TUESDAY, APRIL 19, 2011

Nicaragua News Bulletin (April 19, 2011)

1. Series of tremblers hits Nicaragua
2. Poll shows Ortega with wide lead
3. New US ambassadors to Nicaragua and Honduras
4. President rejects Cabezas' remarks on Clinton
5. Police investigating tax office
6. Disability rights law passes
7. Million dollar water project
8. Lake Xiloa to be cleaned

1. Series of tremblers hits Nicaragua

Beginning on Apr. 13, a series of tremblers has disturbed Nicaraguans, bringing back memories of the devastating earthquake of Dec. 1972. The first was only 2.8 on the Richter scale but it originated in the Tiscapa Fault, one of the faults that caused that '72 quake and was felt throughout Managua. Its epicenter was in Lake Xolotlan (Lake Managua).

The next day, Apr. 14, a larger 5.8 quake hit at 2:50pm. That quake had its epicenter in the Pacific off the coast of the Department of Rivas. A tsunami alert was issued but withdrawn shortly afterward. The fault that caused this trembler (where the Coco and Caribbean plates clash) was the same that caused the quake and tsunami at Masachapa in 1992. Rafael Ramirez, executive secretary of the government's disaster prevention and relief agency SINAPRED, said that Nicaragua has the most advanced tsunami alert system in Central America and the Army's Civil Defense agency was issuing information on what to do in the case of a tsunami for Nicaraguans headed for the country's beaches for Holy Week vacations.

On Apr. 17, a trembler was registered off the coast from the port of Corinto. Finally, on Apr. 18, a series of quakes, including one registering 4.6 on the Richter scale, was felt on the country's Caribbean Coast. Caribbean quakes are normally due to movement of the Hess Escarpment, part of the Caribbean Plate, according to the Nicaraguan Institute for Territorial Studies (INETER). (La Prensa, Apr. 13, 14, 18; Radio La Primerisima, Apr. 13, 14, 16, 18; El Nuevo Diario, Apr. 13)

2. Poll shows Ortega with wide lead

On Apr. 12, the polling firm M&R Consultants released a poll, done for the newspaper La Prensa, which showed President Daniel Ortega with an enormous advantage over his rivals in November's elections. If the elections were held today, 47.8% of respondents said that they would vote for Ortega, 12.8% said they would vote for Fabio Gadea, and 5.7% supported former President Arnoldo Aleman while 31.8% said they had not decided who to vote for. Fifty-seven percent approved of the government's performance over the past four years while a similar percentage rated the performance of the opposition political parties as negative. 47.6% of those polled identified themselves as independents, 11.6% as opposition, and 40.8% as FSLN.

The poll takers interviewed 1,600 Nicaraguans between Mar. 31 and Apr. 3 in urban, rural and semi-rural areas of the whole country. The level of confidence of the poll was 95% and the margin of error 2.5%. Poll results can be seen at http://www.myrconsultores.com/

The poll reported that 30% of those surveyed considered that their family economic situation had improved during the Ortega administration, while 52.8% said their situation had remained the same. Another 17.9% said their situation was worse than before. The poll indicated 47.6% of residents of the Caribbean Coast region believed their economic situation had improved under the current government. Forty-six percent of those surveyed thought that their situation would have improved by the end of Ortega's current term. Only 11.3% believed that their economic situation would be worse.

Sixty-seven percent of those surveyed said that the most important value for them was that those who governed be elected in free and transparent elections while only 18% said that the important thing was that those who governed resolve people's problems independent of how they were elected. Over 22% said that unemployment was the nation's biggest problem, with 23.8% saying it was poverty, 14.7% delinquency, and 14.2% price hikes for goods and services. Only 6.9% said that the nation's biggest problems were political and 4.5% said corruption.

In reaction to his poor showing in the poll, Fabio Gadea said, “We are not concerned about polls; we are not acting based on polls. We are continuing with our campaign plan.” He added that Ortega's good showing could be due to “people's fear” of showing their true feelings. Former presidential candidate Eduardo Montealegre, a supporter of Gadeo, emphasized that “more than 30% of the people have not yet decided who to vote for.” (La Prensa, Apr. 12, 14; Radio La Primerisima, Apr. 13; http://www.myrconsultores.com/)

3. New US ambassadors to Nicaragua and Honduras

US President Barack Obama on April 13 nominated new ambassadors for Nicaragua and Honduras. They must be confirmed by the Senate before taking up their new posts. He named Jonathan Farrar for the top diplomatic post in Nicaragua and Lisa Kubiske for Honduras. Farrar is currently chief of the US Interests Section in Cuba where the US does not have diplomatic relations. Farrar served as the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the State Department's Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (DRL), and was DRL's Acting Assistant Secretary from August 2007 to March 2008. He also served at posts in Uruguay, Mexico, Belize, and Paraguay. He will replace Robert Callahan in Managua. Kubiske is currently the number two US diplomat in Brazil. She will replace Hugo Llorens. Farrar has held previous diplomatic posts in Uruguay, Paraguay and Belize. He cited an improvement in US-Cuban relations during his tenure there. Kubiske previously held the State Department post responsible for economic issues in the Western Hemisphere. She has also held posts in US embassies in the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Hong Kong and China. (La Prensa, Apr. 14; http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/biog/108143.htm)

