Nicaragua Network

This double News Bulletin contains news from May 24 through June 6, 2016.

1. Ortega named presidential candidate of Sandinista Party
2. Political briefs: Supreme Court order; COSEP on observation; Granera for PLI veep
3. CID Gallup poll shows 55% with Sandinista Party
4. Series of earth tremblers shake Managua
5. Government planting windbreaks to cut dust and soil erosion
6. Maduro says Caribbean oil promises will be kept
7. Government provides birth certificates to over 1,000 unregistered children
8. Zika cases reach 215
9. Rains bring sorrow and joy

1. Ortega named presidential candidate of Sandinista Party

The Sixth National Sandinista Congress, held on June 4, unanimously proclaimed President Daniel Ortega as the Sandinista candidate for president in the elections to be held on Nov. 6. The Congress also authorized Ortega to choose his vice-presidential running mate and finalize the party’s slates of candidates for the National Assembly and the Central American Parliament. And, finally, the Congress empowered Ortega to “continue the policy of alliances that has guaranteed reconciliation, unity, wellbeing and prosperity in Nicaragua.”

In his speech, Ortega spoke about what was happening in Nicaragua 37 years ago on that date, June 4, 1979, which was the first day of the final general strike and offensive. He remembered the early battles in Nueva Guinea, Esteli, and in Jinotega where Comandante German Pomares had fallen in combat. He said, “The people were converting themselves into combatants, not waiting for their saviors to arrive from the mountains to save them, but rising up in the cities and towns…. This was a contribution of the Popular Sandinista Revolution—insurrectional struggle. And we were in the midst of those battles during those days around the 4^th of June of the year 1979.”

Speaking of right wing efforts that brought down presidents of the left in Latin America, including Honduran Manuel Zelaya in 2009, Paraguayan Fernando Lugo in 2012, and currently Brazilian Dilma Rousseff, Ortega went on to say, “In the current circumstances in our region, we know that the battle in Nicaragua is of enormous transcendence because there is an attack from the empire and pro-imperialist forces.” He said that election observers of the usual kind would not be invited to Nicaragua this year noting that in the elections of 1996 international observers recognized that fraud had taken place but urged him to accept the results anyway. Given electoral problems in many other countries, he stated, “The observers should instead go and put their own countries in order.”

The response from the opposition political parties was predictably negative. Eduardo Montealegre, president of the Independent Liberal Party (PLI), said, “The electoral law stipulates electoral observation, therefore Ortega is asking the Supreme Electoral Council (CSE) to violate the law.” Dora Maria Tellez of the Sandinista Renovation Movement (MRS) said that the Sandinista Congress showed “a fearful Ortega with nothing to offer but words and threats. His time is over.” (El Nuevo Diario, June 4; Radio La Primerisima, June 5; Confidencial, June 5)

2. Political briefs: Supreme Court order; COSEP on observation; Granera for PLI veep

The Constitutional Panel of the Supreme Court on June 2 ordered the Supreme Electoral Council to put off the official naming of the members of the departmental and municipal electoral councils from the Independent Liberal Party (PLI) until the Court can rule on the challenges to the current PLI leadership from the “historical” PLI leadership and two other factions. On June 3, the parties were scheduled to present their lists of representatives for municipal electoral councils and the CSE would have until June 10 to confirm them. Half of the members of these departmental and municipal councils are supposed to be members of the party that won the previous general elections (in this case the Sandinista Party) and the other half are from the party that won second place (the PLI). Eduardo Montealegre, who took over the PLI several years ago, said, “What they are doing is holding back the electoral law and the elections in this country.” He added, “This is another violation of the laws of Nicaragua.” In May, Pedro Reyes of the Historical PLI had said that once the Court issued its ruling they would know who was in control of the PLI. He added that he was open to an agreement with Montealegre’s group to end the litigation. (Informe Pastran, June 3; La Prensa, May 11)

In other news, Jose Adan Aguerri of the Superior Council of Private Enterprise (COSEP), an ally of the Sandinista government on economic policies, said on May 31, “COSEP, as part of our commitment to democracy and to the economy, has been demanding electoral observation and we have done so conscious of the importance that correctly handled elections have for the political, economic, and social stability of the country.” He stated, “Independent electoral observation gives certainty to the process and legitimates it.” He added, “The Supreme Electoral Council already presented a list of people invited to observe the upcoming elections. That invitation should be extended to others such as the Carter Center, the European Union and the Organization of American States.” [It should be noted, however, that it was the Carter Center that urged Daniel Ortega to accept the results of the 1996 election even though they had observed fraud in that process (see above).] (Informe Pastran, May 31)

