NSCAG UPDATE NOVEMBER 2022
NEU teacher exchange with Nicaragua
Following on from a previous exchange visit with Nicaragua that took place in 2017, sponsored by the then NUT, a second exchange visit took place in July/August this year when a group of eleven primary and secondary trained teachers visited Nicaragua to meet with their counterparts, all teachers of English as a second language at primary and secondary level. We are grateful to the NEU for their support and to the teachers on both sides who made the visit such a success. A report on the visit can be found here.
Women in Nicaragua: Power and Protagonism
An in-person delegation to Nicaragua will take place from 7-16 January 2023. We appreciate that many of you will be unable to participate in the delegation, however the organisers of the delegation have prepared a study list where those who can’t be there in person can download reading lists and materials, including recordings of classes held in preparation for the delegation. For further information see the study guide here.
US hostility escalates As we move towards the end of 2022, there is no let-up in US efforts to undermine Nicaragua’s government. On 24 October, the US administration ratcheted up economic pressure on the country through a series of steps targeting the country’s mining, gold and other sectors. An executive order signed by President Biden includes the authority to ban US companies from doing business in Nicaragua’s gold industry, while the US Treasury Department imposed sanctions on Nicaragua’s mining authority. The order's expanded sanctions powers could also be used to block new U.S. investment in certain other sectors in Nicaragua, the importation of certain Nicaraguan products or the exportation of certain items to Nicaragua. Gold was Nicaragua's main export last year, with total shipments abroad of the precious metal amounting to $867.6 million, and 79% of that going to the United States, according to central bank data.
This is the latest in a long line of hostile acts by the US administration, which is determined to suffocate the Nicaraguan economy and bring the country to its knees. Social programmes in Nicaragua are heavily dependent on the proceeds from the gold-mining industry, which is carried out in a more environmentally and socially responsible way than in many other countries. Hitting the industry with sanctions is likely to have a severe impact on the country and could lead to thousands of job losses.
For more on this see here and here
Nicaragua’s municipal elections Sunday 6 November saw the latest municipal elections in Nicaragua, with mayors and councilors elected for every city hall in the country, from the smallest to the largest (the capital, Managua). In the last general election, a year ago, 66% of voters took part. The elections resulted in a win for the FSLN in all 153 municipalities municipalities in the country, even in the traditional strongholds of the national right- wing parties, which, as usual, were hopelessly divided.
The level of participation was 57% with an average vote in favor of the FSLN of around 74% and for the combined opposition parties an average of around 26%. As expected, the US claimed Nicaragua's municipal elections weren't free and fair BEFORE they happened, alleging that opposition parties had been banned. In fact, there were four opposition alliances on the ballot. It is a fact that for the US, a foreign election is only ‘free and fair’ it the US-backed right wing neoliberal candidates win.
For more detail on the elections see here and here.
Nicaragua in Latin America – the invisible and the reality
An article written by Stephen Sefton of Tortilla con Sal states that ‘In Nicaragua, the population lives the daily reality of the country's revolutionary development, the democratization of the economy, the modernization of the health and education systems, the transformation of infrastructure and a dynamic reaffirmation of culture, identity and national dignity. However, overseas and in the region itself, these tremendous socio-economic victories are practically invisible. It is instructive to look at this reality more carefully.’ To read the full article, which details the achievements of the Sandinista government over the last 15 years, see here.
Webinar recording – This is what democracy looks like?
On 30 October, NSCAG joined with Alliance for Global Justice in a webinar hosted by Massachusetts Peace Action. This was a 90-minute comparison of democracy as experienced in Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala, the United States, and the United Kingdom. How much voice do the people of each country have in their governments and in their everyday lives? How do elections contribute to that voice? A recording of the webinar can be found here. Please do keep in touch with us if you would like any more information from us and thanks as ever for your continued support.
In solidarity
Louise Richards
Nicaragua Solidarity Campaign Action Group
www.nscag.org
Twitter: @NSCAG_UK