Nicaragua Network

1. Ortega says there will be changes to constitutional amendments as a result of consultations
2. Laws governing Army and Police to be amended
3. Latinobarómetro poll has Nicaraguan government in fifth place in approval
4. Catholics celebrate 100th anniversary of Managua archdiocese
5. Army cracks down on nature preserve invasions; indigenous demand more enforcement
6. Agricultural production grows despite world price drop
7. Nicaragua praised for renewable energy production
8. Nicaragua complies with World Court order to fill San Juan River channel
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1. Ortega says there will be changes to constitutional amendments as a result of consultations

Speaking on Nov. 29 at a Police Academy graduation ceremony, President Daniel Ortega said that there would be changes in the constitutional amendments under consideration in the National Assembly based on the hearings held by the special committee appointed to review the amendments.  He stated, “They are making changes because there are a number of observations, valid observations, points that could awaken suspicions….  Why put them in?  Better to take them out.  Other points need enriching: all that is related to the area of justice, all that is related to the branches of the Nicaraguan government….” Ortega explained that the bill of amendments will not be presented to the first secretary of Assembly until the necessary changes are made.  [For a summary of the amendments as first proposed, go here:  http://www.nicanet.org/?page=blog&id=23443.]

The special committee had already reported out the bill on Nov. 28 with several changes. The amendment allowing military officers to hold civilian government posts now would limit the types of offices and duration of the terms military officers could serve—for example, they would not be able to serve in the judicial branch or with the Supreme Electoral Council. Participation in neighborhood cabinets “must be voluntary and inclusive”.  An amendment establishing the unalienable right to water and a prohibition on its privatization was included.  Respect for family, communal, and indigenous property was clarified and a change requested by the business group COSEP to require that the State guarantee both national and foreign investment was added. The first draft had only referred to foreign investment. 

The package of amendments received “yes” votes from the four Sandinista deputies on the committee and a “yes with reservations” from the one Constitutional Liberal Party deputy with the two Independent Liberal Party members of the committee voting “no”.  Assumedly, after further revisions, the bill will be sent back to the committee for another vote.  One of the members of the committee said that Ortega government officials were scheduled to meet with business leaders to discuss their proposals.

Reactions to Ortega’s announcement were generally positive.  Bishop Rene Sandino, president of the Nicaraguan Bishops’ Conference, said, “The fact that the President of the Republic has said that they are listening to the observations and that they (the amendments) are being revised is a positive sign because it means that they are not closed, that there is an interest in looking at the observations that were made, the positions that were taken and in the end they will draw their conclusions.”  The statement of the Bishops’ Conference to the committee on Nov. 22 had been strong and generally negative.

Some 500 people had protested outside the National Assembly the day the proposed amendments were reported out of committee and Dora Maria Tellez of the Sandinista Renovation Movement (MRS) said that the organization United for the Republic was organizing another march for Dec. 10 in Managua to protest the amendments which, she said, were leading to “a model of dictatorship with the Ortega-Murillo pair at its head [referring to President Ortega and his wife, national communications coordinator Rosario Murillo].” She said the march would be followed by a national strike. (La Prensa, Nov. 29, Dec. 1; Radio La Primerisima, Nov. 30; El Nuevo Diario, Nov. 30, Dec. 2; Informe Pastran, Nov. 28, 29)

2. Laws governing Army and Police to be amended

On Nov. 26 the National Assembly began consideration of a bill sent by President Daniel Ortega to amend Nicaragua’s military code. The bill, which would make changes to a law passed in 1994, was sent to the Committee on Peace, Defense, and Governance.  The bill includes a clause that corresponds with one included in proposed amendments to the constitution that would allow “members of the Army to hold offices in the institutions of the State that are not elected by popular will.”  It also would give the Army, in coordination with civilian authorities, the job of protecting “data systems, information registries, and radio and satellite spectrums to prevent alterations or damage to the national communications system.”

The Army, according to the bill, must guarantee “the security and protection of economic objectives and strategic resources” and can support the National Police in cases of disturbances.  The Army can “acquire, produce, conserve, and improve armaments” and implements necessary for defense as well as “administer industries, establishments and units of production of military nature.”  Years of service are increased from 35 to 40 with mandatory retirement at 65 except by disposition of the president.  The bill would allow retired officers to rejoin the service on a contract basis and a former head of the Army could return to that office if the president were to remove an Army chief for insubordination.