Meanwhile, the alliance headed by the PLI, the National Coalition for Democracy, named civil society activist Violeta Granera as its candidate for vice-president, sharing the ticket with the alliance’s presidential candidate Luis Callejas. Eduardo Montealegre said, “Violeta Granera is an outstanding fighter for democracy from the Movement for Nicaragua and other citizen participation initiatives.” [The Country Director for Nicaragua of the International Republican Institute (IRI) told a Nicaragua Network delegation in 2006 that the IRI had “created the Movement for Nicaragua.”] Granera said last week that she has never belonged to a political party. Her father was a senator under the Somoza dictatorship and was killed by the Sandinistas during the revolutionary uprisings. (El Nuevo Diario, June 2)

3. CID Gallup poll shows 55% with Sandinista Party

On May 25, the polling firm CID Gallup released the results of its latest survey of Nicaraguan public opinion which indicated that while 55% of those polled believed that the country was headed in the right direction, a significant number still had economic worries. Twenty-six percent worried about having enough income each month to cover basic necessities and 17% worried about someone in the family who was unemployed. Thirteen percent worried about the uncertainty of their water supply with that concern rising as the distance from the capital, Managua, increased. Thirty-one percent said that their family financial situation was better or much better than last year, up from only 21% last May.

As for political party preference, 55% said that they sympathized with the Sandinista Party; 38% said that they did not identify with any party; 4% identified with the Independent Liberal Party (PLI) and 3% with the Constitutional Liberal Party (PLC). Twenty-eight percent said that they believed the elections would be very honest and 27% said somewhat honest. Thirty-six percent said that the elections would not be very honest or would not be honest at all. Sixty-nine percent of those surveyed said that having national and international observers for the November elections was very important while 19% said they were somewhat important. The people with the highest favorability ratings were First Lady and communications coordinator Rosario Murillo with 67%, President Daniel Ortega with 65%, Managua Cardinal Leopoldo Brenes with 38%, Vice-President Omar Hallesleven with 30%, PLI leader Eduardo Montealegre with 21%, and business leader Jose Adan Aguerri with 17%.

The poll, which surveyed 1,204 people nationally between May 4 and 10, has an estimated margin of error of 2.8 points and a confidence level of 95%. The most delicate political questions were answered by the responders marking a paper and inserting it in a closed box. (El Nuevo Diario, May 25; Informe Pastran, May 25)

4. Series of earth tremblers shake Managua

On June 2, government spokesperson Rosario Murillo said that Managua had experienced 23 earth tremblers in the previous two weeks. She said, “The swarm, or what some experts call the swarm of earthquakes, has reached 23 of which… two were between 3 and 3.9; one was 4.4.” The earthquake of 4.4 had its epicenter four kilometers under the Milagro de Dios neighborhood of Managua. Arlen Vasquez, a resident of the neighborhood, said that they heard a loud noise at 4:02pm on May 31 and kitchen utensils, photographs, and other things fell to the floor.  “The fact that this neighborhood was the epicenter makes us want to find out how to protect ourselves. The movement felt like [we were moving in] gelatin,” she explained. There were a total of eight quakes on May 31 between 3:21pm and 4:40pm. Afternoon and evening classes at schools and universities were suspended.

The Nicaraguan Institute for Territorial Studies (INETER) said that ten of the tremblers had been caused by what is known as the “Airport Fault.” According to a map published in El Nuevo Diario, Managua is crossed by 18 north-south faults, among them the so-called Airport Fault. The capital has been severely damaged or destroyed three times in the last 150 years by earthquakes.

INETER announced that Nicaraguan scientists along with experts from the University of Zurich, Switzerland, are developing a system which would notify residents a few seconds before an earthquake hits. Wilfried Strauch told reporters that, “We are going to be able to give the population some ten or twenty seconds of warning so that the government and individuals can take some protection measures.” He warned, however, that the warning time shrinks for the people who live over the epicenter of a quake. The system, he explained, is already installed but is not expected to be functioning until the end of this year. He said that countries such as Japan, Taiwan, Turkey, Switzerland, and parts of the United States have this system which can give people time to run to safety or find protection under a strong piece of furniture. (Informe Pastran, May 31, June 2; El Nuevo Diario, May 31, June 2)

