WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2007
Nicaragua Network Hotline (October 30, 2007)
Topics covered in this Hotline include:1. Government requests international support for hurricane recovery
2. Union leader describes changes in Free Trade Zone under FSLN government
3. Nemagon victims announce hunger strike
4. Campesinos oppose free trade agreement with the European Union
5. FSLN and PLC negotiate change to parliamentary system of government
Topic 1: Government requests international support for hurricane recovery
The Nicaraguan government projects that US$392.3 million is needed to alleviate the "humanitarian, ecological and productive" tragedy caused by Hurricane Felix and two tropical depressions which have severely affected 55% of Nicaraguan territory and over 230,000 people since Sept. 4. US$292.3 million would be used to carry out the reconstruction and rehabilitation plan produced by the authorities of the Northern Atlantic Autonomous Region (RAAN) in response to the devastation caused by Hurricane Felix. The remaining US$100 million would be used in the Pacific and highlands regions affected by torrential rains. The government has asked the international donor community to form a Consultation Group as was done after Hurricane Mitch in 1998.
On Oct. 23 Ortega presided at a meeting about the emergency situation which was attended by diplomats from Brazil, Central America, Canada, Cuba, the US, Europe, Iran, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Taiwan, Venezuela, and the United Nations. During the meeting Ortega said that his government needs support, understanding and flexibility from the international community. "We want the international community to understand that catastrophes on this scale don't occur in developed nations."
Ortega said that the emergency has put further strain on the 2008 budget proposal which, even before the disasters, "was unable to bear the weight" of Nicaragua's internal and external debts. According to Ortega his government worked to produce a 2008 budget proposal with a large social content which also gained the approval of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). "However, the 2008 budget proposal now no longer permits the government to attend to the [social, infrastructural and agricultural] reality," he said.
Ortega proposed a two year moratorium on payments of internal debt for bonds that covered several fraudulent bank failures and for a reprograming of external debt. "We have a pistol pointed at our head," he said, "if we refuse to service the debts ... immediately the economic programs with the IMF and the World Bank would be suspended, and if those programs are suspended, well it would be like watching a house of cards collapse, all [international] cooperation would be paralyzed." Ortega said that his proposal does not mean "that we are refusing to pay the debt ... what we want is a two year grace period ... and long term restructuring of the debt." Ortega's proposal has gained widespread support from diverse sectors including academics, economists, civil society organizations, agricultural producers and representatives of the private sector.
On Oct. 24 Minister of Agriculture Ariel Bucardo said that over 255,000 acres of beans, corns, rice and vegetables as well as 50,000 cattle were lost as a result of the disasters. He also reported significant losses caused to coffee, sorghum, peanut and sesame crops. In response to the imminent threat of famine, said Bucardo, the Ministry of Agriculture (MAGFOR) proposes to support farmers in order to produce 595,000 acres of corn and beans which would be sold exclusively within Nicaragua. In order to be able to carry out this proposal MAGFOR has appealed to the international community for US$3.6 million. The money would be spent on seed, fertilizer and the installation of small irrigation systems in dry areas.
Minister of Infrastructure Fernando Martinez stated that over 1,800 miles of road have been destroyed and that at least US$35 million is required in order to repair the national road network which he described as being in a state of "collapse."
On Oct. 26 the United Nations (UN) representative in Nicaragua Alfredo Missair said that the threat of famine in the RAAN and in some Pacific region is imminent. On Oct. 28 the government sent 600 tons of basic food products including beans, corn, rice, sugar, cereals and oil among other products to Bilwi/Puerto Cabezas to be distributed to communities across the region. The government has appealed to the international community to provide US$16 million in order to provide emergency food aid during six months for more than 120,000 people in the RAAN. The World Food Program has guaranteed food aid for 80,000 people during the same period, but the total number of people who require food aid in the region is more than 200,000.
The Nicaragua Network has been working to raise funds to aid Hurricane Felix victims in rebuilding. Already, supporters have donated funds totaling over $10,000. If you are able to help, you can make a tax-deductible donation through the Nicaragua Network. One hundred percent of your contribution will be used to aid the hurricane victims. You can make a secure on-line credit card donation by clicking on donate on this page. You can also call our office at 202-544-9355 with your credit card information or send a check to Nicaragua Network, 1247 E St., SE, Washington, DC 20003. Be sure to put “Hurricane relief” in the memo or include a note.
Also last week the Departments of Chinandega and Leon were hit with an outbreak of leptospirosis due to contaminated water from flooding. Nine people have died, but a quick response by the government which brought in a team of four Cuban specialists, two epidemiologists and two microbiologists on Oct. 27 who brought medicines and rat poison, the outbreak appears to have been contained.
