patth (Patt Haring) (08/22/89)
Ported from PeaceNET/GreenNet:
/* Written 10:22 pm Aug 21, 1989 by gn:gpaterson in cdp:ecp.news */
/* ---------- "NEWS FROM NICARAGUA" ---------- */
SANDINISTA SOFTWARE
BY
GORDON PATERSON
AUGUST 1989
Since the 1979 revolution, the government and people of Nicaragua
have worked to build a free and independent country in Central
America, using their resources for the benefit of all the people
and seeking to live in peace with neighbouring countries.
Nicaragua has won a UNESCO literacy prize for its campaign to
reduce illiteracy; expansion of health care and services have
succeeded in eradicating polio and greatly reducing the incidence
of other killer diseases such as malaria and diphtheria; laws
have been passed to improve and protect the rights of women;
agrarian reform has given land to over 60% of the rural
population; and in the first free and democratic elections in
Nicaragua's history in 1984 the Sandinistas (FSLN) received 67%
of the popular vote.
The example set by Nicaragua has earned the bitter hostility of
the U.S. Government. From 1981 the U.S. administration under
Ronald Reagan waged a political, economic and military war
against Nicaragua using the C.I.A., the contra terrorists, the
blocking of loans and, since 1985, a trade embargo as weapons.
Nicaragua has survived, not undamaged. The people killed, injured
and maimed - over 50,000, are part of the price Nicaragua has
paid for defending its new found freedom and independence. The
other price paid has been financial - the military and economic
war unleashed by the U.S. has severely undermined the Nicaraguan
economy and led to raging four figure inflation.
The tenth anniversary of the revolution seemed an ideal time to
visit Nicaragua and see for myself the changes occurring in the
country. I was able to do this through an organisation called
TECNICA.
WHAT IS TECNICA?
TECNICA is a non-profit, non-governmental organisation based in
California, USA. It places short-term and long-term volunteers in
Nicaragua. Volunteers come from a variety of backgrounds and may
have skills in computing, electronics, languages, banking,
medicine, statistics, crafts or economics.
One of the most significant aspects of TECNICA's work is its
history of gaining the support of a broad range of people who
don't belong to or identify with existing, more political groups.
This is due to the fact that TECNICA provides technical and
professional assistance, and functions as an international
assistance organisation in the same fashion as groups such as
OXFAM and VSO.
TECNICA volunteers go to Nicaragua to learn about events in that
country firsthand, and make contributions that will benefit all
Nicaraguans. Many volunteers are sympathetic to the progressive
social changes which are happening in Nicaragua. A TECNICA
delegation provides a chance to find out about the Nicaraguan
government without relying on political groups or the mass
media.
Volunteers donate their services as a gesture of international
goodwill and to promote peace. They are able to decide themselves
how long they wish to stay for, which can be anything from two
weeks to a year. Rather than protesting or demonstrating against
U.S. foreign policy, TECNICA volunteers are in the unique
position of being able to do something positive.
THE DELEGATION
Our delegation was made of around twenty people, mostly North-
Americans, who had a variety of skills, interests and
backgrounds. Although the largest group in the delegation was
made up of computer people, there were also translators,
statisticians, a biologist, an entomologist, a welder and a
photographer. Many volunteers were teaching and translating at
the university in Managua, the capital of Nicaragua, but other
projects included a statistical study of health care, the
establishment of a computer spare part and repair service, and
the use of solar power to provide water and electricity to rural
areas in Nicaragua.
My project was with a software collective called Sistemas
Industriales and involved installing and teaching a relational
database system.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS
The first impressions of Nicaragua are of a poverty stricken
nation, but first impressions can be misleading. It takes a while
to notice some of the more subtle aspects of life, especially in
Managua. I was surprised by the appearance of much of the
housing in the barrios (poorer areas) of Managua only to discover
that many of them have running water and electricity. The barrios
themselves have committees of local residents who organise local
educational and health needs.
The effects of the U.S. trade embargo can be seen directly on the
streets. It continually amazed me that many of the vehicles on
the roads held together never mind actually moved as spare parts
become more and more scarce. The taxis were fascinating as most
had very little interior and one I travelled in had no front
doors. The buses, which were the main mode of transport, are an
adventure in themselves. The entrance to the bus is at the front,
beside the driver, and the exit is at the rear. Although there is
a very regular service most buses are mobbed. I thought London
Underground in the rush hour was busy until I travelled in a
Nicaraguan bus. The object of each journey is to get from the
front of the bus to the rear before the bus arrives at your
destination. Failing to do this means you just do not get off. A
number of occasions I found myself walking back a couple of
stops, not daring to get a bus in case the same happened again.
