Making and Remaking a Living on the Atlantic Coast of Nicaragua
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ARCHIV VERNOO no. 1 STARTING ALL OVER AGAIN Making and Remaking a Living on the Atlantic Coast of Nicaragua Ronnie Vernooy 31 wAC-Ub STARTING ALL OUR AGAIN Making and Remaking a Living on the Atlantic Coast of Nicaragua Ronnie Vernooy STARTING ALL OVER AGAIN Making and Remaking a Living on the Atlantic Coast of Nicaragua Proefschrift ter verkrijging van de graad van doctor in de landbouw- en milieuwetenschappen, op gezag van de rector magnificus, dr. H.C. van der Plas, in het openbaar to verdedigen op woensdag 4 november 1992 des namiddags to vier uur in de Aula van de Landbouwuniversiteit to Wageningen U' '_' C> C) Promotor: dr. Norman Long, hoogleraar in de rurale ontwikkel in gsso ciol ogie CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS xi 1. "PLEASE COME BACK TO BLUEFIELDS" 1 Introduction 1 Autonomy and the Research and Documentation Center of the Atlantic Coast 4 Research subjects and structure of the thesis 5 Part I: Making a living in the hinterland 6 Part II: Doing business in town 7 Part III: Toward a new understanding of coastal history 9 Theoretical issues 11 The social meaning of policymaking 11 The debate on commoditization 15 Shortcomings 17 Commoditization: the urban context 21 Bluefields and its hinterland 24 Notes 28 PART I: MAKING A LIVING IN THE HINTERLAND 31 2. "STARTING ALL OVER AGAIN": HURRICANE JOAN AND RESPONSES TO THE RECONSTRUCTION PROGRAM 33 Struggling against wind and water 33 Unchained fury: the coming and going of Joan 34 Mud and desolation in the Southern Autonomous Atlantic Region 36 The reconstruction program 37 Starting all over again 38 UNAG-Bluefields: 1981-91 40 The food program or the politics of aid 41 Special aid for the hinterland 44 And what about the forest? 47 Encounters 48 San Mariano: "Please tell me what are your worries?" 49 vi Contents Musilayna and Esconfram: "If the community decides to burn, this will be the law!" 51 Forest fires! 54 Krisimbila: "If we do not burn, what alternative do we have?" 54 Prohibition of burning: playing with fire? 56 The portable sawmill project 58 General assembly in Bluefields: face to face with the hinterland 59 Demands 60 Replies and discussion 60 Giving and taking 62 Caught in the crossfire 64 Epilogue 65 Notes 67 3. "TODAY WE ARE HERE AND TOMORROW THERE": THE RURAL ECONOMY OF THE HINTERLAND 72 Introduction 72 Commoditization: the Nicaraguan debate 73 General features of the hinterland economy 74 Introduction to the three case studies of rural enterprises 79 Angela and Guillermo: bridging the urban-rural divide 79 Andar en el monte: the farm-enterprise 82 Agricultural practices 85 The small-scale commerce of Angela and her children 89 Josh and Lorenza: going forward 90 The enterprise 91 Agriculture and livestock 93 The organization of labour 96 Miguel: neighbour and friend 97 The UNAG: "We have to go forward!" 98 Teresa and Bernardo: not giving up 99 Life and work 102 The production of basic food crops 106 "The men do not care about women": gender relations and problems 107 The making and remaking of two new projects 109 The 1990 elections 111 Conclusion 112 Notes 116 Contents vii PART II: DOING BUSINESS IN TOWN 121 4. "FREE TRADE IS ONE THING AND CONTROL ANOTHER...": THE DYNAMICS AND CONTRADICTIONS OF THE REGULATION OF PRICES IN BLUEFIELDS 123 To regulate or to be regulated 123 "The UNO can make it!": election winners and losers and the question of what is going to happen 124 The economic stabilization plan: 1990-1993 126 The price regulation commission in the town of Bluefields 129 The "new" economic stabilization plan 131 Justifications given on the road 133 Regulation or free trade? 137 Complaints and denunciations 141 Inspectors 142 Transportation: a crucial link or a political roadblock? 144 The configuration of power at the regional level 145 A new turn? 148 Conclusion 150 Notes 153 5. "PULLING AND HAULING": THE WORLD OF TRADE IN BLUEFIELDS 156 Introduction 156 The Nicaraguan debate on trade 157 Bluefields or the transformation of the town into market 160 The organization of trade 161 Like the market of Masaya 163 Commerce: a women's world? 