JoSH@RED.RUTGERS.EDU (JoSH) (11/08/85)
Poli-Sci Digest Thu 07 Nov 85 Volume 5 Number 45
Contents: Myers' travels
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[This is an account of his travels in Nicaragua, by someone named Myers,
whose first name does appear. They were forwarded by Larry Kolodney
to Steve Swernofsky to here. I've removed all the headers but otherwise
(per request) left the stuff "virgo intacto". --JoSH]
From: myers@uwmacc.UUCP (Latitudinarian Lobster)
I am posting a series of eight articles based upon my trip to Nicaragua
in the early part of September. These articles will be appearing in the
University of Wisconsin student newspaper, *The Daily Cardinal*. I'll
be posting them one per day to net.politics. Only this first article will
be cross-posted to net.travel.
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Observations on the Nicaraguan People
This is the first of a series of eight articles written by Jeff
Myers, a Madison resident and employee of the Madison Academic Comput-
ing Center. The author was in Nicaragua for two weeks as a volunteer
for tecNICA, a North American technical aid project. The articles
will attempt to focus on present day conditions in Nicaragua, the
author's personal observations, and the small details which make life
interesting rather than on the continuing political debate in the
United States.
Is it possible to get to know the people of a country in a short
visit of two weeks? After all, Nicaragua is only a tiny nation of
about 3 million inhabitants, 600,000 of which live in the capital,
Managua (where I stayed most of the time). Well, I did my best - I
went out of my way to talk with as many people as I could, but as my
work was focused on computer technology, I was only able to have
extended conversations with members of the middle classes.
But talk isn't everything - the remarkable thing about Nicaragua
for me was the aura. In spite of the whole set of adverse conditions
hanging over the country, in spite of the long history of US occupa-
tion of the country, in spite of walking through crowds and dark
streets, I never felt so safe and non-threatened in my life. This
feeling was not a result of seeing soldiers with rifles outside
government office buildings or guarding construction projects, nor of
the common sight of traffic cops - it simply came from the people
themselves. Since I've returned to the US, I've been searching for
the single English word that best describes what Nicaraguans are like.
Oddly enough, the word that I have decided upon is `businesslike,'
taken in the best senses of the word.
I'm going to have to explain what I mean simply by giving various
examples. In the markets and stores people don't yell `ice cold coke'
or anything else - you're not bothered when you're just looking. Hag-
gling is virtually unknown, people were consistently honest about
prices (which are incredibly cheap if you have dollars). Walking down
the street, people don't stare at strangers, but they're adept at
checking you out in a non-obstrusive fashion. It is not that people
are unfriendly - it's extremely easy to strike up a conversation if
you demonstrate to people that you are interested in them. The best
way to do this for a foreigner is simply to speak Spanish and to make
an effort to learn the local accent, words, and idioms - I found that
I received a lot of respect just for being interested in little
details. But a real key to learning about Nicaraguans is to watch
them when they're dealing with each other.
Two of the most interesting evenings we spent in attending a
church service and a CDS meeting (Committee for the Defense of Sandin-
ismo). While I'll talk about these more in a future article, both
occasions had something important in common - people went out of their
way not just to pay attention to the proceedings, but also to talk or
simply acknowledge their friends. This was especially evident at the
CDS meeting, where everyone was standing and milling around, with a
lot of friendly jostling (as opposed to everyone establishing their
space and to energetic pushing). People were paying attention to the
program (especially to the music) but also had other more mundane
things going on. Depending on the type of church and political meet-
ings you attend in the US, this may or may not be similar to your own
experiences here.
So what does all this have to do with the word `businesslike'? I
mean mostly that Nicaraguans are practical - in work and play they are
unwilling to waste time on what to them is trivia - hence no haggling,
doing more than one thing at the same time when possible, and seem-
ingly ignoring people they don't know.
Another good example of the kind of the peculiar beauty and effi-
ciency that I'm talking about was demonstrated to me everytime I was
on or near a road. Vehicles honk with great frequency - when passing,
when a cycler or pedestrian is looking the wrong way, or when another
vehicle is poking its nose into an intersection. At first this all
seemed exceptionally obnoxious given the way we handle the road in the
US. But I came to realize that people were going out of their way to
make the somewhat torn-up roads as safe as possible for everyone. The
efficiency of traffic cops also impressed me in the same fashion.
