Nicaraguans Respond with “Caution” to the Census Surveyors

The Sandinista Youth surveyors insist on asking about those who have migrated, the reasons, and the amount they send in remittances, according to three Managua residents

By Confidencial

HAVANA TIMES – Managua residents Sara, Karla, and Cindy answered the questions of the National Population and Housing Census with “caution.” They were all warned by friends and family to be “careful” when providing information that could “flag” them as opposition members or “annoying people” to the dictatorship of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo.

For Karla, 31, and a resident of a neighborhood near the Plaza de la Fe, it was the first time she participated in a census. The previous one, in 2005 under the government of Enrique Bolaños, was answered by her parents.

“I had seen some posts on Facebook about the census. Although they are questions about the family, some people told me to limit my responses and not to provide information about people who have gone to the United States or details that could compromise my family because with this Government you don’t know what they are looking for,” she said.

The Managua resident said she did not feel confident with the process, “because those conducting the census are members of the Sandinista Youth (JS).”

“I felt that the young woman who came to conduct the census was insistent on many of the questions. Even though I told her I had no family members abroad, she repeated the question and insisted on whether I received remittances from abroad,” she detailed.

Karla says it was evident that “the surveyor wanted to know” something beyond general information. “My brother left more than two years ago for the United States; he used to live here in the house. He