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For the first time, Nicaraguan leaders have reached broad consensus on an issue that has divided their country since the 1979 revolution: the ownership of property.

They made significant progress on the issue when The Carter Center convened a meeting in Montelimar on July 4-5. U.S. foreign aid law requires that the secretary of state certify progress on property issues by July 30 to continue aid to Nicaragua.

"With perhaps 40 percent of the households in Nicaragua involved in an actual or potential property dispute, the issue has impeded investment and economic recovery," said Jennifer McCoy, coordinator of the Center's Nicaragua Property Project. "But with Sandinista leaders sitting next to individuals whose property was confiscated in the revolution, the meeting was a visible reminder of Nicaragua's remarkable transformation from a society torn by war in the 1980s to one committed to finding solutions to national problems through peaceful and legal means."

The Center's Latin American and Caribbean Program (LACP) and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) co-sponsored the forum, which was chaired by former President Jimmy Carter and former Belize Prime Minister George Price.

"The conference helped Nicaraguans take a major step toward resolving the property problem," said Robert Pastor, LACP director. Participants included members of President Violeta de Chamorro's cabinet, the president and key committee chairpersons of the Nicaraguan National Assembly, leaders of the major political parties, members of the Supreme Court, leaders of organizations representing former property owners (confiscados), current occupants (beneficiados), workers, ex-combatants, and ambassadors from several countries, including the United States and Spain.

Project Seeks To Resolve Property Disputes Fairly

Property problems in Nicaragua impact 171,890 beneficiaries of agrarian and rural reform and other distribution of property under the Sandinista government (1979-90), and 5,288 former owners affected by confiscations and expropriations who now are demanding the return of their property or satisfactory compensation. The amount of land claimed by the former owners constitutes 25 percent of the nation's cultivable land area, and the estimated cost of compensating them (U.S. $650 million) is the equivalent of 35 percent of Nicaragua's economy or two years of exports.

"The underlying debate encompasses those who want to protect the gains of the revolution and those who want to preserve the sanctity of property rights," Dr. Pastor said. "This situation is complicated by administrative and legal impediments to sorting out competing claims and modernizing the titling system."

Nevertheless, broad, though not universal, consensus emerged in the meeting on the following:

• small beneficiaries of urban and agrarian reforms should be protected.
• former owners should be compensated with more valuable bonds.
• recipients of larger properties should either pay for or return those properties.

President Carter recommended establishing a commission comprised of government, legislative, and civil society representatives. "The commission should begin meeting immediately to ensure that these steps will be implemented and to explore various options to carry out the general recommendations," President Carter said. The first meeting was scheduled for July 14 at UNDP offices in Managua.

Center Facilitates Democracy in Nicaragua

The Carter Center has a long history of involvement in Nicaragua. In 1990, President Carter led an international delegation to observe the presidential election. The delegation was formed under the auspices of the Center's Council of Freely Elected Heads of Government, a group of 25 former and current leaders from the Western hemisphere. President Carter made five trips to Nicaragua during the election process and returned again in 1991 to help forge a pact to combat hyper-inflation.

In 1994, President Chamorro invited The Carter Center to become involved in the property issue, and the Supreme Court asked the Center to send a group of legal experts to advise them on how to handle the expected 5,000 property cases to be brought to the courts.

Since then, the Center and UNDP have worked closely with Nicaraguans to develop a comprehensive property project.

"Establishing a clear and secure framework for property rights is absolutely essential for investment and economic recovery in Nicaragua," Dr. McCoy said. "We hope Nicaraguans will take advantage of the progress made at the conference to put the property issue behind them."