Nicaragua Network

1. Nicaragua commemorates 100^th anniversary of Rubén Darío’s death
2. US steps up opposition funding in advance of presidential election
3. Massive campaign against mosquitos; 38 Zika cases confirmed
4. IMF and WB issue positive evaluations of economy
5. Government releases “Plan for Good Government 2016”
6. Labor, government and businesses agree on minimum wage increase
7. Government issues new safety measures for boats after Little Corn Island tragedy
8. Ortega has highest approval ratings in Latin America
9. Illegal animal sales continue in spite of law

1. Nicaragua commemorates 100^th anniversary of Rubén Darío’s death

Early in the morning of Feb. 6, the 100^th anniversary of the death of Rubén Darío, the Cathedral in Leon began to fill with dignitaries for a session of the National Assembly called to honor the renowned poet buried there who is known as the Prince of Castilian Letters. Along with representatives of the government, the church, and intellectuals, there were descendants of Darío including his great-grandson Rubén Darío Lacayo and his grandson Rubén Benito Darío Salgado. During the National Assembly session, Leon Bishop Bosco Vivas said, “Ruben earned the admiration not only of the literary world but of the cultural world of all humanity.” National Assembly President Rene Nuñez said that the National Assembly will declare Dario a National Hero of Nicaragua and preliminary to that will hold televised hearings to hear testimony from as many Dario scholars as possible. Nuñez said that the Assembly was donating a collection of historical photographs of Dario’s funeral to the Dario Museum in Leon. Afterward, the dignitaries visited the Museum where deputy director Miguel Angel Martinez proposed that the government and cultural organizations acquire the rest of the original Dario home “in order to enlarge the areas of the museum and library which grow each day and require more space and better conditions for visitors.”

The evening before, on Feb. 5, President Daniel Ortega participated in a special ceremony at the Leon Cathedral in honor of Darío. Ortega reiterated Nicaragua’s commitment to world peace and the eradication of nuclear weapons saying, “The great Ruben Dario calls for us to live in peace and with hope. The world must stop investing in the arming for death and instead invest in life, healthcare and welfare of our peoples.”

Meanwhile, the National Palace of Culture in Managua on Feb. 7 opened an exposition of the Dario archives donated recently to Nicaragua by the Government of Chile. The exhibit will be open for a week in Managua and then will move to the Dario Museum in Leon. Over the next two years it will travel to cities around Nicaragua. Miguel de la Cruz, Chile’s ambassador to Nicaragua, said, “This is a collection of manuscripts, drafts of poems, and the majority of them were written in Dario’s hand.” He added, “Chile joins with total enthusiasm in the celebration of Rubén Darío because he is in part ours and he is an important element that unites our two countries.” Darío lived and worked as a journalist in Valparaiso, Chile, from 1886 and 1888 and published his first compilation of poems and prose, Azul, while there. (El Nuevo Diario, Feb. 5, 7, 8; Nicaragua News, Feb. 8)

2. US steps up opposition funding in advance of presidential election

[Ed. Note: 2016 is a presidential election year in Nicaragua and although the US and Nicaragua have done a remarkable job of tolerating each other under the presidency of Daniel Ortega, the US has never stopped interfering in Nicaragua’s democratic electoral process under the guise of “democracy promotion.” The Nicaragua News Bulletin will do its best to report this year on the overt and covert flow of US taxpayer money to fund the anti-Sandinista opposition.  You can also join the Nicaragua Network/Alliance for Global Justice delegation, “Nicaragua: Is the US still interfering in Nicaragua’s democracy?” August 5-14, 2016, to investigate with us, on the ground, the extent of US intervention in this election cycle. For more information and an application, send an email to: delegations@AFGJ.org.]

US Agency for International Development (USAID) is funneling election manipulation money to strengthen anti-Sandinista media through the Violeta Barrios de Chamorro Foundation, according to Informe Pastran. [Chamorro was the US-backed candidate who defeated the Sandinistas in 1990 after the US spent more per Nicaraguan voter than the two US presidential candidates combined spent per US voter two years earlier.] The Chamorro Foundation did not reveal the amount of USAID money it will be funneling but named 12 national and regional media outlets that it will fund including La Prensa, Channels 12 and 15, national radio stations Radio Corporacion and Radio Universidad, plus regional radio stations in Esteli, Matagalpa, Carazo, Leon, and Bluefields. Channel 12 President Mariano Valle stated, “All our decisions are based on their benefit to our audience.” The amount of USAID funding is believed to be significant since among the things it will fund is equipment upgrades for Channel 15 and the purchase of a mobile broadcast vehicle. The TV channel will create a new program called “Vote 2016.”

