Family
In Nicaraguan families, it is traditionally the man who makes the important decisions and sets the tone for his children's behavior. Machismo, which manifests itself in the devaluation of women and authoritarianism, is also a serious problem. Many family members tend to live together, such as grandparents, uncles and aunts, partly due to the lack of housing.
Nicaraguan families are also fairly large, with an average of five or six children. However, there is a high percentage of fatherless families.
Another reality is that 33% of mothers and 41% of fathers have children with more than one partner. This demographic and social phenomenon is significant in Nicaragua, and contributes to gender inequalities. In particular, mothers with children from more than one partner may be at high risk of raising children without a father figure, and of doing so on low incomes and without financial support.
The most significant changes in family structures are taking place in rural areas, with a marked reduction in the number of households and an increase in the number of large households. There is a correlation between early motherhood and low-income environments. In these cases, it is the mother who assumes economic, household and childcare responsibilities, establishing a kind of matriarchy.
The Covid crisis and impunity are fuelling feminicide in Nicaragua. Beaten, shot, strangled or stabbed, Nicaraguan women continue to die at the hands of their men, but there are also many cases of infanticide. However, they are beginning to reclaim their rights and are calling for equality and dignified treatment. They have a long way to go and know that it will be a lifelong struggle for them and for future generations.
Education goes backwards
The education system is influenced by political decisions, and appointments of school principals and teachers seem to be based on political affiliations rather than on criteria of competence. School failure is a persistent reality, affecting all levels of education. Long associated with a lack of commitment on the part of students, it is now causing growing concern among parents about the quality and standard of education.
For decades, education in the Central American and Caribbean region has been one of the lowest quality in the world. It is estimated that 500,000 children do not attend school regularly, if at all.
Poorly paid and unmotivated teachers seem to have lost their authority, allowing pupils to do as they please. Whereas teaching used to be a vocation, today political affiliations seem to suffice. The politicization of the education system is a major cause of the mediocre quality of teaching.
The consequences are visible, with pupils struggling to read, write and count. Although elementary school pupils learn to read, they lack reading strategies and are unable to decode, reflect on or evaluate what they read. Reading comprehension is a major challenge.
When it comes to writing, shortcomings lie in the lack of coherence and cohesion in the texts produced by pupils. In arithmetic and mathematics, students can carry out basic operations, such as simple addition or multiplication, but they cannot correctly apply an arithmetic operation. Over 50% of students are at the basic level.
The serious difficulties of the education system seem to be mainly linked to an insufficient national budget for education, inadequate teacher training and a lack of support from parents in their children's educational process. Poverty and inequality also limit access to education, particularly in rural areas.
The teacher training system is seriously deficient, with only half of the funds officially voted by parliament for education actually allocated. This leads to a crying shortage of classrooms and teachers, especially in rural areas, not to mention precarious classroom conditions.
Unfortunately, the authorities seem to remain silent in the face of these persistent problems in the education system, allowing the situation to persist.
A fatalistic but creative people
Government institutions, businesses and part of society have become subservient to the ruling party. Those in power see the country as a family business. Nicaragua has one of the lowest per capita GDPs in the Americas. In recent years, 15% of the population has migrated to Spain, the United States, Canada and the rest of Central America. The country has become an exporter of cheap labor.
Nicaraguan culture has many positive characteristics, such as creativity, humor, hospitality and perseverance in the face of natural and human disasters. However, their development has been hampered by certain beliefs such as fatalism.
The social context is influenced by the American media and its consumer values. The absence of parents, mainly fathers, at home due to past wars and migration caused by lack of work have left many young people in search of social support.
This population lives in constant fear, with no prospects for the future, as the situation is far from improving. The government turns a deaf ear and prefers to lash out at any dissenting voice.
