MONDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2011
Nicaragua News Bulletin (December 13, 2011)
1. Nicaraguans celebrate La Purisima2. PLI to take seats; Rivas releases report
3. Nicaraguan embassy clarifies Kautz statements
4. Nicaragua goes to court over Costa Rican highway
5. More families receive homes, roofs, and titles
6. More students stay in school
7. Sharp increase in exports to Russia and China
8. Alternative energy from coffee pulp
1. Nicaraguans celebrate La Purisima
Last week Nicaraguans celebrated with their usual fervor and very few accidents the feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary, the patron of Nicaragua. The nine day festival, which commemorates Mary's conception without original sin in the womb of her mother Saint Ann, culminated on the eve of the Dec. 8th feast day with the gritería. That night, people visited the altars to the Virgin Mary set up by their neighbors and sang hymns to Mary in exchange for the traditional treats of sugar cane, sweet lemons, candies, and toys. Newspapers reported that this year there were some 20,000 altars set up around the country, with 7,300 just in Leon. The night and day of the feast were punctuated by fireworks with only two children and one adult reported burned this year. 15,000 police helped maintain order with the help of the Red Cross and the Fire Department.
According to El Nuevo Diario, the celebration in Nicaragua of this particular festival of Mary began 153 years ago in Leon, when a parish priest called his congregation together to pray to Mary for safety from an eruption of the Cerro Negro volcano nearby. Not all the people would fit in the church so they set up altars at their homes and so the tradition began. It later spread to the rest of Nicaragua.
Both Dec. 7 and 8 were national holidays. Along with the home altars, government institutions set up altars throughout the length of the Avenida Bolivar in Managua as did many private companies in front of their places of business. (La Prensa, Dec.6. 7, 8; Radio La Primerisima, Dec. 9; Informe Pastran, Dec. 9; El Nuevo Diario, Dec. 8,)
2. PLI to take seats; Rivas releases report
Losing presidential candidate Fabio Gadea of the Independent Liberal Party (PLI) Alliance announced on Dec. 6 that that the 26 PLI National Assembly deputies elected on Nov. 6 would take their seats in the Assembly. He said that he himself would not take the seat that would be his by law as the second vote-getter in the election after President Daniel Ortega, because, he said “I am absolutely sure that I won. So sure am I that I will not take the seat that corresponds to the second place candidate. I won the first place. I am president.” He said that the PLI deputies in the Assembly would take the name “Dignity Bench” and that the Assembly would be “one more instrument of struggle” against the “consolidation of a dictatorship.”
There are some within the PLI Alliance who want their party to negotiate with the Sandinistas over the 33 high level government positions that are open, including the Supreme Court and the Supreme Electoral Council (CSE). Mauricio Diaz said, “Here we have to learn something: we attacked the Ortega-Aleman Pact [of 1999] but now that pact is ended. There is a need to open new channels of negotiation, of understanding, that are not painted with that bad word ‘pact.'” Julio Icaza, a PLI deputy, said that the Ortega government wants national and international legitimacy and can only obtain it by dialogue with all national forces.
On Dec. 9, CSE President Roberto Rivas presented a report on the elections to the diplomatic corps accredited in Nicaragua. He said that, because the results of the electoral process were being questioned by some sectors, the CSE considered it necessary to go over the events leading up to the elections, as well as the elections themselves, and the events following the voting. The report answers many of the accusations from the opposition including alleged problems obtaining voter identification cards. It notes that competent sources showed that, by election day, 96% of voting age citizens had their proper document and of the 4% who did not, 62% said they were supporters of the Sandinistas, not of the opposition. At one of the many protests about delays in issuing voter ID cards, 57 out of 62 protesters already had their cards. At another, only five out of 150 protesters lacked a card. Rivas accused the opposition of carrying out a preconceived plan to destabilize the elections and said that the CSE had made every attempt to satisfy the demands of the opposition including allowing last minute changes in thousands of poll watchers and providing accrediting documentation for them. He said the PLI had burned electoral documents and kidnapped election officials among other offenses. The report was presented to the Organization of American States (OAS) by Nicaragua's representative Denis Moncada.