More observations on the people will come out in my later arti-
cles, but here I wanted to give Madisonians a feel for the people as a
whole in Managua, which is very much our sister city in various ways.
These kinds of generalities are really only understood if you go to
the place being described - one of my reasons for writing these arti-
cles is to encourage folks to go and find out how wonderful Nicaragua
is for themselves, regardless of your level of support for the current
regime. An aura is something that you really have to feel for your-
self.
Next: Wages and Prices in Nicaragua
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.
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.
Sandino Airport and Nicaraguan Customs
Third of an eight part series.
My group flew from Mexico City via Aeronica, the Nicaraguan Air-
line. The flight first made a stop in San Salvador, the capital of El
Salvador, then continued on to Managua. We arrived at about six
o'clock in the evening at the beautiful Sandino Airport, a few miles
east of Managua. Overall, the airport seemed to be about the size of
the Milwaukee airport, though without the enplaning and deplaning
facilities.
Our reception was quite cordial - we were greeted at the foot of
the stairs by our guide from the ASTC, the Cultural Workers Associa-
tion. We were directed to the VIP lounge, where our guide aided us in
filling out the requisite forms and facilitated our getting through
the initial papers stages of customs. Hence we were able to bypass
the rather long lines where this is normally handled on a one-by-one
basis, but it still took about an hour.
We then had to go through the lines where baggage and such is
searched for contraband and weapons, which took another hour and a
half. Unfortunately, the authorization papers for getting various
donations to organizations through did not satisfy the customs author-
ities on this particular occasion - we had to leave this stuff behind,
but it was examined later and delivered to us intact about four days
afterward. While the ASTC and tecNICA representatives were not par-
ticularly happy about this, the caution on the part of the customs
officials was understandable in a country at war.
There was a great crowd of people hanging about at the exit from
customs, and outside the terminal building itself, waiting for loved
ones, cabs, etc., much like airports everywhere. We were then loaded
on our bus with all our stuff and proceeded on about a half-hour drive
to our hospedaje in the southern part of the city. It quickly became
clear why a description of Managua as a cluster of neighborhoods
rather than a city is appropriate. We arrived at our destination
somewhat bedraggled about 3 and a half hours after landing, and met
the wonderful family which took care of us throughout our stay.
One requirement which was waived for our group was the require-
ment to change $60 to co'rdobas at the airport itself, at the offi-
cial exchange rate of C$28 per US dollar (tourists can receive C$680
per dollar at the Casa de Cambio, a bank in Managua). This is one of
many advantages of travelling to Nicaragua with an aid or solidarity
organization - a disadvantage is that you are led around somewhat more
than if you go as a simple tourist, but this can be successfully com-
batted by doing alot of wandering around on your own (one thing I was
determined and able to do).
Exit from Nicaragua is very straightforward, as you just turn in
the Exit card you filled out upon entry to the country and pay a $10
exit tax. There is, of course, a duty-free shop at the airport where
you can pick up Nicaraguan cigars or Flor de Can~a rum with which to
treat your best friends in the US. There has been some trouble
recently with US customs officials harassing citizens returning from
the US: questioning sessions (at which you have every right to keep
your mouth tightly shut), photocopying of address books, etc. If you
have had or have in the future an experience like this with US cus-
toms, you should report it to the Center for Consitutional Rights in
New York City.
After you return, it takes awhile to readjust to life in the US,
but this period was all too short for me (working for the university
eight hours a day, and all that). Returned Peace Corp volunteers I've
talked to recently describe a similar kind of experience. But the
trips are definitely worth the letdown afterward.
Next: El Campo de Nicaragua (The Countryside).
El Campo de Nicaragua
Fourth of an eight part series.
In order to put the countryside of northern Nicaragua in a proper
perspective, I need to refer back a bit to life in the capital,
Managua. It seems to be eternally hot there, especially at night, but
never overwhelmingly. Parts of the city are crowded, and one is
exposed to a fair bit of nasty exhaust fumes when travelling around by
vehicle or on foot, though the air on the whole is quite clean, off
the roads. The water supply for the city is good and pure, but there
is currently a shortage, which necessitates that the water is turned
off for two weekdays each week (the particular days depending on the
reparto of the city you are in). This was my first experience with
this kind of water situation, and it alone taught me a great deal
about the country (and about the many nations experiencing the same
problem).
