Nicaragua Network

1. Nicaragua mourns Fr. Fernando Cardenal
2. Three volcanoes continue active
3. Government releases report on achievements in 2015
4. Assembly elects Salinas and Moreno to Supreme Electoral Council
5. Labor and industry shorts
6. Government asks UNDP to change its ways
7. Government releases prisoners convicted of “minor offenses”

1. Nicaragua mourns Fr. Fernando Cardenal

Fr. Fernando Cardenal, SJ, died on Feb. 20 in a Managua hospital, evidently after complications from surgery. He was 82. Cardenal is best remembered as the head of the 1980 Literacy Crusade in which 100,000 Nicaraguans taught 500,000 other Nicaraguans how to read and write. Cardenal tells the story of how, at the end of July 1979, Sandinista leaders asked him to represent the country in Washington, DC, but he refused that posting. A few days later he was assigned another task: organize a giant literacy campaign. He explained, “‘This will be very difficult,’ I told myself. ‘I don’t know how it will go, but this is the job for me.’” As he told El Nuevo Diario in 2011, “Eventually we reached 100,000; 60,000 in the countryside and 40,000 in the towns and cities.” The United Nations Education and Culture Organization (UNESCO) awarded the 1980 Nadezka Kruskaya prize to the literacy effort. After the Literacy Crusade, he served as head of the Sandinista Youth Organization.

Cardenal served as Minister of Education from 1984 to 1990 and it was because he refused to step down from this government post that he was expelled from the Jesuit Order in 1984 on orders of Pope John Paul II. [He defended his stand in this New York Times article: http://www.nytimes.com/1984/12/11/world/sandinista-cleric-defends-his-stand.html]  In 1996 he rejoined the Jesuits and founded a Nicaraguan branch of the Jesuit education organization Fe y Alegría [Faith and Happiness] which has a network of 22 centers in nine municipalities of Nicaragua.

The Nicaragua Network worked with Fr. Cardenal in 1991 and ’92 in choosing a women’s pig cooperative to form part of our “The Vision Endures” Campaign. He agreed with our position that a campaign to support the gains of the Sandinista Revolution had to have a rural project because Nicaragua was still predominantly a rural country.

The government of President Daniel Ortega released a statement saying, “Profoundly mourning the death of teacher and Jesuit priest Fernando Cardenal, we recognize his great work at the head of the National Literacy Crusade in 1980.” The government named former Minister of Education Miguel de Castilla as its representative at Cardenal’s funeral “to express to his family our most deeply felt condolences.” Cardenal’s funeral mass was held at the Central American University (UCA) on Feb. 21. It was celebrated by Managua Archbishop Cardinal Leopoldo Brenes along with Cardenal’s fellow priests of the Jesuit community and accompanied by the singing of the Misa Campesina and a song dedicated to Cardenal composed and sung by Luis Enrique Mejia Godoy. (El Nuevo Diario, Feb. 20, 21, 22; Ignatiansolidarity.net, Feb. 20)

2. Three volcanoes continue active

Seismologists are reporting three explosions per day from the Momotombo volcano on the shores of Lake Xolotlan (Lake Managua). Government spokesperson Rosario Murillo said that, along with Momotombo, the Masaya and Telica volcanoes are continuing to register high levels of seismicity. There were no more reports of activity at Cerro Negro. The strongest of the recent explosions, on Feb. 19^th, was recorded on the monitoring camera of the Nicaraguan Institute for Territorial Studies (INETER) and the expulsion of incandescent material can be viewed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JP3cRBX9fNw

The geologists from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) presented the preliminary results of their study of Momotombo, Telica and Masaya at a press conference. Heather Wright and Christopher Harpel said that while there is no evidence that the explosive activities of the three volcanoes are connected, nevertheless “it is not common in a country so small for three volcanoes to be in eruption at the same time.” They said that they knew of no similar situation in other parts of the world and emphasized that studies and projections of possible volcanic activity should continue to be made. Harpel recommended that maps of the zones around the volcanoes be made: “A danger map is important. It shows which are the most dangerous and the least dangerous areas.” Harpel and Wright were joined by a team from the Open University of the United Kingdom. Another set of experts from the USGS, who will help in the study of volcanic gasses and the installation of gas monitoring stations, was expected this week.

Meanwhile, US Ambassador Laura Dogu said that the government of the United States was “committed to support the efforts of disaster preparedness and risk reduction in collaboration with the government of Nicaragua.” She said the US would help finance Nicaraguans to attend a course for scientists and technicians from developing countries with active volcanoes from May to July of this year at the Center for the Study of Active Volcanoes in the US.

