The Jubilee Blog

Viva! Life! Viva! Life!: Rallying to close the SOA

Viva (life!) was the theme of the weekend of November 17-19 down in Fort Benning, Ga., outside the gates of the School of the Americas.

Among the delightful sights, sounds, and tastes were: smorgasbords on front lawns; accordion artists on stage; and the brilliant show by the “puppetistas,” who bill themselves as “a provocative mix of circus, puppetry, political satire and original music.” 

Combine these joyous creative gatherings with impassioned speeches, religious processions, 110 exhibitors and 20,000 inquisitive participants, and you’ve got one heck of a “conscious party.”

I tabled at the rally from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and from 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Sunday and the responses were fabulous!

The diverse crowd of activists ranged in age from infants to grandparents, in affiliation from churches to hip-hop groups, and ranged in seniority from first-timers (like me) to people who have attended all 17 annual demonstrations. 

I particularly enjoyed speaking with Elena Lacayo, NETWORK’s lobby associate, about alternatives to current lending practices in impoverished countries and with Leah Humes a researcher at Food & Water Watch who works with Jessica, the spouse of Jubilee USA’s national director Neil Watkins.

It was great to hear from the people who attended the workshop featuring Charity Musamba of Jubilee Zambia the night before at the Columbus Convention Center.

Many of the attendees I spoke with were totally inspired by her call for ending poverty as a way to ensure peace in the world. Many of the people I spoke to were familiar with the issue of debt cancellation and even Jubilee, and all were an absolute pleasure to be around.

I couldn’t have tabled and spoken with so many people without the help of Jubilee volunteers and supporters. Thanks to Amanda and Steve for helping me greet! And a big thanks to Dick Heidkamp from the Mary Seat of Wisdom Parish in Illinois for helping me greet and for bringing the peanuts. He knew how hungry protesters get!

I said hello to Dan McGuire (also from Mary Seat of Wisdom), Theresa from the Columban Justice and Peace Office, Chris Kerr, the youth and young adult coordinator at the InterReligious Task Force on Central America!

At the Saturday morning breakfast hosted by Latin American Solidarity Network, I learned about the boycott on Coca-Cola products for the multiple murders of union workers at bottling plants in Columbia.  And at the concert, I heard inspiring music from Rod Starz, David Rovics and many other inspirational artists!

Sunday morning, I was only there long enough to have a couple of conversations and to see the beginning of the solemn funeral procession commemorating the lives of the many victims of violent SOA graduates. 

I said a sad goodbye to my table neighbors, the mourners I passed on my way out, and to Sara and Atlanta Palestine Solidarity who had an elegant and informative table just a few down from mine.

post by Nate Fishman

IDB DEBT RELIEF OK'D IN 5 NATIONS!!!!!!!!!!

Debt relief was granted to five Latin American nations -- Haiti, Nicaragua, Bolivia, Honduras, Guyana -- by the Inter-American Development Bank last week. The Miami Herald ran a story about the IDB's decision last Sat. Nov. 18, and Jubilee USA Network released a press statement.

And while this is certainly a victory, there are still a few more specifics to work out, namely when debt cancellation will begin and when Haiti will be eligible to receive their debt relief.

Pablo Bachelet of The Miami Herald writes: "The Bush administration wants a more generous Dec. 31, 2004, cut-off, which would work out to the $3.5 billion relief. This would mean Bolivia will obtain $768 million in debt relief, Guyana $365 million, Haiti $468 million, Honduras $1.1 billion and Nicaragua $808 million." 

Unfairly, Hait's debt relief won't happen until they go through the World Bank/International Monetary Fund's Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Process and that isn't expected to happen by 2009. By that time, Haiti's water will be privatized, health care will still languish as the cost of medical services continue to rise, and public education will remain inadequate. Haiti, the Western hemisphere's most impoverished country, is a fledgling democracy and immediate debt relief without strings attached is needed in order to improve the country's infrastructure and social services.

