4 de noviembre 2020
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Government supporters and opponents who work in different State agencies consider that while Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo remain in power the country's economic situation will not improve, and also consider the chance of a peaceful handover of the presidency, at the time of an electoral defeat in 2021, unlikely.
CONFIDENCIAL spoke with four professionals who work for different public entities, who shared their expectations regarding the political and economic situation that prevails in their work centers, as well as the vision they share with their coworkers who do agree with the thesis of the ruling party.
No salary increase
"We talk about it with friends, and we see that it is difficult."
That is why they are looking for alternatives in which they can apply their professional knowledge, explained "Quino," a middle-class professional who works in a health care State institution.
“Our budget has gotten smaller, and I’m starting to have difficulties. I have good management of my expenses, and always make ends meet by the end of the month, but it has been harder to accomplish that for the past two or three months”. That has happened, in part, because his savings have gotten smaller and smaller. His savings used to allow him to reach day 30 comfortably.
"Many of my colleagues are going through the same situation," he said.
‘Anonymous’ is a health professional working in the Eastern region of the country. In 2019, his union did not have the same problems as the rest of the State workers, although the austere budget implemented in 2020 equated them all.
“We had a salary increase shortly before the social security reform was approved, but not this year. I think that raising our salary affected the basic pension that is paid to pensioners, which does not seem right to me,” he stated.
This professional considers that it is not convenient to lay off personnel to compensate for other expenses, when, with or without a pandemic, the country needs health professionals. “Firing us decreases the availability of personnel to serve people. It will make us work twice as hard, and the quality of health care provided in the country will decrease.”
With few exceptions, State workers did not receive the 5% salary increase in 2019 and 2020, and the 2021 budget proposal presented to the National Assembly last week, suggests that they will not receive it in the year to come, because current expenditure (that which finances salaries and other administrative expenses), barely grew by 351.3 million córdobas or 0.5%.
Education and Health budget
‘Rodolfo’ is an expert who works for an entity involved in issues of higher education. Hence, his comments aim to explain that “If they are eliminating the entrance exams [to the country's public universities], it is because this year there was a great loss of enrollment, due to the students who were permanently expelled, and because the way in which the Covid pandemic was handled”.
He explains that to enter the universities that receive 6% of the General Budget of the Republic, "they charge you 300 or 600 córdobas, depending on the origin of the high school diploma” so the decrease in enrollment "represents a great loss for them", about the party leaderships that have taken control of the public universities.
“That money is handled by the academic vice-rectory, which then passes it to different accounts: a large part to the representatives of UNEN, for supposed academic activities, but another part is used to acquire equipment that does not benefit the great majority, but rather only the administration, which uses it to change vehicles or to modernize an office," he denounced.
"Karla" is a professional in the field of medicine, who worked in the public health system, from where she had to retire after internal administrative changes reduced her income considerably. Despite having a college degree, she struggles to meet the medical needs of her family, especially since she has been waiting for more than six months to be paid a settlement that she does not actually expect to receive.
Is there an economic future, if Ortega and Murillo stay in power?
Quino thinks “definitely not. Everyone is clear that as long as they remain in power, this country has no future. Even the Danielistas see it. Their salary is their consolation, but they know that there is no future and that as long as this continues, the future is dire.”
For Anonymous, "knowing how to use the Treasury of the Republic and the wealth of the country, any government could put Nicaragua at a better level of economic growth, enhancing natural reserves to develop tourism."
“I have seen an improvement in the economic situation of the people in the communities, and it seems to me that these conditions are maintained, although there are always ups and downs. Right now, people are seeing decline and recession, and we have not been able to recover ”, he declares.
In his opinion, "we will see the return of tourists, investors and international cooperation, because this is political, so the Government will be able to implement strategies to show that everything has already passed, and regain confidence in Nicaragua."
Rodolfo says that “they are taking us to the abyss. We see companies closing down because they cannot cover the tax increases, so the Government, instead of collecting more, loses taxes. It's the same thing that happens when putting so many entry obstacles at the (international) airport.”
Who obeys the orders of the political secretaries?
Even at the risk of losing their jobs, there are State workers who do not go to great lengths to show their disdain for the party's directives, which insists on their effort to maintain political cohesion within the public sector offices.
