Moving away from the canal project which has been the main focus of my posts, this article covers a completely different impact of international action into Nicaragua. First Lady Rosario Murillo designed and commissioned the trees of life in all of Managua's public parks. The intriguing factor involving these 17 meter tall trees is accompaniment to an equally large sized mural of late Venezuelan populist leader Hugo Chavez in Managua's center. This connection to Chavez just shows how western investment alone has not been the only factor that has shaped Nicaragua, and that Chavez and Venezuela equally have shaped the nation. Additionally, the populist rule of Chavez during his rule over Venezuela seems to be influencing the Ortega "husband and wife dynasty's" 2016 campaign by building larger than life trees all throughout the city as an attempt to "give back" to the people for cutting down most of the real trees as a result of massive public works projects.