WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2007
Nicaragua Network Hotline (September 26, 2007)
Topics in this hotline include:1. Ortega presents plan of reconstruction in RAAN
2. Pope congratulates National Assembly for maintaining abortion ban
3. Second largest National Assembly bench likely to split
4. Gas shortage continues while economist warns of dire effects of unprecedented oil price
5. ENACAL begins works on water project which aims to benefit 300,000 in Managua
6. Crime rate increases by 15% in a year
Topic 1: Ortega presents plan of reconstruction in RAAN
On Sept. 25 President Daniel Ortega presented the Plan of Reconstruction and Rehabilitation for the area affected by Hurricane Felix. The document was produced by the local authorities of the Northern Atlantic Autonomous Region (RAAN) and the FSLN government in consultation with public defense forces. It calls for the investment of US$292.3 million over the next six months.
According to official statistics Hurricane Felix, which hit the Northern Caribbean region of Nicaragua on Sept. 4 as a category five storm, directly affected nearly 200,000 people, the majority of whom have been left homeless. So far there are 102 confirmed dead and 133 still missing. The hurricane destroyed over 20,000 houses, as well as many churches, schools, health centers, roads and bridges. 86,536 hectares of crops, 40,011 cattle, 1,366 small boats, and 48,355 sets of fishing equipment were also lost. The government calculates that Felix caused losses of over US$850 million.
Included in the Plan of Reconstruction and Rehabilitation's budget is aid in the form of food, reconstruction of homes, schools and health centers, rehabilitation of the agricultural and fishing industries, and forest protection. The plan includes US$2.5 million for risk management, including the creation of early warning systems and training for the population about how to protect themselves in the event of an emergency.
The plan aims to reactivate the region within six months, the authorities stress the need to provide 18,500 tons of emergency food aid until the reconstruction of basic infrastructure and houses and the rehabilitation of agriculture and the fishing industry is carried out. So far the World Food Program and other international organizations have promised 4,500 tons of emergency food aid, leaving a deficit of 13,500 tons at an estimated cost of US$16.5 million.
During the press conference at which the plan was presented the President of the Indigenous Council in the RAAN, Carlos Sanders requested "immediate support ... so as to avoid the disappearance of our [indigenous] nations in the near future." Even before the disaster, members of the indigenous communities in the RAAN were beginning to emigrate from the region, he said.
During the week there have been several claims from members of the communities affected by Felix that the authorities did not do enough to prevent fatalities. On Sept. 19 the Elders Council of Moskitia sent a public letter to President Ortega and to the head of the Nicaraguan Army Omar Halleslevens requesting that an investigation into the failure to evacuate large areas before the hurricane struck be opened.
On Sept. 20 when a group of ten National Assembly Deputies traveled to Puerto Cabezas, they were met with hundreds of citizens protesting to demand greater efficiency in the distribution of aid. According to locals, there are several communities that have not received any food aid yet. Other analysts have said the response of the present government was very good compared to that of the administration of former President Arnoldo Aleman during and after Hurricane Mitch in 1998.
If you can make a contribution to help the Nicaraguan victims of Hurricane Felix, click here! You can also mail a check to Nicaragua Network, 1247 E St., SE, Washington, DC 20003. Write Hurricane Felix in the memo line.
Topic 2: Pope congratulates National Assembly for maintaining abortion ban
On Sept. 24 Pope Benedict XVI described last week's National Assembly vote to maintain criminal penalties for therapeutic abortion to save the life the mother as "very positive." The Pope congratulated the Nicaraguan government for its "pro life" position despite "significant internal and international pressure" to the contrary. He went on to say that "it is vital that the Nicaraguan state and society provide greater assistance to women who have serious complication with their pregnancies." Nicaragua's law presently criminalizes abortions even in the case of ectopic pregnancies, when failure to abort the fetus guarantees that neither the mother nor the fetus can survive.
On Sept. 17 the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nicaragua issued a press statement praising the deputies' decision. "We thank God because now many children will be able to share our existence with us and many women, despite the difficulties that motherhood implies for them, will be able to experience the joy of collaborating with God in the creation of new life," the statement read. Only the three Sandinista Renovation Movement delegates voted to decriminalize therapeutic abortion.
Last week President of the National Assembly Justice Committee Jose Pallais introduced an amendment which would create an exception for doctors forced to carry out an abortion in order to save the mother's life. It would protect doctors from prosecution but would still require that they go to court to prove that the mother's life was in serious risk. Pallais said he feels confident the National Assembly will approve the motion. He believes that it is now impossible for therapeutic abortion to be legalized again in the near future, not even if the Supreme Court declared the abortion ban unconstitutional.