In related news, students and teachers at public and private schools held their first disaster drill of the year. Government spokesperson Rosario Murillo said that 908,269 public and 233,130 private school students participated. The drills will be carried out on the third Tuesday of every month so that students will become familiar with the procedures to follow and the safe zones at their schools. (La Prensa, Feb. 22; El Nuevo Diario, Feb. 17, 19; Informe Pastran, Feb. 17)

3. Government releases report on achievements in 2015

On Feb. 16, President Daniel Ortega sent to the National Assembly his Presidential Report on 2015 which highlights the social, economic and cultural progress made last year. The report notes that the government health system provided 26.6 million medical consultations in 2015 and visited 136,747 homes that include a disabled family member. With the assistance of the Cuban Medical Brigade, 20,000 eye surgeries were performed. In 2015, 1,824,300 children and young people were registered in schools, for a 94.6% adjusted enrollment rate at the primary level and 94.2% retention rate. At the secondary level, an 81.8% adjusted enrollment rate was achieved with an 88% retention rate. One million students received a school meal each day, while 500,000 poor children received a package of school supplies and over 300,000 received shoes. In terms of infrastructure, 2,311 classrooms were built or repaired and 55,861 desks were distributed.

Plan Roof provided galvanized roofing materials to 121,550 families while 22,308 homes were built or improved as part of the combined efforts of the national and local governments along with the private sector. The number of formal sector workers paying into the social security system increased by 118,428—including rural workers, cooperative members, and trade union members—to a total of 810,654, 84% more than in 2006. The National Social Security Institute (INSS), which provides pensions and health care to insured seniors, “improved access to highly complex services… including chemotherapy for cancer, heart surgery and catheterization, hemodialysis, kidney transplants, specialized orthopedic surgery, among others.” The report added that the INSS now has 28 offices around the entire country where seniors can receive their pensions.

In the area of international affairs, the report noted that Nicaragua did not sign on to the Paris Climate Agreement because it would allow for emission of greenhouse gasses that would raise the average temperature of the earth by an average of between 2.7 and 3.5°C, meaning an increase of between 4 and 5°C for the countries located in the tropics. Also in the area of international affairs, the report said that Nicaragua signed agreements for a total of US$788.7 million in foreign assistance divided between donations and loans from multilateral and bilateral funding sources. (Informe Pastran, Feb. 17; El Digital 19, Feb. 16; http://www.asamblea.gob.ni/wp-content/uploads/downloads/2014/05/Informe-al-Pueblo-y-la-Asamblea-Nacional-28-Mayo.pdf)

4. Assembly elects Salinas and Moreno to Supreme Electoral Council

In voting on Feb. 18 to fill two seats on the Supreme Electoral Council (CSE), the National Assembly elected Mayra Salinas and Norma Moreno, both proposed by the Sandinista Party, with 64 votes. The candidates proposed by the bench of the Independent Liberal Party Alliance received 21 votes. The two women will hold their positions for a five year term. Salinas had served as head of the Nicaraguan Tourism Institute while Moreno had served as ambassador to Argentina. They replaced Johnny Torrez and Jose Luis Villavicencio, who recently resigned. (El Nuevo Diario, Feb. 18)

5. Labor and industry shorts

Members of the National Assembly Labor Committee announced that they will follow-up with corporations operating in the country on the application of the Labor and Social Security Law, according to Sandinista Deputy Adilia Villagra. Villagra said the objective is to strengthen the administration of justice in areas such as the right to union organizing and occupational safety. “We also want to continue to promote tripartite agreements to consolidate the consensus process between the unions, government, and private enterprise,” Villagra stated. Deputy Maritza Espinales said the committee will meet with employers, union leaders, and magistrates of National Labor Appeals Tribunal to discuss the progress of individual cases before the court.  Independent Liberal Party committee member Deputy Alberto Lacayo said that the main concern of the population is that some companies are not paying into social security. “There are many companies that are not in compliance with this requirement. Another source of complaint is that some companies do not pay the minimum wage, especially subcontractors. Also, there are complaints of unfair firing and non-payment of separation pay; all this we will be investigating,” he said. (El Nuevo Diario, Feb. 21)

