TUESDAY, MAY 17, 2011
Nicaragua News Bulletin (May 17, 2011)
1. El Nuevo Diario with a new owner2. Assembly approves military cooperation
3. Parties deciding on Assembly candidates
4. Telica Volcano active
5. Loan to reduce infant/maternal mortality
6. 39 schools to be inaugurated
7. Course on Anti-Dote to 21st Century Socialism
8. Walmart to expand
1. El Nuevo Diario with a new owner
While final confirmation and details of the deal are not expected until the middle of the week, it appears certain that Leon businessman Ramiro Ortiz Mayorga will buy the 61% ownership of the Managua newspaper El Nuevo Diario belonging to the Chamorro Garcia brothers, sons of the paper's late founder Xavier Chamorro Cardenal. According to La Prensa, the price will be between US$4 and 5 million, substantially more than was offered by the Pellas Group, another prospective buyer. However, when pressed to confirm the amount, Ortiz would only say, “Let's not go into details; I have supported them [the Chamorro Garcia brothers] and I support them and we are going forward with the operations.” Further information about the deal was expected by the middle of this week, but it did appear certain that Francisco Chamorro would continue at the head of the paper.
Evidently when Ramiro Ortiz presented his offer to purchase all of the Chamorro brothers' shares, the Grupo Pellas, which was willing to purchase only a portion of those shares, withdrew its offer. Some commentators, including William Grigsby of Radio La Primerisima, had expressed concern about coverage of issues regarding sugar workers and other similar subjects in a newspaper dominated by the country's major sugar producer. Analysts have yet to comment on Ortiz as owner of majority interest in El Nuevo Diario. At 66, he is one of the richest men in Nicaragua, head of the Bank of Production (BANPRO), the most visible face of the Promerica Group, one of the most powerful economic groups in Nicaragua. He was in the news last week when his Ortiz Gurdian Foundation finished the restoration of twenty works of nineteenth century art in the Leon Cathedral and presented them to Leon Bishop Bosco Vivas.
Last week, the web site elRadar.net published rumors (reprinted in La Prensa) alleging that the paper was to be sold to ALBANISA, a public-private company managing the funds from Venezuelan oil, and announced that Zoilamerica Narvaez, stepdaughter of President Daniel Ortega would be the publisher. But, according to William Grigsby, “The Sandinistas never offered to buy El Nuevo Diario.”
El Nuevo Diario was founded in 1980 by Xavier Chamorro when La Prensa, the newspaper of the Chamorro family, decided to take a political stand in opposition to the Sandinista revolution. It maintained a supportive but critical line with relation to the Sandinistas until 1994 when it broke with the FSLN at the time of the formation of the Sandinista Renovation Movement. According to Grigsby, circulation began to decline from that point because, “Sandinistas no longer bought El Nuevo Diario!” Even before this year, the Chamorro Garcia brothers had been searching for a buyer among Nicaraguan investors. At the end of April the paper laid off 20 workers.
Eleven of the laid off workers have gone before a judge to place a lien against the building and equipment of the newspaper saying they were not paid the severance money they were entitled to. Four drivers later withdrew from participation in the legal action, but photographers explain that they are entitled to payment for depreciation of their cameras which they used for years for their work at the newspaper. The case will proceed before the judge of the Third District Labor Court. (La Prensa, May 9, 14, 15; Primer Plano, May 14; El 19, May 12; elRadar.net, May 10; Radio La Primerisima, May 11)
2. Assembly approves military cooperation
The Nicaraguan National Assembly on May 10 authorized United States military aircraft to enter Nicaraguan airspace for humanitarian missions and in search of drug traffickers. President Daniel Ortega had sent the request for “urgent” approval to the Assembly where it passed with the votes of 61 of the 92 deputies, according to Assembly President Rene Nuñez. One US aircraft will support “the flights of the Aeronautic and Space Administration (NASA)” between July 1 and Dec. 31 of this year, according to Liberal Deputy Ana Julia Balladares. The Assembly approved the presence in Nicaragua of 25 US military personnel in rotation as well as fly-overs by an anti-drug patrol aircraft between the 15th and the 31st of August. Also approved was the entry into Nicaragua of 60 members of the US Air Force in the second half of 2011 to participate in joint training exercises and a medical mission with Nicaraguan military colleagues.
