Nicaragua Network

1. Nicaragua submits new petition to World Court; Colombia and Panama meet with UN Secretary General
2. Hundreds protest changes to law against violence toward women
3. Assembly passes budget reform bill to reflect new revenues
4. Switch to plastic bus pass cards causes problems
5. Foreign aid to improve education and health care
6. Government support transforms footwear sector
7. Free Trade Zone production diversifies
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1. Nicaragua submits new petition to World Court; Colombia and Panama meet with UN Secretary General

On Sept. 17, the International Court of Justice (World Court) confirmed receipt of Nicaragua’s claim for the delimitation of its territorial waters beyond 200 miles from its Caribbean Coast.  Nicaragua’s representative to the Court, Carlos Argüello noted in his application that Nicaragua had submitted its final information to the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf on June 24 and now requested that the World Court “determine the precise course of the boundary of the continental shelf between Nicaragua and Colombia in accordance with the principles and rules of international law” and resolve the issue of overlapping claims and the use of resources in the area.  The World Court ruling of Nov. 19, 2012, which is not recognized by Colombia, had, in assigning to Nicaragua the waters surrounding the San Andres Archipelago, advised the country of its right under international law to make a claim to the waters above its extensive continental shelf.

At the same time the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf announced that it would create a sub-committee to send Nicaragua’s petition to extend its territorial waters to all member countries enquiring if their rights would be affected.  When all the replies and scientific information are collected, the Commission will decide if, in fact, Nicaragua’s continental shelf extends for 350 miles from its coasts.  [It appears to the Nicaragua Network that the work of the Commission is to compile evidence while the World Court’s role is to make a final ruling taking that evidence into account, although this is not entirely clear.]

Then, on Sept. 23, Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos met for twenty minutes with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon and gave him a letter signed by Santos himself and the presidents of Costa Rica and Panama denouncing alleged “expansionism” by Nicaragua.  Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli had met with Secretary Ban the previous day and asked him if he would serve as a mediator of the conflict over these Caribbean waters.  Jamaica had been asked to sign the letter but decided to abstain.

Nicaraguan legal expert Mauricio Herdocia noted that it makes no sense for Colombia to criticize the World Court and the Commission on the Continental Shelf, both UN agencies, to the Secretary General of the UN. He added that the action “is simply a measure with a political character.”  Former vice-presidential candidate and opposition leader Edmundo Jarquin said that the Ortega government’s new claim before the World Court was “politically serene… invoking the measures of international law.”  He added that the request for the Court to establish the boundaries signals that Nicaragua wants this to happen without prejudicing the rights of other nations.  (Radio La Primerisima, Sept. 17,23; http://www.icj-cij.org/docket/files/154/17532.pdf; Informe Pastran, Sept. 17, 23; La Prensa, Sept. 22)

2. Hundreds protest changes to law against violence toward women

Hundreds of women and men and even children, on Sept. 20, joined a “Marathon for Life” to voice their rejection of a bill pending in the National Assembly that would amend Law 779, the Law against Violence toward Women to allow for mediation between a woman and her aggressor in some cases.  After the Supreme Court ruled that the law was indeed constitutional, rejecting several challenges, it proposed legislation to the Assembly recommending mediation in lesser offences, including psychological, economic, and workplace offences when the woman agrees and the aggressor has not committed any previous offences.  The bill was reported out of the Committee on Women and the Justice Committee on Sept. 19 with the votes of both Sandinista and opposition deputies.  The bill will come to the floor of the Assembly next week.

“We are rejecting this amendment to the law,” said Elia Palacios, president of the Network of Women against Violence, one of the organizers of the protest.  The Roundtable for Gender Equity, which brings together 22 organizations supporting women’s rights, announced more protests against passage of the bill.  In 2012, 85 women were murdered in Nicaragua, according to the Roundtable, and of these 13 had accepted mediation with their attacker.  This year 64 women have been murdered.

Head of the Sandinista bench Edwin Castro said that after a mediation takes place, there will be social and psychological follow-up with the couple.  He said that commissions will be formed in each town coordinated by the Ministry of the Family with representatives from the Ministries of Health and Education to oversee the follow-up.  He said that the amendment to allow mediation was approved by the committees “in an effort to seek harmony in the home.” Opposition Deputy Maria Eugenia Sequeira said while she had first spoken out against the amendment, she had been convinced by the position of her party and her “Christian values” that “we have to promote the value of seeking family unity.”