We set out to the northeast of Managua on a bright and beautiful
Saturday morning. It took perhaps an hour on the Pan-American Highway
to reach the juncture of the large Managua plain and the mountains.
Here we stopped at San Jacinto, the site of the small battle which
forced William Walker from the country. William Walker was the
Tennessee born ``President'' of Nicaragua who led the first US inva-
sion of the country in his bid to set up a Central American slave
empire. We were able to briefly visit the battle museum, buy some
fruit and Coke for lunch, and chat with some friendly soldiers.
We then started our climb up to a new plateau through increas-
ingly rugged terrain being uplifted through volcanic action stimulated
by the collision of two large plates of the Earth's crust, which
causes incidental large earthquakes in Managua and Mexico City. This
plateau seemed to be fairly dry, like the large plain below, but
things began to change as we moved on towards Matagalpa, rising again.
Now the air was becoming noticeably cooler, the vegetation more
lush, and the mountains yet more rugged before the next valley. Our
first destination was really Matagalpa, but as we had a fair bit of
time on our hands, we pushed on up the highway to a lovely German
built restaurant in the heart of coffee country, where I was able to
pick my very first coffee beans.We then returned down the mountains to
Matagalpa, a beautiful city of 10,000 nestled between the mountains.
As we had arrived late, most of the shops were closed, but we managed
to enjoy ourselves wandering the streets, visiting the park, the
cathedral, and such tourist pursuits.
As darkness creeped down upon our surroundings, we moved on
toward the place we would be spending the night and much of the next
day, the Luis Aguilar School for Agricultural Mechanization, which is
one part of an agricultural cooperative by the same name (named for a
young man who died a few years ago in a contra raid). We were warmly
greeted by the teachers and students of the school, and by the small
cluster of soldiers assigned to guard the school and the cooperative
(which is relatively distant from the Honduran border). After taking
some time to settle in a bit, we moved on to partying with our hosts -
a few cases of beer, a few bottles of Flor de Can~a, music, dancing,
conversation - a good time was had by all, and I for one had abso-
lutely no trouble sleeping in the cooler air of the countryside.
The next day we were able to explore the agricultural school and
the cooperative. The school is set up very much like a technical col-
lege is here, with real work being done at the same time as the learn-
ing process - unfortunately, we weren't able to see people at work, it
being a weekend, but I was impressed with the quality of the equipment
and the seeming expertise of the instructors. After learning a bit
about the school, we moved on to the heart of the cooperative, a small
cluster of buildings, where we met with many of the campesinos and the
elected leaders of the cooperative. There are currently three basic
types of farms in Nicaragua: first are the state-owned farms, largely
the very large farms owned by the Somozas previously, which are
currently declining in size and importance in the country. Second are
the peasant-owned cooperatives, such as the one we were visiting.
Finally come the private farms, which make up the majority of farms,
land possessed, and agricultural production in the country. Here in
Madison we are fortunate to have Professor Joseph Thome in our Law
School, who is very knowledgeable on the Nicaraguan land reform,
changes in government policies since the revolution, etc. - you should
make every effort to see him if you hear he will be giving a talk.
On a short visit to some of the fields we were impressed by the
diversity of things being cultivated, which helps to make the coopera-
tive self-sufficient as a producer of food. While staples such as
corn are grown, we marched through small plots of tomatoes and squash
bordering a grove of plantain trees. A problem being faced this year,
though, is somewhat dryer weather than usual, with consequent water
shortage problems. I should also interject here a note about water in
the countryside - while, as stated above, the water in Managua is per-
fectly safe, when you travel outside the major cities you should take
your own water for drinking (and quaff a few sodas or beers now and
then). Being a bicycler, I reccommend taking a couple of biking water
bottles, which are cheap, efficient, and the right size for carting
around easily - they also make good presents for the people of a farm
for their use in the fields.
(Campan~ola makes it to Nicaragua in a small way.)
After a full day of such activities, we headed back down the
Pan-American highway for Managua, much closer together as a group, and
with a better understanding of Nicaragua outside of the capital.
Next: Two Nicaraguan Occasions.
Two Nicaraguan Occasions
Fifth of an eight part series.
