Migration and its root causes have been an integral part of the post-war reconciliation process in Nicaragua. The Peace Promoters have found that most Nicaraguans, no matter their political leaning or past military involvement – Contra or Sandinista – are facing many of the same issues. Working closely with families as a conflict mediator, a lawyer, and a disability rights activist, Uriel Carazo Garcia has increasingly come across a single issue: migration. He will talk about migration and the large systematic dynamics behind it, especially in terms of Nicaragua’s often-contentious relationship with the United States.

Uriel Carazo is a coordinator and founding member of The Promoters of Peace and Development (Red de Promotores de Paz y de Desarrollo) in Nicaragua. As a result of the U.S. backed Contra war in Nicaragua in the 1980s, Uriel was forced to migrate to Honduras. He later became deeply involved in a broad movement in his country against the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) and facilitated community-level dialogue on its potential impacts. When he was 12 years old, he enrolled in the Popular Sandinista army. Fighting throughout the ‘80s, Uriel suffered a traumatic injury from a landmine that resulted in the amputation of his foot.

Working closely with families as a conflict mediator, a lawyer, and a disability rights activist, Uriel has increasingly come across a single issue: migration. He will talk about this migration, and the large systematic dynamics behind it, especially in terms of Nicaragua’s often-contentious relationship with the United States.

“In my home municipality of Somoto, because of poverty and a lack of work, there has been an increasing amount of out-migration among our citizens. All of these problems are a product of the Central American Free Trade Agreement, which has created poverty and familial disintegration.” – Uriel Carazo Garcia