| In rural Nicaragua in 2006--7, most people lived in extreme poverty. Numerous development projects competed for clients in places like "Kiyenmejave Abajo," a rural locality south of Matagalpa. One project was "Taza Humeante," a coffee grower's cooperative seeking fair trade and organic certification. Rural development programs long sorted campesinos by an oversimplified class analysis that obscured their complex economic strategies. The Sandinistas initially gave privileged access to more "progressive" poorer campesinos. Projects in 2006 used similar categories, but aided the richer poor more. Development projects assume people are organized in "communities," but people see the places they live as riven by factionalism. Programs fear creating dependency, instead they encourage horizontal solidarity. But poor Nicaraguans are accustomed to wielding vertical patronage relationships, not horizontal ties, as a livelihood strategy. While working with projects, people talk the languages of both vertical patronage and horizontal solidarity. Aid does not flow towards the poorest because local leaders navigate structural conflicts. Several Taza Humeante officers occupied multiple leadership positions despite their poverty. Sandinista policies caused these leaders to gain prominence, but in 2006, constituents expected them to channel aid from projects. These expectations carry weight because local leaders compete for clients' loyalty. However, leaders must also satisfy organizations, thus projects exclude others entirely.;In Nicaragua in 2010, microfinance was besieged by the Movimiento No Pago, causing several microfinancers to close and large losses to others. This movement's roots were planted earlier. The Sandinista history of competition between organizations and debt forgiveness caused campesinos not to expect to pay back debt under adverse conditions. Later, microfinancers reinforced similar conditions. I observed four inspection visits from organic and fair trade inspectors. Certifications inaccurately assume base cooperatives are "communities." Certification regimes constitute incomplete new lines of authority. Farmers often saw certification requirements as demands made by foreign countries.;Development projects are not improving the situations of many and are worsening things for some, but removing projects would not solve anything. Focus on "best practices" leads to decontextualized and ahistorical plans which founder against the complexity of real social formations. |
