| Nicaragua : A country
overflowing with youth By Karla Jacobs, 6 de mayo 2011 “To
be
young
and not be a revolutionary is a contradiction,
one
could
even
say a biological contradiction”
Salvador Allende This well known phrase by the heroic Chilean president and martyr, Salvador Allende, is increasingly relevant in a country like Nicaragua, literally overflowing with youth. 67.1% of the Nicaraguan population is under 30 (14s and under represent 36.7% of the total population while 15 to 29 year olds represent 30.4% according to the Nicaraguan Demographic and Health Survey, ENDESA, from 2006 / 7), a fact which – if we agree with Allende – means the demographic make up of Nicaraguan society constitutes an immense wealth of revolutionary potential. Neoliberalism, via it's promotion of anti-values, has of course been working hard to contain this potential directing the energy of young Nicaraguans along paths that contribute little to the wellbeing of society as a whole. And we cannot deny that to a certain extent it has been successful. There is reason to conclude, however, that its elitist nature is now actually converting neoliberalism into a victim of its own strategy aimed at winning the hearts and minds of young people in Nicaragua (not to say the world over). And it is here that we find one of the most intense and important ideological battles within the Nicaraguan context today – the battle to influence, represent and be a guide for the nation's young people. It is a battle in which the main enemies of the FSLN – the force that works to direct this young energy towards revolutionary social transformation – are not the traditional right wing political parties but other more subtle manifestations of neoliberalism like, for example, the prevalence within the media of different expressions of Western, individualist culture. Before going on to comment on the strategies and policies the FSLN government has been implementing within the context of this ongoing contest, it is worth contemplating certain relevant socio-economic tendencies and indicators which allow one to understand a little more about what it means to be a young person in Nicaragua today – although this should be done bearing in mind that we are talking about a demographic group which represents the absolute majority of the population (and whose experiences and outlooks, therefore, are so diverse that it is difficult and probably useless to make generalizations about them). Indicators of wellbeing, education and employment among young people In 2010 the Nicaraguan Institute of Development Information (INIDE), with the support of UNICEF, published the “Index of Child and Adolescent Wellbeing in Nicaragua” as part of which the results of different demographic and other surveys and studies from 2005, 2006 and 2007 were analysed in order to draw conclusions about the level of wellbeing among Nicaragua's under 18s. Taking into account the available information about different indicators like nutrition, economic poverty, housing and access to basic services like education, healthcare, water and sanitation, the study concludes that: At a national level, of every four people under the age of 18 one has a very poor standard of living, two have a middle range standard of living and one has a satisfactory standard of living. When area of residency is taken into account, however, great inequality is observed between rural and urban areas. While in urban areas of every 10 people [under the age of 18] four have a satisfactory standard of living, five have a middle range standard of living and one has a very poor standard of living, the exact opposite is true in rural areas where one has a satisfactory standard of living, five have a middle range standard of living and four have a very poor standard of living. Another indicator which is informative in terms of young people's general experience in Nicaragua are the statistics about the level of formal education achieved by young adults (20 – 29 year olds). As can be observed in the following table based on the results of the Nicaraguan Demographic and Health Survey (ENDESA) from 2006/7, more than 10% of young adults were unable to attend primary school. Meanwhile, the total percentage of young men that never reached secondary school was 49.6% (for young women the percentage was slightly lower – 44.5%): Young Adults' (20 – 29 year olds') level of formal education (%)
Source: ENDESA 2006/7
The fact that today the academic level achieved by young women is higher on average than that of young men marks a significant change to the educational reality of this generation compared to that of their parents. Just a few decades ago it was precisely the women of Nicaragua who had less opportunities within the country's education system. In terms of employment among young people, Nicaragua is not the exclusion in the regional tendency, as documented by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Carribean (ECLAC), for a disproportionately high unemployment rate among young adults. According to the results of the study “Labour Market in Central America and the Dominican Republic,” published by the UN's International Labour Organization (ILO) in 2007, around 40% of 18 to 30 year olds in Nicaragua are unemployed. “The highest level of youth employment is enjoyed by young men – of whom 80% are in work – while only 40% of young women are in work,” says the study. Teenage pregnancy marks the experience of a significant proportion of young people According to World Bank Statistics, Nicaragua, with an annual rate of 111 births for every one thousand 15–19 year old women, has the highest teenage pregnancy rate in the entire American Continent. The following table shows the teenage pregnancy rate in Nicaragua and in the rest of Central America in descending order:
