One of many things I appreciated about spending time in Nicaragua this summer was the sense that every day was an adventure, or as I learned to say, “una aventura!” Although I usually had some general idea about the day’s agenda, I never quite knew what to expect.
At the top of the list of my adventures was a visit to the mercado or market. Every large town had one, or two, or in the case of Managua, even more. There were modern grocery stores around, but like their counterparts here in the US, they lacked a sense of character that makes for a meaningful adventure.
One afternoon, another student and I along with one of our Nicaraguan friends traveled to the Mercado Oriental in Managua, one if not the largest open air markets in the world—30 square blocks of everything you could imagine and then some. All of the tourist guide books advised foreigners to avoid the Oriental at all cost due to the high crime, mostly pickpockets, a warning that we viewed as our challenge. So with empty pockets (I confess I had a $10 bill tucked into my shoe) the three of us made our way there.
What a place! The Oriental was everything we’d heard it was and more—a labyrinth of stalls and shops and things—clothing, washers, dryers, building materials, the latest Hollywood movies, live animals, candy and piles of fresh meat piled up on tables. It was to say the least, a dizzying experience. Had I lost sight of our guide, Mario, I probably would have still been there.
Of course what makes an adventure meaningful is what you happen to discover. Some parts of the market were downright entertaining-watching people engage in the art of bargaining, beholding mountains of fruits and vegetables many that I didn't even recognize, listening to vendors doing their best to in customers. “Hey Gringo! Over here!”
On the other hand parts of our market adventure were sad and disturbing. One of the most troubling things I discovered had to do with of all things, rice.
Rice is a staple commodity in Nicaragua. If you ever go there or to any other Central American country you can expect to eat it along with beans at just about every meal in what is commonly known as
Gallo Pinto. People spend a lot of money relative to income in Nicaragua and that means they spend a lot of money on rice. But due in large part to US agricultural subsidies, Nicaraguan grown rice is MORE expensive in the mercado than that which is grown in the US, almost 40% MORE to be exact. As a result Nicaraguan farmers simply cannot compete and will soon be put out of business, while big corporations and stock holders in the US and elsewhere rake in the profits! And who knows, when the Nicaraguan suppliers are out of the picture, there is no reason why prices won’t jump by 40% or more!
Our adventure in the market that day left some big impressions on me as a person of faith, not to mention as a human being. I felt and continue to feel a sense of anger about a world, an economic system that allows others to be exploited in the name of “good business” and “free trade”, a world that affords me great benefits to enjoy at the expense of others.
The words of the prophet Amos ring as loud and true today as they did centuries ago, a word of woe to those “who trample on the needy and bring to ruin the poor of the land...who buy the poor for silver and the needy for a pair of sandals and selling the sweepings of the wheat.” Maybe we need to consider these words more carefully these days as we go about our shopping and spending.
And yet, anger is not a place to stay permanently. I pray that the Spirit would move us, from righteous anger to faithful action on behalf of our neighbor, the poor, that all the world may be clothed and fed. Peace,