The alarm was raised by the country’s Human Rights office, which said the children at risk are part of a group of more than 6,000 unemployed farmers, who have been camping for the past few months on the roads of the province of Matagalpa, begging from passing drivers.
Matagalpa, one of the main coffee-producing areas of Nicaragua, was affected last year by an acute recession, which led to the closing of many agricultural enterprises. Thousands of farmers have remained without work, especially in the La Dalia area, and beg.
About 70% of Nicaragua’s 5 million inhabitants live in poverty, despite the programs that recent governments say have been implemented to improve conditions.
