MONDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2010
Nicaragua News Bulletin (December 21, 2010)
[Note: There will be no Bulletin on Dec. 28.]1. Nicaragua prepares for the holidays
2. Zero Hunger meets its goals
3. Nicaragua closes 2010 with mostly good economic news
4. Poll shows support for government social policies and Ortega's reelection
5. Senator Richard Lugar takes Costa Rica's side in border dispute
6. US Ambassador announces joint naval operations
7. Managua to restrict housing near the lake
8. Government closes B2Gold's Santa Pancha mine after collapse
1. Nicaragua prepares for the holidays
Thirty thousand Nicaraguans are expected to crowd public transportation to travel from jobs in Costa Rica to spend Christmas with their families in Nicaragua and then return to Costa Rica after the holidays, according to Francisco Cuendis, delegate for the Transportation Ministry of the border Department of Rivas. He added that his Ministry is regulating the routes and fares of the international and local companies. Travelers complained of long lines to exit Costa Rica and clouds of dust blowing around the border station on the Nicaraguan side.
The government held a Christmas Carnival of Happiness and Hope for children in Managua on Dec. 18 with a parade that included 2,500 marching children and floats with the theme of Nicaragua's sovereignty over the San Juan River. The government announced that the Carnival had begun on Dec. 15 with the distribution by the traditional “Baby Jesus” [in an obvious rejection of the northern red wool outfitted Santa Claus] of 350,000 gifts and 200,000 piñatas in towns around the country.
Red wool might have been welcome as Central America was suffering from lower temperatures than normal as a result of a cold wave that hit Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and Nicaragua. The lowest temperature in Nicaragua was 52 F in San Isidro, Department of Matagalpa.
Meanwhile, retailers were hoping that Christmas bonuses would increase pre-holiday sales after a slow start for the season. The price of chicken for the traditional stuffed chicken Christmas dinner had not gone up according to Ana Herrera, who sells chicken in the Huembes Market in Managua. (El Nuevo Diario, Dec. 19; La Prensa, Dec. 18; Radio La Primerisima, Dec. 15, 16, 18, 20)
2. Zero Hunger meets its goals
Zero Hunger, the flagship poverty reduction program of the Sandinista government met its goals this year according to Director Herminio Escoto. He said the program was highly successful because it bettered the lives of poor peasant families who before had nothing and now have chickens, pigs, cows, and better diets. Those in the program have been able to improve their income by forming associations and selling meat and eggs and produce. The government buys their beans and rice at good prices to sell in subsidized markets for the poor. The program includes technical and financial training as well. Since 2007 Zero Hunger has benefitted 70,000 families, 16,000 of them in 2010. The benefits are granted in the name of the woman in the household.
The women beneficiaries have created a fund which now holds US$2.1 million. With these funds, some have purchased inputs for their farms and others have invested in more cattle, pigs or chickens and in setting up small businesses. “The life of the people has changed. Life has gotten better. That is the satisfaction of the program. It is an accomplishment to save this money thanks to the discipline of people who before had nothing and now their lives are more organized, they have savings in the bank, and they've recovered their self esteem,” Escoto said. (Radio La Primerisima, Dec. 17)
3. Nicaragua closes 2010 with mostly good economic news
The Nicaraguan economy is expected to close the year with an economic growth of between 4 and 4.5%, according to Central Bank President Antenor Rosales. “Nicaragua is one of the Central American countries whose economy has grown the most this year,” Rosales said in a press conference at the Bank on Dec. 18. He attributed the increase to the growth in the country's exports which had gone up by 27.7% compared to 2009. (The policy group FUNIDES reported that, in the same period, imports rose by only 14 %.) Experts had expected economic growth of only between 2.6 and 3.1% with an inflation rate of 7%. But, while the economic growth was substantially more than expected, inflation was also greater, reaching an estimated 8.54% for the year. Last year, in 2009, Nicaragua's gross domestic product decreased by 1.5% and inflation was less than 1%.
