Nicaragua Network

1. Nicaragua reacts to Venezuelan elections
2. Nicaragua L.A.’s first country to achieve UN Millennium Objective on hunger
3. Nicaragua moves toward 100% renewable energy production
4. FUNIDES report details favorable economic situation
5. Electricity rates rise for some
6. 5,000 youth begin national child nutrition census
7. Health Ministry to vaccinate over one million Nicaraguans
8. TELCOR decree causes a firestorm
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1. Nicaragua reacts to Venezuelan elections

President Daniel Ortega sent congratulations to acting president of Venezuela Nicolas Maduro who won the race for the presidency in that country on Apr. 14 with slightly over 50% of the vote against opposition candidate Henrique Capriles.  Ortega wrote to Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, “With profound emotion and respect, we celebrate the great battle you fought in the weeks of revolutionary campaigning.  We share with you the sentiments that accompanied you in these struggles carried out in the spirit of Commander-President Hugo Chavez, completing another victory that assures the realization of his dreams of a free, dignified and prosperous motherland for all Venezuelans.”

In contrast, Eduardo Montealegre, a former candidate for mayor of Managua and for president of Nicaragua, supported Capriles demands for a recount, saying that there were “things to be cleared up.”  He compared the Venezuelan elections to the mayoral vote in Nicaragua in 2008 which he alleged were fraudulent, saying “those barbarities seem to be repeating themselves over there.” But Walmaro Gutierrez, a Sandinista deputy in the National Assembly, noted that the elections were carried out with “a great deal of civility and technical capacity.”  He criticized the Nicaraguan opposition for judging the internal affairs of another country.  [Venezuela’s election system was lauded by former US President Jimmy Carter, who has observed innumerable elections, as the best in the world.] Gutierrez added that Maduro’s victory would mean that the cooperative projects of ALBA (the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our Americas) would continue.

Sixty-nine Venezuelans living in Nicaragua (out of 114 registered) voted at the Venezuelan Embassy in Managua on Apr. 14 and Capriles was the winner with 36 votes to Maduro’s 33.  In last October’s election, the late President Hugo Chavez was the winner over Capriles.

In related news, the executive branch sent to the National Assembly last week an initiative that would ratify the agreement signed by ALBA presidents over a year ago known as the Accord for the Constitution of the ALBA Economic Space (ECO-ALBA) which would guarantee a legal framework for commercial transactions among the member countries.  (Radio La Primerisima, Apr. 14, 15; Informe Pastran, Apr. 15; La Prensa, Apr. 14)

2. Nicaragua L.A.’s first country to achieve UN Millennium Objective on hunger

Nicaragua is the first country in Latin America to achieve Objective #1 of the UN Millennium Development Objectives for 2015. UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) representative in Nicaragua, Fernando Soto said, “Nicaragua has fulfilled, before the deadline, Objective Number 1 of the Millennium Objectives which is to reduce by half the proportion of the population suffering from hunger.” FAO will recognize the efforts the Sandinista government headed by President Daniel Ortega which has reduced hunger from 55% in 1990 to 20% today at its world conference in June. Soto said, “In Latin America and the Caribbean, Nicaragua is the country that in terms of proportion has reduced malnutrition and hunger the most.” He added that Nicaragua is on a positive trajectory to eradicate hunger. He said that is especially impressive considering that Nicaragua is one of the poorest countries in Latin America. He attributed the success to a whole range of government programs such as school lunches, Zero Hunger, etc. which focus on providing food accessibility to the poorest of the poor and in particular pregnant mothers and children under two years of age as well as raising this population out of poverty.

Food sovereignty has been a top priority of the Sandinista government since Ortega gained the presidency in 2007. It has focused on domestic production of basic grains and reactivation of peasant agriculture through credit and providing inputs such as seed and fertilizer. There are eight UN Millennium Development Objectives which all countries are supposed to achieve by 2015. On April 5 the UN began a count-down of 1,000 days left to realize the millennial goals.

