Nicaragua Network

1. Consulta Mitofsky shows leftist presidents with high ratings
2. Shipping canal attacked and defended; trip to China in the offing
3. Costa Rica makes new San Juan River demands at World Court
4. Outstanding first harvest reported
5. Army breaks up band in Department of Jinotega
6. PAHO calls for investigation of Chronic Renal Insufficiency
7. Obsolete electronics recycled and trees planted
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1. Consulta Mitofsky shows leftist presidents with high ratings

The Mexican polling company Consulta Mitofsky released its bi-annual summary of surveys of approval levels for the presidents of the 19 largest countries of the Western Hemisphere. President Daniel Ortega rose by two positions, to number four, in his ranking among the presidents with an approval rating of 66%, one point higher than the previous Mitofsky summary.  McClatchy Foreign Staff reporter Tim Johnson, in an article published in the Miami Herald and other papers, wrote, “Being a ‘bad boy’ in Washington’s eyes can have payoffs for Latin American politicians, while being a ‘star pupil’ can have a downside.”  He added, “A compilation of polls across Latin America released over the weekend found that the four leaders whom Washington considers the ‘bad boys’ of the region [which he listed as the leaders of Ecuador, Bolivia, Nicaragua and Venezuela] remain among its most popular presidents, even wildly so.” He noted that, in contrast, pro-U.S. leaders, including the president of Chile, Colombia, and Peru, “have seen their public support fall in the past six months.”

Johnson quotes Michael Shifter of the Inter-American Dialogue to explain that the leftist presidents “have proven to be politically very astute.  They have a connection to their base, and they are delivering to the poor.”  Johnson notes that the World Bank says that “Nicaragua’s Ortega has engineered a ‘remarkable economic turnaround’ and instituted ‘pioneering strategies to fight poverty’ [and] Bolivia’s [President Evo] Morales has delivered economic growth averaging 4.8% annually over the past seven years while tripling bank deposits and slashing poverty rates from 63% to 45% of the population.”

The Mitofsky results showed Dominican Republic President Danilo Medina (with one year in office) holding the highest rating at 88%, followed by President Rafael Correa of Ecuador with an 84% approval rating. They are followed by Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli with 69%; Daniel Ortega with 66%; Salvadoran President Mauricio Funes with 64%; Evo Morales with 59%; Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto with 56%; and Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro with 48%.  In contrast, at the bottom of the list are Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos with 25% approval and Costa Rican President Laura Chinchilla with 9% approval.

Nicaraguan government spokeswoman Rosario Murillo said, “We are very proud that the results of international surveys place our president, Comandante Daniel, among the best presidents of our America.” She said the government was committed to continue its policies of restoring the rights of citizens and reducing poverty and it was public employees who were the facilitators of those projects.  (Informe Pastran, Oct. 14; Radio La Primerisima, Oct. 14; Miami Herald, Oct. 14; http://consulta.mx/web/images/mundo/2013/EvMandatariosCM.pdf)

2. Shipping canal attacked and defended; trip to China in the offing

Speaking at a forum organized by government opponents in Miami, National Assembly Deputy Enrique Saenz of the Sandinista Renovation Movement (MRS) accused President Daniel Ortega of turning over a shipping canal concession to Chinese businessman Wang Jing in a manner that was unconstitutional, illegal and without consultation, adding that the concession favored the president’s own political and economic interests.  Saenz said that, as a result of electoral fraud, there is a dictatorship in Nicaragua that does not respect the constitution or the laws and has concentrated power at the central government level and all the way down to the municipalities.  Meanwhile, in Managua, National Assembly Deputy Eliseo Nuñez of the Independent Liberal Party (PLI) said that if the Supreme Court rejects the 32 challenges before it on the canal, his party will take the claim about the illegality of the canal concession to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the Inter-American Court.  PLI leader in the Assembly Luis Callejas told a press conference that if the political panorama were to change in Nicaragua and the Sandinistas were voted out of power, his party would repeal the canal concession law.  Then, he added, “We warn foreign governments and potential investors that any investment on Nicaraguan territory that they make based on that law runs the risk of being confiscated without any right to compensation by the people of Nicaragua.”  He added that they reserved the right to file suit against those who approved the law and those who benefitted from it, including President Ortega.  [The Nicaragua Network notes that these same politicians did not make these threats when Nicaragua joined the World Trade Organization or signed on to DR-CAFTA, both of which contain measures that could be seen as violating national sovereignty.]