Rosales said that international currency reserves had reached a record high of US$1.633 billion. He also stated that Nicaragua was able to reduce its internal debt from US$1.318 billion in 2009 to US$1.261 billion this year. Much of the internal debt is from the issuing and allegedly illegal renegotiation of bonds called Certified Investment Certificates (CENIs) to depositors after four banks went under in 2000 because of fraudulent management. Another part of that debt is from the Bonds of Indemnity Payments (BPIs) used to pay former owners for property expropriated under the Sandinista Revolution [some of whom had mortgaged their property or decapitalized and/or abandoned it]. That part of the debt has been reduced from US$740 million in 2009 to US$663 in 2010.
Rosales said earlier in the week that 2011 looked promising. He stated, “We hope in the first quarter of 2011 to come close to [adding back] those 85,000 jobs that we had in 2007 at the beginning of the crisis. So if we continue to work, produce, and invest, we will have a 2011 that corresponds to the hopes of all Nicaraguans.”
Meanwhile, Agriculture Minister Ariel Bucardo said that the production of basic grains for the year 2010 is expected to show a growth of 10%. He explained that the second and third harvests are expected to make up in great part for the losses in the first harvest from the heavy rains that fell this year. The second harvest brought the price of beans down (after it doubled during the course of the year) and it is expected to drop further with the third harvest. Bucardo said that similar growth was seen in the area of cattle, hogs, and poultry.
Solon Guerrero, president of the Nicaraguan Federation of Cattle Ranchers' Associations (FAGANIC) announced that he expected cattle and beef exports to total US$500 million this year, a growth of 15% from last year, due in part to good international prices. He noted, however, that slaughterhouses and exporters were keeping most of the increase in profit. He explained that, given that the government had not fulfilled its promise to build two new slaughterhouses, FAGINIC was planning to build its own which would work on a non-profit basis to favor especially small and medium ranchers. (Radio La Primerisima, Dec. 16, 18; El Nuevo Diario, Dec. 16, 17, 18; La Prensa, Dec. 14, 16)
4. Poll shows substantial support for government social policies and Ortega's reelection
A poll released on Dec. 14 by M&R Consultores showed support for the government of President Daniel Ortega above 50% in areas of importance to the population, including health and education. Almost 58% of those polled said that they observed better quality and access to public education while 53.6% said that they saw improved health services in hospitals and health centers. However, the new poll indicated that only 14.8% felt that poverty had diminished, down from 22.2% in September.
In answer to the question “Should the current magistrates of the Supreme Electoral Council organize the presidential elections of 2011?” 38.7% said they should and 38.3% said that they should not, while 23% did not know. The response changed somewhat when more detail was provided: 32.7% agreed with the statement “The officials whose terms have ended should remain at their jobs,” while 58.1% agreed with the statement “This is unconstitutional and those officials should leave their posts immediately when their terms are up.” Only 9.2% had no answer.
Raul Obregon of M&R said that 47.2% of respondents said they would vote for the reelection of Ortega in the Nov. 2011 presidential election; 31% said that they didn't know or that they did not want to say whom they would vote for; Fabio Gadea Mantilla, being promoted as an opposition consensus candidate, garnered 14.4%; and former President Arnoldo Aleman, the candidate of the Constitutional Liberal Party, was supported by 7.4% of those polled. Obregon noted that 49.6% of the population defines itself as independent and they have been the ones who have decided previous presidential elections. He said that, given that Ortega's base is considered to be about 39% of the voters, the new figures mean that between 6% and 7% of independents now support him. [A candidate can win election without a runoff with as little as 35% of the vote if his or her total is 5% above the next highest vote getter.]
The poll takers interviewed a random sample of 1,600 people from both urban and rural areas throughout the country between Nov. 27 and Dec. 6. The poll has a confidence level of 95%. (La Prensa, Dec. 14; Radio La Primerisima, Dec. 14)
5. Senator Richard Lugar takes Costa Rica's side in border dispute
US Republican Sen. Richard Lugar (R-IN) has weighed in on Costa Rica's side in its border dispute with Nicaragua triggered by Nicaragua's decision to dredge the Caribbean mouth of the San Juan River to improve navigation. Lugar called on the board of the Millennium Challenge Fund to cut off remaining funds for in-progress development projects in Leon and Chinandega. There are about US$8.5 million remaining in the pipeline. The US in 2008 cut off funds for projects not yet started in response to allegations of fraud in that year's municipal elections. The Costa Rican Foreign Minister expressed “satisfaction” with Lugar's call.
