí (Municipio de Quilalí)
Map
Country - Nicaragua
 |
 |
| Flag of Nicaragua | |
Originally inhabited by various indigenous cultures since ancient times, the region was conquered by the Spanish Empire in the 16th century. Nicaragua gained independence from Spain in 1821. The Mosquito Coast followed a different historical path, being colonized by the English in the 17th century and later coming under British rule. It became an autonomous territory of Nicaragua in 1860 and its northernmost part was transferred to Honduras in 1960. Since its independence, Nicaragua has undergone periods of political unrest, dictatorship, occupation and fiscal crisis, including the Nicaraguan Revolution of the 1960s and 1970s and the Contra War of the 1980s.
Currency / Language
| ISO | Currency | Symbol | Significant figures |
|---|---|---|---|
| NIO | Nicaraguan córdoba | C$ | 2 |
| ISO | Language |
|---|---|
| EN | English language |
| ES | Spanish language |