The National Assembly also authorized the presence of 30 military officers as well as ships and planes from the Air Corps of the Venezuelan Army during the second half of 2011 to participate in a training interchange with the Nicaraguan Army on humanitarian aid operations. The Assembly also approved the participation of 40 Nicaraguan military officers in the military parade planned in Caracas for the celebration of the 200 anniversary of Venezuela's independence and the participation of 30 members of the Army and two members of the Coast Guard in joint exercises with Panama. (La Prensa, May 10)
3. Parties deciding on Assembly candidates
It appears that all the political parties and alliances scheduled to participate in November's presidential and legislative elections are experiencing discord over who will be on each party's slate for deputy seats in the National Assembly and what position they will occupy on the list. Under proportional representation, legislative seats are allotted according to the percentage of the popular vote each party receives, meaning that those at the top of a party or alliance's list have a better chance of winning a seat. The Supreme Electoral Council (CSE) had fixed May 6 as the deadline for registering National Assembly candidate lists, but one party (only the CSE knows which party it was) asked for an extension until May 23 which was granted. Besides the 90 seats in the National Assembly (former presidents and losing presidential candidates also get seats, bringing the total to 92), twenty members of the Central American Parliament will be elected, along with alternates for all the seats, for a grand total of 220 open positions.
There are reports of discord between “the old guard” and “the new guard” within the Sandinista Party with the Nicaraguan Resistance Party, a member of the Nicaragua Triumphs Alliance, headed by the FSLN, also demanding its quota of places on the slate.
Eliseo Nuñez, campaign chief for the alliance running under the banner of the Independent Liberal Party (PLI), said that the list of the alliance was 99% finished with “only” the decisions about each candidate's position on the slate left to be made. Former presidential candidate Eduardo Montealegre is expected by some to occupy the first spot but his cousin Mauricio Montealegre is evidently disputing the position. The alliance is formed by several parties, including the “Let's Go with Eduardo” Movement, the Sandinista Renovation Movement, and the PLI itself, and all want what they consider to be their proper representation.
Within the alliance between the Constitutional Liberal Party (PLC) and the Conservative Party (PC), there is a dispute over the second spot on the slate which PLC head Arnoldo Aleman wants for his wife, Maria Fernanda Flores, but which had been promised to the Conservative Party.
Meanwhile, in what seemed to be a bid for the vote of those who are pleased with the current government's economic and anti-poverty programs and fearful of losing the benefits of those policies, Edmundo Jarquin, vice-presidential candidate of the PLI Alliance, promised that if he and Fabio Gadea win the elections, they will continue development programs instituted by previous governments, including that of President Daniel Ortega. Jarquin, speaking in Waslala, in the Department of Matagalpa, also said that a Gadea-Jarquin Administration would continue collaboration with Venezuela, noting that the South American country collaborates with more than 30 other nations. (Radio La Primerisima, May 11; La Prensa, May 11, 15; El Nuevo Diario, May 16)
4. Telica Volcano active
The Telica Volcano in the Department of Leon has entered a period of activity and should be watched carefully, according to Alejandro Rodriguez, head of the Nicaraguan Institute of Territorial Studies (INETER). “The Telica Volcano is showing strong seismic activity, which indicates that there is movement of magna and, when we detect that abnormality, we notify Civil Defense so that they can take precautions,” he said. He said that the volcano has been active for about 500 years but has never had a cataclysmic eruption, but added, “I couldn't assure you that nothing will happen; so the best thing is to take precautions.” On the volcano there are seismographs and an early alert system supplemented by regular visits by scientists to see if there are changes in the terrain and to measure gases emitted by the mountain. The mountain, 3,480 feet high, has been sending out explosions of ash, sand, and gasses, but no damage has been reported. Telica's last violent eruption was in 1948 with milder activity in 1994 and 1999. (Radio La Primerisima, May 16; El Nuevo Diario, May 16)
5. Loan to reduce infant/maternal mortality
The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has loaned Nicaragua US$20 million to reduce infant and maternal mortality in the North Atlantic Autonomous Region and the rural sectors of the Departments of Jinotega and Matagalpa. These are concentrated regions of poverty where the majority of Nicaragua's indigenous and Afro-descended communities live. The area served has a population of more than one million people, including 190,000 women of childbearing age and 260,000 children under 5 years of age. The loans will enable the training of 2,000 healthcare providers, provide medical care for 97,000 infants including vaccinations, and make available family planning services with the goal of decreasing adolescent pregnancies. The IDB noted that more than 70% of maternal deaths occurring between 2005 and 2007 were in rural areas. Repayment terms are for US$10 million to be repaid over 30 years and the other half over 40 years.