Meanwhile, presidential public policy advisor Paul Oquist announced that the China Railway Construction Corporation, McKinsey and Company, and Environmental Resources Management (ERM) had begun their technical, financial, and environmental feasibility studies, respectively, for the canal project, known officially as the Grand Inter-Oceanic Canal of Nicaragua. Oquist said that the studies will be based on aerial photographs, inspections on the ground, the taking of samples, measuring of the flow of rivers and of biodiversity, and on many other variables.  He said that the hope was that the studies would be completed next year which would permit construction to begin on the canal and other aspects of the project, including a railroad and an oil pipeline.  Oquist explained that the HKND Canal Company assumes all the risk of the project.  He noted that a concession is like a lease which does not put sovereignty at risk and he added that all the subprojects had to pass through the approval of the Grand Inter-Oceanic Canal Commission.

Oquist insisted that the canal project would enable Nicaragua to end poverty in the country by increasing the number of formal sector jobs from the current 640,000 to 1.9 million.  He called on Nicaraguan young people to prepare themselves to fill the jobs that will be opening with the beginning of construction.  Oquist added, however, that Nicaragua would not lose sight of, nor abandon, the agricultural sector.  He explained that this is why President Ortega established the Ministry of the Family, Communitarian, and Associative Economy which has the task of working with small scale agricultural and industrial producers to increase their productivity.  Oquist said that the small producers make up 40% of the Gross Domestic Product and the goal of the government is to increase that sector’s productivity with technical and financial assistance.

In related news, a total of 72 politicians, businesspeople, and journalists were packing their bags to leave on Oct. 18 for a trip to Hong Kong to meet with the head of the HKND canal company, Wang Jing.  Diego Vargas Montealegre, president of the American-Nicaraguan Chamber of Commerce (AMCHAM), said that the trip had been postponed twice in the past and he hoped that this date was final.  He said that AMCHAM’s goal was to obtain details about how Nicaraguan companies could participate in the construction of the US$40 billion project. Opposition politicians said that they were going but Deputy Alberto Lacayo said, “Our mission is to give a letter to the chinaman [sic] saying that nothing is forever and that when we have a democratic government in Nicaragua the canal arrangement will be annulled as unconstitutional.”  (Informe Pastran, Oct. 11, 14; La Prensa, Oct. 9, 11)

3. Costa Rica makes new San Juan River demands at World Court

On Monday, Oct. 14, Costa Rica presented before the International Court of Justice at The Hague (World Court) demands against Nicaragua alleging that Nicaragua has violated precautionary measures issued by the Court and has caused irreparable environmental damage at the mouth of the San Juan River.  Costa Rica asked the Court to issue new precautionary measures while it prepares its final ruling on the case which is expected in 2014.  Costa Rica’s representative Samuel Wordsworth said that Costa Rica feared that a channel recently dredged by Nicaragua could change the course of the river, the southern bank of which serves as the border between the two countries, and he demanded that Nicaragua suspend the dredging. Nicaragua has treaty rights to dredge the River dating from many decades ago.

On Tuesday, Oct. 15, Nicaragua’s representative Carlos Argüello was scheduled to make his country’s presentation to the Court.  He told Channel 4 News by telephone from The Hague that Nicaragua has always respected the measures of the Court with the best faith possible.  He said, “We are going to demonstrate that there has been no irreparable environmental damage or if there has been some damage, even grave damage, it has been because of the construction of that highway [right next to the River built by Costa Rica] that is causing very serious damage to the San Juan River making more dredging necessary.”  Both Costa Rica and Nicaragua claim a three square kilometer triangle of swampland at the mouth of the River.  The case was filed in 2010 by Costa Rica and in March of 2011, the Court issued precautionary measures asking that both governments refrain from sending personnel (military or civilian) to the zone in dispute.  Costa Rica alleges that the groups of young Nicaraguan environmentalists who have at times visited the region are, in fact, government representatives.  (Informe Pastran, Oct. 14; El Nuevo Diario, Oct. 14)

4. Outstanding first harvest reported

Ariel Bucardo, minister of Agriculture and Forests, reported that the first bean harvest of the year produced over a million hundredweights of beans, enough for national consumption and some exports. He reported that the price has remained stable. Minister of Popular and Community Economy Pedro Haslam, also reported the banner harvest of red and black beans. Black beans are exported while Nicaraguan red beans are a daily staple for most Nicaraguans. Bucardo also reported that Nicaraguan farmers harvested 80% of the national demand for rice, up from 45% in 2007 and Bucardo noted that consumption of rice has risen at the same time. Sugarcane and peanut harvests were also above previous years although slaughter of beef for national consumption fell while exports of beef on the hoof grew. Milk production grew by 5%. (Radio La Primerisima, Oct. 9, 10)

5. Army breaks up band in Department of Jinotega

The Nicaraguan Army announced that it had broken up a band of delinquents in the zone of Santa Maria de Pantasma in the Department of Jinotega.  Col. Jose Dolores Hernandez said that two of the delinquents had been killed in exchanges of fire with the Army.  He explained that the population of the area had complained of constant cattle theft and extortion by the group which he said was led by Gerardo de Jesus Gutierrez, also known as “El Flaco.”  Gutierrez and his band are accused of the murder of rancher Nahum de Jesus Cruz Lopez and of Javier Moreno, the political secretary of the Sandinista Party in Kilambe, who was tortured with a knife and finally shot.