Rodrigo points out that “political secretaries spend their time coming up with marches and meetings because they have to guarantee to the party that people are organized. When the Amnesty Law was passed, they spoke of love and forgiveness, that it was necessary to attract the comrades to return to the party, but it was actually a way of saying to us' Ok, you're a dissident. We will forgive you, but keep quiet, and support the activities.”
He says that he has friends who work for other State institutions who must be ready to answer their WhatsApp; if someone uploads a 'long live Daniel', they have to answer 'long live', Plomo (an acronym for the phrase ‘Patria libre o morir’ (free nation or to die), among other politically-related phrases.
“They want to make people believe that they control the apps and know what you are chatting about… and some believe it, because they tell you 'let's not talk about it, because they may be recording me. Don't use my name… '”
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Quino says that previously, assemblies were held regularly, but now “they invent training sessions on political issues, to keep us under control, but the coaches do not have a lot of knowledge on the issues and the people do not show interest, and when filling out the evaluations, we put whatever it takes to get a pass.”
He has also noticed that the groups are getting smaller and smaller, to force people to participate actively, and to see how they really think.
Anonymous explains that in his workplace, open invitations are made and those who want to attend do so. For the most part, those in the lowest ranks go, because they fear that they will be fired for not going.
When marches were held to support the Government, even in the midst of a pandemic, “I would leave work and go home. They never told me anything, maybe because they see that I don't get involved in anything,” he speculates.
Reinforcing this point of view, Karla points out that “there are two ways of exercising political control: the Sandinista Leadership Committees (CLS), and the workers' unions, which are the ones who force personnel to go to political activities, arguing that they have jobs thanks to the government”.
Free elections? We don't see how …
In the case of the general elections scheduled for 2021, Quino points out that “everyone doubts that they will be free. The Danielistas know that they will not be, although they do persuasive work which no longer convinces anyone. It is a way of putting pressure on people ”.
For his part, Anonymous thinks that "the Government has the obligation to allow them, and there must be electoral observation to guarantee transparency", but Rodolfo considers that it will be difficult to accomplish it.
“They have sanctioned ministers, police, military, children, companies… The OAS gave them until May 21, and they continue to pour out their hate speech. They think they are gods. They are such an insane couple that they prefer to see the country in ruins, rather than give up power."
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“They maintain power because they control the weapons. They have enough money that at least three to four generations of their descendants will survive. Maybe even more,” he adds.
Rodolfo does not believe that, when faced with an eventual electoral defeat, Ortega will surrender power peacefully, because he learned that lesson in 1990. If he did, he knows that he will not return to power for the remainder of his life, so his regime would resort to the weapons that it has accumulated, to stay.
Quino says that in his circles “everyone doubts it. The outlook appears quite bleak in all senses, including the electoral one ", but Anonymous believes that Ortega would hand over power because" it would help him improve his image ... and it would allow him to live in peace in his own country. "
Karla doesn't think so either. It is clear to her that Ortega will not allow free elections, and that the electoral process "will be chaos". "There will be deaths," she says.
Fear of a Blue and White Sweep
Quino confirms that within state institutions, there is the fear of an eventual Blue and White "barrida" (meaning sweep. It refers to a mass dismissal of workers who were linked to a previous political party once a new one takes power). “All those who remain loyal to the government have tremendous fear. They all count on being purged in the face of a change in Government. They are clear on that”.
The problem is that those who identify as ‘Blue and White’ know that they can also be purged for having remained within the government, but they count on being able to show that they stopped supporting the Ortega government.
Without knowing each other, Rodolfo agrees with Quino and considers that the arrival of an eventual Blue and White Government "will improve things, but there will be collateral damage, because of the belief that we are all part of this rottenness, so the layoffs will be even”.
He says that he would resign from his current job if there were job opportunities, "but since there were none, since I have a family to attend to, I have no options," he laments.
Finally, Anonymous says that he does not believe that he will be affected by a sweep, because “I am apathetic when it comes to politics. I try to be neutral ”, but he has one more argument:“ a sweep could be the prelude to a new revolt, so it would not be viable. A Blue and White Government must seek the reunification of the Nicaraguan people ”.
This article has been translated by Ana Maria Sampson, a Communication Science student at the University of Amsterdam and member of our staff*