Other things which surprised me were the almost total absence of
begging anywhere; the number of people I saw reading one of the
three quality daily newspapers (certainly more than I see on the
way to work in London); and the friendliness of the army and
police when you see them.
One of the fortunate things about working at Sistemas
Industriales (SI) was that they possessed an air conditioner.
After a hot and sweaty ride in a busy bus it was great to be able
to cool down in their small office. Working at SI was much the
same as working in any other small office apart from two things.
Occasionally a electronic buzzer would sound. This meant there
were some fluctuations in the power supply and it was advisable
to do a quick save of what you were doing in case of a computer
crash and sometimes there was a complete power cut lasting from
five minutes to a few hours - always a good time for doing some
documentation.
SISTEMAS INDUSTRIALES
Sistemas Industriales is a software collective, in the process of
being recognised as a cooperative, which develops and markets
micro system software. The collective has eight full time members
of varying nationalities, Nicaraguan, French, Soviet, Swedish and
North American.
The main product SI markets and enhances is an inventory control
package, which was specifically designed for the maintenance of
spare machinery parts. Because of the war and the U.S. economic
embargo against Nicaragua, the availability of spare machinery
parts and the knowledge of their whereabouts has become even more
valuable than previously. The system is generic and dynamic
enough to be adaptable to any inventory that can be catalogued,
and was specifically designed to be of equal value to any
country, business, or organisation where inventory demand far
exceeds supply.
One of the major advantages of the package is its ability to
offer alternatives when a particular piece of machinery is
unavailable. It does this by looking at the specification (i.e.
dimensions, material etc) of the machinery and then searches the
database for any items which match that specification.
As the inventory control package becomes utilised more and more,
it offers major benefits to the country:
* reduction in its dependency, both technological and
political towards one supplier or towards one block of
suppliers since it becomes free to specify what it
wants to buy, and from whomever offers the best
conditions
* increase in the intra-regional cooperation and
reduction of the possibility of regional conflicts
since economies depend much more on regional resources
and less on North-South commercial channels
* promotion of horizontal transfer of technology since
the system allows each user to benefit from the others'
resources and knowledge can be made to accumulate.
COMPUTING IN NICARAGUA
Sistemas Industriales is based on a philosophy partly developed
by the Sandinista Governments approach to Information Technology
and partly evolved by SI. In the past, like many countries both
North and South, Nicaragua's computerisation was based on large
proprietary mainframes, especially within government departments
and agencies. This led to a technological dependency on Western
Computer Multinationals. Once a particular department purchased a
proprietary system it was dependant on that company for
maintenance, upgrades, repairs, servicing, new products, etc.
This dependency was eventually broken following the revolution as
these companies began leaving Nicaragua as a consequence of the
lack of hard currency, the state of the economy and the U.S.
economic embargo.
Although the withdrawal of these computer companies was initially
very damaging, it has led to a technical liberation which was
not expected. This has appeared in the form of the de facto PC
standard, the IBM compatible PC. An influx of technology from the
E.E.C, sympathetic Governments and solidarity groups has led to
the establishment of a national standard, the IBM compatible PC.
It was felt important at such an early stage in development of
Information Technology in the countr9that some of the mistakes
of the past were not repeated.
One of the reasons for this decision was to enable Nicaragua to
be fairly independent in its IT sources and hence evade the U.S.
embargo. Hardware, spare parts, literature and documentation
(especially written in Spanish), software, peripherals and
accessories are all widely available from a variety of sources in
a number of counties and have allowed what used to be specialised
computer skills to become widely understood and available. It is
perhaps ironic that the PC revolution has aided the Nicaraguan
revolution in such a way.
However, it has not escaped notice that the technological
breakthrough in the country is promoted by foreigners, a fact
which is exploited by opposition groups. Although the Corporation
of Nicaraguan Technicians is a fast growing professional body,
the challenge for the future will be for the Nicaraguans
themselves to take the leading role in IT. As Nicaragua has
become an example to the developing world both politically and
socially it is hoped that its application of Information
Technology will become an example. Although in its infancy its
use of IT demonstrates the socially useful harnessing of new
technology and offers encouragement to other developing
countries.
---
Patt Haring | UNITEX : United Nations
patth@sci.ccny.cuny.edu | Information
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