Topic 2: Union leader describes changes in Free Trade Zone under FSLN government
According to Pedro Ortega, a longtime union organizer in Nicaragua's free trade zones, the Sandinista government has demonstrated its commitment to improving working conditions within the Free Trade Zone factories since coming to power in January. The free trade zones, where up until this year company owners have gotten away with a "policy of blatant disregard" for labor rights, are now frequented by Ministry of Labor (MITRAB) inspectors who not only carry out regular inspections of working conditions but also actually fine companies which fail to abide by the law, something which was unheard of during the last 16 years.
Ortega (no relation to Daniel) says that another difference which has been felt by maquiladora workers since the FSLN government came to power is the work the Nicaraguan Institute of Social Security (INSS) has been doing to recover the money owed to workers who have not been receiving social security benefits due to the dishonesty or inefficiency of their employers. According to Ortega the factory owners have been used to enjoying "excessive political and financial privileges" and having a "strong influence" within MITRAB. "What the new government is doing is nothing strange or uncalled for," said Ortega, "they are simply applying the law ... [but] the factory owners are getting worried."
Since the FSLN came to power five foreign companies have decided to leave Nicaragua (two US and three Taiwanese) complaining of excessive government restrictions. Another company from Hong Kong recently suspended activities and has threatened to leave the country after MITRAB imposed a 10,000 cordoba (US$540) fine for repeated violation of worker's rights.
Ortega believes that what is taking place at the moment is a process of readjustment. He thinks it likely that more companies, specifically from Taiwan and Korea, will leave the country but says that there are currently 16 companies (from the US, Brazil and Mexico) with plans to invest in Nicaragua's Free Trade Zones. According to the union leader these companies have plans to diversify production and introduce other types of technology as well as using locally produced materials such as cotton thus bringing more benefits to the country as a whole. Ortega says that government has been "very clear" with potential investors that they must respect worker's rights, respect the environment and demonstrate social corporate responsibility.
Topic 3: Nemagon victims announce hunger strike
On Oct. 23 fourteen former banana workers and victims of the deadly pesticide Nemagon announced plans to carry out an "extreme hunger strike" if President Daniel Ortega refuses to meet with them to discuss the agreements the former workers signed with President Enrique Bolaños in May 2005. As part of these agreements, which the victims say have not been honored by either the Bolaños or the Ortega administrations, the government committed itself to providing an extra US$1.6 million for medical attention for Nemagon victims. Also as part of the agreements the government promised to invest US$2.7 million in reforestation projects and decontamination of wells and rivers in Chinandega and Leon. According to the available information nearly 2,000 former banana workers have died from diseases related to Nemagon exposure and 12,000 are ill with diseases including cancer, skin diseases, infertility, bone deformation, kidney lung and heart disease.
Topic 4: Campesinos oppose free trade agreement with the European Union
The first round of negotiations for an Association Agreement between Central America and the European Union (EU) which will include a free trade agreement took place in San Jose, Costa Rica between Oct. 22 and 26. Chief negotiator for the EU Joao Aguilar Machado said the first week of negotiations had gone "smoothly" and been "fruitful." The Association Agreement between the two regions will include political, aid, and trade agreements. The authorities estimate that at least ten rounds of negotiations will be necessary before the agreement can be signed at the end of 2008 or at the beginning of 2009. The next round of negotiations will take place in Brussels.
On Oct. 25 numerous campesino organizations from across Central America issued a joint statement of opposition to the creation of a free trade agreement with the EU saying "these types of agreements are designed to benefit transnational companies with little concern for local producers."
According to Honduran campesino leader Jose Santos Vallecillo, Central American small farmers "will not be able to compete against the heavily subsidized European producers." This agreement "will finish off those that produce food for the local market and guarantee sovereignty over food production." According to Vallecillo the agreement will benefit "the big producers and transnationals that produce bananas and pineapples, for example. It's the campesinos who are going to suffer."
Topic 5: FSLN and PLC negotiate change to parliamentary system of government
The Nicaraguan press was full last week of stories and commentary when secret negotiations were revealed between the FSLN and Constitutional Liberal Party (PLC) about converting Nicaragua's government to a parliamentary system. Daniel Ortega has periodically proposed this since at least 1990 and despite claims by FSLN National Assembly bench leader Edwin Castro said that by the end of the year the constitutional reforms will have been ratified, it seems extremely unlikely that the many political hurdles could be overcome by then, or even that they ever will be.
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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