TUESDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2011
Nicaragua News Bulletin (October 25, 2011)
1. Hurricane Rina slips past Nicaragua after weeks of heavy rains2. Modesto with Gadea; EU accompaniers arrive
3. Congresswoman demands US condemn Ortega
4. Total foreign aid falls but public sector aid rises
5. New 2012 budget released
6. Record year for garment manufacturers
7. Urban agriculture project to expand
1. Hurricane Rina slips past Nicaragua after weeks of heavy rains
The Nicaraguan Institute for Territorial Studies (INETER) on Oct. 24 predicted that Hurricane Rina would miss Nicaragua as it headed for the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico but warned Nicaraguans, especially those on the Caribbean Coast, to remain alert. Rina, as a tropical storm, had been battering Honduras and the northeast corner of Nicaragua for days and, by Monday, it had reached hurricane strength. The government declared a state of emergency when it appeared that Rina would hit Nicaragua directly. Civil Defense brigades began evacuations of communities in the North Atlantic Autonomous Region (RAAN) on Sat. Oct. 22, among them Cabo Gracias a Dios, the Miskito Cays, Waspan, Rio Coco, Bihmuna and Pawanka Wala. As of Monday, there had been no word from a Coast Guard boat with 27 persons aboard (four crew members and 23 fishers from the Miskito Cays) that had disappeared Sunday afternoon. Roger Gonzalez, head of the Naval Force, said the search would continue for the boat until it was found.
INETER also warned communities on the shores of Lake Xolotlan (Lake Managua), especially Tipitapa and San Francisco Libre, of the danger of further flooding from the continued rise in the level of the Lake, which, at 140 feet over sea level, had now surpassed last year's high level. Col. Nestor Solis of the Civil Defense brigades said that if Lake Xolotlan reached 142.7 feet, evacuations of zones around the lake would begin. People living near the country's many volcanoes were warned of the danger from landslides.
A government report released on Oct. 23 said that 13 departments (provinces) had been affected by the rains with 10,800 people in government shelters, 87,000 people isolated because of flooded roads and bridges, over 5,000 homes totally or partially destroyed, 16 people dead and 18 injured. Fifteen bridges have been destroyed and 1,500 kilometers of roads damaged along with substantial damage to water and sewage pipes.
Representatives of the Central American countries hardest hit by the recent weeks of deluge were scheduled to meet on Oct. 25 in San Salvador. The presidents of El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala, even harder hit than Nicaragua, promised to attend as well as representatives from Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Belize, Panama, and the Dominican Republic. Salvadoran President Mauricio Funes, who organized the event, said that the goal was to put together a petition from the region for international assistance to help with reconstruction. A meeting of the Consultative Group of international donors has been scheduled for the second week of December, according to Funes. Over 100 deaths in Central America have been blamed on the rains and tens of thousands of people are in shelters because their homes have been destroyed or damaged by flooding.
The Nicaraguan government assured the population that, in spite of the emergency, Nicaragua has enough food. Herminio Escoto, head of the government food supply agency ENABAS said, “Thanks to the excellent first harvest, right now there are enough basic grains so that the population can feel tranquil about the supply of those products in the markets.” He said that, at the ENABAS food posts in poor neighborhoods, the price of beans would remain at US$0.35 per pound and rice at US$0.37. Agriculture Minister Ariel Bucardo said that no one should try to take advantage of the emergency to raise prices because there was enough food available. He said that the crop most affected had been beans, with about 4% of the area planted lost due to the excessive rains and another 15% that will have a lower yield per acre. Also, news outlets reported that Spain, the United States, Mexico, Brazil, Canada, Iran, Venezuela, Taiwan, and the UN World Food Program have offered to send food aid to Nicaragua. The US Embassy promised US$75,000 in aid. (Radio La Primerisima, Oct. 21, 22, 24; El Nuevo Diario, Oct. 24; La Prensa, Oct. 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
2. Modesto with Gadea; EU accompaniers arrive
Last week several dissident Sandinistas announced their opposition to the reelection of President Daniel of the Sandinista Party (FSLN) and their support for Fabio Gadea and Edmundo Jarquin, the candidates of the Independent Liberal Party (PLI) Alliance. These former members of the Sandinista Party had not until now joined the Sandinista Renovation Movement (MRS) as part of the PLI Alliance. Henry Ruiz, known as Comandante Modesto during the struggle to overthrow the Somoza dictatorship, said, “We want to announce publically our decision to vote on November 6 for ticket number 13 [of Gadea].” Joining Ruiz were poet Ernesto Cardenal and Moises Hassan, the latter a member of the original government junta of July 1979. Ruiz has been a member of the Sandinista Rescue Movement with Monica Baltodano and others. Baltodano has not supported any candidate and has told voters to mark their ballots in a way that makes them null and void.