In related news, Carlos Ponce, regional director of the right-wing US group Freedom House who was scheduled to meet with the US-funded group Hagamos Democracia and others, was denied an entry visa at the airport “for administrative reasons.” He was accompanied to a hotel for the night by five immigration officials due to mosquito abatement spraying at the airport. He was returned the next morning and put on a plane back to the United States. Opposition parties and human rights organizations protested Ponce’s expulsion.  (Informe  Pastran, Feb. 3, 8)

3. Massive campaign against mosquitos; 38 Zika cases confirmed

Just as thousands of Nicaraguans were recovering from the lingering joint pains of Chikungunya, the Zika virus arrived in Nicaragua with two confirmed cases announced on Jan. 27. On Feb. 8, Government Communications Coordinator Rosario Murillo said that the total number of confirmed cases had reached 38, including four pregnant women. Cases confirmed by blood tests over the weekend included a 56 year old man, a five year old girl, a 14 year old girl, and a 25 year old woman. Thirty cases are in Managua and the rest are from Masaya, Chinandega, Leon, Nueva Segovia, Carazo, and Granada.

More than 700,000 volunteers and officials from the Ministry of Health participated in the ongoing National Anti - Epidemic Campaign over the weekend. The Anti – Zika Virus Campaign is emphasizing prevention, through cleaning and collection of garbage to eradicate potential mosquito breeding sites. The Health Ministry said that workers have visited 246,000 homes nationally with cleanup efforts and fumigation, eliminating 1,232,760 places where the Aedes aegypti mosquito could lay its eggs. Over 2,000 schools have been fumigated. During the campaign, 1,889 people with fevers were sent to the nearest health center to be tested for the three diseases carried by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, dengue fever, Chikungunya, and Zika. (El Nuevo Diario, Feb. 6, 7, 8; Nicaragua News, Feb. 8; Informe Pastran, Jan. 27)

4. IMF and WB issue positive evaluations of economy

Both the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund issued positive assessments of the Nicaraguan economy in recent weeks. On Feb. 1, the executive board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) released the findings of its annual consultation with Nicaragua. The IMF press release stated: “Economic developments in 2015 have been broadly positive. Growth, after reaching 4.7 percent in 2014, is expected to moderate owing to the effects of a drought and the decline in commodity prices; real GDP grew by 3.9 percent in the first half of the year. Inflation declined to 3 percent in October, mainly reflecting declines in food and transportation costs.” The report went on to note the reduction in poverty but continuing problems in education, stating: “Poverty has fallen sharply and there has been progress in gender equality, but education attainment remains a drag on growth. The 2014 household survey reveals that 29.6 percent of the population lives in poverty (42.5 percent in 2009), and 8.3 percent in extreme poverty (14.6 percent in 2009). Per capita consumption increased by 33 percent, helped by a fall in the average household size and a rise in per capita remittances. Nicaragua has made inroads in improving gender equality. However, despite some improvement in primary school completion rates (from 74 percent in 2005 to 80.4 percent in 2010), surveys of private firms suggest that labor skills remain a bottleneck to growth.”

Meanwhile, Humberto Lopez, World Bank director for Central America, visited Nicaragua in January to evaluate twelve World Bank-financed projects in the country, which total US$420 million in the areas of health, education, water and sanitation, and rural roads. Lopez said, “The performance of Nicaragua is one of the best that we have in the Latin American region. This [visit] is an opportunity for us to learn from Nicaragua and it is an opportunity for us to make sure that things this year will continue on the same path.” He noted that, “In the latest economic predictions released by the World Bank last week, Nicaragua appears as the third fastest growing economy in this coming year and I believe that that is very good news. As the Treasury Minister [Ivan Acosta] said, it sends a message that the poverty reduction that we have observed in recent years can continue.”

Lopez added that Nicaragua is now the third poorest country in Latin America, having for years been the second poorest after Haiti. He did not, however, say which country Nicaragua has surpassed in income. Nicaraguan and World Bank officials said they were reviewing the country’s 2013-2017 strategy and beginning formulation of the strategy for 2017-2021. (El Nuevo Diario, Feb. 2; Informe Pastran, Jan. 19, 22, 29, Feb 1, 5; Nicaragua News, Feb. 2; ; La Prensa, Jan. 22; http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/cat/longres.aspx?sk=43668.0)

5. Government releases “Plan for Good Government 2016”

On Jan. 18, the government released its “Plan for Good Government 2016.” Vice-President Omar Halleslevens said that the Plan strengthens the work that the Sandinista government has been doing since 2007: “It is a continuation of what we have been doing but it is a plan that has many aspects that are more robust.” He said that, in particular, the government wants to improve education and health care. Michelle Rivas, dean of the Catholic University, said, “We in education are seeing opportunities to collaborate in the training of teachers. The Plan for Good Government emphasizes the training of teachers at all levels—special education, primary school, secondary school, university level—and we in the universities believe that it is our duty to collaborate.” Political analyst Luis Humberto Guzman said that “The plan seeks to conserve the good relationship between the government and business while also going to the heart of the matter which is the redistribution of income and poverty alleviation.” The Plan can be read here: http://www.dgi.gob.ni/documentos/PLAN%20DE%20BUEN%20GOBIERNO%202016-02.pdf.  (El Digital 19, Jan. 20)