Withholding immediate debt relief only further mires Haiti in the very poverty these international financial institutions claim they're attempting to eliminate.

Inter-American Development Bank has agreed
to a massive debt relief for poor nations
BY PABLO BACHELET

WASHINGTON -- The Inter-American Development Bank on Friday accepted a U.S.-promoted proposal to pardon between $2.1 and $3.5 billion for five poor Latin American nations including Bolivia, a nation that opposes U.S. policies.

The Bush administration has been pushing for the relief since March, when it proposed the operation despite resistance from several Latin American countries because of concerns that the write-off would weaken the IDB's ability to provide subsidized loans in the future, officials said.

The Latin American nations wanted the United States and other wealthy countries to help pay for the operation, but Washington argued that the IDB was strong enough to take the hit.

The delay meant that the IDB did not join the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the African Development Bank in announcing last year a similar debt relief operation for poor countries from other regions. The IDB is the biggest official lender in Latin America.

''This is great news for the more than 30 million people in these five countries,'' said IDB President Luis Alberto Moreno.

U.S. officials were clearly pleased at the result of the meeting Friday, as it will help soften the Bush administration's image in Latin America as a hard-edged promoter of open-market policies and free trade.

Bolivian President Evo Morales has sharply criticized U.S. policies as ''imperialistic,'' and Nicaragua is set to be governed by old-time Sandinista foe Daniel Ortega, also a left-wing critic of Washington.

''The United States has been a leading voice for such an initiative,'' said the Treasury Department's assistant secretary for international affairs, Clay Lowery, ''and today's agreement on a way forward is a critical step in that effort.''

The deal left some significant details to be worked out later, U.S. and bank officials say.

The IDB board of governors did not decide on the critical matter of when the debt relief will kick in -- something that could add or subtract hundreds of millions of dollars from the package. The Bush administration wants a more generous Dec. 31, 2004, cut-off, which would work out to the $3.5 billion relief.

This would mean Bolivia will obtain $768 million in debt relief, Guyana $365 million, Haiti $468 million, Honduras $1.1 billion and Nicaragua $808 million.

IDB's managers and other countries have suggested earlier dates, potentially reducing the package to $2.1 billion, according to numbers provided by Jubilee USA Network, a nonpartisan group that advocates for poor-country relief.

Top IDB officials will meet again in January in Amsterdam to finalize the agreement. A signing ceremony is expected in March.

Nations must first obtain the IMF's seal of approval for their economic program, something Haiti still lacks. But U.S. officials expect this to happen soon.

Once Haiti gets the agreement, the country would receive as of yet unspecified benefits beyond what the other four countries will obtain, given its position as the hemisphere's poorest nation, the Treasury Department said.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
© 2006 MiamiHerald.com and wire service sources. All Rights Reserved.

Jubilee USA Welcomes IDB Decision to Cancel Debts of Five Latin American Countries

Go to the Press Release

Jubilee USA Network

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE November 20, 2006

Jubilee USA Welcomes Inter-American Development Bank Decision to Cancel Debts of Five Latin American Countries; Network Calls on IDB to Enact Broadest Cancellation Possible, Eliminate Deadly Delays for Haiti

WASHINGTON – Debayani Kar, Communications and Advocacy coordinator for the Jubilee USA Network, reacted today to the conclusion of the Friday meeting of the Board of Governors of the Inter-American Development Bank in Washington, DC:

“We welcome the Inter-American Development Bank’s decision to cancel the debts of five impoverished Latin American economies, coming after months of protracted negotiations led by the US and affected country governments as well as advocacy by civil society in the affected countries and by allies in the US, Europe, and Latin America. We also welcome special consideration for Haiti, the most impoverished country in the Americas.

“But we continue to urge the IDB to cancel the broadest amount of debt possible while implementing immediate debt cancellation for Haiti. The IDB failed to reach a decision Friday on the amount of debt to be cancelled for Bolivia, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, and Nicaragua. A recent IDB staff paper suggested reducing the proposed amount of debt cancellation by almost $2 billion from $3.5 billion to $1.6; this is unacceptable.