ENDESA 2006 / 7 found that the average age at which at which Nicaraguan women have their first child is 19.8 years and that half (49.5%) of women who at the time of the survey were between 20 and 29 years old had borne their first child during their teenage years. Of the same group 28.6% reported having had their first child before the age of 18, something which presents serious risks to the health of both the mother and the child given that, prior to the age of 18, the mother's body has not completed its full process of development. As has been well documented by different international organizations, the short and long term consequences of a high teenage pregnancy rate are detrimential to the development of a nation both in terms of its economy and in terms of the level of the wellbeing of society as a whole and, above all, of the country's women and children. And although it is possible to confirm that the teenage pregnancy rate in Nicaragua is falling (according to the same source there was a reduction of over 30% in the teenage pregnancy rate between 1992 and 2009), the fact that Nicaragua still has the highest rate in the American continent indicates that the maximum effort of all social and State agents are still required in order to ensure a continued and accelerated decrease in the incidence of this damaging and unjust phenomenon. Young people as a central axis of the nation's development Since the government of President Daniel Ortega came to power in 2007, the FSLN's vision of young people as essential agents within the integral and equitative development of society and of the nation's economy, has been made very clear. This vision was set out and defined within the government's Plan of Human Development 2008–2012 published in 2007 which refers to young people as one of the “groups which has been made most vulnerable, … and has been most excluded and most violated in their basic human rights” by the neoliberal model. The document goes on: “the Government of Reconciliation and National Unity acknowledges young people as a central axis of the development of Nicaragua and promotes their real and effective participation as part of the process of economic, social, political and cultural transformation of the country.” The prioritization of young people within the government's different policies and strategies was underlined by the Executive Director of the Nicaraguan Institute for Young People (INJUVE), Bosco Castillo, during an interview with journalist Erving Vega in October 2010 when he said that “every single one of the government's programs is designed with the wellbeing of young people in mind.” And it is a fact that every one of the main axes of development as envisioned by this government – from the integral programs that form part of the national policies on health and education to the programs designed to increase food security, improve transport and infrastructure and strengthen the economy at a local level – have a special impact on young people given the prevalence of this demographic group within the poorest sectors of society. The positive impact that the government's main social programs and policies have had among the most vulnerable sectors of society is something that has been acknowledged and praised by diverse international organizations like the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the World Health Organizations (WHO) and the UN's Education, Science and Culture Organization (UNESCO), among others. The government provides hope for young people via more and better education opportunities One of the most visible ways in which the government has been benefitting young people during the last four years is via the absolute prioritization of the education system. Tens of thousands of young people, mainly from rural areas and other remote parts of the country, whose right to the most basic level of education was denied by three successive neoliberal governments, have learned to read and write as part of the successful effort to erradicate illiteracy in Nicaragua (in 2009 the UNESCO acknowledged Nicaragua as free of illiteracy). Now, as part of the ongoing “Battle for Sixth Grade” coordinated by the Ministry of Education (MINED), these tens of thousands of young people have the opportunity to finish primary school (MINED expects to fulfill the aim of close to 100% of the adult population completing their primary education by the end of 2011). It is important to point out that the vast majority of the thousands of educators involved in these massive popular education efforts (both the literacy campaign and the ongoing “Battle for Sixth Grade”) have been young volunteers from the same communities as their pupils. This fact is a clear example of the sucessful realization of the government's aim to directly involve young people as protagonists in the social transformation of the country. Scholarships for technical and university education On top of these impressive achievements in terms of basic education, the government has set itself the task of ensuring widespread access to technical and university education via the creation of hundreds of thousands of scholarships for young people from poor families. The new national curriculum introduced by MINED in 2009 takes into account the demand for technical education within the public system's formal secondary education. As a result of this change in the curriculum Nicaragua's secondary school students are now offered the opportunity to learn technical profession skills as part of their formal education. In fact access to technical education and training is one of the main focuses of the government's strategy to benefit young people. As part of the implementation of this strategy the government has overseen what Bosco Castillo describes as the “refounding” of the Nicaraguan Technological Institute (INATEC) which has been given the necessary infrastructural and teaching resources in its 34 training centres across the country in order to carry out mass technical training of hundreds of thousands of young people, women and workers in general. The number of scholarships INATEC offers for diverse technical courses including tourism, hotel and catering, computing, construction, automotive mechanics and electrics, among others has enjoyed a sustained increase since 2007. In January the Executive Director of INATEC, Loyda García, announced that the institution expected to provide over 236,000 scholarships for different courses during 2011, of which a majority are destined for people under the age of 30. The surveys that INATEC has carried out regarding the employment status of its ex alumni have found that up to 80% of young people who take technical courses with the institute have found work shortly after graduating. This fact confirms the accuracy of INATEC's Jairo Espinoza's comment during a recent interview with Erving Vega that “by strengthening young people's technical skills