One of the most common and frequent Nicaraguan celebrations is
the Sunday celebration of mass. The churches are filled every Sunday
- but I'm going to put off my discussion of the church until the next
article. Today I'd like to describe two less typical occasions which
I was able to attend, the fifth anniversary celebration of the forma-
tion of the CDS (Comite's por la Defensa de Sandinismo), and the Sep-
tember 15 celebration of the Di'a de la Independencia, commemorating
the day all colonies gained independence from Spain.
The CDS is a popular organization which is responsible for many
different tasks, and is one of the most controversial organizations in
the country. The local committees are responsible for distribution of
ration cards (staple foods and gasoline) in all neighborhoods, for
organization of civil defense, for vigilance against internal enemies
of the nation, and as a mechanism of communication between the
national and local FSLN leadership and the people they represent.
Some of the more middle-class people with whom I worked were clearly
uncomfortable with my mentioning that I had attended a CDS meeting.
I'll leave the debates about the pluses and minuses of the CDS to
those more knowledgeable than I, and go on to describe the meeting.
It took awhile for our guide from the ASTC (Associacio'n San-
dinista de Trabajadores Culturales, the cultural workers union and the
Nicaraguan organization hosting tecNICA's visit to the country) to
gain entry for our group of 15 gringos. Once we did manage to get in,
it became clear that it was a very big, televised event, and there
must have been around four thousand people packed into the hall for
the meeting. Everyone not on the stage was standing. A woman
representative from the army was speaking as we arrived and people
continued to pack into the hall - for the most part we were simply
ignored, but it was clear from some friendly jostling that we were not
unwelcome.
I took advantage of this early period to look around. Of the
fifteen or so people seated on the stage, 6 were women. All through
the meeting people alternated between listening and milling around
greeting their friends. There were quite a number of hand-painted
banners with slogans all around the hall - here are some examples:
Carlos Fonseca es de los muertos que nunca mueren.
Carlos Fonseca is one of the dead that never dies.
Los CDS somos fuerza comunal, somos el poder popular.
The CDS - we are communal strength, we are popular power.
Desde la cuadra, por la defensa y la paz, trabajamos por nuestra
comunidad.
Going from this hall, we will work for our community, for the
defense and peace.
Man~ana, hijo mi'o, todo sera' distinto, sin latigo ni ca'rcel,
ni bala de fu'sil.
Tomorrow, my son, everyone will be different, without whips, jail,
or the bullet of a gun.
Next came a very talented political singer of about 50 years, playing
the guitar very well, and spitting rapid-fire political jokes in a
bantering manner. I wish my Spanish had been up to it, because he
was a real crowd pleaser. The only punch-line I got was that
``Reagan tiene una lengua larga '' (Reagan has a long tongue).
Nicaraguans, a very poetical people, seem to have a great time with
double and triple meanings. During pauses by this particular per-
former, there were occasional jokes shouted back at him from the
crowd which also went over well. Following this, the anthem of the
Frente Sandinista was sung.
The keynote speaker was Bayardo Arce, one of the main political stra-
tegizers for the FSLN, who spoke for about 30 minutes and was well
received. A party followed in the hall, but many people left to
return to their homes, or wherever, and there was a real crush to get
out, but everyone seemed to be in high spirits. An electric band
began to perform on stage as we left, and another small, instrumental
band was playing just outside the door of the hall. This was a Mon-
day night.
We saw an atypical CDS meeting because of the celebration of the
fifth anniversary, and also because it was not a neighborhood meet-
ing, but a zonal. Normally they would involve a much less important
speaker, and there would be a question and answer period with the
official or officials involved, as well as more aspects of a business
meeting.
The other major event which we glimpsed was what is basically the
Latin American version of the Fourth of July, Independence Day, the
15th of September. There was a parade down one of the main streets,
with officials, marching bands, etc., down to the Plaza of the Revo-
lution, which is a place worth describing, as most of the big, out-
door events in Managua take place there.
The plaza is normally just a square, two-thirds empty parking lot
(about the same capacity as a football field would be) sandwiched
between four important Managua landmarks. On the north is the huge,
polluted Lake of Managua and lush, green mountains off in the dis-
tance. Just to the south is the National Palace, which houses tax
offices and such. To the east are the ruins of the Cathedral of
Managua, destroyed in the 1972 earthquake - to this day, there are
many destroyed buildings remaining in that part of the city because
Somoza stole much of the international relief money, with which he
had pledged to rebuild the city center. I was able to climb around
the ruins the day before the celebration, met a US tourist, noted
that a squatter family is living in the ruins, and nearly fell off
the stage that had been erected. To the west of the plaza is the
park in which Carlos Fonseca is buried.