When the bill was introduced in the Assembly on Nov. 12, opposition Deputy Eliseo Nuñez said that Nicaragua was transitioning from an authoritarian civilian dictatorship to a military dictatorship and that a new dictatorship needed “its new National Guard,” a reference to the army of late dictator Anastasio Somoza.  Army chief Julio Cesar Aviles told reporters last week that any comparison between the National Guard and the Nicaraguan Army founded in 1979 by the Sandinista Revolution was “shameful” and that he and all of the members of the Army were patriotic and disciplined soldiers.

On Nov. 29, National Police First Commissioner Aminta Granera confirmed that a bill to amend the law governing the Police will be sent to the National Assembly shortly.  Granera said, “Law 228 is many years old and is completely out of date. We have nearly twice as many structures as we did when it was passed,” in 1996. Commissioner Javier Davila said that, for example, the Directorate of Juvenile Affairs is not mentioned in the current code. He said that a commission within the Police force was working on a draft of the legislation.  (El Nuevo Diario, Nov. 26, 28; La Prensa, Nov. 15, 29; Radio La Primerisima, Nov. 27)

3. Latinobarómetro poll has Nicaraguan government in fifth place in approval

The Chilean organization Latinobarómetro released its “Informe 2013” which showed the Nicaraguan government in fifth place in Latin America in terms of public approval.  In first place was the Dominican Republic with 74% approval, followed by Ecuador with 73%, El Salvador with 66%, Uruguay with 61% and Nicaragua with 60%.  The poll indicated that 51% of Nicaraguans have an image of progress in the country, up from 36% in 2011. Nicaraguans are the most optimistic on the continent with 46% believing that the future will be better and 30% saying that their current situation is good.  Fifty percent of Nicaraguans expect that their future economic situation will be much better while 56% believe that the government can resolve the problem of poverty. Nicaraguans said they were most concerned about economic issues (45%) with only 29% saying that they were interested in politics.  Even though 60% said that they had difficulty making ends meet and 78% had never connected to the Internet, 78% said that they were satisfied with their lives.  (Informe Pastran, Nov. 28)

4. Catholics celebrate 100th anniversary of Managua archdiocese

On Dec. 2, Nicaraguan Catholics celebrated the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the ecclesiastical province of Nicaragua with an outdoor mass and the attendance of 20 bishops and 300 priests from all over Latin America. In 1913, Pope Pius X separated the diocese of Granada from the diocese of Leon, formed the vicariate of Bluefields, and placed them all under the newly established archdiocese of Managua.  Pope Francis sent as his representative Cardinal Nicolas de Jesus Lopez Rodriguez from the Dominican Republic (the first diocese established in the Americas in 1511) who presided over the 10:00 am mass which was also celebrated by Cardinal Miguel Obando y Bravo (retired Archbishop of Managua), the current Archbishop Leopoldo Brenes, and Papal Nuncio Bishop Fortunatus Nwachukwu, the Pope’s representative in Nicaragua. 

Bishop Rene Sandigo who heads the Nicaraguan Catholic Bishops’ Conference said that the Nicaraguan church had taken up the challenge of Pope Francis to become a missionary church and become closer to the faithful.  He asked Archbishop Lopez to tell the Pope that the Nicaraguan bishops have taken on “the culture … that he is promoting around the world of encounter with Christ and with our brothers.” Also that day, Lopez Rodriguez met with President Daniel Ortega who asked him to tell Pope Francis that “This country loves him and is waiting for him [to visit]” but he later added, “It can’t be easy for Pope Francis to decide which country to visit with so many invitations and so many with the desire to have him.”  Cardinal Lopez thanked Ortega for his welcome and said that, while he had visited Nicaragua many times, this was the first with such a mission. 

On Nov. 28, the National Assembly awarded the Order of General Jose Dolores Estrada to Archbishop Leopoldo Brenes in honor of the anniversary.  At the ceremony, which was attended by representatives of all the branches of the Nicaraguan government, National Assembly President Rene Nuñez spoke of the important role the Catholic Church has played at times of conflict in Nicaragua and in the development of the country.  Also in attendance were Bishop Nwachukwu and Cardinal Obando. Brenes said to the Assembly, “We ask the Lord to rain down his spirit so that your decisions may always be focused on the common good for all Nicaraguans.”  (El Nuevo Diario, Nov. 28, Dec. 2; Informe Pastran, Dec. 2)

5. Army cracking down on nature preserve invasions while indigenous demand more enforcement

The Army’s Ecological Battalion is applying stricter control in areas of the Bosawas Biosphere Reserve that are most affected by encroachment from settlers expanding the agricultural frontier. The army announced that it has seized 385 head of cattle and 170 mules in the Saslaya National Park in the past few months. The government has instituted a national system to trace cattle which Siuna cattle producers are complaining is preventing them from marketing their animals because they can’t prove that they were not grazed in the Bosawas protected zones. The Bosawas is an area of 8,065.93 sq. km.  Forests on 970.81 sq. km. of it have been illegally destroyed by colonizers from the central and Pacific regions.

