TUESDAY, MARCH 22, 2011
Nicaragua News Bulletin (March 22, 2011)
1. Parties register their candidates2. Exports show unprecedented growth
3. Dr. Gustavo Parajon dies at 75
4. Veterans groups express differing political opinions
5. Young men begin campaign against machismo
6. Tremors at Cerro Negro volcano
7. African Palm: Development or contamination?
8. Mission completes 75,000 eye surgeries
1. Parties register their candidates
With a deadline of Mar. 18 to register political party candidates for the Nov. 6 elections, the announcements of vice-presidential choices came fast and furious last week. Channel 15 Television was the first to announce that President Daniel Ortega had chosen Retired Army General Omar Halleslevens as his running mate on the Sandinista (FLSN) ticket. In naming Halleslevens, Ortega broke with his custom of choosing running mates from outside the Sandinista Party. His current vice-president, Jaime Morales, now 75, was a leader of the contras who fought the Sandinista government in the 1980s.
Halleslevens was head of the Army until his retirement in Feb. of 2010. As Army chief, he consistently received high favorability ratings in Nicaraguan opinion polls, considerably higher, in fact, than Ortega. Halleslevens is remembered as one of the Sandinistas who took part in the 1974 takeover of the house of Dr. “Chema” Castillo during a party attended by Somoza family members and high government officials. Ortega himself was among the political prisoners freed by that operation. Halleslevens is also remembered for his role in evacuating the city of Rama on the Atlantic Coast at the time of Hurricane Joan in 1988. Retired Army Colonel Carlos Brenes, however, said Ortega was giving the message that with a former Army head on the ticket, he had an “obedient strong arm” and would govern accordingly. But another source said that Hallesleven would add votes for the Sandinista ticket in the countryside and among private business people.
The Nicaraguan Unity for Hope (UNE) coalition registered radio broadcaster Fabio Gadea Mantilla and economist Edmundo Jarquin for president and vice-president under the Independent Liberal Party (PLI) banner. The UNE coalition is formed by Liberals supporting Eduardo Montealegre and the Sandinista Renovation Movement (MRS) among others.
The Constitutional Liberal Party (PLC) and its coalition partner, the Conservative Party, registered as their candidates former President Arnoldo Aleman and former Foreign Minister Francisco Aguirre Sacasa. The Nicaraguan Liberal Alliance (ALN) candidates were National Assembly Deputy Enrique Quiñonez and Central American Parliament member Diana Urbina. A coalition of small parties under the banner of the Alliance for the Republic (APRE) registered former Education Minister Miguel Angel Garcia.
Opposition parties said that would hold a press conference on Mar. 22 to announce joint actions in an attempt to annul the candidacy of Ortega which they say violates the constitution. National Assembly Deputy Maria Eugenia Sequeira of the PLI noted that after the registration of candidates there is a period set aside for any legal challenges. She said the opposition parties would concentrate on two provisions of the constitution that prohibit consecutive reelection and serving more than two terms as president. Two groups of young people that have been holding street demonstrations recently, the Pedro Joaquin Chamorro Movement and Youth Resistance for National Dignity, criticized the opposition for speaking only to the media and not coming out into the streets to protest Ortega's candidacy. However, Supreme Court Justice Francisco Rosales said that the Supreme Court ruling that prohibitions on the ability of citizens to run for office violated their human rights could not be appealed and that the candidacy of Ortega was legal.