On the fifteenth we were heading out of the city for the weekend, but
we were able to catch alot of the parade on TV just before we left,
and seemed just like parades everywhere, extremely dull (my opinion).
On our way out of town, we stopped near the plaza, and most of my
collegues sauntered over to see what was going on - as I had wandered
that part of the city the day before, I was more interested in relax-
ing in the small bus than in a Managua crowd on a hot Saturday, so I
stayed behind with a friend of like mind.
From what our friends told us, the plaza was full of people, there
was a speech by President Daniel Ortega, music, etc. While I'm sorry
I missed it, I'm glad I got the rest!
Next: Thoughts on Nicaraguan Organizations.
Thoughts on Nicaraguan Organizations
Sixth of an eight part series.
In this article I would like to convey some general impressions
of various organizations of importance in today's Nicaragua. The
obvious place in which to start is the Catholic Church, as the
overwhelming majority of Nicaraguans are Catholic. While I myself am
not, I've attended a number of masses in the US because my sister-in-
law is a devout Catholic.
The only Sunday in which our group was in Managua we attended a
so-called `popular mass' at the Iglesia de Santa Mari'a de Los
Angeles, a recently built church in one of the poorer barrios of the
city, whose contruction and decoration was done by Italians. The
interior is beautifully decorated with colorful murals, including one
of Saint Francis. My favorite was one with young Nicaraguans strug-
gling uphill on a flagstone paved road between the figures of Sandino
(hero of the fight against US marines in the late 20's and early 30's,
assassinated by the first Somoza) and Carlos Fonseca (the most loved
of the martyr's of the revolution and a founder of the FSLN).
While the form of the mass was virtually identical to those in
the US that I had attended, the content and the music was much dif-
ferent, closer to the lives of the people of the barrio. The Latin
music was of high quality and heartfelt, especially ``Nicaragua,
Nicaraguita'', which reminded me alot of ``America the Beautiful.''
The mass which we attended was a special one in solidarity with the
Chilean people, who haved lived under the brutal dictatorship of Pino-
chet for 12 years. The guests of honor were Chilean women who had
lost children and husbands to the dictatorship and were now living in
Managua - many of the prayers centered on their plight and that of
their country. Finally, the prayers for the living and the dead
included Miguel Obando y Bravo, the archbishop of Nicaragua, and Pope
John Paul II, in spite of the ongoing conflicts between much of the
Nicaraguan church and the church hierarchy. Unfortunately, I was only
in Managua for one Sunday - when I return to Nicaragua I would like to
go to one of the more traditional masses given by the archbishop.
Many are the popular organizations in the country - in the last
article I discussed at length the CDS, but there is a strong system of
workers' unions, a strong women's organization called AMNLAE
(Associacio'n Mujeres Nicaraguenses - Luisa Amanda Espinosa ), and an
educational system which utilitizes the schools for three sets of stu-
dents a day, morning, afternoon, and evening. Managua has three news-
papers, Barricada (the official paper of the FSLN), El Nuevo Diario
(``A new newspaper for the new man''), and La Prensa (the paper with
the editorial policy furthest to the right) - I liked all of them,
especially the cultural / historical sections which they all have on
Saturdays. Unfortunately, two of the Saturday papers that I have are
from the day following the second of the major earthquakes which
recently struck Mexico City - one of the headlines proclaimed: ``Mex-
ico Like Managua in 1972: Apocalyptic!''
There are also quite a number of political parties, with signs
and grafitti everywhere. Among them are the PSN (Socialist), PCdeN
(Communist), FSLN (which has 60% of the delegates in the current
national assembly), PLI (Liberal), PCD (Conservative), and the Coordi-
nadora coalition of smaller right-wing parties. The National Assem-
bly is currently working on drafts of the new constitution, which will
have to be ratified by the people of the country.