La Prensa reported that a group calling itself the Nicaragua Guerrilla Coordinator (CGN) issued a communiqué on the internet which identified one of the men who died in the incident, Santos Irias Calderon, as a member of the CGN.  But La Prensa reported that family members of Yairon Diaz Pastrana, the other man killed, said he was headed to his corn patch and was captured by the army and found dead with signs of torture.  In answer to the accusation, Col. Hernandez said that the Army respects human rights and “At no time do we go around capturing people illegally and torturing them.… [O]n the contrary we were in the area at the request of ranchers in the zone.”   El Nuevo Diario reported that it had been told by a military intelligence officer that Diaz had a message on his cell phone that indicated he was part of the armed group.

Carlos Enrique Herrera, Bishop of Jinotega, issued a statement in which he called on both the Army and the groups of supposed “rearmed bands” to avoid acts of violence.  While the web page of the CGN states that they are in rebellion against the government of President Daniel Ortega, the Army insists that they are delinquents who engage in cattle theft and extortion.  (Radio La Primerisima, Oct. 13; La Prensa, Oct. 12; El Nuevo Diario, Oct. 13; http://cgnradiopueblounido.com/)

6. PAHO calls for investigation of Chronic Renal Insufficiency

The Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO) spoke out about Chronic Renal Insufficiency (CRI) in Central America which has caused thousands of deaths in rural areas. The causes are not known. PAHO called it a “serious health problem” that must be investigated. According to PAHO, the region’s health ministers acknowledge that CRI is a serious public health problem and call for an investigation of the environmental and labor conditions that cause it. CRI is believed by PAHO to be associated with “environmental contaminates and labor risks” including agrochemicals and poor labor conditions including insufficient hydration of those working in high temperatures.  The Directing Council of PAHO passed a resolution calling on the countries affected to increase vigilance and treatment of affected patients. It also called for the countries to attack the causes, economic and social, that provoke the illness in those communities. PAHO is also preparing an investigation of the illness.

Central America has seen an increase in the number of cases of CRI not related to the traditional causes--diabetes and high blood pressure--especially among adolescents living in the poor zones of the Pacific Coast. According to experts, thousands of people have died from renal disease over the past decade, particularly in Nicaragua and El Salvador, although they acknowledge that precise information is difficult to obtain. In El Salvador, CRI cases, from traditional or agricultural causes, have increased 50% between 2005 and 2012 and are the principle cause of hospitalization in the country. In April, Central American countries and the Dominican Republic held a high level meeting in which they called for “urgent action” to combat the disease. (El Nuevo Diario, Oct. 8; Radio La Primerisima, Oct. 8)

7. Obsolete electronics recycled and trees planted

The Nicaraguan Environmental Association (Nicambiental) estimates that there is 10,000 tons of electronic waste in the country. Since June the organization has collected five tons and hopes to collect 25 tons by the end of the year. Nicambiental director Ivette Cerna described the obsolete computers, phones, and other electronic products as “highly harmful for human health and for the environment.” The organization is recycling the sellable materials inside the electronic and small appliance products such as gold, cadmium, and plastic while preventing the toxic components such as arsenic and lead from entering the environment. The project is supported by aid from Germany and the money earned from recycling is used to plant threatened trees such as Nicaraguan Rosewood, mahogany, Pochote (Pachira quinata) and cedar.  Managua universities are participating in the program. The Science, Technology and Environment Department at the University of Central America has a truck that visits all the universities collecting obsolete electronics. The campaign is called “Donate your electronic trash and save our precious forests.” Money earned from recycling one ton of electronic and home appliance waste will plant 2,500 threatened trees. El Nuevo Diario gave a phone number and e-mail address for those who want to donate their old electronics. Cesar Barahona, director of Nicaraguan Center for Cleaner Production called on the government and electronic sales companies to play a larger role in dealing with the growing global problem of obsolete electronic products. (El Nuevo Diario, Oct. 13)