In related news, the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders sent a letter to President Ortega asking the government to take appropriate measures to end intimidation, harassment, and threats against members of the Nicaraguan Center for Human Rights (CENIDH) who, it noted, have been harassed by groups of young government supporters outside their gates with loudspeakers. CENIDH has spoken out against the reelection of President Ortega. The Observatory said it would send a copy of the letter to the Inter-American Human Rights Commission of the Organization of American States (OAS). (Radio La Primerisima, Mar. 16, 18; El Nuevo Diario, Mar. 17, 19, 21; La Prensa, Mar. 17)
2. Exports show unprecedented growth
Nicaraguan exports continue to grow at an unprecedented rate according to the Center for Export Documentation (CENTREX). From Jan. 1 to Mar. 14 Nicaraguan exports generated US$526.45 million, a 35% increase over the same period last year. CENTEX Executive Director Jorge Molina said the impressive growth was largely due to good prices on international markets. Molina said the projected income from exports in 2011 is US$2.2-2.3 billion. Coffee export prices lead the way with coffee selling for US$270 per 100 lbs. on the international market. Prices for other products such as shrimp, which has risen from US$1.06 to US$6.12 per kilogram, are also up as food prices globally are among the highest in memory. Coffee led exports for the period followed by beef, sugar cane and gold. The US continues to be the biggest buyer of Nicaraguan products and Canada recently surpassed Venezuela as the second biggest market for Nicaraguan goods. (La Prensa, Mar. 15)
3. Dr. Gustavo Parajon dies at 75
Dr. Gustavo Parajon, physician and Baptist religious leader, who worked tirelessly for decades to promote peace and social justice, died on March 13 of cardiac arrest at the age of 75. Along with Gilberto Aguirre, Dr. Parajon founded the Evangelical Council for Development (CEPAD) at the time of the December 1972 earthquake that destroyed Managua. CEPAD became the most trusted relief agency in Nicaragua. Its name was later changed to the Council of Evangelical Churches for Denominational Alliance and its members worked for peace during the US-backed Contra war of the 1980s. Aguirre remembered how Parajon traveled to the mountains to work with those displaced by the war and talked with the Contras and he also remembered when Parajon's work on behalf of peace and social justice was recognized by the Central American Parliament which traveled to Nicaragua and met for a special ceremony in a local Baptist church to honor him.CEPAD continues today to work for social justice, serving the poorest of the poor. On Tuesday, President Daniel Ortega and the entire government recognized Dr. Parajon's life work for peace including his service on the Reconciliation and Peace Commission after the 1987 Esquipulas peace agreements by awarding him posthumously the Order of Ruben Diario in an emotional ceremony at the House of the People in Managua. (El Nuevo Diario, Mar. 14; Radio La Primerisima, Mar. 15)
4. Veterans groups express differing political opinions
About fifty members of the Foundation of Patriotic Military Service War Veterans, who in their youth volunteered or were drafted to fight in the Sandinista Army against the US-backed Contras in the 1980s, have been protesting the lack of jobs and services provided them by the government. They have marched in front of the home office of President Daniel Ortega, taken over the Managua Cathedral, and appeared on television to present their demands. Marvin Vargas, president of the organization, said that the group was organized informally in 2005 and had 6,800 members. He said, “We don't want to overthrow the government, many of us are Sandinistas, but we are claiming a legal and moral right for compensation for our sacrifices.” The group wants the government to provide pensions and help members set up taxi cooperatives or fishing cooperatives, according to Vargas.
However, Mauricio Chavez, president of another veteran's organization called “Fulfillers of the Peace,” said that his group has not asked the government for anything but members are working with several government projects. He stated,” We have cooperatives, projects, brigades, our wives have benefitted from the [Zero Hunger] production packages, we're building solidarity housing. Here it's not a matter of demanding from the government, but of getting organized.” The group marched in support of the candidacy of President Daniel Ortega. (El Nuevo Diario, Mar. 21; La Prensa, Mar. 19)
5. Young men begin campaign against machismo
On Mar. 16, the Young Voices program of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in collaboration with the Nicaraguan Network of Masculinity for Gender Equity (Red MAS) began a campaign against machismo in Nicaragua by working to change socio-cultural patterns in children and youth. Douglas Mendoza of Red MAS said that the message of the campaign that women should be respected and that being a man doesn't mean being violent will reach 43 municipalities of the country. The slogan of the campaign, “It's cool not to be machista!” has been printed on T-shirts, notebooks and posters. “Today,” Mendoza said, “we men can dress well and look good but if we don't truly defend the rights of women, it's just an image that talks well.”
