TUESDAY, AUGUST 10, 2010
Nicaragua News Bulletin (August 10, 2010)
1. Conflict continues in Supreme Court2. State Department releases “terrorism” report
3. IMF and World Bank make recommendations
4. Elections 2011 news
5. Campbell begins role as ambassador to the US with a focus on Nicaraguans
6. Peasants to be displaced by dam demonstrate for more money
7. Nicaraguan tourism authorities expect more than one million tourists in 2010
8. Rains kill one and cause considerable damage
1. Conflict continues in Supreme Court
With the National Assembly unable to elect replacements for those justices of the Supreme Court whose terms have expired, conflict has continued in the court. When Justice Manuel Martinez' term as president of the court expired, the court was unable to elect a new head of the court because justices affiliated with the Constitutional Liberal Party (PLC) refused to session. They objected because two justices (Rafael Solis and Armengol Cuadra) whose terms had expired stayed in their position based on a January decree by President Daniel Ortega that said that high level officials whose terms had ended could remain in their posts until their replacements were named by the National Assembly.
The officer of the court next in line, Justice Alba Luz Ramos, took over as president and called alternate justices to appear to fill the posts of those justices who refused to session. On Aug. 9, ten alternate justices, seven from the Sandinista Party and three from the PLC from among 14 total alternates, answered her call. Ramos said that the session on Monday was called to discuss how the Sandinista justices and the alternate justices would organize themselves to form the full court and the Criminal, Civil, Constitutional, and Administrative Panels. She said that on Aug. 11 the six alternates to replace the absent justices would be chosen by lot. Then they would proceed to sign the rulings on 3,000 cases from the four panels of the court.
Ramos noted that since June 14 the Liberal justices had gone back and forth on whether they would appear to resolve pending cases but always at the last moment they had refused to session. The most recent was last week when it appeared that an agreement had been reached for the full court to sign pending rulings on Aug. 3. However, when Solis and Cuadra appeared to participate in the signings, the Liberal justices withdrew. It was then that Ramos called for the alternates to present themselves.
On Aug. 6, Justice Manuel Martinez, whose term as president of the court ended but whose term as a justice on the court does not end until 2013, said “If lawyers like Rafael Solis and Armengol Cuadra, who are no longer justices, try to replace me with an alternate, why can't I do the same against them?” He said, “We will be there on Monday morning and if they name alternates in our places, we will name some to replace them.” He added that it was evident that the issue was an attempt to create the conditions for a constitutional amendment allowing for the reelection of President Daniel Ortega. He said that his salary had been retained and some of his office staff laid off. (La Prensa, Aug. 9; El Nuevo Diario, Aug. 7, 9; Radio La Primerisima, Aug. 6)
2. State Department releases “terrorism” report
On Aug. 5 the US State Department released its annual “report card” judging other countries on cooperation for fighting terrorism or for “sponsoring terrorism.” Not surprisingly, the Latin American countries leading efforts for regional integration and independence from US hegemony came off poorly in the report, while states allied with US foreign policy interests such as Colombia and Mexico received high marks despite poor human rights records and high levels of state-sponsored violence.
The State Department report accused Nicaragua of having a corrupt and highly politicized judiciary that could be taken advantage of by terrorists and said it had expanded ties with Iran. The report noted that Nicaragua had granted asylum to accused collaborators of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), including Doris Torres and Martha Perez who survived an attack by the Colombian Army inside Ecuador. The report admitted that “There is no knowledge of known terrorist groups operating openly in Nicaragua; nevertheless retired and inactive members of the FARC and the ETA [Basque Homeland and Freedom] reside in Nicaragua.” The report also noted that there had been a number of positive interchanges related to anti-terrorism between Nicaraguan and US Armed Forces during the past year.
It said Venezuela and Bolivia provided “minimal cooperation” on anti-terrorism. The report also accused Cuba of providing sanctuary and support for terrorists including Colombia's FARC and National Liberation Army (ELN) and the ETA. Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez quickly fired back accusing the US of “hypocrisy,” “deliberate lies,” and creating the report for reasons of “domestic politics.” (La Prensa, Aug. 5, Radio La Primerisima, Aug. 5)
3. IMF and World Bank make recommendations
After meeting on August 4 with representatives of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank's International Development Agency (IDA), Vice-President Jaime Morales Carazo said that the financial institutions had expressed concern about what they considered excessive expenditures by the Social Security Institute and had recommended that the monthly US$25 “solidarity payments” to low wage government workers be included in the national budget. Opposition media sources said that other recommendations from the IMF and IDA included reconciliation with the countries that formed Nicaragua's Budget Support Group in order to renew no-strings aid that was suspended when accusations of fraud were raised after the 2008 municipal elections.
