Nicaragua’s new president, Enrique Bolaños Geyer, today asserted his government’s commitment to fight against corruption, saying that a victory in that battle could help Nicaragua win the war against poverty.
"There are several battles to fight," he said in a speech at the Inter-American Development Bank’s headquarters in Washington, DC. "One of the most important is the drive against corruption. We expect to win that battle, which should help us win the war against poverty."
Bolaños told an audience of diplomats, academics and officials from multilateral institutions that he always advises Nicaraguans that the struggle against corruption can be traumatic at times, but that such pains represent the "birth pains of a new nation."
In turn, IDB President Enrique V. Iglesias highlighted the new Nicaraguan administration’s efforts to ensure transparency and restore the public sector’s credibility. He also underscored Nicaragua’s decision to maintain sound macroeconomic policies in order to avoid the instability that hampered its economy in the past.
On that point, Bolaños requested the international community’s support for a strategy to stimulate growth and reduce poverty. His government, he said, inherited severe macroeconomic imbalances and a heavy burden of foreign and domestic debts.
Nicaragua also wants to deepen its integration with its Central American neighbors and strengthen its ties with Mexico through Plan Puebla Panama and with the United States through a free trade agreement, Bolaños added. Central America’s seven nations, he said, are striving to establish a customs union.