The national dish of Nicaragua, gallo pinto, depends on them. They are a basic staple in the diet of most every Nicaraguan. And the price for them has been going up and up and up, beyond the reach of the majority of households.

The spike in bean prices this past fall is emblematic of a market system that does not pay attention to people’s needs. Beans are sown throughout the country, usually in two plantings, sometimes three, a year. Trading houses buy up the first harvest and sell it on the export market. Climatic factors then come into play and a large part of the second crop fails, as it did this year because of heavy rains.

So some of the beans are then re-imported, at a higher price naturally. This time, the final sale price to a consumer buying a pound from a family store shot up to over 20 córdobas a pound (about $1.10). In some cases, the re-importation involves beans that never even actually left the country. They were stored in bonded warehouses waiting for a price increase. This does not, however, become a political issue with one side accusing the other of playing with the hunger of the poor, since the businesspersons involved are from all political persuasions.