Meanwhile, Lottie Cunningham, president of the Center for Justice and Human Rights of the Atlantic Cost of Nicaragua (CEJUDHCAN), urged authorities to enforce Law 445, the Indigenous Peoples Communal Property Law, in the face of land invasions by colonizers who are damaging the ecosystem and the culture of the indigenous peoples causing instability in the region.  Lenny Simon Watson, president of the Awas Tara Territorial Government, said that 700 “invaders” had installed themselves in his region (also part of Bosawas) clearing the forest for cattle grazing. Indigenous activists are calling for a census of the affected areas to check legal documents of those found occupying communal lands.  Meanwhile, Nora Newball Crisanto, coordinator of the Creole-Indigenous Communal Government of Bluefields, decried the failure of the government seven years after the law was passed to issue a communal property title to her people. (El Nuevo Diario, Nov. 28; Dec. 2)

6. Agricultural production grows despite world price drop

According to the Nicaraguan Central Bank (BCN), Nicaragua’s agricultural production will grow by 5% this year despite an overall 9.5% fall in international market prices for the country’s exports. Increased sugarcane production of 30.6% has offset the 5.3% drop in the value of coffee exports according to the BCN. Sugar production has seen a growth spurt based on mechanization of the harvest in order to avoid the need to burn the fields. The Nicaraguan government projects a 5% increase in basic grain production in the 2013-2014 agricultural cycle despite Nicaraguan farmers’ generally low yields for rice, bean, and corn production. As a result in the drop of commodity prices, the Central Bank reported an increase in the trade deficit of 3.2% compared to the same period last year. January through September exports totaled $2.1548 billion, a 6.8% reduction over last year. (El Nuevo Diario, Nov. 26)

7. Nicaragua praised for renewable energy production

Minister of Energy and Mines Emilio Rappaccioli said that Nicaragua has realized only 11% of its potential to produce renewable energy, a potential he put at 4,500 megawatts. Even exploiting only 11% of its potential has pushed Nicaragua from producing 20% of its energy from renewable sources to an expected 51% by the end of the year with 74% from renewables projected by 2018. Renewable energy includes hydro, geothermal, wind, and biomass electricity generation. The Sandinista government, in partnership with the UN Development Program (UNDP) and international financial institutions, has prioritized switching electricity production from dependence on fossil fuel to clean energy.

Rappaccioli made his remarks at a meeting of the International Agency of Renewable Energy in Managua. UNDP resident coordinator in Nicaragua Pablo Mendeville stated, “This is a very encouraging change in the energy matrix and is a global commitment that all governments must increase the access to power. In that respect, Nicaragua is advancing.” Nicaragua is one of 65 countries that made a commitment in 2012 to universal access to electricity for its population.  Its commitment to provide that energy from renewable sources is very attractive to foreign investment according to Climascopia Latin America 2013. Other international representatives at the meeting also praised Nicaragua’s strong performance in switching to renewable energy generation and expressed their willingness to support the initiative. (El Nuevo Diario, Nov. 26)

8. Nicaragua complies with World Court order to fill channel at mouth of San Juan River

The dredging operation headed by Eden Pastora completed filling in a channel at the mouth of the San Juan River on Dec. 1, thus complying with an order from the International Court of Justice at The Hague (World Court).  The Court on Nov. 22 mandated this and several other provisional measures that Nicaragua said it would immediately comply with, including the prohibition of future visits to the border area in question by members of the Young Environmentalists and the suspension of the dredging of two channels. The Court gave Nicaragua two weeks to fill in the one channel and Pastora said it was not difficult and was completed in one week.  He admitted he had gone into the area by mistake. The area in dispute before the Court is a small 2.5 hectare triangle of land which Nicaragua calls Harbour Head and Costa Rica Isla Portilla. The issuing of a final ruling on the dispute is not expected until 2015.  (El Nuevo Diario, Dec. 2; La Prensa, Dec. 1)