The IMF also wanted transparency with all funds coming from Venezuela and recommended strengthening the role of the Comptroller General of the Republic to “permit it to begin to audit bi-national entities in which the public sector has interests.” These would evidently include agencies such ALBA-CARUNA which have disbursed money from Venezuela under the auspices of the Bolivarian Alliance for Our Americas (ALBA). The IMF and IDA expressed concern about political issues as well, including the Supreme Court ruling that President Daniel Ortega and current members of the National Assembly could seek reelection and Ortega's decree allowing appointees to remain in office after their terms expired until their replacements were named.
Gustavo Porras, Sandinista member of the National Assembly and head of the National Workers Front (FNT), said that workers would not permit the IMF to interfere with the government's social policies, including the “solidarity payment” and Social Security policy. He said that the important thing was that there was now a government of the people of Nicaragua where the unions and the workers were ready to discuss the model they wanted without asking permission of the IMF. (La Prensa, Aug. 5; El Nuevo Diario, Aug. 7; Radio La Primerisima, Aug. 7)
4. Elections 2011 news
Last week two men who have expressed interest in running for president in next year's elections said that they would abandon their candidacies if the other proclaimed candidates (obviously referring especially to former President Arnoldo Aleman) also did so. Eduardo Montealegre of the “Let's Go with Eduardo” Movement and Alejandro Bolaños Davis of the Conservative Party said they would support Fabio Gadea Mantilla, head of Radio Corporacion, as the sole candidate of the opposition to run against President Daniel Ortega who is expected to be the Sandinista Party's candidate. Gadea Mantilla, a long-time radio journalist and commentator, said that he would accept the challenge if others declined. In spite of being a member of the Constitutional Liberal Party (PLC), he agreed that it would be better for the opposition if neither Aleman (the PLC leader) nor Montealegre were the opposition candidate. PLC spokesman Leonel Teller said that the PLC's position was that the candidate should be chosen in the primary election scheduled for March 6.
In other election news, the Office of the Comptroller General of the Republic decided on Aug. 4 to investigate the claim of Julio Baez who said that he was charged US$15 to receive his new voter identification card. Baez said that the charge violated several laws. Head Comptroller Guillermo Argüello Poessy said that a request for information would be sent immediately to the President of the Supreme Electoral Council, Roberto Rivas, asking for information and that Rivas had one week to respond. Argüello stated that the card should be free because it is necessary to have one in order to exercise basic civil and political rights. National Assembly deputies said that they would consider legislation to eliminate the charge.
Meanwhile, Adonai Jimenez, director of organization and electoral logistics for the Supreme Electoral Council (CSE), said in an interview on Channel 2 Television that the CSE would not permit observation of the 2011 presidential election by the two Nicaraguan groups Ethics and Transparency and the Institute for Development and Democracy (IPADE) as long as their current directors (Roberto Courtney and Mauricio Zuñiga respectively) were in their posts. Both groups receive funding from the US government via the National Endowment for Democracy and/or US Agency for International Development. It was unclear if other groups would be certified as official national observers. (El Nuevo Diario, Aug. 6; La Prensa, Aug. 5)
5. Campbell begins role as ambassador to the US with a focus on Nicaraguans
Communication and Citizenship Council head Rosario Murillo said on Aug. 3 that the Nicaraguan ambassador to United States, Francisco Campbell, begins his job "with a broad work agenda focused on guaranteeing that all of the [Nicaraguan] consulates in the different U.S. states function optimally at the service of Nicaraguans within the country." Campbell himself said that above all else, he is determined to make Nicaraguans the number one priority of the embassy and of the consulates. "I want every Nicaraguan who walks out of a consulate or the embassy to be able to tell their family members that they were well attended, with consideration," he said.
