May Day in Nicaragua

by Sam Gordon

NICARAGUA never has been a country with a large industrial work force and strong, democratic trade union movement.
Nevertheless, celebrating May Day can be traced back to 1924, a year of turbulent national elections and another US intervention.
Since then the celebration has had its ups and downs. Five years ago the turn out in the capital, Managua, was estimated to be less than 1,000.
This prompted one national newspaper to ask the question, “Where are the workers?”
During the days of the revolutionary Sandinista government of the 1980s things were different.
Not having a sizeable trade union movement was no obstacle to joining in popular demonstrations.
Many of those who showed their international solidarity were women who worked at stalls in the markets.
One problem facing the development of trade unions in Nicaragua is that membership is not covered by a single organising body.
Last year in Managua there were two May Day marches.

Sandinista
The largest was organised by National Workers Front (FNT) which has strong ties with the FSLN Sandinista party now in government.
A smaller turn out was organised by the Permanent Council of Workers (CPT). In the past it has dallied with the Constitutional Liberal Party, a strong supporter of unfettered market forces.
Like everything else touching public life in Nicaragua political party alignment is never far away.
Last year President Daniel Ortega was the main speaker, beneath an impressive welded steel sculpture, complete with gun in hand.
This is known here as Combatiente Popular - a mark to the ordinary men and women who fought to overthrow the Samoza dictatorship in 1979.
Beside the president was Dr Gustavo Porra. Among other things the good doctor is; a Deputy to the National Assembly - read MP, General Secretary of Fetsalude - the health workers trade union, and General Secretary of National Workers Front.
Daniel Ortega used the occasion to announce an increase of 10 per cent in the minimum wage.
The trade unions had been pressing for a 25 per cent increase.
This year the line up of trade union and political leaders is likely to be the same as last year.
No doubt May Day 2008 in Nicaragua will make a sizeable showing.
But the question posed in 2003, “Where are the workers?” still has relevance.
Many workers, almost equal numbers of men and women, have migrated to neighbouring Costa Rica.
Although not a rich country Costa Rica does offer the migrants a greater degree of political stability and a different economic structure, thanks to globalisation.
The global restructuring of Costa Rica does not go as far as offering the Nicaraguan migrants equal pay with their Costa Rican brothers and sisters.
Nor does it offer health insurance or security of employment.
But this reserve workforce in a neighbouring country provides employment and some money, which can be sent to the family back home.
Ironically, it also enables middle class Costa Rican women to take up paid employment for the first time in history.
On the trade union side migration has prompted greater collaboration between organised workers on both sides of the frontier.
There is a lot yet to be done, but particularly in the aggro export banana business, there are moves to improve workers’ rights and pay.