“Under the terms of Friday’s agreement, Haiti will not benefit from IDB debt cancellation until it implements a series of harmful economic reforms mandated by international financial institutions, led by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank. Given that more than half of Haiti’s $1.3 billion in debt was contracted by the brutal dictatorships of Francois and Jean-Claude Duvalier, it is unjust that Haiti is being asked to comply with economic policies such as privatization of basic services or increased trade liberalization before obtaining full debt cancellation.

“We know that debt cancellation works. Limited debt relief so far has provided three extra years of school for Honduran children. In Africa, the 2006 implementation of G-8 debt cancellation has put children in school in Burundi and eliminated health care fees in rural Zambia.

“Looking ahead to the 2007 Sabbath Year, we reiterate our call for immediate debt cancellation for all impoverished countries in Latin America and the Caribbean where debt is odious or impedes human development and progress towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Moving forward, we will continue to work towards a Jubilee cancellation of debts in this region as well as in Africa and Asia.”

Jubilee USA Network is the US arm of the international movement working for debt cancellation for impoverished nations. Jubilee USA is a network of 75 religious denominations and faith-based groups, labor groups, environmental organizations, and community and advocacy groups working for freedom from debt and economic justice for countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

I Love Georgia...Now Bring on the SOA

Nate Fishman, our Outreach and Congregations Fellow reported inside SOA Watch, Nov. 18-19. This year, the annual demonstration attracted an estimated 14,000 (police estimate) to 22,000 people (activist estimate). Here’s Day One. 

Buenos Dias from Columbus, Georgia!

Shortly, I will head from the Super 8 Motel to Day One of the School of Americas (SOA) actions where I’ll be tabling in the neighboring town of Fort Benning.

SOA — also known as “School of the Assassins” and its government name, the Western Hemispheric Institute for Security Cooperation (WHISC) — is the school where many Latin and South American military officials are trained in commando tactics by the United States military then in too many instances go on to torture and oppress the people of their countries.

I will set up our Jubilee table at what the organizers describe as the “annual demonstration at the gates of Ft. Benning". The demonstration is two days packed with speakers, tabling, and peaceful protests all culminating in a vigil for victims of SOA graduates, organized by SOA Watch for the last 17 years.

Abbey Fisher, Jubilee USA national tour coordinator, and Charity Musamba, one of the our Global Connections Tour speakers, met me at the airport Friday afternoon before they drove to present their workshop on the links between debt and militarism at the Columbus Convention Center.

They said it went very well, and I was sad to miss it, but I had very exciting plans to meet up for the first time with Sara, my friend from myspace. Sara is a founding member of Atlanta Palestine Solidarity and works for the Southern Center for Human Rights (SCHR). She was a wonderful host. Sara showed me her own mellow and quirky artwork and took me for Thai food in <a href="http://www.l5p.com/">Little Five Points</a>, a totally free-flowing, conscious little neighborhood in Atlanta.

I learned that at SCHR Sara does some very difficult and lately high-profile work on behalf of the largely indigent — and largely minority — population in the Georgia prison system.

Prisoners in Georgia face high rates of execution, frequent denial of right to counsel, and excessively strict state versions of Federal laws.

Coming from this perspective, Sara actually offers some criticism of the famous annual SOA Watch Civil Disobedience Act, in which a group of protestors step over the military’s trespass line and are arrested for the sake of spreading the SOA Watch message. 

Sara notices a lack of awareness among participants about the differences between the challenges they face and those facing the local involuntary prisoners.

Nonetheless, she drove me to see the burial site of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., a man we both recognize as a true master of Civil Disobedience. It was very cool to be greeted by the sign informing us that visitation is suspended as preparations are made for Mrs. Coretta Scott King to be interred beside with her husband.

