Nicaragua Network

1. Momotombo volcano erupts with ash and lava flows
2. Nicaragua celebrates the “Purísima”
3. Ortega sends message to Maduro after elections
4. Caribbean Coast investment increases; shipwrecked crew rescued
5. Renewable energy electricity production hit 70% last weekend
6. National Assembly approves Sovereign Security Law
7. Nicaragua’s fight against HIV/AIDS makes headway
8. Municipalities ban GMOs, promote eco-agriculture

1. Momotombo volcano erupts with ash and lava flows

At 7:49am on Dec. 1, Momotombo Volcano, in the Department of Leon, entered into period of eruption with explosions of gas and ash. Then, on Dec. 2, glowing red and yellow lava began to flow down the north side of the mountain along with continued explosions of rocks, sand, ash and gas. The Nicaraguan Seismological Network reported that the 4,127 foot high mountain was producing explosions every four seconds. The eruption had been preceded on Nov. 24 by an earth trembler near the volcano that registered 4.7 on the Richter scale but, since these quakes are so common in Nicaragua, it did not raise any alarm. The eruptions continued on Dec. 3 with lava also flowing down the east side of the mountain along with continued expulsion of ash and gas and a series of small earthquakes. Auxiliadora Flores, who lives near the volcano, said, “We have to use masks when we go out. The smell of sulfur doesn’t let us breathe well.” Isidora Mayorga said members of her family took turns all night on Dec. 2 watching the lava flow down the volcano. “We thought that we would have to go to a shelter,” she explained, “but the Red Cross said it wasn’t necessary yet.”

Government spokeswoman Rosario Murillo said on Dec. 3 that authorities, including the National System for the Prevention, Mitigation and Attention to Disasters (SINAPRED), the National Police, Civil Defense teams, and the Red Cross and National Fire Department were on alert to be called in to assist local residents if necessary. Energy company officials said that the two geothermal electricity plants in the area, including the Momotombo plant, were functioning normally. To see photographs of the eruption from nearby, go here: http://www.elnuevodiario.com.ni/galerias/3050/; to see photos from space, visit the NASA web page here: http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA20203

Tourists, both foreign and Nicaraguan, have flocked to the area to watch the eruption. Juanita Guerrero of Managua said that “You get to see natural spectacles like this eruption very few times.” Daniela Laborde, from France, said, “I have been here since Monday watching the volcano; it is worthwhile to come and see it. I will tell all my friends in France about it.” Sixteen eruptions of Momotombo have been recorded since the Spaniards arrived in 1524. It was the eruption of 1605-6 that caused the city of Leon to be moved to its present site from its earlier location on Lake Nicaragua near the volcano. The last eruption was in 1905 when lava also flowed down the north side of the mountain.

On the night of Dec. 4, activity diminished somewhat on Momotombo but scientists at the Nicaraguan Institute for Territorial Studies (INETER) were continuing to monitor it and recommended constant vigilance on the part of emergency workers and the nearby population. (El Nuevo Diario, Dec. 1, 3, 4; Informe Pastran, Dec. 2, 3, 4)

2. Nicaragua celebrates the “Purísima”

On Dec. 7 and 8, Nicaraguans celebrated the feast day of the Immaculate Conception of Mary, the patron of Nicaragua. The feast day celebrates what Catholics believe is Mary’s conception without original sin so that she would be a fit mother for the messiah. It is marked in Nicaragua with the praying of novenas, fireworks, and the building of altars on the streets in front of homes on Dec. 7 where people pass by and sing hymns to Mary and are rewarded with treats. According to the Managua Red Cross, this was a landmark year for the capital with no one reported burned by fireworks. In 2014, there were four people who suffered burns from mishandling fireworks. The organization answered 275 emergency calls, down from 690 last year. On Dec. 7, the Managua Fire Department urged parents to watch their children to keep them from getting lost in the crowds and not allow them to set off fireworks. The warning appears to have had an effect.