Managua is much like Madison in that there are a large number of
people employed in the state sector of the economy; in the national
ministries, in education, and in government owned companies. MIFIN
(the Ministry of Finance) seemed well run, with high moral and
friendly people - the bulletin board, for example, sported health
notices, birthdays, and results of the recent chess tournament. One
of the most impressive things which I saw while in Managua was organ-
ized by the Ministry of Health (Ministerio de Salud, or MINSA), up to
its neck in combatting a severe epidemic of dengue fever, which is
spread by mosquitos. On one weekday, 20,000 young people were organ-
ized to go around the city to sprinkle abate (for combatting mosqui-
tos) in stagnant water in an effort to eliminate the mosquito from the
city. Also, there were ads in all the newspapers telling people what
they could do to combat the little buggers. Oddly enough, one common
haven for mosquitos is a legacy of the Somoza days - let me explain.
Before the revolution, the nice homes of Managua were all owned by
members of the upper class, who could afford them. As they became
more and more frightened by the growing outbreak of popular hostility
to the regime upholding their interests, they took measures to protect
their homes. One of those measures involved walling in their patios
and putting a version of barbed wire on top of the walls - cemented in
bottoms from broken glass jars and bottles. These little water traps
now make excellent havens for mosquito young.
For those of you interested in the Social Sciences, I ran into
two institutes doing interesting work. INIES, the Instituto de Inves-
tigaciones Economicas y Sociales, does general social and economic
research on all of Latin America, including the Caribbean. They pub-
lish a monthly bulletin, Pensamiento Propio , which should be carried
by Memorial Library soon. The other organization is CIDCA, Centro de
Investigaciones y Documentacio'n de la Costa Atla'ntica, which
researches questions related to the Atlantic Coast, which has a large
Indian and Black population. For instance, CIDCA explores questions
about bilingualism for costen~os, how voting in the national elections
differed from other parts of the country, and how regional autonomy
for the coast can be effected within the Republic of Nicaragua. Their
bi-monthly publication, WANI, has articles in all the languages spoken
on the coast - Sumu, Miskito, Spanish, and English. Many of you may
remember the visit to Madison last year of Ray Hooker, a representa-
tive in the National Assembly from the southern half of the costal
zone, who was kidnapped for a period by contras, and who is featured
in part of an article in English discussing the relationship between
Creole and English in the most recent WANI.
COFARMA, a government owned pharmaceutical wholesale company that
I worked for seemed to be organized in much the same manner that the
University is here - everyone is paid directly by the government (only
it's twice monthly, in cash), real money is shuttled between the
organization and its customers, it is run on a non-profit basis, and
people care about the quality of work for reasons other than personal
advancement. An interesting, if trivial seeming difference is that
all janatorial work is done during the day at COFARMA, while everyone
else is working. The floors are swept everywhere twice daily, which
makes a good time for a coffee break for the more technically oriented
workers.
All in all, I was impressed with the organization, friendliness,
and diversity of the organizations which I came in contact with, but
my encounters have left me with a voracious desire to learn more.
Next: Computing in Nicaragua.
Computing in Nicaragua
Seventh of an eight part series.
While working as a consultant for an academic computing center of
a major university is relatively rewarding and satisfying, it took a
trip to a developing nation to find out what computer science is
really all about (or should be about). Many of the people with prior
computing experience have left the country for economic reasons, but
it was truly a joy to see groups of bright and interested, if somewhat
ignorant by our standards, computer programmers and operators striving
to take up the slack. In the United States, in a country of
240,000,000 people, it's pretty hard to feel like anything other than
a rather minor cog in a large, internal combustion engine. In
Nicaragua (about the same size and population as our own state), it is
much easier to see how each person is contributing to the development
of the country, it is much easier for a knowledgeable teacher to have
a clear, beneficial impact on a major institution of the country.
Because of this, it is also easy for a norteamericano to develop a
swelled head and an inflated ego.
At risk of self-aggrandizement, let me describe what I was able
to accomplish during my two-week stay in Managua, then conclude with a
general summary of the state of computing in Nicaragua.
I worked for three different organizations during my stay. I
started out at the Ministry of Finance (Ministerio de Finanzas, or
MIFIN), fully expecting to spend all two weeks there working with
their IBM 370 model 115, an ancient, expensive hulk of a mainframe
with about the same computing power as an IBM-PC. I had been led to
believe that there was fruitful work to be done in improving the
operation of the system, but it quickly became clear that there was no
reason to mess around with the smoothly operating, if slow, system.