4. President rejects Cabezas' remarks on Clinton

The Ortega government separated itself from statements by Human Rights Ombudsman Omar Cabezas in reaction to the Apr. 8 release of the US State Department's annual human rights report. On Apr. 13, Cabezas said that the United States was hypocritical in its criticism of Nicaragua given that the US was first in the production and sale of weapons while wanting to give lessons to the Nicaraguan government on human rights. But those words were similar to comments last week by other prominent Nicaraguans [see last week's Bulletin] and were not the words that got him into trouble. He also called Secretary of State Hilary Clinton, “an old lady; a crazy and hypocritical capitalist.” The response from the office of President Daniel Ortega was swift. A communiqué said “The Presidency of the Republic by means of this public notice rejects the disrespectful declarations attributed by one media outlet to Ombudsman for Human Rights Omar Cabezas who, using language inappropriate for any political or human relationship, especially considering his high office, referred in an offensive way to the Secretary of State of the United States.” (El Nuevo Diario, Apr. 14; Radio La Primerisima, Apr. 13; La Prensa, Apr. 13)

5. Police investigating tax office

The National Police was reported to be carrying out an investigation of the General Directorate of Revenue (DGI). Elizabeth Fiallos, legal director and assistant to former DGI director Walter Porras, was reportedly detained. Porras was removed from his post effective April 12 by a presidential order published in the official government newspaper. Accusations against him of fraud had surfaced and were reported in the newspaper El Nuevo Diario. Porras denied any wrongdoing or that he had been fired and said that he was merely “on vacation.” Retired Police Captain Martin Rivas Ruiz moved from the deputy director post to replace Porras. An earlier deputy director, Humberto Solis, who had had differences with Porras, was returned to the deputy director post.

Former DGI Director Roger Arteaga, currently director of the American-Nicaraguan Chamber of Commerce (AMCHAM), said that, when he took over the post for President Enrique Bolaños, the DGI owed the public US$6 million in tax refunds from the period of the Aleman administration. He was able to bring this down to US$2.2 million but he said that under Porras, the amount owed taxpayers was back up to US$4.8 million. (El Nuevo Diario, Apr. 12, 18; La Prensa, Apr. 12, 13)

6. Disability rights law passes

Organizations that work with people with disabilities celebrated on April 13 passage by the National Assembly of a new law guaranteeing the rights of the disabled. The victory follows three years of protests in the traffic circles, and marches in the streets. People with disabilities will have priority for social interest housing. They will also be exempt from import taxes on prosthetics and vehicles adapted for their use. National companies and institutions as well as municipalities that employ at least 50 people are required under the law to hire at least two people with disabilities, and those with fewer than 50 employees must hire one. According to Jose Santos Bermudez of the Federation of Associations of People with Handicaps (FEDCONORI), the law was drawn up to comply with international law on the subject. (La Prensa, Apr. 13)

7. Million dollar water project

After a two year delay, the Nicaraguan Water and Sewer Company (ENACAL) signed contracts with seven Nicaraguan companies to start construction of 49 potable water systems and sewer systems in 27 Managua neighborhoods. The projects are estimated to benefit 130,000 citizens in the capital city and include potable water connections to 10,000 households and sewer connections to 18,000 households.

The project is being financed by a US$38 million credit extended by the Inter-American Development Bank. The project was scheduled to break ground in March 2009, but it suffered setbacks. The money will also go toward increasing the pumping capacity of wells in Managua, updating two sewer treatment plants, as well as toward sewage treatment improvements in Tipitapa and Ciudad Sandino. (La Prensa, Apr. 14)

8. Lake Xiloa to be cleaned

More than 1,000 students and young people will participate on May 1 in cleaning the banks of Xiloa volcano crater lake 30 minutes west of Managua, according to Walter Gonzalez of the Young Environmentalists Club. The beautiful lake, which contains fish unique to the crater and a submerged airplane is threatened by years of illegal trash dumping. The campaign to clean trash from banks and shore area will kick off with a concert featuring some of Nicaragua's favorite performers on April 29. In addition to the students cleaning the shore areas, 25 navy divers and 20 volunteer divers will work at removing trash from beneath the water on April 30. Kamilo Lara, president of the National Recycling Forum (FONARE) noted the need for an ongoing cleaning effort and said that students from 12 schools in Ciudad Sandino and two in Mateare will be involved in a permanent effort to keep the crater lake free of trash. Some of the 6,500 students in the region will also work to reforest the volcano's slopes. (La Prensa, Apr. 12)
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