El Nuevo Diario reported that the celebration in Managua has changed somewhat with plastic flowers and balloons replacing real flowers on the altars and useful items of food or housewares replacing the traditional treats. However, the paper reported that, in Leon, many home factories still produce the traditional candies that have been given to celebrants of the feast day for generations, including gofios, cajetas de leche, coyolitos negros, andayote en miel. (El Nuevo Diario, Dec. 7; Radio La Primerisima, Dec. 8)

3. Ortega sends message to Maduro after elections

President Daniel Ortega sent a message on Dec. 7 to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his government after learning about the loss by the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) of its majority in the national legislature in elections on Dec. 6. The message said: “We write to you with affection and on common paths, strengthened in faith and recognition of the great challenges and battles reserved for us by history. The Bolivarian people of Venezuela, the Venezuelan families, still have Chavez’ legacy, the design of Socialist, Christian and Solidarity Justice that they have merited. The paths of the homeland, like the paths of the Lord, are mysterious roads that we learn to travel, identifying with each step what is the public good and working to achieve it. They are demanding roads that at each step require the highest disposition and commitment. The sons and daughters of Chavez are faithful examples of this great spirit, and their strength and capacity grow with the challenges and their bravery raises us up and inspires us. This is a day to think of new battles to fight that will surely be toward new victories. … As difficult as the current horizon seems, we do not doubt that we will live and triumph. Homeland and socialism. Daniel Ortega Saavedra”

On Dec. 2, Ortega had lashed out at Luis Almagro, Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), after Almagro wrote an open letter to Maduro calling on him to stop political violence in the country and improve the electoral system. Speaking at a graduation of military cadets, Ortega said, “It is contemptible that a secretary general of the OAS would consider himself the president of Latin America and the Caribbean with the right to dictate and impose policies openly on Venezuela.” He added that the history of the OAS “has been a history full of aggression” and that the organization has always been “at the service of United States policy.” He went on to say, “It is time to leave the OAS, to leave it with the United States and Canada and those who want to stay.” (Radio La Primerisima, Dec. 2, 7; Informe Pastran, Dec. 7; El Nuevo Diario, Dec. 2, 7)

4. Caribbean Coast investment increases; shipwrecked crew rescued

In a report to the National Assembly last week, officials said that government investment in the North and South Autonomous Regions of the Caribbean Coast has increased substantially after 2006. Juan Saballos, regional council political secretary, said that “The government has increased each year its public investment in the Caribbean, going from US$35 million in 2006 to more than US$110 million in 2015” with a total for the past nine years of US$474 million. The level of completion of projects has increased as well from 40% in 2006 to 89% on average for the past eight years. He said that 23 indigenous territories have been demarcated and titled to indigenous communities that include more than 205,000 people. The number of children in school has increased from 167,000 to 220,000 with the addition of 878 teachers.  The percentage of the population that has access to potable water has increased from 19% in 2010 to 25% today. While only 25,000 homes had electricity in 2006, now 56,000 homes are connected to the electricity grid. (El Nuevo Diario, Dec. 4)

In other Caribbean Coast news, the last eight crew members of a fishing boat that sank on Nov. 28 were rescued on Nov. 30 by the crew of a Honduran vessel. Six other members of the fishing boat crew had been rescued on the same day that the boat went down but eight remained lost at sea. A spokesman for Nicaragua’s Naval Force said on Nov. 28 that they might have been able to board a dugout canoe. They were rescued at dawn on Nov. 30, according to the Naval Force spokesman, who said that they were dehydrated with four who were in delicate condition and would be taken to Bilwi, Puerto Cabezas. (El Nuevo Diario, Nov. 29, 30, Dec. 1)

5. Renewable energy electricity production hit 70% last weekend

Last weekend Nicaragua achieved 70% of its electricity production from renewable resources according to the National Energy Dispatch Center (CNDC). Wind power produced 32.5%; geothermal accounted for 20.5%, followed by biomass (14%) and hydroelectric (3%). [That’s up from 50% reported in March of this year but may be temporary because renewable sources are variable.] Meanwhile, Omar Espinoza, president of the Nicaragua Renewable Energy Company (ERNICSA), announced that the company will invest US$1.8 million in two projects to generate clean energy from solid waste. Espinoza said, “The municipalities of Masaya and Ciudad Sandino have a daily average production of four tons of solid waste and have great potential for renewable energy generation. We hope this project will contribute to the creation of more jobs, as well as reduction of environmental contamination.”

In terms of coverage, Minister of Energy and Mines Salvador Mansell projected that by year’s end 85.3% of Nicaragua’s population will have access to electricity. He also announced that 1,788 LED lighting systems were installed this year on Managua’s main avenues and that next year more than 25,000 will be installed in Nicaragua’s 153 municipalities. He said, “Nicaragua is increasing electricity coverage using renewable energy sources. We are gradually replacing sodium lighting systems with efficient LED technology.”  (Nicaragua News, Dec. 1, 2, 3)

6. National Assembly approves Sovereign Security Law

On Dec. 2, the Nicaragua National Assembly approved, with 65 votes in favor, a new Sovereign Security Law that seeks to strengthen community participation in public safety and the fight against organized crime. The law expressly prohibits political or religious persecution of any kind, as well as wiretapping, intervention of private emails, or any other form of cyber information gathering by authorities without a court order. Five amendments proposed by the Superior Council on Private Enterprise (COSEP) were approved on the final day of the vote. COSEP President Jose Adan Aguerri said that his organization’s recommendations were taken into account. He stated, “One of the important elements [added] was that the law cannot go above the constitution or above the international [human rights] agreements to which our country is a signatory.” He said that it was important to his organization that this be “concrete and not open to interpretation.”

