TUESDAY, JULY 19, 2011

Nicaragua News Bulletin (July 19, 2011)

1. Electoral Council releases campaign ethics rules
2. European Union pre-election mission visits
3. Killers of singer Facundo Cabral detained
4. Pennwalt mercury contamination spreads
5. Youths convicted of murder of student
6. Bumper crop predicted for first harvest
7. Violence toward women bill fails to leave committee
8. International social movements meet

1. Electoral Council releases campaign ethics rules

The Supreme Electoral Council (CSE) began the transfer of materials for the verification of the electoral rolls to the 4,296 polling places around the country this week. There are over 11,000 precincts in the country but in many cases voters from more than one precinct cast their ballots at separate tables in the same building. The verification is scheduled for July 22nd and 23rd. On those days, voters can register an address change or apply for a voter identification card to vote in November.

On July 16, the CSE released the ethics rules for the presidential campaign. Julio Acuña, who is in charge of political parties at the CSE, said that the rules prohibit the destruction of campaign materials of rival candidates and “exhort” candidates not to defame their opponents. Acuña said that violation of the rules carries only “administrative” punishment but if the rules are violated three or more times the violator could be processed for “electoral crimes.” He stated, “This list of regulations has as its goal the education of the population. It sows the seed of respect for others, without the use of coercive measures.”

Silvio Baez, auxiliary bishop of Managua, reacted to the ethics rules by saying that, “I have a concern about what is behind the rules against defaming [candidates] because if what they want is to silence all criticism, then we are facing a grave situation, a violation of freedom of speech and press.” He also criticized the decision by the CSE to delay the issuing of rules for election observation until August 16.

In related news, an analysis released by the Center for Communications Research (CINCO) prepared by Guillermo Rothschuh and Alfonso Malespin stated that during the elections of 2011 “it will be difficult to exercise balanced, critical, independent journalism.” The study, entitled “The Media, Journalism, and Elections in Nicaragua” asserted that, “It is still an open question whether the Supreme Electoral Council will fulfill its ‘open door' commitment [with regard to release of information] and whether the government's shock troops will permit coverage without risk of attack and fulfill [the government's] own discourse of peace and non-aggression.” The report is critical of the announcement by Armando Juarez, Electoral Prosecutor, that he will only investigate violations of the Electoral Law that are brought to the authorities by the political parties and will not investigate those that only appear in the media. “The lack of diligence on the part of this official should not discourage journalists from continuing to follow each and every one of the steps in the electoral process.”

Meanwhile, Rosario Murillo, head of the Council on Communications and Citizenship, called on Sandinista Party leadership teams to act in ways that will increase support for the FSLN and not in ways that block that growth. She noted that campaigns in the past “tried more to destroy our adversary rather than to convince our adversary” and she said Sandinistas were “obliged to see beyond November 6” so that “we can be adding people and building a majority.”

The campaign officially begins on August 20 and ends on November 2 followed by three quiet days before the election on November 6. (El Nuevo Diario, July 16, 18; Radio La Primerisima, July 16; La Prensa, July 14; El Digital 19, July 12)

2. European Union pre-election mission visits

A technical mission from the European Union arrived in Nicaragua last week for two days to explore the situation in the country in the lead up to the November presidential elections. The mission met with the government, political parties, and civil society organizations. Mendel Goldstein, EU ambassador for Central America and Panama, attended the launching of a nationwide campaign entitled “Young people exercising their right to active participation can achieve changes in society” financed by the EU and Oxfam United Kingdom. In a speech at that event, he said that he was confident that the government would permit international election observation. He noted, “The government has always said that it was open to observation under certain conditions, so if they can define those conditions for participation, we will be here.”