There are confusing reports of political violence with at least seven people killed in recent days. In Mulukuku, two people were found dead who were thought to be members of an opposition political group accused in the death of a Sandinista militant earlier in the week. Three peasant farmers were killed in El Carrizo (allegedly by Sandinistas) in addition to Sandinistas killed earlier in Coperna and Luku Paraska. Then two police officers were killed and two others wounded in ambushes in Siuna and Rosita. The authorities called the attackers “common criminals” but some residents of the area disagreed. “They want to frighten the people so they won't vote for the Sandinistas in the municipal elections [in 2012] and they want to destabilize Comandante Ortega,” said one.
Meanwhile, a CID-Gallup survey taken between October and November of 1,200 Central Americans showed the two presidents from parties of the left with the highest favorable ratings. Salvadoran President Mauricio Funes of the FMLN had the highest approval rating at 57%, followed by Daniel Ortega of the FSLN with 43%. Laura Chinchilla of Costa Rica had an approval rating of 34%; Porfirio Lobo of Honduras was at 26%; Ricardo Martinelli at 23%; and Alvaro Colom of Guatemala at 17%. (El Nuevo Diario, Dec. 6, 10, 12; Informe Pastran Dec. 6, 9, 12; La Prensa, Dec. 6, 8, 9; Radio La Primerísima, Dec. 9, 12)
3. Nicaraguan embassy clarifies Kautz statements
On Dec. 9, the Nicaraguan Embassy in Washington, DC, sent a note to the State Department saying that statements by the Nicaraguan Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs did not represent the position of the Nicaraguan government. Manuel Coronel Kautz, speaking at a meeting with the diplomatic corps (at which there was no US representative present), said that the United States was “killing, murdering people all over.” He said that the US “killed half of the Libyans; well, not half but a large number of them.” However, he said that Nicaragua had “excellent relations” with the United States.
The note said that the Embassy wished to express, “following the express instructions of the President of the Republic of Nicaragua, [that] the unfortunate declarations issued … by Vice Foreign Minister Manuel Coronel Kautz about the foreign policy of the United States does not in any way represent the position of the Republic of Nicaragua.” The letter went on to say, “The Government of Nicaragua reaffirms its commitment to continue to work in the building of a mature relationship of mutual respect with the United States to the benefit of our two peoples.” (El Nuevo Diario, Dec. 10, 12; Radio La Primerisima, Dec. 10)
4. Nicaragua goes to court over Costa Rican highway
On Dec. 5, Nicaragua accused Costa Rica in the Central American Court of Justice of causing damage to Nicaragua's natural resources by building a 120 km long road a few meters away from the San Juan River which belongs to Nicaragua. A dredging operation at the mouth of the river is the subject of a border dispute between the two countries. The claim, presented by two of Nicaragua's most distinguished environmentalists, Jaime Incer and Kamilo Lara, was received by the Court's representative in Managua, Orlando Guerrero. Incer and Lara said the goal was for the Court to hold an extraordinary session and order the road building stopped.
According to the claim, Costa Rica has destroyed 240 square kilometers of protected area to build the road. President Laura Chincilla declared a state of emergency in Feb. 2011 because of what she alleged were threats to Costa Rican sovereignty from Nicaragua and, based on that state of emergency, put aside the requirement for an environmental study, violated the Vida Silvestre National Refuge established to protect the river border with Nicaragua up to two km into Costa Rican territory, violated the System of Protected Areas for Peace (Siapaz) signed with Nicaragua in 1990, the Ramsar Wetlands Convention, and several other Central American treaties. Costa Rican environmentalist Gino Biamonte said, “Independently of the position of the two countries [on the boundary dispute] it is inconsistent to be using the state of emergency to develop infrastructure without environmental studies; if there is an environmental disaster there or not, we aren't sure, but they are moving earth and there are no studies by the Environmental Technical Secretary.” Janet Rojas of the Northern Mining Opposition Front of Costa Rican said that the highway is part of a plan to militarize the zone.
The Nicaraguan Foreign Ministry said on Dec. 10 that officials would be ready to talk with Costa Rican government representatives at the meeting of the Central American Integration System (SICA) next week. But Costa Rican Foreign Minister Enrique Castillo said, “If they want to talk about the highway first we would have to talk about the withdrawal of the Sandinista Youth from Isla Calero [a tiny piece of land at the mouth of the River] but that still doesn't mean that Costa Rica is ready to negotiate anything about the highway.”(La Prensa, Dec. 6, 8, 9; Radio La Primerisima, Dec. 6, 10; El Nuevo Diario, Dec. 10)
5. More families receive homes, roofs, and titles
Managua Vice-Mayor Reina Rueda announced that over 100 families who have been sheltered at the Acahualinca Elementary School for over a year after losing their homes in the September 2010 torrential rains are beginning to move into new homes provided by the Sandinista government. The army, SINAPRED, and Civil Defense are helping the families move. The homes include a stove, a tank of propane, beds, table, and chairs.