Meanwhile, Gadea reiterated his firm opposition to all abortion. He said, “There is a dirty campaign out there saying that we support abortion and that we are murderous abortionists…. But [our campaign] has said many times that we are defenders of life.” His running mate Edmundo Jarquin of the MRS was the only presidential candidate in 2006 who supported retaining the century-old provision in Nicaraguan law that allowed for therapeutic abortions. FSLN and Liberal legislators voted together to change the law to criminalize all abortions.
Protests continued in several communities, mainly in the North, about difficulties some voters say they are having obtaining their voter identification cards. One PLI supporter in San Fernando in the Department of Nueva Segovia, even accused the electoral authorities of giving out voter cards to Honduran supporters of former President Manuel Zelaya while not giving them to Nicaraguans. Tomas Ortez said he was still collecting evidence but he presented the names of seven people in Nueva Segovia who he alleged were on the voter rolls in both Honduras and Nicaragua. Juan Ramon Vilchez, head of the local electoral council said, “We have invited them to bring us the proof but they don't do it. They began saying there were 300, then they lowered it to 100 and then 80 but they never brought the proof.” He added that his office tries to register only Nicaraguans and a birth certificate is required.
Roberto Courtney, director of Ethics and Transparency (E&T) [an organization that has received “democracy promotion” funding from the United States] said that local electoral offices in areas where opposition to the FSLN is strong have made it difficult for voters to get registration cards. He said that in Ciudad Antigua in Nueva Segovia, the FSLN only received 10% of the vote in 2006. He added, “That explains why the Municipal Electoral Council doesn't open and, when it does, it doesn't have the right forms.” Courtney said that since the last presidential election there are between 10% and 12% of new voters, of which E&T estimates 2% could be unable to vote.
Meanwhile, on Oct. 19, the Supreme Court heard arguments from the factions of the Independent Liberal Party that have challenged the candidates of the PLI Alliance headed by Fabio Gadea. Supreme Court Justice Rafael Solis, after hearing the presentations by the various parties, said that it “would not be prudent or convenient” to issue a ruling before the Nov. 6 elections. One PLI faction demands that the candidates for National Assembly from the “Let's Go with Eduardo” Movement be scratched from the PLI Alliance slate and another faction wants all the candidacies (including Gadea for president) declared invalid.
In other election news, members of the accompaniment/observer group from the European Union, led by Luis Yañez, a member of the European Parliament, met with opposition political parties and began their visits to all the departments and autonomous regions of the country. A group of 26 arrived in Nicaragua on Oct. 14 with 66 expected on Oct. 29. They, with the eight who were already in country, will make up the delegation of 90. Yañez said that while they would have preferred to begin the process at least two months before the elections, the time allowed is sufficient to carry out “a professional technical job.” (La Prensa, Oct. 18, 19, 20, 23; El Nuevo Diario, Oct. 24; Radio La Primerisima, Oct. 19, 21)
3. Congresswoman demands US condemn Ortega
Right-wing Cuban-American Republican Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (FL-18) has again called on the US State Department to condemn the presidential candidacy of President Daniel Ortega. Ros-Lehtinen is chair of the US House of Representatives Foreign Relations Committee. The election is scheduled for Nov. 6 and Ortega won a suit in the Supreme Court allowing him to run for re-election. [There was no objection from Ros-Lehtinen when former Costa Rican President Oscar Arias used the same strategy to win approval of his successful effort to run a second time for the presidency. Nor did she oppose former Colombian President Alvaro Uribe when he twice amended the constitution so he could run for re-election.]
“I insist that the State Department condemn recent actions of Daniel Ortega to manipulate democratic institutions in Nicaragua to further his authoritarian aspirations,” Ros-Lehtinen wrote in a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. In a press interview Ros-Lehtinen used the financial crisis in the US to threaten aid cuts to Nicaragua in the event of an Ortega victory. (Polls show Ortega is likely to win a first round victory with an insurmountable lead over several opponents.) The Obama administration “is again asleep and silent instead of condemning Ortega's attacks on democracy and the rule of law,” she said. She added, “The flagrant disrespect for the law by Ortega is in harmony with other despots like [Hugo] Chavez and the Castro brothers.”