The Nicaraguan Textile and Apparel Industry Association (ANITEC), the Sandinista Workers Central (CST), and the Lafise Bancentro Bank signed an economic and social agreement to benefit 110,000 Free Trade Zone (FTZ) workers with lower interest loans. The agreement provides funding for the purchase of five basic food products – rice, beans, sugar, cooking oil, and soap – and credit to purchase home improvement materials, particularly roofing and flooring, according to CST representative Roberto Gonzalez, who said workers will also have access to $5,000 life insurance policies. The bank will lend money to FTZ workers at 18% interest compared to up to 40% at other banks. Workers will also be able to receive loans to buy a motorcycle with affordable interest and payments to improve worker mobility and to advance reliability, punctuality, and labor discipline. In addition, workers will be able to apply for salary advances when needed. Gonzalez said this agreement builds on past tripartite agreements and contributes to labor stability. Ana Maria Barahona of the Women’s Secretariat of the Free Trade Zones Confederation also praised the agreement noting that most FTZ employees are women. “We see this as an important vehicle to improve the lives of women working in the Free Trade Zones,” she said. (El Nuevo Diario, Feb. 18)

Hae Soo Lim, general director of Handsome Nica, a South Korean textile manufacturing company, said the company’s new industrial park and US$2 million investment will create 800 new jobs in Nicaragua. It is the company’s third garment factory in the country. “By 2020 we are projecting to create more than 10,000 new jobs,” the director said. (Nicaragua News, Feb. 17)

The Fort Worth, Texas-based Serve5ive auto insurance company has invested US$1.7 million to open a call center in the Las Mercedes FTZ, adding to its existing call center in San Pedro Sula, Honduras. The company will employ 100 bilingual Nicaraguans. (El Nuevo Diario, Feb. 17)

The Japanese Yazaki Corporation, which manufactures auto parts, inaugurated an industrial park in the Department of Leon with an investment of US$8 million. The company will hire 2,480 new employees raising its total Nicaraguan jobs to 14,000. The company makes parts for Chrysler, Ford, Nissan, Isuzu, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Subaru, Toyota, and others. (Nicaragua News, Feb. 19)

6. Government asks UNDP to change its ways

The government of Nicaragua has asked the United Nations Development Program to change the way it functions in the country after what a Foreign Ministry letter called a “continuous campaign to discredit the work of the government.” The Foreign Ministry sent two letters to the UNDP on Feb. 11 and 17. In them it said that the organization had been involved in “a process of political interference and misrepresentation of the country’s development data carried out by functionaries under the umbrella of the UNDP, which has been noted since 2007.” The government says that funds from the United Nations program, which is supposedly merely a vehicle for channeling donations from member countries of the United Nations into development activities in the developing world, were used to pay high salaries to a “bureaucracy made up of people with clear militancy in opposition political parties and political movements.” The government said that after multiple communications with the UNDP, it has decided that the program “cannot continue, as it has, with its destructive work, fed with funding that belongs exclusively to the Nicaraguan people.” The note goes on to say, “We do not accept interference or intervention in our affairs which, unfortunately has been the practice that today we need to change.” The letter ends on a softer note: “We invite the United Nations Development Program to work with Nicaragua, with our government, and with our people, with respect, coordination, and complementarity.”

The UNPD released a statement on its web page in which it said that it had “not participated in political interference or financed political parties in Nicaragua or in any other country.” The Nicaragua Network could not find on the web page of the UNDP the names of the groups funded or the names of its officials in Nicaragua beyond the international staff. (Radio La Primerisima, Feb. La Prensa, Feb. 16, 18, 20)

7. Government releases prisoners convicted of “minor offenses”

The government announced on Feb. 22 that a total of 8,149 prisoners convicted of “minor offenses” with sentences of five years or less of jail time had been released beginning in 2014. In 2014, 58 foreigners were released to complete their sentences in their countries of origin while 3,815 Nicaraguans were released as part of a “humanitarian policy of reconciliation and unification of Nicaraguan families.” Last year, 3,489 Nicaraguans and 31 foreigners were released and, so far in 2016, five foreigners and 845 Nicaraguans have been released. Government spokesperson Rosario Murillo said that the list of prisoners to be released had been agreed upon by the judges, prosecutors, the police, and other relevant branches of the government. The Nicaraguan prisoners have been paroled under a system in which family members take responsibility for them and they live with their families, returning to the prison once a month to sign in. They are prohibited from visiting establishments where there is gambling and/or the drinking of alcohol. (Informe Pastran, Feb. 22; El Nuevo Diario, Feb. 22)