This morning, I will attend the Latin American Solidarity Coalition breakfast at the Convention Center. At the rally, I look forward to seeing Dick Heidkamp and Dan McGuire from the Mary Seat of Wisdom Parish in Illinois, who will help at the table and bring peanuts to hand out to attendees. At our first Celebration, Dick and Dan accepted one of the grassroots awards on behalf of the parish.

This evening I plan to see the Church of the Brethren band Mutual Kumquat at the Howard Johnson Inn. I’ll also attend the performance of a personal favorite of mine, David Rovics, who is featured on the Jubilee Break The Chains CD, as he performs during the multi-act concert at the Convention Center later. This event is right up my alley. 

Stay tuned for the recap of Day Two at SOA Watch.

—post by Nate Fishman, Outreach and Congregations Fellow

IMF Policy on 'Low Government Budgets' Needs Rethinking

Tuesday, November 14, 2006--We all know that the IMF says that keeping inflation down through low government budgets is the best road to development in countries like Nicaragua.

But it’s hard for me to imagine that that they could still think this after visiting Lenin Fonseca, one of the public hospitals in the city of Managua.

Built in the 1970s, the building was made to be temporary, but soon became permanent — a monument to Nicaragua’s severely under-funded and devastating healthcare system.

We met with Elio Artola, head of the Pro-Salary Doctors Federation, who spoke candidly about the long struggle against the IMF and the Nicaraguan central government as they continue to limit healthcare budgets and wages for doctors and nurses.

Dr. Artola is a class-A specialist and makes $500 a month, which he explained is very low for Central America...and that nurses and other doctors make even less. Here, a cleaning lady has the same salary as a nurse: $100 a month.

While salaries are a major issue, there's not enough money for basic services.

“We need everything. We need medicines. We need materials,” Dr. Artola implores.

We took a tour of the hospital, peering into a life that I would not wish upon anyone.

Patients wait for hours and are often sent home because they are more likely to get an infection in the hospital than in their own houses. The doctor said a new addition to the hospital were curtains for the beds. As we walked along, we all squeezed in to a tiny room filled with a giant ancient X-ray machine. It was broken and too old to get parts, so  the entire hospital had to share the other X-ray machine next door.

The fight for electricity is an everyday occurrence here.

The hospital’s electrical grid is 28 years old and the wires can’t handle the increased demand. The supply is inconsistent and power surges occur throughout the day and they have a generator for when the power goes off, but it’s only enough to power the hallways and critical areas—not the x-ray machine or the air conditioning. And, yes, they have a proposal for a new system, but no funding.

The new hospital wing was a different story. When we walked into the new hospital wing, suddenly we were in a U.S. hospital with bright lights, nice tile, and a better smell.

This wing was financed by the Inter-American Development Bank with a loan for $22 million. “Too bad we can never pay for it,” said a doctor.

Not only this, but the loan only provided for the structure and some equipment, but not the maintenance. And even if they did have money for that, all of the equipment is foreign and no one knows how to repair it — or often, how to use it.

The doctors and nurses here continue the fight for better services and better pay with much hope for the future. Dr. Artola organized a 6-month long doctors strike a few years ago and the government said they would pay them more. They are still waiting for these promised still.

This experience took a lot out of us emotionally, but we trekked on to Matagalpa, a beautiful city up in the mountains north of Managua.

In Matagalpa, we met with Jose Solorzano of the National Union of Farmers and Ranchers (UNAG) who work to give this group a voice among so many policies that are working against them—policies of privatization and free trade that hurt small and medium farmers and ranchers.

Over the past 16 years, the state has become smaller and smaller and public funding options, such as the National Development Bank, became privatized or were no longer funded, leaving the people in the agrarian sector with few options. UNAG is now working to empower this group with trainings and education and to advocate for farmer’s rights.