On Sept. 17, Amnesty International (AI) put out an urgent action call to its members asking them to write letters to National Assembly President Rene Nuñez and to Justice Committee chairwoman Irma Davila calling on them “not to weaken the provisions in Law 779 as this will leave women at heightened risk of violence.”  La Prensa reported that AI had said in May that Law 779 “was an important step forward and an essential tool for combating violence against women in Nicaragua.”  But AI noted in last week’s statement that, “Where there has been violence or the threat of violence, mediation can leave the victim in an extremely vulnerable position or even at heightened risk of violence.” 

However, also last week, groups of women gathered at the National Assembly and at the office of the Independent Liberal Party (PLI) to ask legislators to support the amendment.  PLI president Indalecio Rodriguez said, “You would be surprised; one day eleven delegations of women came to this office and nine of them supported the amendment.”  (Radio La Primerisima, Sept. 18, 20; La Prensa, Sept. 18, 20; El Nuevo Diario, Sept. 17, 19)

3. Assembly passes budget reform bill to reflect new revenues

On Sept. 24, the National Assembly passed an amendment to the National Budget to reflect increased tax revenue.  The new budget allocates an additional US$38.9 million which increases the budget by 2.2% over last year to a total of US$1.9 billion for 2013. Assembly Deputy Walmaro Gutierrez said that US$3.7 million will go to the Supreme Electoral Council (CSE) for the March 2014 regional elections on the Caribbean Coast, US$3.9 million will go to the country’s 153 municipalities, US$1.5 million to the country’s public universities, and US$1.53 million to the Ministry of Government for the building of more Women’s and Children’s Police Stations.  After the bill was passed, with 63 votes in favor, 23 against and one abstention, Deputy Jose Figueroa said that the remaining funds (69.6%) are allocated to promote investment, increase production, and improve services for the most vulnerable sectors of society, including social programs and farm-to-market roads.  He said that US$8.9 million will go for public transportation and energy subsidies and senior citizen pensions and US$5.3 million for the school meal program and teacher training.  The new funds decrease the budget deficit by US$102.5 million.

The opposition Nicaraguan Democratic Bench (BDN) had proposed transferring US$520,000 of the funds allocated to the Supreme Electoral Council for the Caribbean Coast elections to improving education infrastructure in that region. Sandinista deputies said that there was already a budget line for improving school buildings in the North and South Atlantic Autonomous Regions. Opposition deputies also proposed that an additional US$1.7 million be deducted from the CSE monies for teachers’ salaries and that US$8.9 million saved by the lowering of the cost of servicing the internal public debt be assigned to the Ministry of Education also for teachers’ salaries. Changes in the CSE budget were not accepted but Sandinista deputies said that other opposition proposals had been incorporated into the budget reform bill although it was unclear exactly what those were.  Opposition political parties distrust the CSE alleging fraud in recent election cycles. (El Nuevo Diario, Sept. 21, 24; Radio La Primerisima, Sept. 24; Informe Pastran, Sept. 20; La Prensa, Sept. 18)

4. Switch to plastic bus pass cards causes problems

Dominating the news this week was the switch on Tuesday, Sept. 17, to plastic bus pass cards by the Managua city bus system.  Commuters protested on Saturday, Sept. 21, at the offices of MPeso, the company that provided the card reading machines for the buses and the cards for passengers, because offices were not open on the weekend to obtain cards.  During the week 30% of Managua’s 835 buses accepted payment only by means of the passes while on the others passengers could pay their fares either with cash or with the card.  The newspapers were full of photos of near-empty buses with the captions noting that these were the pass-only buses while those where passengers could still pay with cash were overflowing.

On Friday, Sept. 20, MPeso spokesperson Anielka Cuaresma said that the previous day 28.5% of the usual 400,000 daily bus riders had used the card and by Friday’s morning commute 50% of riders were using the card.  She said that cards would continue to be issued free of charge and that the 600 machines where riders could add money to their cards would be increased in number in coming weeks.  She added that by Sept. 25, half the buses would be requiring bus passes and all buses will require them on October 1^st. Paper one-use cards will be rolled out later in October.  Cuaresma said that that a total of 585,000 riders now had the cards.

