The importance of self-governance in Nicaragua

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Federico Barrios
BLP, Nicaragua
fbarrios@blplegal.com

I am writing this piece from the convenience and familiarity of my desk chair in a re-purposed spare room of our home, where my wife and I have been working from home since the beginning of March. We were both sent home to continue with our day-to-day labour obligations and meet constantly with co-workers and clients via the internet or our cellphones. We were lucky to have this option. 

The majority of Nicaraguans do not share our circumstances.

In Managua, Nicaragua’s biggest city with a population of nearly 1.2 million people (roughly 17 per cent of the country´s overall population), we are yet to see an ordinance, circular or any kind of communication where the local government acknowledges the correlation of social distancing and self-quarantine with the ‘flattening of the curve’. This neglect of facts by officials seems to be the case across the country.

Over the last couple of weeks, news outlets and social media have been filled with cries from representatives of major business associations, medical associations, civil society and other groups of professionals calling on the central government to take measures to protect the people’s health and livelihoods.

Needless to say, these calls have been ignored and the government limits itself to giving reports of case and fatality numbers on a weekly basis. Moreover, the authorities remain silent on the importance of protecting lives and jobs. No message has been issued about contingency plans to cushion job losses, or about how to mitigate the imminent risk of recession. Given the overlapping crises since early 2018, by the end of 2020 Nicaragua’s economy might have lost a fifth (20 per cent) of its total output. 

The powerlessness of the private sector in this situation, and its inability to command action, makes me wonder: how is it that the private sector lost its capacity for self-governance and became so divided that, even in the face of a cataclysmic event (with so many obvious ill effects) we cannot organise, make a stand and force the administration to protect us?

Nicaragua might provide an interesting case study in measuring the behaviour and  character of, as well as relationships between, private and public sectors across the world — given that we are all suffering the consequences of the pandemic.

There are many aspects that deserve further analysis with regard to this subject, but I want to explore the two ideas that prompted this article: the importance of a professional association for the legal profession and the role of the unions in a modern state.

In Nicaragua, the legal profession and the practice of law have (ironically) been virtually lawless. We have no Bar or professionals’ association to further regulate and maintain the standards of our craft. The responsibility of public faith (notary) is basically handed over after a four-year stint at university.

The governing entity of all lawyers and notaries is the Supreme Court, which (as of October 2019) has been limited in its functions: it can only authorise attorneys to practice and sanction practitioners who receive legitimate complaints against them. There are currently more regulations in place, including the Financial Action Task Force recommendations, and there is also a need to gather information for Anti Money Laundering procedures.

The absence of a recognised and structured organisation to guide the profession means that there is no real possibility for balancing out government power and making a stand against when decisions and actions (or the lack thereof) affects the way in which we practice law and, in this particular situation, put our colleagues at great risk.  

To date, at least 18 attorneys-at-law have passed away after suffering from symptoms of Covid-19. Most of them, according to reports, were frequently seen in courtrooms and the judiciary offices, which were filled with people all doing the jobs they were retained for.

Our system does not recognise emails or any other electronic communication as an official part of the process. Hence, all litigation procedures include waiting in line for your turn to file or be served. 

In an ideal world, the administration would enhance its processes through technological advances and digitalisation, in order to expedite processes while safeguarding the rights and health of everyone involved. However, given the absence of such measures, shouldn’t a professionals’ association, as an institution, be the entity that demands and pushes for better conditions for its members? 

Our best advocate is currently a Facebook group that gives daily reports on the situation in the courts nationwide, while demanding the automatisation of procedures.

The call is one to organise and structure the different professions with the hope of democratising the decision-making that affects our way of life and work. 

To consider this idea in even more detail, the concept of a union arises as a theoretical ally of the business associations in the goal to protect our fragile economy. 

For the last three decades, the ruling party has had control over the unionised sector, initially as a disruptive force against so-called ‘neo-liberal governments’ and, more recently, as a mechanism controlling the labour force and working against the private sector. 

In essence, the unions were not meant to service government. Unions are part of the private sector, just like business owners and executives. As such, their goals may be both aligned and at odds: jobs must be kept; the economy should be protected; and the health and wellbeing of all parties involved must be paramount.

If unions in Nicaragua were the stronghold that they are in other jurisdictions, could it be that the association between the forces of the private sector would strong-arm the administration into enacting health measures and economic relief policies in order to protect the economy?

Could this be an alternative system of checks and balances to enhance governance and create a better democracy? 

The fact remains that until the different actors in the private sector can re-discover the value of association, no degree of power-sharing will be achieved. The authoritative voice of an association of experts will be no more than a distant recommendation for the public and the official (and acceptable) information will be closely guarded and shared only by those in the seat of power.

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