Fabio Gadea, presidential candidate of the Independent Liberal Party (PLI) Alliance, told Goldstein that he wanted the EU to observe the elections even if the invitation were to come at the last minute. Miguel Rosales, spokesman for the Constitutional Liberal Party (PLC), showed Goldstein documents which he alleged indicated irregularities in the electoral process. Both the PLI and the PLC told Goldstein that they considered the reelection candidacy of President Daniel Ortega to be illegal. (El Nuevo Diario, July 14; La Prensa, July 12; Radio La Primerisima, July 12)

3. Killers of singer Facundo Cabral detained

Authorities in Guatemala continued their investigations into the murder of Argentine singer-songwriter Facundo Cabral and the wounding of Nicaraguan entertainment impresario Henry Fariñas. The much-loved Argentine singer, 74, was not considered to be the target of the attack which authorities said was aimed at Fariñas, owner of nightclubs and casinos. Fariñas, 40, was hit by eight bullets but survived in grave condition in a Guatemala City clinic. He was driving Cabral to the airport when his vehicle was attacked.

On July 11 three suspects were detained by Guatemalan authorities, two of them with Guatemalan identification and one with papers indicating he was from Mexico. They were not considered to be the masterminds behind the crime, however. Nicaraguan National Police Chief Aminta Granera said that Nicaraguan authorities were collaborating closely with their Guatemalan counterparts adding that a subject known as Alejandro “El Palidejo” was being pursued as the one who hired the killers. She added, “I can assure you that [he] is not Nicaraguan; he has been here but he moves around all the countries of the region and all the police forces of Central America are bent on finding and capturing him.”

There were unconfirmed rumors flying that Fariñas was in some way involved with money laundering and/or drug trafficking. Nicaraguan Supreme Court President Alba Luz Ramos called that “speculation” but she said that the killing was “a message from the drug traffickers” to the heads of state of the region shortly after they met at a summit in Guatemala City in June to coordinate strategy against organized crime.

The killing of Cabral caused consternation in Nicaragua where he had sung at the Ruben Dario Theater on July 3rd. Nicaraguan singer-songwriter Carlos Mejia Godoy said Cabral “sang for peace, spoke of changing the world, making it a better world with equality.” First Lady Rosario Murillo said, “They took away his life but not his spirit, his music, his poetry, his legacy.” (El Nuevo Diario, July 9, 14, 18; La Prensa, July 12, 14; Radio La Primerisima, July 12)

4. Pennwalt mercury contamination spreads

The actions of the US chemical company Pennwalt not only cost the lives of 24 workers and irreversibly injured 107, but also caused the accumulation of 600 tons of mercury in Lake Xolotlán (Lake Managua). Kamilo Lara, an ecologist and biologist, said that the concentration of mercury currently detected in the Lake ranges between .73 and 4.48. (The first values were found several kilometers from the chemical plant, and the second values near the plant.) Both values are much higher than the tolerable rate of .1 micrograms. Moreover, Lara said that the mercury is now flowing through the Tipitapa River to Lake Cocibolca (Nicaragua). Its famously pure water is being used (after treatment) by a growing number of communities for drinking water.

Unfortunately, when the contamination was first discovered while the plant was operating in the 1980s, the environmental legislation that exists today was not in effect, Lara said. Around that time the holding tanks near the plant were found to be full of toxaphene, a highly toxic insecticide currently banned in the United States, which was produced at the plant. The company cleaned and scraped those tanks. It was assumed that, when the Central American Bank of Economic Integration (BCIE) took over the company and assumed its debt, the Bank would also take responsibility for cleaning the mercury in Lake itself. However, this did not happen.

Also, in October of 2010, the Supreme Court ruled in a case brought by former Pennwalt workers that the obligation for restitution of damages to injured workers and to the environment did not extend beyond the company that caused the damage. This effectively relieved the BCIE of any responsibility for the cleanup. álvaro Leiva Sánchez, a union lawyer, said that this was a great failure of the Court and that responsibility should have been transferred to the Bank.

According to Lara, very high contamination (7.3 to 9.2 micrograms) is found along the shore around Miraflores Bay, where toxic materials were dumped directly into the Lake. By analyzing variations in contamination levels and the movement of water in the Lake, biologists conclude that the mercury is breaking up and moving to other sections of the Lake and even flowing through the Tipitapa River to Lake Cocibolca. Lara said that mercury adheres easily to the proteins in the bodies of fish and other lake animals and when humans eat those animals they can be affected by mercury poisoning causing irreversible brain damage. (El Nuevo Diario, July 14)