Finally we headed off to el campo, the countryside, to the small community of Ramón Garcia. The roads became more bumpy and dusty as we headed up to the mountains and we entered to a beautiful scene of lush land and friendly faces. Much of us lacked the Spanish skills to truly communicate, and so we spent the time hoping our smiles were enough and despite a few awkward moments, we all survived.

Ramón Garcia is special in that it is a farming cooperative. The group shares the same values about living life in the campo, or farm, and share a similar fate in trying to grow enough food for the family and grow a little more to sell so they can pay for taxes, electricity, clothes, and school supplies. They live a hard life. The families are so hopeful about the future despite all the injustices of the past.

I can’t describe what it is like here. Maybe to the experienced traveler it looks like any other campo community but to me it was both beautiful and heartbreaking: long dirt roads, smoky adobe kitchens, wooden beds, dirt floors, chickens and roosters, plastic chairs, latrines — all situated among a beautiful landscape with rolling hills and a flowing river. It was really incredible to see the true impact of outside economic forces, such as privatization.

Most of the farmers live with the fear that their crops won’t grow. They also live with the fear that their land will be taken away.

 

The former landowner claims the land is his and comes by every once in a while to destroy the roads.

But here’s the kicker: He moved to the United States and the bank foreclosed on the land, so during the Agrarian Reform of 1990 the land was given to the farmers, and now he wants it back.

This is just one example of the cycles of injustice, of imperialism, of economic violence and oppression faced by this one community. A multinational corporation is trying to privatize the community’s well water.

Electricity is now privatized here. The electric company, Union Fenosa, left the community of 350 without electricity for 6 months. The members called the company every day and it wasn’t until they marched and protested that Union Fenosa came in and replaced their transformer. But then electricity only lasted three days. The community called again and again. Finally, they bough their own transformer. Through this whole time, Union Fenosa continued sending the bills.

There is so much more to write. Stay tuned!

—Hayley Hathaway, Advocacy and Communications intern

Take Action & End Oil Aid Now!

Jubilee USA joins with our Network partners to highlight the connections between debt, oil, and climate change.

This week, we published a full page ad in the Financial Times, calling on the World Bank and G-8 nations to end subsidies to Big Oil and enact broader debt cancellation as concrete steps towards combating the twin problems of global poverty and climate change.

The ad directs readers to www.endoilaid.org where they can take action to cancel debt, end subsidies to Big Oil, and support renewable energy initiatives.

As world leaders continue to search for solutions to the global problem of climate change this week in Nairobi, our public funds continue to flow into the pockets of the oil industry, exacerbating impoverished country debts and poverty in the process.

Since 1992, the publicly-backed World Bank has provided more than $5 billion in subsidies to the oil industry, while devoting only five percent of its energy budget to clean, renewable energy sources. The U.S. government has spent even more money subsidizing Big Oil. America’s misguided policies have fueled global warming, encouraged oil dependence, led to increased conflict, and increased poverty and debt.

Soaring oil prices are now undermining the benefits of limited debt cancellation in many of the world’s most impoverished countries, particularly those that are oil importers.

For example, the estimated cost of Tanzania’s oil imports rose from $190 million in 2002 to $480 million this year...for the same amount of oil.

In comparison, debt cancellation is expected to only free up about $140 million for Tanzania in 2006. Furthermore, this cancellation doesn’t even touch on the debt held by large private banks in London, Paris and New York. At the same time, oil companies are raking in record profits, with ExxonMobil reporting profits of $4.7 million an hour in July 2006.

Publicly-supported international institutions routinely protect the interests of private investors, whether they are oil companies or Wall Street banks that profit from their activities.

In Ecuador, when the government wanted to use oil revenues to alleviate poverty, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank withheld promised new lending in protest, pushing the country to instead pay its debt to the IMF, World Bank and other creditors.

Broader debt cancellation and additional aid money should go where it’s needed – to initiatives that fight global warming, improve access to energy, and help countries overcome their dependence on oil. The time has come to end oil aid and focus instead on promoting renewables and energy efficiency.

Please go to www.endoilaid.org and take action today!

