Pictures, Stories, Facts and Dreams from the Nicaragua of Export Processing Zones

Half of Nicaragua's population lives on less than one dollar a day. Of those who are economically active, a quarter are unemployed and half work in the informal sector. A third of Nicaragua's annual budget comes from international aid programmes. A third of its gross domestic product is contributed by Nicaraguans living abroad who send money home.

In an attempt to improve the country's miserable economic situation, the Nicaraguan government since the early 1990s has encouraged investment by companies that produce labor-intensive goods, providing nearly complete tax exemption in export processing zones (zonas francas or maquilas). Three quarters of the companies in these zones manufacture textiles, and are mostly Asian companies seeking to take advantage of Nicaragua's free export quotas to the United States.

Though export processing zones bring important jobs, standard wages are too low compared to living costs. At the same time, in many cases the portion of labor cost represented in the price of a brand product can be as low as one per cent.

In addition to the low pay, a substantial number of export processing zone companies provide deplorable work conditions that violate Nicaraguan laws. Hygienic and security conditions are often deficient, and workers are dismissed because of illness, pregnancy, or participation in labor unions.

Uniquely, this exhibition approaches the dilemma of poor countries who seek to attract foreign investment with their cheap labor force from the perspective of those affected. Through photographs, stories and interviews, the exhibition depicts the lives and dreams of five families from Tipitapa, Nicaragua - a city whose economy is mainly based on four free zones. In order to place these families' stories in the greater social and economic context, statistics and extracts from the country's labor laws are provided. Thus the exhibition zooms out from individual experiences to the big picture.

More information available in german.