Program Helps Nicaraguans Probe Politicians' Finances

January 03, 2008

Delia M. Ferreira Rubio, an Argentinian political finance expert, represented IFES at several public forums in Nicaragua.

Giselle Poveda knew IFES’ political finance program in Nicaragua was making a difference when a politician gave an unexpectedly frank answer at a public forum in Matagalpa. A woman had just stepped up to the podium and asked the representative where his party was getting the money to finance his campaign.

 “I know you and I know where you live,” the candidate replied. “You know where the money comes from—I think everyone knows —and I think the ends justify the means.” Ms. Poveda recounted the exchange saying that the audience was shocked, to say the least.

“It was one of the first moments where I realized what we were doing had repercussions for everyone—politicians, civil society, the whole country,” said Ms. Poveda, who worked as a local project coordinator for IFES. 

Program First of Its Kind

IFES conducted Nicaragua’s first political finance program under a contract from Casals and Associates and with funding from the United States Agency for International Development.

Corruption is a chronic problem in Nicaragua, one of the Western hemisphere’s poorest countries.  In 2007, Transparency International placed the country in the lowest third of 180 countries ranked in its annual Corruption Perceptions Index. Nicaragua also placed in the lowest third in a regional ranking of 32 countries. The most public face of the problem is former President Arnoldo Alemán, who was convicted in 2003 on money laundering, embezzlement and corruption charges.

Average citizens are either unaware of the extent of the problem or feel powerless to prevent it, said Ms. Poveda. However, such corruption deepens poverty for Nicaraguan citizens and deprives them of important infrastructure such as roads, schools and hospitals.

IFES and CXTP developed a public awareness campaign that urged citizens to press for more government transparency.

“People that we elect are not representing Nicaraguan interests,” she said.

From late 2006 through 2007, IFES advised a coalition of six Nicaraguan organizations, known as Ciudadanía por la Transparencia en la Política or CXTP. The program included an international conference on political financing in Managua that attracted about 200 people from local advocacy organizations, academics, students, political scientists and representatives from the international diplomatic corps.     

CXTP also organized two types of forums. Before the November 2006 elections, CXTP invited National Assembly candidates to public forums to explain to citizens how they were financing their campaigns. In addition to Matagalpa, forums also took place in Granada, León, Rivas and Bluefields.  After the elections, local universities in Managua, Estelí, Boaco and Jinotega hosted a second round of forums. Professors and students continued the discussions about Nicaragua’s political finance laws, transparency and public versus private funds.

Some of these professors went on to participate in the Cátedra de la Transparencia, or Transparency Chair. This institutional space, created by IFES and the Universidad Americana, encouraged Nicaraguan academics to write essays about political finance and present them during four workshops and an international seminar on money and politics.

Demand Transparency!

Another successful component of the program was a public awareness campaign aimed at helping Nicaraguans ages 16-30 understand the intricacies of political finance. In a country where the median age is just 21 years old, reaching these citizens is key to promote future reform.

Corruption affects citizens' access to adequate infrastructure, education and health care.

The campaign used the theme, “I demand transparency; I love my country!” in a variety of media, from websites to TV advertisements. The trademark blue campaign materials could be seen as bumper stickers on cars, banners, t-shirts and even bookmarks. View campaign materials here.

Ms. Poveda said by the end of the campaign, she was hearing people talk about political finance everywhere, even when she went grocery shopping. In one market, she heard a shopper asking her friend where she thought a candidate had gotten the money for an expensive series of billboards.

  “A year ago no one would have noticed,” she said. “They would have just looked at the signs and gone on with their lives.”