In March the Ministry of Health announced that over the past four years maternal mortality was reduced by 60%. That figure was affirmed by Jorge Prosperi, representative in Nicaragua of the Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO) and the World Health Organization (WHO). Prosperi said that Nicaragua has achieved much more than other countries with more resources but that “we are only half-way on the road to the Millennium Goals [of the UN].” He stated that Nicaragua will probably achieve those goals. (La Prensa, May 13; Radio La Primerisima, May 14)
6. 39 schools to be inaugurated
The birth of Augusto C. Sandino, known as the General of Free Men, will be celebrated this week in schools throughout Nicaragua. On his birthday, May 18, Cardinal Obando y Bravo will inaugurate the first of 39 schools that have been constructed, rebuilt or repaired so far in 2011 by the Sandinista government. While some in the opposition claimed that the celebration was a political act to benefit the re-election campaign of President Daniel Ortega, Obando said, “I believe that effort to try to educate the youth who are the hope of the Mother country is worthy of this tribute. It seems to me that it is good. If we have prepared people for tomorrow, Nicaragua is going to progress.”
While the Sandinista government has made strides in improving education infrastructure ignored during the 17 years of neoliberal government and IMF/World Bank conditions on loans, 60% of schoolrooms are still in bad or unusable condition. This especially hits hard the children with disabilities, only one out of five of whom graduate from the sixth grade. In 2008 the Ministry of Education (MINED) made it a policy to mainstream disabled students rather than educate them separately in special schools. But, lack of access, teaching materials and teacher training remain obstacles to attaining the Ministry's goals. Of the 1,740,000 children in the school system, MINED estimates that over 10,000 of them have a physical disability. As new schools are being built and existing schools repaired, MINED is paying attention to access issues, installing ramps and other infrastructure. (Radio La Primerisima, May 12; La Prensa, May 11, 15)
7. Course on Anti-Dote to 21st Century Socialism
The organization Antidote to 21st Century Socialism (Antídoto para el Socialismo del Siglo XXI) will hold a forum in Managua on May 26, sponsored by the Nicaraguan-American Union (UNA), headquartered in the United States, and the Movement for Nicaragua (MpN), which is headquartered in Managua [and funded in part by the National Endowment for Democracy of the US]. The announced purpose of the forum is to “unmask the supposed blessings of that political current [21st century socialism] which has Castroite origins.” Roberto Micheletti, who served as de facto president of Honduras after the 2009 military coup in that country, will give the inaugural address by video conference. Other speakers will be Cuban Carlos Alberto Montaner, Venezuelans Ana Diaz and Carmen Cecilia Perez, and Nicaraguans Gabriel Alvarez and Felix Maradiaga, all associated with the political right.
According to board member Esperanza Cuevas, Antidote to 21st Century Socialism has offered these seminars in several countries [including in February in Tegucigalpa, Honduras] to educate communities in Latin America about the “threat” represented by the political project of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez which has also taken root in other countries such as Bolivia, Ecuador and Nicaragua. The group is headquartered in the United States. The Nicaragua Network is unable at this time to determine where it gets its funding.
Cuevas said that all the Nicaraguan presidential candidates would be invited to the forum because one of the subjects for discussion is the “unconstitutional reelection of President Daniel Ortega and its consequences.” Also among the subjects to be discussed, according to Cuevas, are: Socialism of the 21st Century or tropical fascism; Electoral fraud as a weapon of 21st Century Socialism; violation of the rule of law by the governments of 21st Century Socialism; and impact of 21st Century Socialism on Nicaraguan youth. (La Prensa, May 11)
8. Walmart to expand
The Walmart subsidiary, Walmart of Mexico and Central America, announced that it will invest US$54 million to build 14 supermarkets with a total of 400 employees in several departments, including Leon and Esteli, in 2011. By the end of the year there will be 73 Walmarts of varying sizes in the country employing over 2,500 people. Walmart Nicaragua Manager Vernan Narvaez Valverde said that, “Never before has Walmart invested so much and opened so many new stores.” He called it, “merely an economic decision.” The stores will carry more than 2,000 products, mostly food, “at low prices.” The announcement provoked skeptical comments from readers of the web pages of the local dailies. One writer said, “Poor small businesses; they'll have to close since they won't have customers.” Another wrote: “What they will do is bankrupt the mini-supermarkets and grocery stores owned by Nicaraguans, leaving the people they employed out of work.” (La Prensa, May 13; Radio La Primerisima, May 13; El Nuevo Diario, May 14)
Labels: Archives