Deputies from the Independent Liberal Party, however, stayed away from the chamber on the day of the vote, preferring to attend instead their regular Wednesday protest rally in front of the Supreme Electoral Council. Deputy Pedro Joaquin Chamorro said, “This law reflects a vision of a country in a permanent state of emergency and in Nicaragua we don’t need this law because they are already acting that way and what they are trying to do now is give a legal whitewash to the repression that we have seen against demonstrations and protests.” (Nicaragua News, Dec. 3; El Nuevo Diario, Dec. 3; Informe Pastran, Dec. 2)

7. Nicaragua’s fight against HIV/AIDS makes headway

From November 12 through Dec. 1, World AIDS Day, the Ministry of Health has held programs and fairs to raise HIV/AIDS awareness and to administer tests.  Ministry of Health Secretary General Enrique Beteta, speaking at the National March against HIV/AIDS in Managua on Dec. 1, announced that the World Health Organization (WHO) will visit Nicaragua next year to evaluate and declare the country free from HIV/AIDS transmission from mother to child. He reported that 120,000 specialized tests of pregnant women were carried out this year and 300,000 rapid HIV/AIDS tests were administered nation-wide. He promised even greater efforts next year. The number of diagnosed cases of HIV/AIDS has increased in the last two years, especially among pregnant women due to the fact that testing has greatly increased creating the opportunity to cut the chain of infection, according to Beteta.  That increased testing has reduced the number of children born with HIV/AIDS from 46 in 2006 to only two in 2014.

In 2015, the Department of Managua, where a quarter of the population lives, discovered 230 new cases of adults infected followed by Leon, Bilwi, and Chinandega with 48, 42, and 38 cases respectively. Since the first Nicaraguan was diagnosed with HIV, 9,206 people are known to have the virus, 573 of whom were diagnosed in the first six months of 2015. Just over a third of them are undergoing treatment at 50 HIV/AIDS facilities in the country. Many do not meet the criteria for active treatment. Continued stigmatism at home and in the workplace means that many people are hesitant to be tested. However, health professionals pointed to the fact that among the most vulnerable populations, knowledge of the disease is much more widespread and condom use is up substantially to about 14 million condoms a year.

It costs between US$300 and US$1,000 a year to treat an AIDS patient. Much of the cost is funded by international aid and costs are reduced by a Central America-wide buying program. Nicaragua has recently been spending about US$36 million annually for testing and treatment which meets 50% of the need. International aid covers the rest. The USAID program which provides much of the international aid will end in October 2016 but may be extended for another year. Beteta said the Sandinista government has been planning for the reduced international aid and in 2017 will budget to cover 70% of the costs. (Nicaragua News, Dec. 1, 3; El Nuevo Diario, Dec. 1, 2)

8. Municipalities ban GMOs, promote eco-agriculture

Three municipalities in the Department of Matagalpa have passed ordinances that ban transgenic (GMO) products within their boundaries and that also promote environmentally friendly agriculture. [Municipalities are similar to counties in the US. Rural municipalities generally include an urban area surrounded by farmland.] The three municipalities, San Ramon, Esquipulas, and San Dionisio, are all rural municipalities. Roger Soza, facilitator of the national Ecological Agriculture Promotion Group (GPAE), said that under the ordinances, producers take responsibility to implement ecological farming on their land and to guarantee to the population that the products are free of chemicals. He noted that technology in itself was not bad but when it was related to the market and making money, growers used more and more chemicals, thus damaging the earth.

Agro-ecological production, as explained by Soza, results in farming that conserves and respects the environment, using practices that improve the natural soil conditions using local and recycled materials and native seeds. The techniques protect the flora and fauna and eliminate the use of agrochemicals. This production model, whether applied to plants or animals, eliminates toxic substances and produces products rich in vitamins and minerals with rich flavor and natural odor, Soza stated.  San Ramon Mayor Marvin Arauz added that agro-ecological production maintains soil fertility. (El Nuevo Diario, Dec. 2)