El Nuevo Diario took a different spin on the news choosing to focus on the 19% of the Nicaraguan population that the FAO reports is still suffering hunger. They quoted a member of a European Union delegation who called the food situation in Nicaragua “precarious” and exhorted the Nicaraguan government to “join forces with international hunger aid” something that Nicaragua has been doing for the last six years. (Radio La Primerisima, Apr. 11, 15; El Nuevo Diario, Apr. 11; La Prensa, Apr. 12)

3. Nicaragua moves toward 100% renewable energy production

In 2005, 10% of Nicaragua’s electricity was produced from renewable sources. By 2012 that figure had risen to 41%, saving the country US$228 million a year in oil imports, and the Sandinista government plans to be producing 50% of electricity from renewable sources by the end of 2013. The National Energy Plan anticipates further investment of US$2 billion to make Nicaraguan electricity production 100% fossil fuel free by 2026.

In February, Nicaragua inaugurated Central America’s largest photovoltaic project which began providing electricity to 1,100 rural homes and small businesses in the municipality of Diriamba in the department of Carazo.  That project was funded with a US$11.4 million donation from Japan and half a million from the Nicaraguan government. It has 5,880 solar panels producing 1.38 megawatts of electricity and will eliminate the release of 1,100 tons of greenhouse gasses each year. Nicaragua is both a laboratory and an example of the benefits for mitigating climate change by producing electricity from renewable resources including wind, water, thermal, and solar, according to Energy Minister Emilio Rappaccioli. Japan, Germany and the Inter American Development Bank (IDB), have provided the most investment in renewable energy production with the exception of the hydroelectric sector where Brazil leads.

The latest entry into the renewable energy production sweepstakes is biomass. Twelve mayors have signed an agreement with the Spanish firm Biomasa Investment Nicaragua, SA (BINICSA) which will invest US$150 million to turn garbage into electricity. According to BINICSA’s study, each of the municipalities can produce two megawatts of electricity from their landfills with the exception of Masaya which could produce four megawatts and Managua which could produce 8-10.

Businessman Cesar Zamora of the renewable company Tierramerica said for a country of six million with 47% poverty rate to invest so much in renewable energy production is “not only spectacular, but strategic.” He said, “When you don’t have to spend US$200 million to buy fossil fuel, you are able to invest that money in social projects which add dynamism to local economies and you don’t have to spend money to mitigate environmental contamination.”

The development of more than 25 projects in the last nine years has placed Nicaragua in second place, after Brazil, in the ranking of nations moving toward sources of energy that produce lower levels of carbon, according to Climascopio 2012, of the IDB.  (Radio La Primerisima, Apr. 12)

Nicaragua Network is organizing a delegation June 10-21, 2013 to investigate Nicaragua’s projects and plans to defend itself against climate change. Nicaragua is one of the countries most vulnerable to changes in sea level as well as violent storms and drought. To learn more about this important delegation, visit www.nicanet.org and/or send an email to Chuck@AFGJ.org. There are a limited number of positions still available so act quickly.

4. FUNIDES report details favorable economic situation

The Nicaraguan Foundation for Economic and Social Development (FUNIDES) issued the results of an extensive economic survey last week in which it confirmed the Central Bank’s calculations that Nicaragua’s GDP grew more than 5% last year for the second year in a row, which FUNIDES said was very favorable for job creation and poverty reduction.  Particular strength was shown, the survey said, in construction, private investment and exports.  The foundation, which receives its funding from the Nicaraguan private sector and the US Agency for International Development, said that the government continued to execute responsible fiscal policies, with the exception of 2% of the GDP in assistance from Venezuela which is not included in the government’s budget.  [Countries participating in PETROCARIBE have favorable repayment plans for Venezuelan oil which free up funds for development and poverty reduction.]  The country’s reserve of international currencies is appropriate, the report noted.  While foreign investment grew, national private investment grew even more in the past year. 

With an increase in the number of workers in the formal sector paying in to Social Security, the imbalance in the Social Security pension fund has decreased in recent years.  Remittances from family members living abroad continue strong.  The report showed an increase in consumer confidence with more respondents saying their situation had improved than those who said it had grown worse.  Respondents said their employment situation had improved in the past year. 

