The Political and Social Economy of Care in Nicaragua Familialism of Care under an Exclusionary Social Policy Regime

Nicaragua is the second poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. Its gross domestic product (GDP) is extraordinarily low ($958 per capita), and its main source of income is the inflow of remittances from emigrant families working in the United States and Costa Rica. Seventy per cent of the population lives below the poverty line, and two out of 10 people are illiterate. Many households are headed by women, who are responsible for both care and paid work. Furthermore, Nicaragua is highly susceptible to natural (and social) disasters such as hurricanes and earthquakes. Within this complex reality, how do social practices in the household, state,community and markets combine and interact to provide care services and, in particular, care for children? Historically, the country has been a socialist state. Inadequate public investment in social protection and services resulted in limited coverage. Even under the import substitution model,and during the period when the state increased social protection, only a quarter of the population was covered. Currently, the welfare of the population depends to a large extent on family strategies designed to generate income and build social protection networks. Heavy dependence on emigration and remittances, self-employment through the transformation offamilies into productive units, and reliance on social networks to deal with illness and other unforeseen circumstances demonstrate the absence of clear boundaries between labour markets,social policy and the family. Over the last three decades, Nicaragua has undergone radical changes in its political and economic system. The early 1980s represented a honeymoon, following the Sandinista revolution. The second half of the decade was characterized by the embargo by the United States, counter-revolution, war and the introduction of structural adjustment programmes. The 1990s were marked by reconstruction, a transition to electoral democracy and economic liberalization. Through these three transitions, unpaid work by women, as well as volunteer work and community participation, played a central role in providing care services. During the 1980s, the Sandinista revolution significantly expanded education, health and care services, underpinned by a vision that social services should be provided by a strong centralized state serving the population as a whole. This expansion depended mostly on organizing and mobilizing volunteer workers. Moving away from this vision, the liberal governments of the 1990s promoted a subsidiary role for the state, with respect to both the market and households. Specifically, this meant the decentralization and targeting of services,as well as increased marketization of access through co-payment arrangements. These neoliberal changes also relied on large-scale efforts to mobilize unpaid women workers, recruit volunteers and encourage community participation. During the period studied in this paper—from the 1980s to the 2000s—the role of the state was, in various ways, subsidiary to that of unpaid, volunteer and community work, providing only rudimentary support. First, only the most basic social services were provided by the state (in the area of health services, for example, only primary care was offered), and coverage was far from adequate. Second, households and communities played a more dominant role than did public institutions. Third, most public programmes were dependent on strong family and community participation. Drawing on statistical sources, official documents and secondary sources, this paper explores the general features of the Nicaraguan social policy regime, in terms of both social spending and the principal components of education, health, social protection and actual care services. On the basis of 54 interviews with women and men from two very different municipalities— Managua and Estelí—the paper describes the prevailing care practices, interpreting them in the light of available time use statistics. Finally, it discusses the mix of public, market and family care practices in the context of the findings.UCR::Vicerrectoría de Investigación::Unidades de Investigación::Ciencias Sociales::Instituto de Investigaciones Sociales (IIS

Veinticinco años de cuidados en Nicaragua: poco estado, poco mercado, mucho trabajo no remunerado

Este libro analiza la organización de los cuidados en Nicaragua y muestra cambios pero también continuidades paralelas a las profundas transformaciones económicas, sociales y políticas que experimentó el país durante los últimos veinticinco años. La centralidad del trabajo no remunerada femimino - equivalente al trenta porciento del producto interno bruto de Nicaragua - ha tenido lugar no solo en el ámbito doméstico sino también como contraparte de las políticas pública. El principal reto que se desprende del estudio es el de superar la casi exclusiva familiarización y feminización de los cuidados. Dicho reto se plantea como un imperativo ético y como una necesidad productiva, vinculada al uso del tiempo y a los mayores grados de libertad de las mujeres en términos laborales y familiares, pero también de cara a una sociedad mas cuidadora.UCR::Vicerrectoría de Docencia::Ciencias Sociales::Facultad de Ciencias Sociales::Escuela de Ciencias Política

Addressing the Needs of Nicaraguan Older Adults Living on the Edge: A University-community Partnership in International Service-learning

Nicaragua is a very low-income country entering a period of rapid aging with limited geriatric training for health care professionals. To help build capacity and to enhance student learning, a short-term international service-learning program was implemented in 2004 in partnership with the Jessie F. Richardson Foundation and Nicaraguan community stakeholders. Graduate and undergraduate students at Portland State University complete coursework for one term in the United States then travel to Nicaragua for about two weeks to participate in educational, research, and service activities, primarily in group homes for older Nicaraguans. Students learn about global aging, gerontology, community development, service learning, and Nicaraguan history and culture, then apply their gerontology-related knowledge by training direct care staff, older adults and their family members, and students. The authors describe the impetus for and evolution of the program, students’ evaluation of the program, faculty observations on program benefits and challenges, lessons learned, and future plans