David Orozco of the UNFPA said that while fewer women are tolerating violence, work needs to continue. The Demographic and Health Survey of 2002-2007 showed a drop in domestic violence but last year 89 women were killed by their partners in Nicaragua. He said that many adolescent boys are not in school and that makes it more difficult to reach them. The program is also supported by Save the Children, and the Embassies of Finland and the Netherlands. (La Prensa, Mar. 17)
6. Tremors at Cerro Negro volcano
Civil Defense authorities and the Nicaraguan Institute of Territorial Studies (INETER) reported that there were tremors near three of Nicaragua's ten active volcanoes last week, most noticeably at Cerro Negro where INETER reported 46 tremors in just 16 hours on Mar. 15 and 16. "There have been tremors between 1.5 and 2 degrees [on the Richter scale] and some people have reported gases, but now the situation is completely calm and under observation," said an army official in an attempt to quiet the concerns of the population of the area.
Apparently, in the case of Cerro Negro, the trembling was not related directly to the volcano, but rather was a result of a geological fault that was activated. The possibility of an imminent eruption was discarded by experts. According to Major Gustavo Roman, the volcano has been dormant for a number of years, but he encouraged the community to remain alert as things may change from one moment to the next. (El Nuevo Diario, Mar. 19; La Prensa, Mar. 17; Radio La Primerisima, Mar. 17)
7. African Palm: Development or contamination?
In a more in-depth story following a report several weeks ago about African Palm production in the South Atlantic Autonomous Region (RAAS), La Prensa reported that Cukra Development Corporation uses highly toxic agrichemicals such as Gramoxone [Paraquat] for weed control on its plantations in the municipality of Kukra Hill. Gramoxone is banned in many countries [including Switzerland, France, Russia and Cambodia] but, according to Jeiner Arguedas, general manager of Cukra, it is allowed in Nicaragua and Costa Rica.African Palm production has proven to be both a boon and a threat to the mixed race municipality of 30,000. The RAAS council had authorized the planting of 5,220 acres but companies producing African Palm continue to buy up land from small farmers and now grow the oil-producing tree on 12,180 acres. Kukra Hill Mayor Agustín Larios said farmers are appealing to him not to allow further expansion of African Palm plantations with their attendant environmental damage. He opposes converting the region to monoculture. There are also stories of birth defects and infant maladies which the residents link to agrichemicals used on and near the plantations. The regional delegate of the Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources (MARENA), Johana Schwartz, said that MARENA will wait for the results of a study being conducted by the Center for the Investigation of Aquatic Resourses (CIRA) of the National Autonomous University of Nicaragua (UNAN-Managua), in Kukra Hill. Larios wants immediate measures to limit environmental damage.
Kukra Hill sits on the horns of a dilemma between the desire for jobs and development and fear of environmental destruction. The companies have responded to complaints about air pollution by investing in new equipment that produces less toxic discharge. They also have constructed roads, funded schools and food programs, contributed gasoline for the municipal ambulance, and other projects benefitting the community. Residents are critical of the national government for failing to take charge of the situation. (La Prensa, March 19)
8. Mission completes 75,000 eye surgeries
The Miracle Mission on Mar. 15 celebrated 75,355 eye surgeries since its initiation by Cuban and Nicaragua health brigades, in cooperation with the Ministry of Health, four years ago. Dr. Vincente Moran, head of Miracle Mission, credited Cuba's Fidel Castro with recognizing in 2004 that blindness was a global health problem that most affected the poor of the world. In Nicaragua, cataract operations returned sight to 17,000 patients. Glaucoma and other eye diseases accounted for the rest. President Daniel Ortega and Communication Council Coordinator Rosario Murillo attended the celebration. (Radio La Primerisima, Mar. 15)
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