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From: myers@uwmacc.UUCP (Jeff Myers)
Newsgroups: talk.politics.misc
Subject: Re: Technical Travel to Nicaragua, Update #4
Message-ID: <286@uwmacc.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 25-Sep-86 10:15:38 EDT
Article-I.D.: uwmacc.286
Posted: Thu Sep 25 10:15:38 1986
Date-Received: Tue, 30-Sep-86 00:41:05 EDT
References: <1315@jade.BERKELEY.EDU> <143@cod.UUCP>
Organization: UWisconsin-Madison Academic Comp Center
Lines: 64

> This is not a diatribe (I trust), but a genuine question which
> for some dumb reason just ocurred to me today, although I have
> read many postings re: tecNICA, both pro and con.  The question
> is this:
> 
> 	Why just Nicaragua?

The basic reason is that it is the only country in CA under attack by
proxy forces of the United States of America.  In that sense, it is an
effort to allay the consciences of us God-fearing taxpayers.  I'm
serious.

> There are many countries, both in Central America and elsewhere, which
> could use the kind of help tecNICA purports to offer.  Why, then, did
> this organization choose the one Latin American country (other than
> Cuba, of course) which, by any fair standard, leans toward the
> Marxist-Leninist world view?  This organiziation has every right to
> carry on their work, and individual citizens have every right to
> participate.

But no other CA country is under official US embargo.  Nicaragua suffers from
severe spare parts shortages, exacerbated by an economy built upon
American machinery under Somoza.  This is less a problem now than it was,
but the problem is still severe with respect to computers.  The only
American firm doing business there is IBM, which is only there in token
force so that they don't piss off their other small client nations by
leaving one totally in the lurch.

To say that the `country' leans toward Marxism is an interesting semantic
error.  Even to say that the Sandinistas lean that way is an oversimpli-
fication, as it is an amalgamation of people having very different political
philosophies, including Marxist-Leninists.

> On the other hand, limiting the group's activities to Nicaragua leaves
> tecNICA wide open to criticism which could have been avoided by
> including El Salvador, Guatemala, and Costa Rica.  A truly non-partisan
> and non-biased group should be able to get along with authoritarian 
> regimes of both left and right.  After all, tecNICA is offering valuable
> help, right?  If there is some reason why tecNICA can cooperate with
> the Sandinistas and not with the other Central American countries, 
> perhaps someone from that group could explain that reason.

For one thing, tecNICA is not that big.  Maybe someday it will be able to
branch out, if political conditions warrant.  Many CA groups have started
out focusing on one country.

For another, no group is truly non-biased.  Frankly, most tecNICA volunteers
are supportive of the revolution, and go to give support and find out what
is going on.  But we are not there to proselytize for anyone -- the
documentation you get from tecNICA suggests that you play it cool
with respect to your own political opinions.  You go to work and learn, not
to gain converts to any cause, religion, or party.

> This is not a challenge; I really am curious about this question. 

Taken in that spirit.  Thanks for asking.

-- 
Jeff Myers				The views above may or may not
University of Wisconsin-Madison		reflect the views of any other
Madison Academic Computing Center	person or group at UW-Madison.
ARPA: myers@unix.macc.wisc.edu
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