'This Debt Is Illegal': Nicaragua civil society struggles against outside influences on internal policy

Monday, November 13, 2006, Managua, Nicaragua--Today, we learned why debt cancellation from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) is only a first step for Nicaragua. If Nicaragua is to emerge from its crisis, there must be fundamental changes in the policies of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

We started the day by learning about the history and illegitimacy of much of Nicaragua’s debt from , William Rodriguez with the Center for International Studies. William also told us something that is becoming increasingly clear: “It will be impossible for Nicaragua to achieve the Millennium Development Goals [MDGs] while following the policies of the IMF.”

This became extremely clear in our meeting with Georgina Muñoz and Adolfo Acevedo from Coordinadora Civil. The Coordinadora, now an impressive network of 650 non-governmenatl organizations and social movements across Nicaragua, was founded in 1998 in response to Hurricane Mitch to provide a unified national civil society response.

Their main campaign right now is against the conditions of the IMF. They organized an impressive march of 12,000 people 10 days before the recent elections to demand that the new government challenge the IMF policies.

What are the policies they are so mad about?

First, the IMF is telling Nicaragua the have to pay back their internal (domestic debt) before spending more on social services.

So what's this domestic debt?

First, they are paying back people who lost their land when the Sandinista regime was in power in the 1980s. But much of these claims were for land claims made by friends of the (corrupt) former President Aleman or for people who bribed Aleman to win land claims. The rest is for CENIS to cover the costs of banks that went bankrupt in 2000-1.

As Adolfo says, “this is debt is illegal,” and even the comptroller general of Nicaragua agrees with that assessment. But under the IMF, these debts – together with Nicaragua’s remaining external debts – must be paid first, then what is left can go for health, education, clean water. “By paying these debts, we are leaving the children behind,” says Adolfo.

Second, the IMF is telling Nicaragua that they need to adopt a “Fiscal Responsibility Law” and to do this Nicaragua would have to change its Constitution!

This law would set a limit on, after paying down debt, how much Nicaragua could spend on health, education, and clean water. This would lock into law limits on spending – and make it impossible to make the massive investments in education, health, and clean water that are so critical to meet the MDGs. We saw the need in the faces of children yesterday. Today we are learning that the IMF is saying Nicaragua can’t spend the money to address the need.

“Why do they do this?,” Bob Orr asks Aldofo.

“Because we’re a poor country and the IMF abuses its power. And our political class is mediocre and they accept it," he replies.

The political class here may accept it – you see campaign signs up everywhere from the recent elections – huge smiling faces of Eduardo Montealegre, who was favored by the U.S. to win the presidency, and Daniel Ortega, the Sandinista candidate who won.

But everyone we have talked with so far is not optimistic that the new government of Daniel Ortega will or can do much to challenge IMF orthodoxy – but civil society is NOT accepting it. At the march two weeks ago, la Coordinadora delivered more than 20,000 postcards from Nicaraguans to the government demanding more flexibility in IMF policies.

This afternoon we visited with the Consumers Defense Network. They work to make sure Nicaraguan consumers have access to electricity, water and other basic services. They challenged the privatization of the telecommunications and electricity sectors – but lost.

Today, Union Fenosa, a Spanish company, owns the electricity company in Nicaragua. And while rates have risen 200 percent, the system hasn’t gotten more efficient in private hands as promised – as witnessed by dozens of blackouts we have experienced while here.

More encouraging is the situation with water privatization. The Inter-American Development Bank has made a loan of $19 million to help sell part of the water utility to a Chilean company. The Consumers Defense Network has an appeal in the Supreme Court to stop this. And better yet they have been working on a General Water Law, provisionally passed and hopefully soon to be finalized, that would keep water in public hands in Nicaragua for good. The struggle would not be over, but it would be a big victory...and a hopeful note to end on.