165 Bluefields: the world of trade 167 Getting (back) into business 168 Agarrar patio: the case of Justo Miranda and Marlene Rodriguez 169 Advancing: hard work, money, cleverness, responsibility, and... luck 172 A case of growth and progress: Sun Wang Ling 173 The quality of talking others into business: Antonia Mendoza 174 Surviving: making consumption and trade ends meet 176 Have we lost before the battle begins?: the case of Betty Jordan 177 Politics: at home and in the streets 180 viii Contents Conclusion 182 Notes 185 PART III: TOWARDS A NEW UNDERSTANDING OF COASTAL HISTORY 189 A THOUSAND-AND-ONE STORIES STILL TO TELL 191 Notes 194 6. "LOOKING FOR WORK": A COASTAL LABOUR HISTORY 195 Life-stories: coloured by culture, moulded by the present 196 "Life in the bush" 198 Mahogany camp 199 Jorge Jureidini 204 "Tired of working bananas and gone to Kukra Hill" 206 Pacific side and "rough weather" 209 "Run and gone to Costa Rica" 211 Back to Nicaragua 212 Bluefields: working for CORFOP-COMABLUSA 213 COMABLUSA 214 After the hurricane: "a little business to pass my life" 214 Working on contract 216 "No, no, no, we can't do nothing" 217 Being "deaf' 218 "Doing this and doing that" 219 A new contract 220 Conclusions 221 Notes 223 7. THE MAKING AND REMAKING OF COASTAL HISTORY, 1880-1992 224 Introduction 224 The humming wheels of industry and trade: 1880-1929 225 Booming Bluefields 229 Political turmoil 231 Storms of despair, calamities of hunger: 1929-1945 232 Effects of the second world war 235 Uneven development and modernization: 1945-1960 240 Business goes on 242 Summary: the role of coastal businessmen 247 Struggling along the rivers 249 A summary: capital, work, and immigration 252 Contents ix Uneven development and modernization: 1960-1979 253 In defense of the Atlantic Coast 255 The road from Bluefields to the Kukra River 257 The 1970s: the case of community development 259 Autonomy: a step in the right direction 261 Notes 265 8. "TOMORROW YOU WILL BE DIFFERENT"' 270 Policymaking and politics 270 Dealing with uncertainties 273 Heterogeneity: a dominant feature 274 A final note on the research journey 276 GLOSSARY 278 BIBLIOGRAPHY 283 SAMENVATTING 295 CURRICULUM VITAE 300 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Twelve long and terrifying hours of wind and rain gave a decisive turn to the project "Regional autonomy and local-level development: the Atlantic Coast of Nicaragua," which in the form of this thesis has come, after all, to a happy ending. I would like to thank the people who before, during, and after hurricane Joan, supported and encouraged me to continue my journey and go on with this research. During more than three years of fieldwork, the people of Bluefields and its hinterland received us with generosity, patience, and friendship. They showed us that with courage, perseverance, and good will it is possible to make a living on the Atlantic Coast despite harsh and hostile conditions. To Ceferina, Brigido, Elizabeth, Camilo, Wilfredo, Maria, Graciela, Calixto, Tomasa, Enoc, Ernesto, their children, and all the others, muchas gracias y siempre adelante ! From the beginning, this project was a team effort, carried out with the participation of young Nicaraguan researchers. To Dominga Tijerino, Virgilio Rivera, Sandra Gomez, Kevin Campbell, Noreen White, and Roberto Rigby, I would like to say thank you very much. Your enthusiasm and dedication kept the research going. I hope you learned as much as I did from our team work and experiences. Gabriel Torres helped me by opening the doors to the lively world of trade in Bluefields. Muchas gracias! The project was carried out in close cooperation with the Research and Documentation Center of the Atlantic Coast. I owe all the employees of its offices in Managua, Puerto Cabezas, and Bluefields my gratitude for their support. They showed me the ingenuity and tenacity that is required to run an institution in a country plagued by severe economic problems, a war, and political turmoil, not to mention electricity cuts, gasoline shortages, and deficient means of communication. The project received funding from the Netherlands Foundation for the Advancement of Tropical Research (WOTRO) and the Agricultural University of Wageningen, for which I am thankful. Ann and Norman Long provided us warm friendship, stimulating intellectual support, and hospitality. Visits with them are always too short. Gavin Smith not only helped me to improve earlier versions of the thesis, he also guided my first steps in the Canadian world of sociology and anthropology. I thank Sandra Garland for polishing the grammar and putting all the words in the right place. Family and friends offered us a place in their homes, abundant meals and drinks, and encouragement during our short visits to Holland and Canada. I owe gratitude to my mother Tonny van Oostrom, Wim Hafkamp, Marcel Vernooy, Jacqueline van der Greijn, Marie Dubd, Mariette Pelletier, Elise Gauthier, Andre Belzile, Brigitte Dumont, and Pierre Viens. Acknowledgements All along the road of this long and sometimes hazardous research journey, Nicole Pelletier, ma compagne de vie, stimulated me to continue the work. One year far away from Wageningen, then in Bluefields, and finally at home in Quebec, Canada, she shared the ups and downs with me. Once more, I would like to say merci beaucoup! The hurricane, unfortunately, was not the only tragic event that occurred during the research project. Our work and life in Bluefields were sadly interrupted by the death of three dear people. In January 1989, my father, Cees Vernooy, died. In February 1990, our Swedish friend and colleague Kristina Tansjo passed away in a hospital in Managua.