Nicaragua Network

1. Canal briefs: Archeologists find ancient artifacts; Evangelicals release statement; international media covers canal
2. Cuban migrants to begin leaving Costa Rica soon
3. Nicaragua expected to reach US$2,000 per capita in 2016
4. Centennial of Dario’s death to be commemorated in 2016
5. Health Ministry reports on illnesses
6. Forest monitoring needed says Humboldt Center
7. More people traveled to Nicaragua in 2015
8. Nicaraguan children detained by Mexico less than 0.25% of child migrants detained

1. Canal briefs: Archeologists find ancient artifacts; Evangelicals release statement; international media covers canal

Archeologists carrying out the studies recommended by the environmental impact report for the planned shipping canal across Nicaragua have found more than 1,500 artifacts in the Brito area in the Department of Rivas, future site of the Pacific Ocean terminus of the canal. Leonardo Lechado, part of the team excavating the site and a professor at the National Autonomous University of Nicaragua (UNAN) in Managua, said, “We have found ceramic material, stone artifacts, shells. The chronology that these materials present to us indicates that they date from 500 BCE to 1500 CE, when the Spaniards arrived in our lands.” He said that investigation is an extremely important one for Nicaraguan archeology and for Nicaraguan archeologists and students. The costs of the high-level study, which he said are substantial, are being borne by HKND Group which holds the concession for the canal. (Informe Pastran, Dec. 29)

On Dec. 30, the Sandinista government released lists of priorities under seven categories which it called “Axes of Work for 2016”, among them local governments, production, education, and one axis dealing with political and social issues. Under Political and Social Issues, number three of 24, for example, was: “Strengthen our model of alliances, dialogue, and consensus. Contribute to improving the local and national permitting processes to achieve optimal conditions for development of investment and entrepreneurship.” Number 20, the only one to mention the canal, said: “Strengthen our patrimony as well as the confidence and hope of our people in the just and sustainable development that we propose with projects such as the Interoceanic Canal.” (El Digital 19, Dec. 30; Informe Pastran, Jan. 4)

The Nicaraguan Federation of Evangelical Churches called on the government to bring together all sectors of the Nicaraguan society to build support for the planned shipping canal project and called on the HKND Group, which holds the concession for the canal, to carry out the project in a way that provides the greatest environmental and socioeconomic security for the Nicaraguan people. The statement, released after a meeting of 400 religious leaders on Dec. 22, also said that just compensation must be made to those who will lose their land to the canal, that the biodiversity of Lake Cocibolca (Lake Nicaragua) must be preserved and that the highest priority should be given the employment of Nicaraguans in the construction of the canal as well as contracts given to Nicaraguan companies in order to increase formal sector employment in the country. The statement adopted at the meeting was given to the Nicaraguan Canal Commission where it was received by Commission spokesperson Telemaco Talavera who said that the document was “very important” and “a blessing”. (Informe Pastran, Dec. 22; El Nuevo Diario, Dec. 23)

The planned shipping canal across Nicaragua has been in the international news again. Russia beyond the Headlines, a multilingual web outlet from Moscow, headlined “Russia invited to build the Nicaraguan Canal as Chinese hesitate.” According to the site, the news service Svobodnaya Pressa has reported that “the project to build the Nicaraguan Canal has stalled. Previously, the idea was planned to be implemented with the help of Chinese investments. Now, however, Nicaragua is calling on all-comers, and not least of all—Russia.”  [Note: Nicaragua, from the outset and not just recently, has been looking for international investors outside China for the canal project.] While environmental concerns may have contributed to the postponement of construction for a year, “the real factor in the postponement of the project was the financial problems of the main contractor—the Hong Kong Nicaragua Canal Development Company (HKND Group).” Mikhail Alexandrov, a senior expert of the Center for Military and Political Studies at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations, cautioned against Russian participation in the construction of the Nicaraguan Canal. He said, “It is unclear whether there was any Chinese state involvement in it. I think if China was interested in building the canal at a state level, the Chinese would not leave so easily.” (Russia beyond the Headlines, Dec. 15; Informe Pastran, Dec. 16)

Meanwhile, The Maritime Executive carried an opinion piece on Dec. 31 which examined whether the Nicaraguan canal was financially feasible given other developments in international shipping, including the expanded Panama Canal and the proposed Kra Canal across southern Thailand. While he lays out possible scenarios, writer Harry Valentine takes a middle road, noting that, “Investors will need to evaluate two possible options: A super port located near Canada’s Cabot Strait to serve mega-size container ships that sail via the enlarged Suez Canal (and Kra Canal) or the combination of developing both the Nicaragua Canal for mega container ships as well as a super port to berth such ships at or near New Orleans.” (The Maritime Executive, Dec. 31; Informe Pastran, Jan. 4)

