31 October 2009

Fast Forward

So I just thought I'd link this article from the New York Times..it's all over the news here...

Thirty years later, and the U.S. is still imposing its will in Nicaragua.

Of course, it's part of a bigger picture..we've already seen this with Chavez in Venezuela, Evo in Bolivia, Correa in Ecuador. The U.S. is doing everything possible to break down the New Left movement in Latin America.


Is Nicaragua next? The ambassador's problems here might just find their way into U.S. headlines...!

25 October 2009

Truth is Sad

In the 10 minutes it takes for me to write this blog entry, at least one child will come up to me and ask for a peso.

We all know what poverty is--see it on TV, read about it in the NY Times, but rarely engage with its intrinsic origins.

The truth is that the United States has had a profound and heinous influence in Nicaragua since the early 20th century.

That canal we now cruise through--in Panama--was originally meant to be here, in Nicaragua. You can see from the map below that Lake Nicaragua would've made the project a lot less expensive than the Panama Canal.



American troops invaded in 1909, and took control until 1933. This is when Sandino, a national hero here (the Ché of Nicaragua) led a revolution to overthrow the military.

The Americans "left," but also put Somoza in power..a puppet dictator meant to protect American interests. He reached an "agreement" with Sandino in 1933, and had him assassinated in 1934.

Somoza, and later his two sons, ruled the country for 45 years. It's unknown how many thousands of innocent citizens he killed, but there are still torture cells under his palace in Managua.

In 1939, FDR said,
Men are not prisoners of fate, but only prisoners of their own minds.

That same year:
Somoza may be a son of a bitch, but he's our son of a bitch.

After the Sandinistas overthrew the government in 1979, Nicaragua got its first taste of "freedom"..that is, until Ronald Reagan imposed a full trade embargo against the country, and started planting underwater mines in Nicaragua's Corinto harbour.

I can't define freedom, and I don't know when it arrived in Nicaragua.

But if we find it "self-evident" that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness,

There has never been a free Nicaragua.

So now this little boy is asking me for a peso. What do I tell him?

The truth is sad.

17 October 2009

¡Fotos!

Not the most high-res pics in the world, but I wanted to finally post a couple photos..



All is well, and the job is all I had hoped for. I have already traveled to meet with several women who have received microloans..it´s all too much to take in!

I´m crafting a study on the Usura Cero project in Matagalpa..basically contrasting the groups in debt with the groups that have paid back their loans. It will be interesting to find differences in the socioeconomic conditions of each..

Sorry for a lack of description..things are busy in a good way!

On a side note, news from the U.S. is very, very confusing when you´re abroad. First Obama and his Nobel..now this Balloon Boy thing?!

Check back soon..

11 October 2009

Seguro y Feliz

So!

I have finally arrived in Matagalpa, where I will be completing my two-month internship with Usura Cero. I am incredibly excited to be here, living with the same wonderful family I stayed with during the few days we spent here in September.

Usura Cero is run by the Sandinista Government--a brand new (<1 year) microfinance program that hasn´t really been studied. I´m thrilled to be working with them, but even more excited to study microloans firsthand. If all goes well, I´ll be researching the success rates of these loans and traveling to each project, so I can learn from the Nicaraguans that are paying this money back.

For now, I have safely arrived in Matagalpa, where everything is fantastic! Thanks for all your messages, etc..if I had the time, I´d try and respond, but internet minutes seem to add up quickly here!

I´ll be sure to post here when I can..for sure next weekend when I´ll have a lot more to report!

04 October 2009

Plans

Hey all,

Not much happening at the moment! Enjoying my final days in the San José area..

I am finalizing plans to work with Usura Cero...a microfinance project started by the FSLN government in Nicaragua.

If all goes well, I´ll be studying the initiative in Granada, where very few loans are being returned to the bank. It will be a research project on the ideal conditions for microlending..Granada is a city with high levels of tourism, but revenue from that sector does not seem to be alleviating the extreme poverty in that area.

I´ll be sure to post soon with more details, but possibly after I arrive in Nicaragua.

Thanks so much for checking in!!
Matt