TUESDAY, JULY 26, 2011
Nicaragua News Bulletin (July 26, 2011)
1. Anniversary of 1979 revolution celebrated2. House committee slashes foreign aid
3. New poll shows Ortega over 50%
4. Verification of voter rolls held
5. Central American presidents meet
6. Still no deal on Monkey Point port
7. Cattle exports continue to grow
8. Cell phone and internet access grow
1. Anniversary of 1979 revolution celebrated
The celebration in the Plaza of Faith of the victory of the Sandinista Revolution on July 19, 1979, included speakers from Cuba, Venezuela, and Guatemala, along with President Daniel Ortega, Cardinal Miguel Obando, and First Lady and Communications Coordinator Rosario Murillo. A full plaza, with a crowd estimated at 600,000, heard Cardinal Obando say that he was a witness to the “good works” of the current government in the countryside and in the cities. Rigoberta Menchu of Guatemala wished Nicaraguans success from the Mayan people who, she stated, have still not achieved their liberation. Venezuelan Aristobulo Isturiz read a message from President Hugo Chavez and Cuban Minister of Higher Education Miguel Diaz carried greetings from the Cuban government.
A highlight of Ortega's speech was his proposal that the people decide via a referendum whether Nicaragua should demand that the United States pay damages for its attacks during the war of the 1980s, following the recommendation of the International Court of Justice at The Hague in a 1986 case. He said that while Nicaragua is “honoring its obligations with the United States in the case of properties confiscated” from [people who later became] US citizens during the first Sandinista government, the White House should do the same in the case of the damages caused by US intervention.
Ortega said that he would not use the speech to present his program for governing for the next term because the election campaign was not set to begin until August but that the public could expect a continuation of the programs of the last four years. He noted the other revolutionary holidays celebrated in the month of July, including the French and the Cuban, along with the independence celebrations of Argentina, Colombia, the U.S., and Peru as well as the birthdays of Nelson Mandela and Hugo Chavez.
Ortega sent a message of solidarity to Honduran President Porfirio Lobo, who he said was being attacked by the same coup-makers who had overthrown Manuel Zelaya two years ago. He proposed to Costa Rican President Laura Chinchilla that together they form an ecological brigade made up of environmentalists from Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and the rest of Latin America to protect and sustainably develop the San Juan River region. He called for dialogue to end the bombing in Libya. He indicated that he may be retaining National Police Commissioner Aminta Granera in her post for another five year term saying Granera “is and will continue to be a good chief” of Police.
There was reaction to the announcement that Granera and other members of the upper echelons of the National Police could remain in their posts. La Prensa said, “Ortega ignored the generalized complaints about Police passivity when faced with ‘Orteguista' mobs.” The newspaper said that a presidential decree in 2009 had paved the way for the decision by giving the president the power to extend the terms of office of National Police leadership. Azahalea Solis of the Autonomous Women's Movement said that the reappointment of Granera “would complete the state of illegitimacy” in which the country lives, referring to the opposition claim that the reelection candidacy of Ortega and the continuation in office of the Supreme Court justices Electoral Council magistrates and others are all illegal.
Retired General Hugo Torres of the Sandinista Renovation Movement said that the July 19 event was “designed to hold up the strongman figure of Ortega, a program where the cult of personality was predominant, just as his wife designed it, to try to establish an identity between Ortega and the revolution, a doctrine which attempts to add religious aspects in which she is the priestess and he is a demigod.”