Ros-Lehtinen also praised Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) and Senator Marco Rubio (R- FL) for blocking Senate approval of Obama's nominee as ambassador to Nicaragua, Jonathan Farrar. Anti-Cuba forces are opposed to Farrar because they complain that he did not help Cuban dissidents enough at his previous posting as head of the US Interests Section in Havana. The hold on Farrar means the US has no ambassador in Nicaragua during the electoral campaign. (La Prensa, Oct. 20, 22)
4. Total foreign aid falls but public sector aid rises
Through the first half of 2011, Nicaragua received US$585 million in foreign aid, of which two-thirds, or US$383 million was directed to the private sector and the remaining US$202 million went to the public sector. That represents a 9.6% decrease compared to the first half of 2010.
Some Venezuelan aid comes as part of an agreement under which oil is sold to Nicaragua on favorable terms and is then resold with the profit going for social programs. Pegged at US$344.6 million by the Report on Official Foreign Aid published by the Nicaragua Central Bank (BCN), that is a drop of US$6.4 million over the same period last year. Venezuelan aid, which funds poverty reduction and social programs does not pass through the national budget, a fact that critics claim means its use lacks transparency.
According to the BCN report, US$181.6 million of Venezuelan aid was spent on “socially productive projects” such as energy sovereignty, fair trade and commercial development. Another US$111.3 million was spent on the Zero Usury program, agricultural and forestry production, land and maritime transportation, and affordable housing. From the same source it was reported that US$24.5 million was used to fund the “solidarity bonus” or payment given to 19,258 public workers to subsidize their low salaries which are not allowed to rise under the IMF loan conditions. Another US$19.8 million went to the public transportation subsidy.
The BCN report indicated that total foreign aid has decreased. La Prensa interjected that this process has advanced since opposition groups alleged of fraud in the 2008 municipal elections. However, aid to the public sector has actually increased by US$34.7 million with Russia being the largest donor followed by Holland, Canada, the US, Finland and Germany. (La Prensa, Oct. 19; El Nuevo Diario, Oct. 24)
5. New 2012 budget released
The government of President Daniel Ortega sent to the National Assembly its proposed budget for 2012, emphasizing that one third of expenditures, US$565 million, will go to social spending in the areas of health, education and others. Ivan Acosta announced that 6% is budgeted for the universities as mandated in the constitution, US$1.3 for Zero Usury, US$2.1 million for the Bank of Production and other funds are destined for senior pensions, micro-finance, potable water, energy, transportation subsidies, and land line telephones systems. Economist Adolfo Acevedo of the Civil Coordinator, however, criticized the budget saying that all the funds from increased tax revenues should go to health and education, increasing salaries for teachers, for example, rather than channeling more funds than he considers necessary to paying down the country's foreign debt. (Radio La Primerisima, Oct. 19; El Nuevo Diario, Oct. 24)
6. Record year for garment manufacturers
According to the Nicaraguan Association of Textile Manufacturing (ANITEC), 2011 is shaping up as a banner year for that industry. Through August the industry has exported the equivalent of 278.7 million square meters of cloth as clothing, earning US$870.4 million. That represents a 21.9% increase by volume and 34.9% increase by value over the same period in 2010. 2010 held the previous record for textile exports. Among the garments produced in greatest volume are nightgowns and pajamas, cotton jackets, and uniforms. ANITEC estimates that total growth for 2011 will be in the 20-30% range. The growth in textile exports is part of an overall growth in Free Trade Zone (FTZ) exports of 44%. According to the Nicaragua Central Bank, through June 2011, the 127 FTZ companies exported US$810.6 million compared to US$561.2 million during the same period of 2010. (La Prensa, Oct. 17)
7. Urban agriculture project to expand
On Oct. 16, World Food Day, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization initiated the second phase of its urban agriculture project in neighborhoods of Ciudad Sandino near Managua. Financed by the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID), a second group of 250 low-income families will receive a vegetable seed pack to start their own household gardens through the program. The Minister of Agriculture and the Nicaraguan Institute for Agricultural Technology will train the participants.
The urban agriculture project seeks to increase sustainability by giving families access to seeds and 5,000 liter water tanks to care for their gardens. The program was initiated with 250 families. Now that these families are starting to see the fruits of their labor, the project is being expanded to additional community members who are currently being selected. In order to be chosen as a participant in the program, individuals must have a plot of land around 215 square feet and have a roof of at least 160 square feet for the collection of water. (La Prensa, Oct. 20)
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