From La Prensa, 12 May 2008
For the past nine days, Nicaragua has been undergoing a transportation strike. It may seem simple, but a mere convenience for those of us who live in the US, as we're often accustomed to getting around on our own in cars, but that is not the case for many in the hemisphere's second poorest country.
A few days ago I was on the phone with friends in Managua. They told me that gas prices are out of control, 100 Cordobas* per gallon, which is the highest in the region, despite the "generosity" of the mico mandante. There is no meat in the markets (both smaller as well as the supermarkets), and one is hard-pressed to find many other staples; if they can be found, they're extremely expensive. Inflation is right around 17 or 18%; obviously this affects the poor (48% of the country in 2005) more than anyone.
My dear friend la compa~era anticomunista and I had a very good conversation today --well, all of our conversations are very good, but this one was particularly enlightening for me-- and for your reading pleasure, I am going to republish translated versions of some of her comments.
On why the protest is taking place: "They are protesting so the government lowers gas prices...so the government says that they can subsidize the prices with funds from the budget. The Assembly says NO because the government must first be accountable for what remains of the Venezuelan oil, and with that money create the subsidies. (...) There has been one confirmed death, though rumors say there have been more. There is no public transportation to transport people between the municipalities. They are not letting private transportation carrying food into Managua pass through, and because of this shortages in the market are beginning." She later tells me that government will be subsidizing six cordobas on the gallon.
The fact that a government which is allegedly receiving highly subsidized oil, and subsequently earning money off said oil via the Albanisa arrangement it holds with PDVSA, one would think that the government would use those funds...but it instead will move to use funds from an already tight budget. I think my boyfriend Manuelito sums it up quite nicely, per usual, with today's political cartoon:
It doesn't stop there, though. I got e-mails from friends in other parts of the country, in which I got additional details which are worth mentioning. In San Benito, the transportistas were facing off with the police, and trucks were burned. Police chief Aminta ordered the police into the rural areas, despite their not being equipped to do so; this was done under the auspices to protect order --something with which I hardly take issue-- but as my friends cite, the police were nowhere to be found during the MONTHS of rioting in Managua with the people of Chureca.
All of my friends have mentioned that many of those angry on Channels 2 and 8 are from the CPCs, which are generally viewed to be more sympathetic to Ortega than the sorry excuse for an opposition. I don't know if this is the straw that will break the bachiburro's back, but I do know that, despite anyone's political convictions, if a person cannot feed their kids and cannot work (either because they are the ones providing transportation or they can only get to their place of employment using public transportation), things will not be good for the current government. This transportation strike is not isolated; it is taking place in 153 of the 154 municipalities in the national territory. I haven't been to Nicaragua in months, but my friends down there tell me that things have gotten so much worse, infrastructure continues to lag despite oil dollars flowing into the country. Prices continue to skyrocket: last week, 100 normal-sized oranges cost 120 cordobas; today, 100 small oranges cost 210. Just like in Venezuela, there is no milk and no eggs.
What does Borreguito do in a time of great despair? What any coward would do: leaves the country, this time to Peru.
*19 Cordobas = $1 USD
5 comments:
I read on the F$LN website an article that claimed Uncle Sam was paying people to create all this chaos. Go figure.
I love reading some of the useful idiots' comments on the topic: they say, "Isn't it ironic how all this chaos happens in countries with governments which are not sympathetic to the US?"
Gotta love removing the blame from the culprit. Clearly not an issue that these so-called governments are INCOMPETENT... but a minor detail, I suppose...
Socialismo del Siglo 21, mihija!
Do you ever read renegade Eye's blog? He is UNBELIEVABLE!!!! (The CIA paying the Whitehand Students to protest.)
And all of these high food prices are due to the corn being used to make ethanol! It has nothing to do with the high cost of oil, bad crop yields, India and China placing more demands on food because they are moving from a starch based diet to a protein diet which takes lots grain to convert to meat. Yes, yes, yes it is all Uncle Sam's fault.
I agree the corn to ethanol deal isn't good because it takes 1 gallon of petroleum to make 1.3 gallons of ethanol. All they are doing is swapping BTUs. The black hat oil companies wrote about the bad ethanol economics from the very beginning over 40 years ago. The Brazilians are doing a better deal using sugar. The lefties take the ethanol issue and holds onto it like a dog does a bone.
It is amazing that today Ortega wants to make Nicaragua the breadbasket of Central America. When he took over in July of 1979 that was what Nicaragua was.
JM: I try not to waste my time on such nonsense. We are supposed to be productive people; I have things to do, and it does not include reading drivel from his ilk.
John: "It is amazing that today Ortega wants to make Nicaragua the breadbasket of Central America. When he took over in July of 1979 that was what Nicaragua was." That says it all right there; the way Nicaragua has been turned back almost single-handedly by the bachiburro is an insult to the entire Nicaraguan population. Una desgracia total...
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