--post by Neil Watkins, National Coordinator

Tanzania: Debt Relief Works

Tanzania is among 18 highly indebted poor countries (HIPC) that the Group of Eight (G8) countries agreed last year to cancel their debts by 100 percent.

According to the World Bank, Tanzania received $3 billion in debt relief. The east African country has increased funding for poverty reduction by 130 percent over the last six years. Tanzania has also focused the money saved from debt cancellation on increasing education spending and eliminating school fees for elementary education.

Almost overnight, an estimated 1.6 million children returned to school. By 2003, 3.1 million children were back in school. The net enrollment ratio has risen from 58.8 percent in 2000 to 88.5 percent in 2003. Tanzania hopes to attain universal basic education by the end of this year.

One of the estimated millions of children who benefited from the education made possible by debt cancellation in Tanzania was a 7-year-old girl named Furahini.

Presented by the TearFund Youth Team, you can watch part of her story below.

A World Apart on $2 A Day

November 12, 2006

Managua, Nicaragua—Today was our first full day in Nicaragua.

We’re here as part of a Jubilee USA/Witness for Peace delegation to learn about the impacts of debt and IMF policies on Nicaragua.

After arriving and checking into the Quaker House, we got to know each other a bit. There are 10 people on the delegation from Seattle, Portland, California, and Minnesota, and Hayley Hathaway, our Advocacy and Communicatiosn intern, and I, Neil Watkins, from Jubilee's national office in D.C.

A few delegation members are from Jubilee Congregations (Bob from Santa Rosa) and Verlin from Ainsworth UCC in Portland.

They are joined by other Jubilee supporters like Don from Seattle, Sarah from Berkeley — and a great group of folks — Francis, Sherry, Amanda, and Farley, who haven’t been involved in Jubilee but who bring great energy and insights to the group.

We started by heading off to the local market. There, Ben, who along with Brynne, our wonderful guides and leaders from Witness for Peace, gave us our first assignment.

We had to shop for dinner for a family of six…and we only had 40 cordobas (about $2 US), which is the daily wage a Nicaraguan maquila worker, a factory worker, makes to spend. Plug in some numbers in the currency converter below and see how much it really costs to live equitably in Nicaragua.

Currency Converter

Verlin, Amanda, Bob and I quickly ruled out fish or meat and settled on a dinner of rice, beans, and plantains, with a few tomatoes, was all we could afford. A fine meal, but then we realized on that same salary we’d also have to get to and from work, pay rent, and keep the kids clothed.

Our experience in the market was not a rare exercise. Four in 5 Nicaraguans live on less than two dollars a day -- two dollars a day! -- and face the challenge we faced in the market.

Today, at the Witness for Peace house, we also spent a lot of time learning about Nicaragua's history and the formidable influence the IMF wields in the country.

The IMF played a role in restricting social spending, in promoting privatization of electricity and telecommunications, and in keeping salaries of doctors and teachers low — all in the name of low inflation and keeping a high level of foreign currency reserves, so as to keep foreign investors happy.

After a day of theory and history, we headed out to see how the economic model is really impacting Nicaragua.

First stop? The dump. Literally.

We bussed to a trash-strewn area of town which was the entrance to the dump. We learned that several hundred families actually lived inside the dump along with more than 2,000 who make their living every day sorting through trash. Trash was strewn across the road, burning in piles, and we learned that trucks deliver loads of decomposing chicken each day, which people sort through and eat.

What kind of economy forces hundreds to live in a dump? What kind of economy forces thousands to make their living there?

Seeing this reality made some of the statistics we had heard about earlier more vivid. The fact that 55 percent of Nicaraguans lack access to basic medicines. The fact that over half of school ages kids don’t attend school.

A few blocks away we got out in a neighborhood called Democratic Germany (named for Germans who sent aid to the area during the war in the 1980s), where Yamilets, a dynamic community leader, showed us the local community health center.

The center is basically a community “living room” where people can come and get treatment for malaria and diarrhea, and get a referral if they have dengue fever. A great place for the community.