Lugar, in his letter to the Millennium Challenge board called Nicaragua's actions an “invasion” of Costa Rica. The headline in El Nuevo Diario said “Senator shows Republican fangs.” It is unclear why Lugar has inserted himself in a border dispute that both parties have agreed to argue before the International Court of Justice in The Hague (World Court). The Court will hear initial arguments Jan. 11-13, 2011. The Nicaraguan army sent troops to the swampy island of Harbour Head, near the mouth of the river and Costa Rica sent heavily armed security forces to the region. By a 152 year-old treaty, Nicaragua has sovereignty over the entire San Juan River. Costa Rica's border ends at the shore. However, near the mouth, with the river silted up over many years, it is not an easy matter to determine where the border lies.
The World Court in 2009 ruled in favor of Nicaragua's claims and ordered the placement of 137 border markers but to date Costa Rica has only agreed to the emplacement of a couple dozen markers. The OAS has passed two resolutions calling on both parties to pull back armed troops and several countries, including Ecuador, have offered to mediate. (La Prensa, Dec. 15, El Nuevo Diario, Dec. 16)
6. US Ambassador announces joint naval operations
US Ambassador Robert Callahan stated to the Nicaraguan press, “Over the coming months we have 12 or 13 activities that are going to involve our Armed Forces, some ships and combined military exercises. I understand we already have approval for six months including the visit of the US Naval Hospital Ship Comfort. The only thing we're waiting for is for the approval to be published in the official La Gaceta newspaper.” He said press reports that 45 US warships with 6,000 soldiers will arrive in Nicaraguan waters and stay six months is false. He said that what is planned are normal joint maneuvers as have been done annually and that the National Assembly has approved the list of ships involved. (El Nuevo Diario, Dec. 14)
7. Managua to restrict housing near the lake
Liberals and Sandinistas on Managua's City Council unanimously passed a resolution declaring areas on the shore of Lake Xolotlan (Managua) “no housing” zones. For decades the poor have constructed housing close to the lake only to see their possessions washed away in periodic flooding from hurricanes and heavy rains. With global warming increasing the frequency of these events, the city government is attempting to restrict construction in the high risk areas.
No housing will be permitted in areas lower than 42.76 meters above sea level. During the past rainy season and Hurricane Paula, over 1,000 families had to be evacuated from neighborhoods built below the legal level. Over 5,000 family members are being housed in city shelters. New housing is being constructed for them east of the city by the Sandinista government where they are expected to move in the early months of 2011. The Police will patrol the lake front to make sure that new housing settlements are not set up in the restricted areas. (Radio La Primerisima, Dec. 19; La Prensa, Dec. 18)
8. Government closes B2Gold's Santa Pancha mine after collapse
The Ministry of Labor (MITRAB) closed areas of the Santa Pancha gold mine in the municipality of Malpaisillo, Department of Leon, after a collapse inside the mine and the appearance of cracks in mine walls. MITRAB told the company to remove personnel and equipment from the affected areas of the mine and ordered a geological study by the Nicaraguan Institute of Territorial Studies (INETER) and the Ministry of Energy and Mines. Severo Martinez of MITRAB said, “The daily explosions were of concern to the workers in the underground areas who feared they could be buried.” The mine is owned by B2Gold of Vancouver, Canada. Workers at the mine, above and below ground, number 913.
In a communiqué, General Manager of B2Gold in Nicaragua Pablo Venturo said that from the beginning the company restricted access to the area where the collapse occurred, in expectation of orders from MITRAB. He said, “We are a company that is respectful of labor laws and occupational safety.” However, union leader Humberto Rivas, who has worked ten years for the company, said that, “They told workers to work in the closed area, but in spite of threats, we workers were not intimidated.” (El Nuevo Diario, Dec. 18, 19; Radio La Primerisima, Dec. 17, 18)
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