While FUNIDES predicted a growth rate of 4.5% for 2013, the foundation noted that “Nicaragua is developing in a volatile international economic atmosphere” and the world situation combined with the impact of the coffee fungus on the coming year’s harvest, could lower that figure.  (Informe Pastran, Apr. 11; Radio La Primerisima, Apr. 11)

5. Electricity rates rise for some

On Apr. 15, the amount many rate payers will be billed for electricity went up by 7.78%.  The 82% of electricity users who consume less than 150 kilowatts per month, however, will not see a rise in rates.  With financing from ALBA Caruna, a production credit institution funded by ALBA (the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our Americas), an increase of between 15% and 20% was avoided.  Small businesses such as bakeries and corner groceries that use more than the 150 kilowatts complained that the hike could put their businesses at risk. Other businesses, while resigned to the rise in costs, expressed the hope that this would be the only price increase this year.  La Prensa reported that while some businesses will not raise prices and will look for ways to produce more efficiently, others such as slaughterhouses with giant refrigerators and peanut farmers with electrically-powered irrigation systems, will have to pay more for electricity and that could affect the nation’s competitiveness.  (Informe Pastran, Apr. 15; El Nuevo Diario, Apr. 15; La Prensa, Apr. 14)

6. 5,000 youth begin national child nutrition census

Over 5,000 young people from the July 19 Sandinista Youth organization who have received special training began April 8 to work on the National Child Nutrition Census with visits to schools and to homes. The census is intended to determine the effectiveness of government nutrition programs.  The young people armed with scales and tape measures will visit homes where there are children from newborns to five years old. And the volunteers will also visit 9,377 schools where they will weigh and measure children between six and twelve years of age. The census is expected to reach more than one million children between birth and 12 years of age. Minister of Health Sonia Castro said that the census will run through June 15 and will provide officials with reliable scientific measurements of the situation of child nutrition in the country and the effects of the government’s investments in health and nutrition over the last six years. (Radio La Primerisima, Apr. 8; Informe Pastran, Apr. 8)

7. Health Ministry to vaccinate over one million Nicaraguans

On April 15 the Ministry of Health (MINSA) planned to begin vaccinations at over 7,000 locations nation-wide. In a week they plan to immunize over one million people according to Carlos Saenz, director of Epidemiology at MINSA. The focus is on pregnant women, senior citizens, and children 2-12 years of age.  The vaccines administered include pneumonia, rotavirus, influenza, and the pentavalent vaccine which is a combination of diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, hepatitis B and Haemophilus influenza type b (the bacteria that causes meningitis, pneumonia and otitis).  Children will also receive polio vaccine, Vitamin A, and a parasite treatment. (La Prensa, Apr. 10; Informe Pastran, Apr. 15)

8. TELCOR decree causes a firestorm

An administrative order issued by TELCOR, the government regulatory agency for the telecommunications industry, on Mar. 22 has incited a firestorm of protest from Nicaragua’s business sector.  The administrative order would require telecommunications companies to submit to TELCOR for approval the names of their directors and managers.  The Superior Council on Private Enterprise (COSEP) and the Nicaraguan-American Chamber of Commerce (AMCHAM) both said they would file appeals of the TELCOR order, saying that it violated the constitution of Nicaragua as well as several laws.  The Mexican-Nicaraguan Business Chamber expressed “deep concern” about the decree and said that, “It is imperative that the Government of Nicaragua offer foreign companies optimal conditions for their development.”

On Apr. 8, Orlando Castillo, executive president of TELCOR, said, “We are not saying with the decree that we as TELCOR are going to name the managers, but we want them to tell us who they are, if they are the right people or not.  They have the right to have the officers that they want to name but the State is the owner of the radio frequencies.”  He added that while Nicaragua is the safest country in the region, it is necessary to take measures to control drug trafficking and it is possible to commit crimes with cellular telephones.”  He noted that the Superintendent of Banks has the power to oversee the high level officials of the nation’s banks. 

On Apr. 11, COSEP president Jose Adan Aguerri said that one of the two major telephone companies in the country officially submitted a request to TELCOR asking for a review of the decision to issue the order and he added that another request would be submitted in the course of the day.  “I don’t discount the possibility,” he said, “that in reply we get a new decree or an amendment, as the product of dialogue and consensus.”  Presidential economic advisor Bayardo Arce said that he had suggested the appeal route to COSEP, stating, “I advised them because it seems to me that if there are laws that we believe are inappropriate, we have to follow legal procedures to change them, not just make a fuss.”  (El Nuevo Diario, Apr. 4, 6; Radio La Primerisima, Apr. 8; Informe Pastran, Apr. 11)