6. Labor, government and businesses agree on minimum wage increase

On Jan. 21, the tri-partite commission composed of representatives of unions, businesses, and the government came to an agreement on a raise in the minimum wage for 160,000 of the nation’s workers. The raise will be 8% for employees of small and medium-sized businesses and 9% for the rest of the economy. [Minimum wages for free trade zone workers are negotiated separately.] Labor Minister Alba Luz Torres said that the raise will be divided in two with half of the raise going into effect on March 1^st and the other half on Sept. 1^st. Last year, business groups did not join the agreement which was imposed by decree by the government. This year, Jose Adan Aguerri, president of the Superior Council of Private Enterprise (COSEP), said, “We have agreed for the sixth time in eight years on a tripartite accord and, for us, we have to consider this to be excellent news.” Luis Barbosa of the Jose Benito Escobar Sandinista Workers Confederation (CST-JBE) said, “Here Nicaragua wins; we workers win and the business people win.”

An agricultural worker who today earns US$114 per month [plus food] will earn US$119 per month in March and US$124 beginning in September. A construction worker who now earns US$255 per month will earn US$277 after the raises go into effect. Aguerri added that this accord is the third item of economic good news in January, mentioning also a lowering of the electricity rate by 4% and an agreement on a financing plan for renovation of coffee plantations. (El Nuevo Diario, Jan. 22)

7. Government issues new safety measures for boats after Little Corn Island tragedy

On Jan. 29, based on orders from President Daniel Ortega, the Nicaraguan Army (which includes the Naval Force) issued new safety measures for lake and seagoing vessels. The changes came after a shipwreck on Jan. 23 which claimed the lives of 13 Costa Rican tourists off Little Corn Island. In order to weigh anchor, vessels must now have authorization from the Naval Force, life vests in good condition, functioning communications equipment, firefighting equipment, and passenger and freight loads in accord with the capacity of the vessel, along with other requirements, according to Colonel Manuel Guevara, Army spokesman. Vessels that transport passengers and merchandise on Nicaragua’s lakes and ocean waters will have six months to comply with the new measures.

On the day of the Little Corn Island tragedy, the authorities had suspended permissions to leave port because of bad weather. Head of the Naval Force Marvin Elias Corrales said that the accident happened “because of the reckless action of the owner of the boat who, knowing the situation, still made the trip risking the lives of these persons.” Twelve bodies were recovered, but the body of one 13 year old boy was not recovered. Twenty-four people were rescued, among them British, US, Brazilian, Nicaraguan, and Costa Rican citizens. (Informe Pastran, Jan. 25, 29; La Prensa, Jan. 23; El Nuevo Diario, Feb. 3)

8. Ortega has highest approval ratings in Latin America

Daniel Ortega is the president of Latin America with the highest approval rating at 75%, according to Centro de Estudios y Datos (CEDATOS) of Ecuador, an affiliate of Gallup International. Ortega is also the third longest serving president at 104 months in office.  The second and third most popular presidents are the recently elected Mauricio Macri of Argentina (71%) and Danilo Medina, president of the Dominican Republic (69%). They were followed by Bolivia’s Evo Morales (57%) and Juan Orlando Hernandez of Honduras with 53%, splitting the top most popular presidents at two Leftists and three Rightists. The presidents with the lowest approval ratings in the poll were Brazil’s Dilma

Rousseff with 9%, Costa Rica’s Luis Guillermo Solís with 14%, Ollanta Humala of Peru with 17%, Michelle Bachelet of Chile with 20%, and Salvador Sánchez Cerén of El Salvador with 25%. The longest serving presidents are: Evo Morales of Bolivia (120 mos.), Rafael Correa of Ecuador (108 mos.), and Ortega. The poll has a confidence level exceeding 98%. (El Nuevo Diario, Jan. 29; Informe Pastran, Jan. 28)

9. Illegal animal sales continue in spite of law

Although Nicaraguan law prohibits the sale or exportation of animals captured in the wild, animal rights organizations said that the practice is common along the country’s highways and at street lights. They complained that animals are usually subject to abuse including poor diet and exposure to the sun. Marina Argüello, director of the National Zoo, said that these illegal sales are very profitable. Arguello did think that there has been a slight increase in enforcement and in citizen consciousness in the past few years, but that it hasn’t put a major dent in the problem.  Animals commonly sold illegally include iguanas and lizards, parakeets, parrots, macaws, tapirs, as well as puppies and kittens. The Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (MARENA) is responsible for enforcement of the animal sales law alongside the police and municipal governments which give permits to sell domestic animals. However, Mariem Reyes, of the environmental organizationAndama Corazón Verde, complained that those institutions often don’t respond to citizen complaints about animal trafficking. (El Nuevo Diario, Feb. 6)