NEWS ALERTS
NICARAGUA
WHAT HAVE THE SANDINISTAS ACCOMPLISHED?
Daniel Ortega was inaugurated as President of Nicaragua on January 10, 2007. What difference does it make to Nicaragua to have a progressive left-wing president instead of a reactionary right-wing president?
1. COUNCILS OF CITIZEN POWER
Councils of Citizen Power are local groups that bring participatory democracy to each neighborhood. These groups—whose members are elected by their neighbors and friends—are empowered to tell the representative government what the neighborhood needs, and report the success of the representative government in meeting these needs. The two right-wing parties, and the small MRS party, opposed the Councils bitterly, but, ultimately, the Sandinistas prevailed.
2. UNION FENOSA
Union Fenosa is the Spanish corporation that supplies electrical energy to Nicaragua. Electrical energy was privatized in 2000. Electrical service in Nicaragua, especially in 2006 and 2007, was terrible. Rationing was instituted, and there were constant power outages. The new Sandinista government threatened to sue Union Fenosa for breach of contract, and Union Fenosa threatened to sue the Nicaraguan government. Spanish solidarity activists protested against this Spanish corporation with the slogan, “Nicaragua in Darkness.” The Sandinistas promised improved service by early 2008, and this improvement has, indeed, taken place. Electrical service is still not good in Nicaragua, but it’s better than it was.3. ENACAL
Enecal is the Nicaraguan water company. Before the Sandinistas took office, the Bolaños administration tried to destroy the corporation by hiring large numbers of highly paid, non-productive administrators. Then the government arranged for a loan from the Interamerican Development Bank to pay for “consultants” from Chile. It was obvious that this “consultation” had privatization as its goal. The privatization of ENECAL was opposed by the Consumer Defense Network, headed by Ruth Herrera. In a bold and decisive move, President Ortega appointed Ruth Herrera as president of ENACAL. Ms. Herrera has reduced the number of administrators, cancelled the contract with the Chilean “consultants,” and ENECAL has started to bring more water to more people.4. OUTSIDE SOLIDARITY AID
Foreign aid from friendly nations, especially Venezuela, has enabled the Sandinista government to carry out many of its most important programs. Venezuela has supplied oil, electrical generating plants, and food to Nicaragua. In 2007, Venezuelan aid to Nicaragua was worth over 385 million dollars.5. ZERO HUNGER PROGRAM
The Zero Hunger program is a bold and direct attempt to alleviate poverty and hunger in rural Nicaragua. The Sandinista plan is to distribute vouchers worth $2,000 to 75,000 poor families in rural areas. With the vouchers, each family will be able to purchase a pregnant sow, a pregnant cow, seeds for food crops, and seedlings of fruit trees and reforestation trees. The short-term goal is to make each family capable of producing enough milk, meat, eggs, fruits, vegetables and cereals to cover its basic needs. The long-term goal is to establish local markets and to enable the families to sell their produce as a source of income.6. IMF-WORLD BANK
President Ortega has continued to work with the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. The difference is that Nicaragua has insisted on favorable terms from the lenders, and has demanded that any new economic plan be in agreement with national priorities. Many people were surprised that the IMF and World Bank complied with these demands.
“After 16 years of servile Nicaraguan governments bending over before the international financial institutions, it is fascinating to see what can be accomplished by a government that stands up to them.” (Nicaragua Network Hotline)
7. HEALTH
When the Sandinista were in office between 1979 and 1990, improved healthcare in Nicaragua was one of their greatest achievements. Like so many other Sandinista gains, the universal healthcare system withered away during 16 years of neoliberal rule. The new Sandinista government appears to be making a good-faith effort to restock empty health center pharmacies and to reenergize the healthcare system. Young doctors trained in Cuba have returned to Nicaragua to bolster the supply of physicians. Using creative diplomacy, the Sandinista government has offered to destroy 650 surface-to-air missiles, as demanded by the U.S. government, in return for U.S. medical supplies and equipment. Both governments have agreed to this plan in principal, and the details are being negotiated.
8. EDUCATION
A. Early childhood and preschool education During the first Sandinista era, the government built dozens of CDI’s (Infant Development Centers) and SIR’s (Rural Infant Services) to provide day care, education, and nutrition for infants and preschool children. I visited the largest of these, CDI Melania Morales, many times, and it was wonderful. As might be expected, after 1990, the government lost interest in providing daycare and preschool education for poor children, and these centers either closed or were privatized. The new Sandinista government has again made a commitment to CDI’s, and has promised to open eight of them in 2008. Eight is a small number in relationship to the need, but it’s a start. B. Literacy program The Sandinista literacy program of 1980 increased literacy in Nicaragua from an appallingly low 50% to over 90%. It was the largest, most rapid, and most successful program of mass education in human history. After 1990, the right-wing government turned its back on popular education, and literacy gradually dwindled to 65%. The new Sandinista government has pledged to raise literacy to 95% in the next five years, using the Cuban mass education program, “Yo, sí puedo!” (Yes I can!)
C. Abolition of “school autonomy” In the 1990’s, the right-wing government, bowing to the demands of the World Bank and IMF, began a process of so-called school autonomy, giving “ownership” of the schools to the parents of the children attending the school. What this meant in practice is that the government reduced school funding, and parents were expected to make up the difference by paying fees for their children’s education. Predictably, many parents were forced to keep their children out of school, and the kids were condemned to a life of economic marginalization. In yet another bold stroke, the Sandinista government immediately abolished school autonomy. Even before President Ortega was inaugurated, he announced that school autonomy was ended, and universal free education had returned. The children flocked back to the schools. As would be expected, the children who entered schools found overcrowded classrooms and substandard conditions. In fact, some classes were held in tents, because there weren’t enough classrooms available for all the new students. However, no matter how deficient the schools were, they were open, and they were free!
9. SUMMARY
In summary, I hope I have demonstrated that, in Nicaragua, there’s a real and measurable difference between life under a right-wing, regressive government and a left-wing, progressive government. Since Daniel Ortega became President in 2007, the people of Nicaragua have had new resources, new opportunities, and new hope.____________________________________________________
References
Nicaragua Network Hotline http://www.nicanet.org/?cat=8 Free and highly informative.
Nicaragua Monitor article Looking Backward: How the World Bank’s School Autonomy Project Failed in Nicaragua by Amanda McBride.
(Nov-Dec 2007) http://www.nicanet.org/?page_id=447 Provides details of “School Autonomy” and it’s consequences.
Good review article: Latin America’s Shock Resistance by Naomi Klein. (The Nation Nov 26, 2007) http://www.thenation.com/doc/20071126/klein
An excellent general summary of the progressive changes taking place throughout Latin America.
3/08