WCCN's Newsletter, Spring 2006, Volume 22, No. 1

by Jane Furchgott, President, Richland Center-Santa Teresa Sister City Project

Last December, I spent a night at the sea turtle nesting beach of Nicaragua's Chococente Wildlife Refuge. The atmosphere at the MARENA (Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources) guard station there felt lighter for the first time in the seven years I've been visiting Chococente. The guards were joking as they worked through the night on a report due the next day in Managua. The turtles were laying their eggs in peace -- no nests were being dug up, nor were there any other suspicious activities under cover of darkness.

by Carlos Arenas

2006 will be marked in Nicaragua by the November presidential and parliamentary election and the possibility that a Sandinista candidate could take power. As of February 2006, there are three main presidential candidates with possibilities of becoming the next Nicaraguan President. The current favorite is Herty Lewites, a Sandinista politician and the former Mayor of Managua who was expelled from the Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional (FSLN) for trying to run as its presidential candidate. Lewites will now run under the umbrella of the FSLN’s main dissident group, the Movimiento de Renovación Sandinista (MRS), and a coalition of other minor parties. Another candidate with the potential chance to be elected is Eduardo Montealegre, an independent candidate who belongs to the Liberal Party. Montealegre is a former banker and a former Minister of Finances. However, the official candidate of the Liberal Party has not been selected and there are even rumors that Arnoldo Alemán might try to be that candidate even though he is still under house arrest as a result of the charges of corruption during his presidency. Finally, of course is Daniel Ortega, the perpetual candidate of the FSLN.

by Derrick Gee, NICA Fund Oversight Committee Member and Study
Tour Participant

On a recent WCCN study tour of Nicaragua, the group visited 'Johnny' Suarez. Johnny is a farmer near the remote, eastern community of Nueva Guinea. He has to keep his cattle and crops healthy in tropical heat and 3 meters (117 inches) of rain a year. To a foreigner, at least, his pineapples, yucca, Brahma X Holstein cows and pelibuey, a tasty breed of tropical sheep, looked in good shape; so did Johnny with his perky, straw cowboy hat perched atop a big Caribbean grin.

by Frances Smith, NICA Fund Investor

I belong to a group in Claremont, California that for several years has loaned money to Nicaragua through WCCN's NICA Fund. The NICA Fund makes loans to microfinance institutions, which in turn make microloans to small farmers, cooperatives, women's enterprises, and people making housing improvements. I went on this tour because I wanted to see how our money was being used. I came away fully satisfied that my money was going to "a good cause."

by Richard Barajas, WCCN Intern and UW-Madison Student

In the past decade the importance of free trade agreements to the countries of the world has grown exponentially. The effect of these agreements on countries in Central America had been minimal; this however changed with the passing of the Dominican Republic and Central American Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA).

The passing of this agreement by congress has been a contentious issue in the United States (www.ustr.gov). It has also been an important issue for the individuals and groups that are at the forefront of the anti-globalization movement. In order to better understand these issues and the complaints that are brought up, there must first be an explanation of what a free trade agreement is and how DR-CAFTA fits into this framework. We can then discuss the possible benefits to Nicaragua from this agreement as well as the possible drawbacks.

Borrower of Cooperativa Banco San Antonio, Nueva Guinea

Marta and her family run a small store in the market in Nueva Guinea, a town located in the Autonomous Region of the South Atlantic region of Nicaragua. They sell a variety of items, including fresh fruits and vegetables, packaged foods, snacks, condiments, convenience items and housewares.

Marta began working in the store nine years ago with her mother-in-law, and now bears the chief responsibilities of management. Her husband and their four children, as well as members of her extended family, work to keep the business successful. Marta began taking loans from Banco San Antonio several years ago to expand her inventory.