myers@uwmacc.UUCP (Latitudinarian Lobster) (10/25/85)
Wages and Prices in Nicaragua
Second of an eight part series.
One can live very inexpensively in today's Nicaragua if in pos-
session of dollars - without dollars it is difficult to make ends meet
but no one is in danger of starving. An important fact to introduce
at this point is the exchange rate which is in effect once you are
inside Nicaragua - in early September the exchange rate was C$680 per
$1 (680 co'rdobas, or ``cords'', per dollar). First, I am going to
cover prices from the point of view of a tourist, and then go into
wages and prices from the point of view of a Nicarguan family.
Let's start with the price of an item close to many Wisconsinites
hearts (and certainly mine); beer. The standard price for a beer,
both in our hospedaje and in bars and restaurants, was C$100, or about
15 cents. Nicaragua manufactures two beers, both brewed in Managua,
La Victoria (a tastier version of Point) and Ton~a (much stronger).
Food is not a major problem and is fairly cheap for everyone, staples
being state subsidized. In the Mercado Huembes a lunch for two
including rice, beans, beef, salad, plantains, and a fresco (large
drink made from maize or any of a wide variety of fruits) cost C$500,
under a dollar. Even in an excellent restaurant like Los Antojitos
you would be extremely hard pressed to spend more than $3 a person.
Gratuities are always included in the bill, and range from 5% to 15%.
Each of the three excellent Managua newspapers costs C$10. A
pack of the most popular cigarettes, Alas, are from C$40 to C$50. The
bus is 3 cords. Most places and events cost you nothing aside from
donations and transportation. While I did not buy any consumer goods
like toothpaste or toilet paper, such items are much scarcer than
basic items like food and consequently cost much more in relation to
food than in the US.
Things are a bit harder for the Nicaraguan city dwellers. Many
people in Managua work for government organizations or government
owned corporations (but most people in Managua are employed in petty
commodity sales). Since I worked entirely with ``middle-class'' work-
ers in the government sector, I know most about their wages and life-
styles, so my comments will focus on this sector. The technicos that
I worked with all made between C$15,000 and C$25,000 per month ($22 to
$37), while service workers (chauffers, janitors, etc.) make around
C$8000 ($12). The average family seemed to have 3 kids, with both
parents working. Obviously, this isn't much, and it takes state sub-
sidization of food and housing costs to make ends meet.
For workers in Managua corporations, one form that this subsidi-
zation takes is in the form of subsidized lunches. One of the days I
was in Managua I spent working with the Banco Central - they use a
cafeteria in common with several other organizations, and each organi-
zation is assigned a certain time in which to appear for lunch. Lunch
for them is C$50. The compan~eros that day complained about the food,
but it was certainly better than anything put before me as an under-
grad in Ohio.
Most of my time in Managua I spent with a pharmaceutical company
which had its own cafeteria. Lunches there were C$20 (about 3 cents),
usually consisting of rice, meat, a boiled plantain, and a refresco de
mai'z - the quantity received was greater than at the group cafeteria,
and the rice was of a lower quality, but still excellent. A major
difference between the two cafeterias was that everyone is expected to
provide their own silverware at the pharmaceutical company and to
clean up thoroughly after themselves.
Just as in Mexico, Peru, and many other Latin American countries,
inflation is running high - currently at around 200% per year. Con-
sidering the pressure being put on the economy by the ongoing war
against US-supplied counterrevolutionaries, the US trade embargo esta-
blished earlier this year by Reagan's decree placing the US in a state
of emergency, and US efforts to stop Western aid and credit to
Nicaragua, the economy seems to be doing well. But the key word here
is `considering.' An estimated 40% of the annual budget of Nicaragua
goes to defense against the contras - this could go a long way in
other sectors of society if the US would back such peace efforts as
the Contadora negotiations. Unfortunately, the powers that be in
Washington are unwilling to allow a small, non-aligned nation to have
a successful mixed economy (60% of GNP is in the private sector) due
to the `bad example' that it would set.
Next: Sandino Airport and Nicaraguan Customs.