With relation to the issue of asking Nicaraguans about submitting to the World Court a claim for damages from the US, international law specialist Roger Guevara said that the correct term for the polling would be a plebiscite. He said that a referendum refers to a vote to approve a law passed by a legislature and would not apply in this case. He added, “He [Ortega] could do this if and when he had a mandate from a consultation with the people.” Carlos Argüello, Nicaragua's representative at the World Court, said that “This wouldn't be the first time that a country dropped a claim and then introduced it again,” adding that “the route is completely open” for Nicaragua to do just that. However, Vice-President Jaime Morales Carazo, often a voice for realism, said that he doubted the United States would pay the debt. (Radio La Primerisima, July 19, 20; El Nuevo Diario, July 19, 21; La Prensa, July 19, 22)
2. House committee slashes foreign aid
The US House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, in a party line vote of 23 to 16, approved an amendment to the Appropriations Bill that would cut all US aid to the governments of Nicaragua, Argentina, Venezuela, Ecuador and Bolivia. US payments to nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in those countries would not be affected. The committee also cut aid to the governments of Pakistan, Egypt, Libya, Yemen and the Palestinian Authority. In total, the committee cut $US6.4 billion from the US$51 billion requested by the Department of State. Rep. Connie Mack (R-FL) accused those Latin American countries excluded from aid of “interfering” or “resisting” democratic processes. “They don't support the ideals of liberty, security, and prosperity,” he said. The committee also cut 25% of the US contribution to the United Nations and the previous day had cut 100%, or US$48.5 million, of the US contribution to the Organization of American States. In a tweet message, Mack called the OAS “anti-American.” The bill must be approved by the full House and passed by the Senate. Senate passage is very unlikely. The House Foreign Affairs Committee is chaired by far-right Republican Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) and Mack chairs the Western Hemisphere sub-committee. (El Nuevo Diario, July 21; La Prensa, July 20)
3. New poll shows Ortega over 50%
A new poll by M&R Consultores shows President Daniel Ortega to be the choice of 56.5% of those who said they intended to vote in the November 6 elections. This would permit him to win easily on the first round (without a runoff vote). The slate of Sandinista Party (FSLN) candidates for National Assembly seats had the support of 54.9% of those polled which would give the FSLN a majority in the National Assembly. Those who chose not to say for whom they would vote or who were undecided were next in the poll, with 22.4%, a drop from 31.3% in September 2010. The Presidential candidate of the Independent Liberal Party Alliance, Fabio Gadea Mantilla, was the choice of 14.1%, up from 12.8% in March. Former President Arnoldo Aleman obtained only 5.8% in the survey, approximately the same as in previous polls.
The method used by M&R was to give all those polled two ballots (one for President and another for National Assembly) similar to those that will be used in the November elections. Those surveyed filled them out in secret and deposited them in a box similar to a ballot box. The poll surveyed 1,600 people between June 30 and July 15 and has a margin of error of 2.5%. (La Prensa, July 24; Radio La Primerisima, July 25)
4. Verification of voter rolls held
July 22 and 23 were days on which voters could verify that they were registered to vote at their accustomed polling place, make an address change, or apply for a voter identification card. While President Daniel Ortega praised the population for turning out massively to confirm their voter registration, opposition candidate Fabio Gadea Mantilla said that the process was marked by irregularities. Opposition parties said that in many cases the lists of voters were not displayed outside polling places, that voters were not given receipts noting that their changes of address had been registered, and that some verification posts appeared to be staffed by members of the Councils of Citizen Power, usually associated with the Sandinista Party. Nevertheless, Gadea called on voters to ignore the problems and turn out to vote in November.
Mauricio Zuñiga, director of the Institute for Development and Democracy (IPADE), said that there are still several key dates before the November 6 voting. August 8 is the last day to register to vote or register a change of address. On that date the Supreme Electoral Council (CSE) must turn over to each political party a provisional list of voters and the locations of all polling places. On September 7, the CSE must give the parties an updated list of voters. The parties have a month to register their objections to the list and on October 6, the final voter roll is released including a resolution of any objections by the parties. And, Zuñiga added, on August 16, the CSE has promised to release the regulations for national and/or international election observers, including the decision whether IPADE and its sister organization Ethics and Transparency [both of which receive funding from the US Agency for International Development] will be accredited to observe the elections as national observer organizations. (Radio La Primerisima, July 25; El Nuevo Diario, July 25; La Prensa, July 23)
5. Central American presidents meet
Central American leaders met in San Salvador last week under the auspices of the Central American Integration System (SICA) to finalize plans to fight organized crime. The presidents of Honduras, Guatemala, Nicaragua and El Salvador attended along with the vice-presidents of Costa Rica and Panama and the deputy prime minister of Belize. Among the subjects discussed were strengthening joint criminal investigations especially concerning money laundering, improving information exchange, harmonizing relevant laws among the several countries, and orienting resources toward crime prevention. Other subjects covered included climate change and the prevention of disasters, a subject that will be covered more fully at a summit planned for December.
Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega said that, “We, in Nicaragua, have a mechanism of coordination among the judiciary, prosecutors, the army, and the police and which is facilitated from the presidency precisely in order to coordinate issues of citizen security in all its aspects, including drug trafficking.” He emphasized the work institutions that worked in the fight against trafficking in Nicaragua's territorial waters and in the interior of the country. He proposed that prosecutors and judges hold regional level meetings to exchange experiences on the subjects of organized crime and drug trafficking. (Radio La Primerisima, July 23; El Nuevo Diario, July 23)
6. Still no deal on Monkey Point port
The South Korean government and companies from that nation remain interested in building a modern port at Monkey Point in the South Atlantic Autonomous Region (RAAS) according to Soon Tae Kim, ambassador of the Republic of Korea. “We are very interested in this project because it is a way to continue to strengthen the ties of friendship and commercial relations. My embassy and my government support this project because we think of it as the point of the spear for the economic development of Nicaragua,” he told El Nuevo Diario.
Virgilo Silva, president of Nicaragua's National Port Company refused to comment due to ongoing negotiations. On July 8 Silva had told the press that the Nicaraguan government was interested because the Korean companies have the experience necessary to construct the port and because it would save Nicaragua US$150 million a year in higher costs of shipping from ports in Honduras and Costa Rica. However, he said then, “They [the Koreans] want an interest rate of 6.5% and a loan period of 12 years while we want an interest rate of 2% on a 30 year loan so we have not reached an agreement.”
Monkey Point is the heart of the Rama Indian traditional lands. It has been a long time since any Nicaraguan press, based as it is on the Pacific side of the country, have said anything about how the Rama people feel about the deal or whether they have even been consulted. When last the Nicaragua Network took a delegation to Monkey Point in the late 1990s, the people of Monkey point might have agreed with Ambassador Kim's spear analogy, but they would have called it a spear pointed at their heart. (El Nuevo Diario, July 21)
7. Cattle exports continue to grow
The Nicaraguan cattle industry hopes that sales of beef and live cattle to Venezuela will continue to grow this year and that prices will stay high. Venezuela is Nicaragua's second most important market (after the United States) for beef and cattle with exports having grown 14% in the past year. Over all, Nicaraguan cattle ranchers have seen exports grow by 10% in the first half of 2011 with sales of US$290 million compared to US$570 for all of 2010. During a meeting of cattle producers last week Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Ariel Bucardo called for greater credit availability for the industry saying it had fallen from US$86 million in 2006 to US$30 million last year but he noted that the government Banco Produzcamos was providing US$20 million in financing for the cattle industry this year. Bucardo projected that the entire industry, including beef, dairy, leather and live cattle exports will earn US$650 million, a 27% increase over 2010.
In other agricultural news Bucardo announced that, while planting has not yet begun, nearly 5,000 acres of land in Western Nicaragua are being prepared for growing cotton by three groups of producers with seed imported from the US. (La Prensa, July 21, 23; Radio La Primerisima, July 21)
8. Cell phone and internet access grow
Nicaragua, the second poorest country in Latin America, had 4.2 million cell phones in use in 2010, increasing at the rate of 200% a year while landline growth has been a mere 10%. The population of Nicaragua is 5.6 million. In 2001 only 164,000 cell phones were in use. Cell phone service is now available in 151 of Nicaragua's 153 municipalities including those on the Caribbean Coast. They have enabled many rural areas to have telephone service for the first time. Two companies dominate the cell phone market, the Mexican company Movil operating under the name Claro, and the Spanish company MoviStar. Between them they invested US$170 million in 2010. Claro controls 60% of the cell phone market and all of the internet. [Business is negatively affected by the curious anomaly that the customers of one cell phone company cannot talk to the other and land lines cannot talk to cell phones. Many people carry two cell phones, one for each company, artificially increasing the number in use.]
Access to broadband internet in 2010 grew to 400,000 users, a 300% growth over 2006. Local governments in many cities have installed internet centers to provide access to the internet for families without personal computers. In 2009 the government established 100 “technology centers” in public schools, each equipped with 15 computers and free internet benefitting 89,000 students. (Radio La Primerisima, July 25)
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