5. Government planting windbreaks to cut dust and soil erosion

The Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (MARENA) announced that it has restored 382 kilometers of windbreaks since June 2015 primarily in Chinandega, Leon, Managua, and Masaya. This is the beginning of a long-term erosion and dust control project that will eventually create slightly over 2,000.7 linier kilometers of trees in 11 agricultural municipalities in the Pacific agricultural region which has suffered wind driven dust storms and loss of topsoil particularly during the last several years of drought. MARENA announced that it plans to restore or create an additional 400 kilometers of windbreaks this year. (El Nuevo Diario, May 25)

6. Maduro says Caribbean oil promises will be kept

During a meeting of Caribbean energy ministers, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro affirmed promises to strongly expand Petrocaribe oil agreements. “Overcoming obstacles, bureaucracies, set-backs, sabotage, and negative campaigns from the North, Petrocaribe continues to construct a solid base of energy security in the Caribbean with an important investment and important infrastructure.” Petrocaribe was formed in 2005 to sell low cost oil to its members and to help finance oil infrastructure in those countries. Maduro also encouraged the energy ministers to expand energy security and diversification contrary to the US predictions of disaster. “The Petrocaribe miracle must be nurtured,” he said. “And now it is necessary to advance diversification which mainly includes natural gas and other sources of alternatives to oil which could be developed jointly so as to build a powerful common economic zone.” Nicaragua joined Petrocaribe in 2007. (Informe Pastran, May 30)

7. Government provides birth certificates to over 1,000 unregistered children

The mayor of Puerto Cabezas announced the success of its program “Right to a Name and Nationality” with the registration of 541 girls and 516 boys in the municipality. The United Nations Fund for Children (UNICEF) helped with the project which was conducted in 18 communities within the municipality which is the capital of the North Caribbean Autonomous Region. UNICEF’s representative in Nicaragua, Rinko Kinoshita, said, “Children have a right from birth to a name and a nationality in accord with the International Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Nicaraguan Code of Children and Adolescents, and the Code of the Family. This right opens the door to other basic rights such as health, education and social protection.” Municipal officials delivered the birth certificates at the end of the registration campaign. (Informe Pastran, May 30)

8. Zika cases reach 215

The number of confirmed cases of the Zika virus in Nicaragua reached 215 last week, according to the Ministry of Health. The number of pregnant women who have had the disease stands at 41, up by one case since the previous week. Eight babies have been born to affected mothers and all have been healthy with normal head circumferences. The Zika virus, which is caused by a bite from an infected aedes aegypti mosquito, can cause microcephaly in developing fetuses if the mother contracts the disease. The government has said that pregnant women who contract Zika “receive special attention” in government health centers. The government declared an epidemiological alert on May 5 based on an increase in the cases of chikungunya, dengue, and Zika and since January has been carrying out a massive abatement campaign to control the aedes aegypti mosquito, which carries all three diseases, with five million home visits so far. (El Nuevo Diario, May 24, June 1; Informe Pastran, May 26)

9. Rains bring sorrow and joy

In the last two years, the municipality of Managua has invested US$8.5 million in improving the city’s storm sewers but the rain on June 4 showed that many parts of the city are still vulnerable to flooding. Architect Gerald Pentzke commented that the mayor’s office has made an effort and things would have been much worse without that effort. He explained that “Eight years ago the city began to require that private housing developments must have the same level of filtration of water into the soil that existed before the ground was covered, but other elements have intervened.” He said deforestation and other changes in the use of soils have resulted in stronger currents carrying enormous amounts of sediment which overflow the storm sewer channels and flow into the streets. He added that many of the channels are obstructed by the garbage that residents continue to throw into them. Fidel Moreno, general secretary of the municipality of Managua, said that this year’s plan includes building or enlarging 31 segments of storm sewer channels, building eight small dams and renovating 40 kilometers of obsolete channels.

The last week of May brought heavy rains over virtually the entire country but particularly in the Pacific departments of Managua, Masaya, Chinandega and Leon which received over two inches of rain. Ninety-eight houses were destroyed or damaged according to the government. The Institute for Territorial Studies announced that “these are phenomena that indicate a normal rainy season for the Central American area.”

The country’s mayors met in Managua on June 2 to plan for the upcoming rainy season with general optimism. Matagalpa mayor Sadrach Zeledon said that rice farmers are happy with the rains because they will see lower costs as they will have to irrigate less. Planting of vegetables is increasing he reported. Other mayors said that their farmers were preparing the soil to plant corn, beans and vegetables. (El Nuevo Diario, June 1, 4; Informe Pastran, May 31; June 3)