we are giving them the tools they need to defend themselves within the labour market so that they can carry out an economic activity which helps them improve their standard of living.” Among the many other scholarship programs for young people that have been overseen by different State institutions during the last few years are those coordinated by INJUVE including international scholarship programs for under and post graduate university studies in Cuba, Venezuela, Russia and Taiwan. INJUVE also oversees a broad technical training program for 8,000 self employed young people working in the informal sector who reside in the eleven municipalities of the country with the highest rates of unemployment among young adults. Additionally, in March of this year, President Daniel Ortega announced the creation of a special fund to provide full scholarships for undergraduate studies to young people from poor families. This fund, which is worth nearly US$12 million and which is made possible with funding from ALBA, will provide scholarships for 10,000 young people who would otherwise be unable to attend university. Students from rural areas will be prioritized as part of the selection process for this program. Provision of sports and cultural activities for young people Another important aspect of the government's stategy to improve the lives of young people has been the promotion of sports and cultural activities. Indeed the boost that sports training and sporting events in general have been given at a national level since the FSLN came to power is something that even the most radical anti-Sandinistas have acknowledged and praised. As the Director of the Nicaraguan Sports Institute (IND), Marlon Torres, explained during an interview with Tortilla con Sal in 2009, the public sector budget for sports training and sporting events has increased thirteen fold during this period of government. This massive increase has helped the sports sector get back on its feet after 16 years of neoliberal neglect. Among the IND programs that have had the greatest impact on young people around the country is the creation of 38 sports academies – at least two in each of the country's 16 departments – offering free sports training. These academies offer training in a diverse range of disciplines including athletics, baseball, football, swimming, volleyball, Tae Kwon Do, chess and fencing. Prior to 2007 the only existing sports academies offering free training to young people were located in Managua. Simultaneously, the Sandinista government's national strategy for promotion of the arts has facilitated access to classes in different artistic disciplines (from music, dance and theater to painting and literature) for young people from around the country. The Sandinista Youth's Cultural Movement “Leonel Rugama” has played an important role in the implementation of this strategy working together with INJUVE and with the Nicaraguan Cultural Institute (INC) to facilitate the specialized training of hundreds of young cultural promoters from the nation's different regions. These cultural promoters, who have recieved scholarships to train with different national artists, are now the ones responsible for transmitting their newly acquired artistic skills to thousands of children and adolescents in their local areas via the formation of cultural groups in poor neighbourboods, rural communities and Municipal Cultural Centers. Young people leading the process of national transformation Finally, another change put into practice by this government which is having an impact on the psyche of young people is the presence of an increasing number of young adults in important positions within State and local government institutions, as commented on by Bosco Castillo: “A very important point to mention … is that now we are seeing more and more opportunities for young people within the realms of public administration. We are seeing young leaders and protagonists as part of the process of political, economic and social transformation. We are seeing young people involved in the different nation building tasks and activities. We see young public officials, young politicians, young people in the main State institutions, there are even a number of young people directing institutions. An important example is the group of young adults who took up posts in the Managua local government and who have being doing a great job there.” And we can expect further increases in the number of young people in important positions over the coming years thanks to a resolution approved during the FSLN national party congress in February which promised to ensure “at least 50% of positions within the party structure (from members of the party congress and different assemblies to members of the directorate as well as all the other party structures) going to under 30s.” The significance of this resolution lies in the fact that the FSLN is by far the biggest political party in Nicaragua representing up to 50% of public opinion according to recent polls. In general it is possible to appreciate that the task the government has set itself with regards to the nation's young people is that of attending the needs of this sector of society as part of the process of social and economic transformation, so that, in doing so, the FSLN is able to guide the conscience of Nicaragua's youth towards the principles of the Sandinista Revolution – principles of the common good and the realization of human potential – as part of an attempt to ensure the continuation of the Revolution into the future with the leadership of the nation's younger generations. It is a complex task which – considering the fact that the percentage of the population under the age of 30 is actually expected to increase in the coming years – will require increased efforts as time goes on. But it is safe to say that, thanks to those involved in the hard work led by the FSLN government, today Nicaragua is back on the right track, moving steadily forward along a path of transformation and involving increasing numbers of young people as it goes. In the words of Bosco Castillo: “To continue transforming Nicaragua, that is really the most important task the young generation has … To accompany the FSLN government, and, above all, to accompany the people, because this government is an instrument of the revolutionary principal of youth.” |