Madison-Managua Sister City Project

Download our directory of US-Nicaragua Sister Cities (PDF format)

History

In the 1980s, many citizens in Madison, Wisconsin opposed the Reagan administration's military interventions in Central America, including the US-backed Contra war against the Nicaragua. Working closely with WCCN, the Madison City Council formally ratified the Madison-Managua Sister City Project on July 7, 1987.

Both WCCN and the Sister City Project provided a way for people in Wisconsin and Nicaragua to connect at the grassroots level to protest US governmental policy and promote people-to-people connections between our countries.

In Managua, the sister-city relationship was formally adopted by then-mayor Moises Hassan. One of his successors as mayor, Arnoldo Aleman, declined to participate in sister-city activities for political and financial reasons during the early 1990s, but current mayor Herty Lewites has renewed the relationship.

The strongest aspect of the sister-city relationship, however, has been the grassroots, people-to-people ties forged between cities. Following a WCCN-led study tour in 1990, WCCN's US-Nicaragua Women's Empowerment Project established a strong working relationship with the Managua Inter-Collective of Women. Numerous other connections between Madison and Managua have been established and continue to flourish.

Exchanges

Each year WCCN sponsors two study tours that enable people from Madison and other parts of the United States to visit Managua and learn about Nicaragua. WCCN has also sponsored many visits by Nicaraguans to the US. These visits are critical to maintain and strengthen the "citizen diplomacy" that is the foundation of our relationship.

Managuans who have visited Madison as the guests of WCCN have included:

  • Coordinators of the Managua Inter-Collective of Women
  • The Ocho de Marzo Women's Theater Project (three visits)
  • "Popular defenders" from the Managua Inter-Collective
  • Doris Tijerino, elected FSLN member of the Nicaraguan National Assembly
  • Pedro Ortega, union organizer in the Free Trade Zone maquilas
  • Vilma Nuñez, founder and director of a prominent national human rights organization
  • Gilberto Aguirre, Executive Director of the Nicaraguan Council of Protestant Churches (CEPAD)
  • Herenia Amaya, trainer of "popular defenders" for the Xochitl women's collective
  • Alejandro Bendaña
  • Violeta Delgado