2. Cuban migrants to begin leaving Costa Rica soon

The Costa Rican Office of Migration announced that it has defined the criteria with which it will decide the first Cuban migrants stranded in that country to participate in the pilot program that will start them on their route to the United States. On Dec. 29, the Central American Integration System (SICA) agreed on a program to transfer some Cubans by air to San Salvador and from there by bus to the US border. Under US law, the Cubans will be automatically granted asylum.  Almost 8,000 Cubans became stranded in Costa Rica after Nicaragua closed its borders to the migrants in protest over the different treatment accorded to Central Americans and Cubans by US law. The problem arose at a time when the Obama Administration announced that those Central American mothers and children who have not appeared for asylum hearings or have had their asylum appeals denied will begin to be deported from the US, highlighting the difference under US law between their treatment and that of the Cubans.

Costa Rican Director of Migration Kathya Rodriguez said, “We will begin with the people who have spent the most time in our country. Another parameter will be the presence of children, of family groups.” Foreign Minister Manuel Gonzalez called on the Cubans to remain calm while the arrangements are put in place. He said that the pilot program was by no means a permanent solution to the problem. “We will have to build confidence in the countries through which they will travel so that we can increase the frequency of the trips,” he said. However, many of the Cubans said that they do not have the funds to pay for their air and bus fares although most said they would be asking family or friends in the US to help them. The amount they will be charged has not yet be revealed.

Costa Rica reaffirmed its decision, announced on Dec. 18, to suspend its participation in SICA until unspecified reforms are made in the regional organization. Foreign Minister Gonzalez said, “The decision to suspend [our participation] has been a consequence of the lack of results. It is not just because of the Cuban migrant situation.” On Dec. 30, Gonzalez received two members of the US Congress, Kay Granger (R-TX) and Henry Cuellar (D-TX) who visited Costa Rica to investigate the Cuban migrant question. (La Prensa, Jan. 4; Informe Pastran, Dec. 29, 30)

3. Nicaragua expected to reach US$2,000 per capita in 2016

Nicaraguan economist Francisco Mayorga predicted in conversations with Informe Pastran that in 2016 Nicaragua will pass the marker of US$2,000 GDP per capita. He said, “In recent decades several thresholds have been defined to determine different categories of countries. For example, with GDP per capita under $1,000 are the very poor countries…. When you pass the barrier of US$2,000, a country such as ours continues to be poor, but you can speak of a new phase called a pre-take off stage with an acceleration of growth.” Now, he said, “we begin to see new realities such as a critical mass of internal consumption and greater productivity which is internationally competitive.” He added that since 2007, the country’s GDP per capita has almost doubled and unemployment has rapidly declined. He noted that the number of workers paying into the Social Security system increased by 75,000 workers in 2015. While lower commodity prices and less Venezuelan oil assistance could mean clouds on the horizon, they will not be able to affect to a great degree the positive forces at work in the country’s economy. He stated, “In the last ten years, Nicaragua has achieved a great transformation with signs of stability and social progress that are very attractive for foreign investment and recognized by the international financial agencies such as the Inter-American Development Bank and the World Bank. We are no longer as fragile and vulnerable as we were ten years ago.” (Informe Pastran, Jan. 4)

4. Centennial of Dario’s death to be commemorated in 2016

President Daniel Ortega signed a decree on Jan. 4 declaring that during 2016 all institutions of the Nicaraguan government would honor the memory of poet Ruben Dario in this year of the centennial of his death. Dario, whose family was from Leon, was borne in the town of Metapa, later renamed Ciudad Dario, on Jan. 18, 1867. He died in Leon on Feb. 6, 1916. Dario worked as a reporter in Chile, where he published his first book of poetry, Azul, and represented Nicaragua as a diplomat in Latin America and Europe while founding a new Spanish-language literary movement known as Modernismo. He said of his early work that it was “art for art’s sake” but, after the Spanish-American war of 1898, he became concerned with the problems of the world. According to the Encyclopedia Britanica, “From the standpoint of artistic resourcefulness and technical perfection, Darío is considered by many to be one of the greatest poets who ever wrote in Spanish.” [It is difficult to find good translations into English of Dario’s poetry but you can find a satisfactory translation of “A Margarita” here: http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/a-margarita-debayle-to-margarita-debayle/and of “A Roosevelt” here: http://judithpordon.tripod.com/poetry/ruben_dario_a_roosevelt.html. They represent the two periods of his work.]