The staff of 16 knowledgeable COBOL and RPG-II programmers there
really have things under control, and there was no reason for me to
meddle, other than to re-emphasize that they should work towards
replacing the machine.
My day and a half stay at MIFIN was thus somewhat depressing
until I discovered that the ministry owns and uses two Macintosh
micros for word processing. After they were brought to my attention,
I found that only two very knowledgeable but busy people were
acquainted with their use. It also became clear that nearly everyone
was interested in learning about them - if you've ever been forced to
deal with an IBM 370 you'll immediately know why; Macintoshes are
designed to be easy to use and use a desktop file management system.
Unfortunately the systems were in pretty heavy use during that period,
so I simply reccommended in my report to the compan~era in charge of
the computer division that a tecNICA volunteer be placed at MIFIN for
two days to give introductory classes on the Macintosh, and then that
tecNICA leave them alone to experiment with the micros on their own.
As there was so little for me to do at MIFIN, I was shuttled off
on Tuesday afternoon to help another volunteer (who had just quit a
lucrative job with DEC in Massachusetts to wander Latin America at 40
years of age) attempting to learn DBASE III (a database language) on
an IBM-PC which had been temporarily loaned to the Banco Central.
After he had figured out DBASE III, he was to teach a small group at
the bank the rudiments of the language. There is a possibility that a
pilot project will be started at the bank using IBM-PCs and DBASE III
which will work on automating the teller transaction process (similar
to that used by the tellers at your bank). It can currently take up
to two hours to perform a bank transaction in Nicaragua.
The rest of my stay in Managua was spent with the people at
COFARMA, the company which has primary responsibility for the whole-
sale sales of medical supplies (drugs, surgical equipment, etc.) to
smaller wholesale houses and hospitals. Their old computer, which I
won't dignify by naming since the company is long dead, had recently
croaked and wasn't worth saving, so they have been running for several
months using their old inventory printouts. They now have a small
Kaypro-II micro with an Epson printer which is going to take over
their database system. When I arrived, they didn't know too much
about the system other than writing programs with Microsoft BASIC.
Initially I simply helped them to understand each of the operating
system commands (CP/M), showed them a little bit about DBASE II, and
covered the unfamiliar commands and functions in BASIC for them. For-
tunately there was a guy there who spoke excellent English and could
translate effectively to help me through the tough spots - he also has
an excellent head as a programmer, quickly catching on to all of my
explanations.
After this phase, I was able to show them how to effectively
organize and comment large BASIC programs, introducing and emphasizing
various good programming habits which I've picked up here and there
working and TAing. After that, I just let them do their own thing,
answering occasional questions. With their past programming experi-
ence, their in-depth knowledge of their own company, and the good
habits and new knowledge that I was able to impart to them in my brief
stay, I'm certain that they will quickly have their automated inven-
tory system up and running again, and that it will be vastly improved
over their old version.
And now to the more general discussion - the question which
should immediately be raised is, ``How appropriate is it to introduce
computing technology in Nicaragua?'' I believe that the answer to
this question is ``Yes, it's quite appropriate, but caution is
advised.'' It's quite clear that computers can greatly aid the produc-
tivity of organizations which are forced to manipulate large quanti-
ties of information. When introducing new levels of automation, it is
important to allow for disasters, especially in today's Nicaragua,
given the war, the US embargo, and other economic aggressions organ-
ized by the US. One must always allow for returning to the old, non-
automated system.
A major difference in what is appropriate in the US and what in
Nicaragua is in the area of computer centralization and networking.
There is a great deal of centralization of information in the US
today, utilizing large computers, exchange of information over com-
puter networks, etc.; it is economically and technologically viable
and enhances productivity (although it makes surveillance of individu-
als easier). Such centralization is to be avoided in a developing
country, for various reasons, including the necessity of increased
expertise, increased dependance on the smooth functioning of an
increasingly complex system, security considerations, and individual
privacy issues (all too many security forces in Latin America use US
developed computers and systems).
Many are the problems in Nicaragua today, and they include lack
of computer equipment, maintenance personnel, knowledgeable program-
mers, and lack of foreign exchange. Organizations like tecNICA
(described in more detail in the next article) are working to combat
US supplied arms to the contras with North American aid to the people,
the nation, and their everyday concerns.
Next: Helping Nicaragua - What You Can Do.
[The final article has not yet appeared.]
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End of POLI-SCI Digest
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