SLP #3

I returned from Nicaragua last night. I ended up with 5 recorded interviews and memories that will last forever. One of my first interviews was with a Deputy in the National Assembly named Evertz Cárcamo Naváez. Evertz was a stoutly man who had the air of combat about him. He was dressed in garb similar to Castro's army fatigues but all of it was grey. The interview took some time to begin since Mr. Cárcamo Naváez also happened to be the owner of Channel 41 in Nicaragua, and some college student from the United States was not his first priority.

Once the interview actually began he was very straightforward and to the point, a no BS kind of guy. However, I knew everything I was getting from him was BS. I asked about programs the FSLN and National Assembly were working on that were targeted at women. He did bring up a law that is being put to a vote in the N.A. that will require all children to be registered with the Nicaraguan government. He argued that this would benefit women because it would provide legal protection for their children should their husbands leave and refuse to pay compensation to the family. I also talked to him about his ownership of a television channel in Nicaragua (only about 10 channels shown in Nicaragua are actually OWNED by Nicaraguans, but that's another rant for another time). I was told that his channel is non-biased and has no political affiliation, and that it even has two shows where female anchors discuss the most pressing issues facing Nicaraguan women.

This did not strike me as anything radically different because I spent some time watching the Nicaraguan television stations and noticed that the voices of the disempowered in Nicaragua are typically represented in the media. The problem comes when those in power respond to the voices.