5. Youths convicted of murder of student

Judge Miroslava Calero of the Second Criminal Court of Managua last week declared six adolescents guilty of the murder on May 13 of Evans Ponce, an architecture student in his final year at the Engineering University in Managua. The prosecution asked for and was granted the maximum penalty for children under 18, which is six years in detention. The six were also declared guilty of the attempted murder of two other university students and of aggravated robbery. The case opened a debate about whether adolescents who commit vile crimes should receive penalties similar to those that an adult would receive for the same offense. University classmates of the victim were on one side of the debate and child psychologists and child protection advocates on the other. (Radio La Primerisima, July 15; El Nuevo Diario, July 12)

6. Bumper crop predicted for first harvest

Manual Alvarez, president of the Union of Nicaraguan Agricultural Producers, predicts a bumper crop for Nicaragua's exports from the first harvest with good yields and high international commodity prices. Sorgum is selling for US$14 per hundredweight, soybeans for US$21, and peanuts for US$26 on the international market. Alvarez predicted that agricultural exports could surpass US$2 billion by the end of the rainy season.

The only negative news is that the costs of production of Honduran poultry are lower than Nicaragua's due to the fact that Honduras allows genetically modified seeds to be used for growing bird feed while those seeds are banned in Nicaragua. The resulting cheaper Honduran eggs affect small Nicaraguan producers who rely on their egg sales for family income. GMO corn produces twice the yield of unmodified corn.

According to Ariel Bucardo, minister of Agriculture and Forestry, Nicaraguan-grown corn and beans from 720,000 acres planted for the year's first harvest are appearing in markets throughout the country. Last year's crops were heavily damaged by the long and heavy rains creating high domestic prices and forcing the government to import these two most basic Nicaraguan foods. (Radio La Primerisima, July 13, 14)

7. Violence toward women bill fails to leave committee

The National Assembly Committee on Women, Children and Adolescents and the Justice Committee failed to get enough members to sign on to report out a bill to amend Law 641, the Integral Law Against Violence Toward Women. The bill thus fails to move to the floor for debate and a vote. Only three of the committees' 23 members signed the bill.

Maria Dolores Aleman, chair of the Committee on Women, Children and Adolescents said that, although there were members who did not live up to their promises to sign the bill, it is important that the bill is complete and ready to be considered before October. Aleman, who is a Constitutional Liberal Party (PLC) deputy, said that the draft bill meets the expectations of all the consulted groups, including the Supreme Court and the Maria Elena Cuadra Women's Movement which promoted it. But PLC Deputy Maximino Rodriguez objected to the power given to the special Women's Police Stations to issue restraining orders against male partners. Independent Deputy Monica Baltadano called the special law important due to its preventative measures and the fact that it gives institutions the legal and penal tools to better confront violence against women.

One of the provisions would increase the penalty for femicide to 25-30 years in prison; others recognize psychological violence, economic violence, intimidation and harassment. Mariela Narvaez, attorney for the Maria Elena Cuadra Movement, said that the discussion is taking longer than planned because of high levels of machismo among deputies in the National Assembly. (Radio La Primerisima, July 14, 16; La Prensa, July 13)

8. International social movements meet

Members of over 120 social movement organizations from 14 countries met at the National Engineering University in Managua on July 17 and 18 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Sandinista Front for National Liberation (FSLN) and the 32nd anniversary of the Sandinista Triumph over the Somoza dictatorship. The delegations from Europe and the Americas held the two day meeting of the Social Movements of ALBA, the Americas, and the Caribbean under the title of “Rebuilding Solidarity.”

Delegates heard from labor leaders and Sandinista government officials about the situation of social movements in Nicaragua and visited projects such as Zero Hunger, Zero Usury, and women's cooperatives in Managua's rural zones. Presidential advisor Paul Oquist, Minister of Labor Jeanette Chavez, labor leader Gustavo Porras, government advisor Orlando Nuñez, journalist William Grigsby and many others addressed the group. The final resolution adopted by the conference praised the Sandinista process and the Bolivarian Alliance of the Peoples of Our Americas (ALBA) and their challenge to neoliberal capitalism which the resolution called “savage capitalism.” (Radio La Primerisima, July 15; Minga Informativa, July 18)
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