President Ortega’s declaration said, “Let us honor Ruben in his unmistakable dimension of citizen of Nicaragua and universal citizen, citizen of Latin America and of Europe, who dreamed of a Great Homeland, cultivated and rich in tradition.” The declaration mandated that all the country’s schools dedicate time to study Dario’s poetry and that Nicaragua’s representatives abroad in embassies and consulates hold cultural events to commemorate the centennial of his death. The declaration added that the Ruben Dario Order of Cultural Independence will be awarded to the most outstanding figures in Nicaragua’s intellectual and cultural life during the year. (Informe Pastran, Jan. 4; Radio La Primerisima, Jan. 4)

5. Health Ministry reports on illnesses

The illness that is most alarming Nicaraguan families currently is pneumonia. The Ministry of Health said on Dec. 30 that 125,074 cases of pneumonia had been reported in 2015 with 174 deaths. On the last days of the year, between 10 and 15 children were arriving every three hours with symptoms of pneumonia at the emergency room at La Mascota Hospital, officials there told El Nuevo Diario.

Meanwhile the number of deaths from dengue fever increased to 14 for the year 2015, with a total of 3,719 reported cases, according to government spokeswoman Rosario Murillo. Between Dec. 21 and 27, 292 new cases were detected, mainly in the departments of Managua, Leon, Chinandega and Chontales. As for the other mosquito borne disease, Chikungunya, 66 new cases were reported during the last week of the year for a total of 5,293 cases in 2015. One person, a child who was already suffering from meningitis, died of the disease in August. Dengue fever and Chikungunya are both transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito which the government has been fighting with a massive education, inspection, fumigation and abatement campaign. (El Nuevo Diario, Dec. 29, 30)

6. Forest monitoring needed says Humboldt Center

There hasn’t been a census of Nicaraguan forests since a 2007-2008 government study showed that the country had 3.25 million hectares of forests, 62.7% of which was in the two Caribbean autonomous regions. Velia Castillo, Forest Resource Specialist for the Humboldt Center, a non-governmental environmental organization, laments the fact that there has been no follow up to the study even though one was programmed for 2013. Deforestation is currently estimated at 70,000 hectares a year. Forests covered 6.45 million hectares in 1950 and 3.8 million hectares in 2000. The 2007 number translates to 25% of the national territory being forested, 98% natural and 2% commercial tree plantations. The North Caribbean Autonomous Region (RACN) holds 43.4% of the forests while the South Caribbean Autonomous Region (RACS) holds 19.3%. Jinotega follows with 9.3% and Rio San Juan with 8.9%.

Castillo said that 1.1 million hectares of forest were affected by Hurricane Felix in 2007, but that the greatest threats today come from expansion of the agricultural frontier and illegal logging. Castillo praised the 2008 government-launched National Reforestation Campaign, which includes many community-run tree nurseries, but said that without monitoring, all they know is that they’ve planted 138,000 hectares of forest (through 2014) but not how much has survived. In 2015 the National Forestry Institute (INAFOR) established 1,196 nurseries which produced 15.4 million seedlings and reforested 19,698 hectares. Castillo said that the Conservation, Development and Sustainable Forest Law (Law 462) is a good step forward, but the regulations must be enforced. She is also concerned that some species of trees in the Caribbean regions are in danger of extinction. (El Nuevo Diario, Jan. 4)

7. More people traveled to Nicaragua in 2015

Preliminary statistics show 4,711,017 people entered and departed through Nicaraguan borders in 2015 according to immigration officials, a 3.94% increase over the previous year. Forty percent were Nicaraguans and 60% were foreign nationals. The number of foreigners entering and leaving Nicaragua increased by 8.39% while the number of travelling Nicaraguans diminished by 2.1%, which could indicate fewer people needing to leave the country to seek work abroad. Foreign travelers in rank order were from: US, Costa Rica, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, Canada, Panama, Mexico, Spain, and Germany. In 2014 the flow of travelers was 4% higher than in 2013. (Radio La Primerisima, Jan. 4; Informe Pastran, Jan. 4)

8. Nicaraguan children detained by Mexico less than 0.25% of child migrants detained

Nicaraguan children detained by Mexico made up less than a quarter of one percent of the total number of child migrants detained in 2015. According to Mexico’s Secretariat of Government, 69 Nicaraguan unaccompanied minors were detained from January through October, 2015. Thirty-four were between the ages of 12 and 17 and 35 were younger. Forty-three were returned to Nicaragua. In total, nearly 30,000 unaccompanied minors were detained during the same period compared to 24,000 detentions in 2014. Unaccompanied minors from Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador represent 97.6% of the detainees in 2015 with the remaining 2.4% coming from Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Belize and Panama. Over 6,200 children were from Guatemala, 7,700 from Honduras, and 6,210 from El Salvador.  (El Nuevo Diario, Dec. 29)