Just outside, a birthday party for a 1-year-old girl had attracted 40 people of all ages and little ones with blindfolds trying to knock down a piñata.

A little further down the road we met visited a family who made a living by buying used plastic bags that hold coca-cola bottles, cutting them up and washing them off, then selling them to a plastic company to use in making pipes.

If they work hard all day, they can make a few dollars. Truly a creative way to find work amid such poverty, but nevertheless depressing that under the current model, jobs with more dignity and meaning aren’t available.

We went home to see a story on the front page of the newspaper La Prensa here (with our own Advocacy and Communications Coordinator Debi Kar quoted) on Sunday about the discussions within the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) on debt cancellation. EFE, a Spanish-language wire service also ran a story on IDB debt cancellation this past Saturday.

It discusses a suggestion by the IDB to reduce the amount of debt cancellation, by changing the cut-off date.

The story explained that the IDB may give less debt cancellation than initially promised because Brazil and other countries in the IDB are debating if this rich institution has can afford full debt cancellation for countries like Nicaragua.

Vividly seeing the ways in which debt’s heavy burden has affected the ability of many Nicaraguans to provide for themselves, it was a hard story to read and hard to understand how the IDB could force Nicaragua to pay for an illegitimate debt (much of which dates to the Somoza dictatorship)…especially given the immense suffering we have seen here.

When the IDB Board of Governors committee on debt meets in Washington on Thursday, the only option is immediate cancellation.

That won’t be enough, but it’s a start.

--post by Neil Watkins, Jubilee USA National Coordinator

Now that you're finished reading our blog about being in Nicaragua, be sure to check out Witness for Peace's Nicaragua blog as well.

Making them pay and pay and pay...

Abbey Fisher, our national tour coordinator, sent us the link to an editorial written by Dan Carpenter, a long-time columnist for The Indianapolis Star.

The editorial, titled "Making them pay and pay" ran in the paper yesterday, Nov. 8. Here's an excerpt:

Poor countries are in a bind.

Decades of loans from Western banks, often made under extreme duress and/or under dictators, have buried them so deeply in debt they can't develop their economies or meet basic human needs.

Debt forgiveness, now fashionable among the banks and the governments of rich nations, comes with so many strings attached that its potential for putting debtors back on their feet is largely wasted. So is the opportunity to form true partnerships that would bring lasting prosperity -- and peace -- to rich and poor alike.

Such was the message brought to Indiana in recent days by representatives of Jubilee USA Network, the coalition of religious, human rights, labor, environmental and community groups devoted to clearing away Third World debt and clarifying its unjust nature and origins. Read the full column at IndyStar.com

Profile & Protest: A Tale of Two Stories

In October, Nancy Yuill, Jubilee Oregon co-chair, blogged about the group's September 27 demonstration outside Portland's University Club during a speech by Jenna Dorn, acting U.S. executive director of the World Bank.

Pat Rumer, Jubilee USA Network co-chair, wrote a letter to the editor of The Oregonian Monday in response to a profile of Dorn, written by reporter Jonathan Nicholas, in which Jubilee Oregon's actions were mentioned.

An excerpt of the article is below.

The demonstrators at the foot of the University Club steps wave signs that say "Feed the World! Starve the Bank!" Their target is 55-year-old Dorn, in Portland last month to speak to the World Affairs Council of Oregon on the bank's role, which she defines as "helping the world's more than 1 billion people existing on less than $1 a day."

Its critics have a different view -- that the bank is a tool of Western capitalism with policies that punish the world's poor. Some of them ask tough questions after Dorn's speech. It's then that she really heats up. Reading glasses sliding to the precipice of her nose, she details the intense challenge of working in "the highly charged and highly competitive environment of government agencies, charitable organizations and nongovernment organizations."

Dorn came to Portland right after the World Bank's international board meeting in Singapore where the representatives of 184 countries crafted a policy statement on "the cancer" of corruption.

You can read the full article here.