Nicaragua gets a "weak" rating in the Public Integrity Index, which tracks corruption, openness and accountability in 25 countries. This peer-reviewed country report includes a timeline covering corruption over the past one to two decades, a reporter's notebook on the culture of corruption and an assessment of the six main integrity categories. The integrity scorecard lists the full set of integrity indicators with scores, commentary and references.
Nicaragua competes with Haiti and Honduras in the ranking of the poorest countries in Latin America, and has one of the highest rates on the continent concerning the perception of corruption—even exceeding the average of African countries, according to Transparency International.
However, Nicaragua has experienced some unexpected changes in the last two years, and the country now strives to be recognized as a good international example in the fight against corruption. In a region where the rule is to denounce abuses made by the ex-governors while giving them almost unrestricted impunity (see, for example, Alberto Fujimori in Perú or Abdalá Bucaram in Ecuador), Nicaragua can point to the case of Arnoldo Alemán as the only ex-president in Latin America who has been convicted of corruption. >>
The freedom, independence, and energy of the media are the most significant tools in the anti-corruption fight in Nicaragua. Practically all that is good in terms of tangible results for accountable government, both in the short and medium terms, systemic or otherwise, owes disproportionately to the dynamics unleashed by the role of watchdog played by the media and organized citizens.
Today both sectors work largely free of undue governmental persecution and with minor limitations on their work. They also work together on transparency issues, as evidenced by the corruption investigations led by journalists that resulted in the civil-society-driven removal of immunity for the former president. There are two major newspapers and no fewer than four TV networks, all of which have overcome challenges (primarily monetary, for government advertising has traditionally been the number one account in the country) to keep their editorial lines clearly independent from the government. In fact, since 2001, when the state TV station closed due to mismanagement and a dearth of viewers, the government hasn't had as much as a minor newspaper under its editorial control. >>