Topic 3: Second largest National Assembly bench likely to split
Nicaragua's political class is reverting to type with the imminent split of the Nicaraguan Liberal Alliance (ALN) bench, the second largest group in the National Assembly after the FSLN. Historically the right-wing parties have only unified under great pressure and lavish financing from the United States government. Even that failed in last year's election. The US managed to put together an alliance of some Liberal Party leaders with the moribund Conservative Party, but they were unable to convince the remainder of Nicaraguan Liberals to dump former president Arnoldo Aleman as head of the Constitutional Liberal Party, which ran its own candidates. Conservative Party (PC) delegates who ran on the ALN slate appear poised to break off and form their own bench in the National Assembly. Liberals and Conservatives have been rivals in Nicaragua for nearly 200 years and usually changed places in national leadership only through violence.
A meeting of various party leadership bodies is scheduled to take place on Sept. 25. It is thought likely that the result of this meeting will be the separation of the ALN and the PC. This is an outcome which ALN General Secretary Eduardo Montealegre is keen to avoid because it would mean that the ALN alliance is no longer the second largest political force within the National Assembly. Political analysts believe that the ALN may completely fall apart if the two groups do not separate. In the 1990 UNO Coalition that the US constructed to defeat the Sandinistas at the polls, there were four separate Liberal Parties and four separate Conservative Parties in the coalition.
Topic 4: Gas shortage continues while economist warns of dire effects of unprecedented oil price
The shortage of gasoline in service stations across the country continued this week despite promises from government authorities and from the gasoline companies that distribution would be back to normal by now. Both Sandinista and opposition deputies agree that the gas shortage is not due to a lack of gasoline in the country but lack of capacity by the Nicaraguan Petroleum Distribution (DNP) company to distribute it now that Exxon-Mobil has pulled out. The DNP doesn't have enough trucks to supply gasoline from Venezuela to all Petronic, Shell and Texaco gas stations in the country.
On Sept. 17 the National Consumer Defense Network demanded that the government take steps to resolve the situation, that the details of the debt Exxon-Mobil has with Nicaraguan customs are clarified and that the authorities take responsibility for the increase in the price of basic products being caused by the crisis. Economist Roger Cerda warned of the dire effects the ongoing increases in the price of oil will have on the economy. Cerda says that, as always, the poorest will be hit hardest as prices continue to rise and basic products become less and less accessible to workers. He described the anticipated economic trends as a "hurricane threatening to knock us to the ground."
Topic 5: ENACAL begins works on water project which aims to benefit 300,000 in Managua
On Sept. 18 the state water company, ENACAL, headed by consumer advocate Ruth Herrera, began the initial stage of an ambitious project to extend the running water to 50 Managua neighborhoods with a total of 300,000 inhabitants in the south of the city. The initial phase, funded with money saved by cancelling a "modernization" contract with an Argentine company that was financed by a US$30 Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) loan, will reach 5 neighborhoods with 20,000 residents and will cost US$8 million. This phase of the project should be completed in January.
Herrera explained that the remainder of the IDB loan had already been paid to the Argentine company or committed to other projects. ENACAL has applied for a US$80 million loan from the World Bank to cover the cost of extending the network to include the other 45 neighborhoods, but the ALN and PLC have vowed to block the loans unless Herrera is removed as head of ENACAL. The 50 neighborhoods to be benefitted by this project are among the most impoverished in the capital. Currently the inhabitants of the area don't have reliable access to clean water. Herrera said that, without the loan from the World Bank, ENACAL would not be able to carry out the project.
Topic 6: Crime rate increases by 15% in a year
On Sept. 21 the National Police presented its annual report about crime rates in 2006 showing that overall crime increased by 15% in 2006 in comparison to 2005 with the homicide rate increasing to 14 murders for every 100,000 inhabitants. Of a total of 120,462 crimes reported 57,670 (47%) resulted in official accusations.
According to public security expert Luis Humberto Guzman statistics show that most crimes are the result of problems within the home or other social interaction problems and are not the result of organized crime. He also believes that these figures suggest the majority of criminals and victims of crimes in Nicaragua "are people living in conditions of poverty or extreme poverty," that most crimes are the result of conditions of poverty, something which "the National Police is incapable of resolving." Guzman believes that Nicaraguan society finds it more satisfying to punish criminals than to take measures towards preventing crime. In order to reduce crime rates, he says, it is necessary to direct more funds towards education and social programs. When contrasting the attitude of Nicaraguan police officials with those of their counterparts in Guatemala, El Salvador, and much of Latin America where criminal syndicates, right wing death squads and repressive police methods are the norm, even a 15% crime rate increase makes the Nicaraguan police, whose leadership was formed in the Sandinista struggle against the Somoza dictatorship, look pretty good in comparison.
This hotline is prepared from the Nicaragua News Service and other sources. To receive a more extensive weekly summary of the news from Nicaragua by e-mail or postal service, send a check for $60.00 to Nicaragua Network, 1247 E St., SE, Washington, DC 20003. We can be reached by phone at 202-544-9355. Our web site is: www.nicanet.org. To subscribe to the Hotline, send an e-mail to nicanet@afgj.org
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