There were rumors that some bus owner/drivers were boycotting the new system saying that it was imposed on them without their consent by the Managua Municipal Transportation Regulatory Institute (IRTRAMMA) and that during the transition period they are spending days travelling their routes consuming gasoline without enough passengers to pay for it.  Opposition National Assembly Deputy Eliseo Nuñez said that he would ask the president of the Assembly to begin an investigation into whether the Monetary Law of the Central Bank was being violated by MPeso when it refused to permit users to pay for urban mass transit with cash. Sandinista Deputy Walmaro Gutierrez said that he believed that there was no violation of the law, although he noted that some countries permit payment by card or cash. (Radio La Primerisima, Sept. 21; El Nuevo Diario, Sept. 21; La Prensa, Sept. 20)

5. Foreign aid to improve education and health care

The European Union, World Bank and the US Global Alliance for Education will provide US$84.9 million to Nicaragua in a mixture of grants and loans to strengthen the education system during the 2011-2015 period of Nicaragua’s strategic plan according to World Bank Central America representative Carlos Felipe Jaramillo. The money will be used for infrastructure improvements, equal access, and educational quality. According to government spokeswoman Rosario Murillo, US$1.3 million from the World Bank is destined for strategic planning and much of the rest will be concentrated in rural zones. She said it would strengthen the “battle for the ninth grade” by improving teacher training and printing secondary school curriculum materials. She said the money would benefit 250,000 preschool students and 320,000 students “of the first cycle of secondary school.

The Ministry of Health also announced that it will receive a loan for US$35 million from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) to extend public health services to children under the age of six and pregnant women in the “Dry Zone” which includes the departments of Boaco, Chontales, León, Chinandega, Managua and parts of Matagalpa, Madriz, Nueva Segovia, and Estelí, where there are high levels of infant malnutrition and mortality.

The project will serve 700 communities in 33 municipalities and a population of about 680,000. It is expected to reduce chronic infant malnutrition from 19.6% to 14% and to increase the percentage of children vaccinated from 67.5% to 80%. The project also aims to reduce infant hospitalizations for diarrhea and to increase access to family planning coverage from 75.8% to 80% of the target population. Murillo also said a new hospital will be built in Nueva Segovia with aid from Taiwan and the Central American Bank for Economic Integration. The 2-3 year project will replace an existing hospital that was built in 1943. (Radio La Primerisima, Sept. 23; Informe Pastran, Sept. 20; La Prensa, Sept. 20; El Nuevo Diario, Sept. 19)

6. Government support transforms footwear sector

Twelve hundred micro, small, and medium size (MIPYMES) footwear companies hope to end the year with the production of 2 million pairs of shoes, 200,000 more than last year, according to the National Chamberof Leather, Footwear and Related Products. The Sandinista government intervened at the request of the Chamber, as part of its priority to support the MIPYMES economic sector, when shoe makers faced a severe shortage of leather. Government help included restricting the export of hides, technical training and loans of 80% to help the small businesses buy leather. That resulted in rapid growth for the sector which grew from producing 1.2 million pairs of shoes in 2005 to 1.8 million in 2012.

Costa Rica buys 50% of Nicaragua’s shoes followed by the other Central American countries. US visitors are also a “nostalgia market” for Nicaraguan shoes according to the Chamber. Shoemakers have also proposed that the Ministry of Education purchase from Nicaraguan factories the 350,000 pairs of shoes that it donates to low income students each year, a proposal that has been favorably received. Presidential economic advisor Bayardo Arce said the government support for the local footwear industry came when President Daniel Ortega questioned why Nicaragua was buying foreign-made shoes when they could be produced nationally. The footwear sector employs 30-40,000 people.(El Nuevo Diario, Sept. 19)

7. Free Trade Zone production diversifies

Diversification of products produced in the Free Trade Zones (FTZ) has allowed the sector to better withstand external shocks. Carlos Vargas Mantica, general manager of the Saratoga FTZ, said there has been a major upturn in exports to the US including growth of 3.25%. Diversification has meant bringing in shoe manufacturers, car parts and call centers. Whereas textiles used to represent 100% of FTZ exports, it now only represents about 70%. The FTZ sector has a goal of US$2.5 billion in exports this year, topping last year’s US$1.9 billion figure. (La Prensa, Sept. 18)