Ambassador Campbell said that the government of Nicaragua is interested in improving relations with the United States and would like to work within a context of mutual respect. "President Obama stated that he is in agreement with working toward this goal. He even told me personally that he is committed to better the relations between the Nicaraguan and US government, and added that between two Hawaiians, we could accomplish this goal. I studied in Hawaii and he is Hawaiian," said Campbell.
Campbell's new role as ambassador is significant, not only due to his focus on Nicaraguans and commitment to improving relations, but also because it may be the first time that a Latin American country has named an African descendant as its official representative to the United States. Murillo noted, "We know that for the Caribbean Coast community the naming of their Francisco Campbell is seen as recognition of their communities, with which the government plainly identifies." (Radio La Primerísima, August 3)
6. Peasants to be displaced by dam demonstrate for more money
Over 300 peasants, whose land will be swallowed up by a lake behind the Tumarin hydroelectric dam, began a demonstration on Aug. 5. They kept seven employees of the company Nicaraguan Hydroelectric Centers (CHN) from leaving the company's office for three days before releasing them, demanding that the government double its offer of US$250/hectare for the 3,000 hectares that will be flooded by the project.
Juan Espinoza, former mayor of La Cruz de Rio Grande, said that the people living along the river are unhappy because the National Assembly passed the law approving the project and the Regional Council of the South Atlantic Autonomous Region (RAAS) approved it, all without consulting with the affected population of the area. CHN President Marcelo Conde said that those displaced from their farms, stores, lots, and homes “will be adequately compensated at market prices.” He said that 307 of the 483 property owners have already agreed to the compensation.
The US$800 million project is being constructed by Brazilian companies. It will produce 250 megawatts of electricity when it goes into operation in 2013, saving Nicaragua an estimated US$80 million in oil and producing 23% of the country's electricity needs. The project will dam the Rio Grande de Matagalpa in Apawas in the RAAS 350 kilometers from Managua. (Radio La Primerisima, Aug. 6; El Nuevo Diario, Aug. 7, Aug. 8,)
7. Nicaraguan tourism authorities expect more than one million tourists in 2010
Nicaraguan tourism authorities are hoping for “a little more than one million tourists” in 2010, setting a record and producing US$400 million in income. Just under 500,000 foreign tourists had visited Nicaragua by the end of June, a 9.1% increase over the previous year, according to the Nicaraguan Tourism Institute (INTUR). The growth is attributed to greater promotion of the industry within Central America and the popularity of European reality TV shows featuring Nicaragua.
Another factor is increased investment in the industry. Small and medium businesses serving the tourist industry in Jinotega welcomed news of a US$7.9 million investment by the Grand Duchy of Luxemburg in the second phase of the Ruta de Cafe (Coffee Route) in the region which includes the departments of Jinotega, Matagalpa, Estelí, Ocotal and Madriz. The project promotes coffee farms as eco-tourism destinations. The first phase concentrated on training of tour guides and construction of cabins and guest houses.
Antonio Lacayo, former Minister of the Presidency under President Violeta Chamorro, is heading an organization that is part of the Pellas Group, Nicaragua's richest national corporation, to seek co-investment in tourism in the popular Southern tourist destinations of Granada, San Juan del Sur and Ometepe. He and embassy officials from the Netherlands launched a program last week to seek joint investment in projects to improve infrastructure and quality of services provided by small and medium tourism businesses.
The Nicaraguan Culture Institute has printed 3,000 guides to the country's 73 museums, according to Assistant Director Clemente Guido. The guides will be available at the airport, at tour agencies and businesses and at all of the museums included in the guide. (La Prensa, Aug. 3; Radio La Primerisima, Aug. 4, Aug. 5; El Nuevo Diario, Aug. 5, Aug. 7)
8. Rains kill one and cause considerable damage
One person died last weekend and the continuing rainfall, blamed on the La Niña weather phenomenon, has caused rivers to overflow their banks throughout the country causing damage to houses, businesses, crops, roads and bridges. According to Major Rolando Murillo of the Army's Civil Defense, the worst damage was in the city of Matagalpa where 150 houses were destroyed and 42 were partially destroyed when the Rio Grande de Matagalpa, which runs through the center of the city, overflowed its banks. Mayor Zadrach Zeledon said 18 neighborhoods were affected. The death was an unidentified man who was carried away by a river in Cusmapa in the municipality of Chichigalpa. (Radio La Primerisima, Aug. 9; El Nuevo Diario, Aug. 8,)
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