Seek justice for Nicaragua

Magda Lanuza, coordinator of environmental lobbying for the Humboldt Center for Promotion of Territorial Development and Environmental Management in Nicaragua, spoke at the Diocesan Pastoral Center in Albany, at The College of Saint Rose in Albany and at Siena College in Loudonville about the worsening environmental and social conditions in her country.

Ms. Lanuza said the policies of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) are responsible for the poverty in Nicaragua.

Affecting children

She cited statistics showing that in Nicaragua, 30 percent of children under five are malnourished, 74 percent of Nicaraguans live in poverty (44 percent in extreme poverty) and 60 percent are unemployed. Nicaragua is the second most impoverished country in the hemisphere with the most unsustainable ratio of debt-to-exports of any nation in the world, she said.

"The World Bank and IMF argue that Nicaragua's `natural advantage' is cheap labor and cheap natural resources -- concepts which, in practice, result in unsustainable exploitation benefiting only a few wealthy individuals personally connected to government officials. And that's at the expense of our children's lives," she said.

Touring U.S.

"I want to let the people of the United States know of the structure of the economy and the impact of the World Bank," she said. "The United States has the biggest voice in the World Bank."

Her tour was sponsored by Witness for Peace, a faith-based, non-profit organization dedicated to changing U.S. policies which contribute to poverty and oppression in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Farm and city

City life is no better, according to Witness for Peace. The Free Trade Zone in the capital city of Managua allows foreign-owned factories to operate without being subject to taxes and tariffs. There are no obligations for the factories to use domestic raw material and products.

While Nicaragua benefits from the employment, the working conditions are poor, according to Witness for Peace. The majority of the workers are women and girls between the ages of 15 and 25 who work 65 or more hours a week producing clothing for U.S. stores. They make as little as $1.50 per day.

Education

The government used to provide $58 per child every year for education; that figure is now only $16. Families, she said, don't have the money to send their children to school. In fact, 600,000 children didn't go to school last year. Fifty-seven percent of those who start primary school won't finish.

Privatization of water will allow land owners with water on their property to limit access to the water and to charge for its use.

Catholic role

Mr. Bruce said another concern is the industries, encouraged by the World Bank, that are depleting the resources of Nicaragua, including its rain forest, gold mines, farmland and fish.

Rather than backing the World Bank's policy of supporting outside multinational industry, local industry should be boosted, Mr. Bruce said.

Debt cancellation

"The people of Nicaragua will never be able to pay $6 billion in debt," Mr. Bruce said. "The next generation will be lost."

Becoming educated consumers can also help the people of Nicaragua. According to Ms. Lanuza, sweatshops in the Free Trade Zones produce clothes with Dockers, GAP, Walt Disney and Fruit of the Loom labels.

Mr. Bruce advised consumers to ask where the products are being made; Ms. Lanuza added: "Demand that the conditions are improved."

(For more information on Witness For Peace, contact David Bruce at 315-894-6313, Barbara DiTommaso at 453-6695 or John Mateyko at 302-645-2657; or visit the organization's website at www.w4peace.org.)

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