Government spokesperson and First Lady Rosario Murillo announced that Plan Roof, a program that provides galvanized roofing panels to poor households, is advancing in the Department of Managua and in the municipalities of Chontales, Leon, Corinto and Granada. On Dec. 13, three thousand Managua families received roofing panels to improve their homes and enable a more dignified living situation. A total of 39,356 families nation-wide have received roofing under Plan Roof.
Murillo also announced that the micro credit program Zero Usury is expanding to incorporate 3,829 new women in 635 solidarity associations in 51 municipalities. Murillo said that the government focus is on women as the center of the family and on children and the restoration of women's rights including the right of participation. She also announced that the cabinets of Citizen Power will begin an evaluation of all the programs of the past year to better plan for next year. In other property news, the government of President Daniel Ortega awarded another 3,000 families with titles to their property on Dec. 7. (La Primerísima, Dec. 7, 12; Informe Pastran, Dec. 12)
6. More students stay in school
With more than 54,000 new high school graduates, Nicaraguan schools saw their best student retention levels ever, a reflection of the Sandinista government's Battle for the Sixth Grade, which has the goal of universal education through the 6th grade. Vice-minister of Education Jose Treminio said that preschool student retention was 95%, primary school 92%, and secondary school 90%. He said only 5% of high school seniors will need to repeat the year. The government of President Daniel Ortega, which eliminated school fees on its first day in office in 2007, has funded school nutrition programs, subsidized uniforms and graduation gowns, given away tens of thousands of backpacks filled with school supplies, and has pushed initiatives to eliminate child labor, all in an effort to achieve the goal of a 6th grade education for everyone. The government has also repaired 1,200 schools and 7,000 classrooms over the past year and Education Vice-Minister Jose Treminio said that the government hoped to have completed all the school infrastructure needs by 2016.
In other education news, the Institute for Strategic Studies and Public Policy (IEEPP) and the Nicaragua Foundation for Economic and Social Development (FUNIDES) has proposed increasing primary and secondary education spending from 3.65% to 7% of the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP), increasing teachers' salaries and training, improving facilities, and testing outcomes. The report claims the additional money could “easily” be found through closing tax loopholes.
Also, noted educator Juan B. Arrien said that there is a great need in Nicaragua for improvements to rural education for the 845,500 rural residents (between children and adults learning to read) which will help advance rural development. He noted that the Ministry of Education is working on a curriculum for rural areas which will increase access to technical education and formation in relevant subject areas, using methods with guaranteed success. (Informe Pastran, Dec. 6, 9; La Prensa, Dec. 9; Radio La Primerisima, Dec. 9)
7. Sharp increase in exports to Russia and China
Exportation of Nicaraguan products to Russia has increased from US$5.4 to US$19.8 million (263%) in 2011 so far and from US$5.7 to US$15.3 million (166%) to China in the same time period. Due to the great distance the products must be transported, Nicaragua is primarily exporting beef, cigars, handcrafted goods and gourmet coffee to these Eastern markets.
Azucena Castillo, general manager of the Association of Producers and Exporters of Nicaragua (APEN) said that, “There are no formal trade agreements with China, but, based on the political will of the government, a Nicaragua-China Friendship Association has been formed.” She added that Russian trade takes place under the Generalized System of Preferences (SGP), allowing Nicaraguan producers to access a new market for their products. The large increase in exports has been attributed to the joint efforts of the public and private sectors sending delegations and promoting Nicaraguan products abroad. (El Nuevo Diario, Dec. 10)
8. Alternative energy from coffee pulp
In October, the sustainable coffee promotion company UTZ Certified began three pilot projects designed to produce biogas for energy generation from the pulp remaining after coffee bean processing. The objective is to produce sustainable energy while reducing pollution. Most coffee bean pulp is dumped in rivers and streams which turns them red with biological waste during the harvest season. One pilot project has converted the waste to biogas which has been able to reduce by 70% the diesel fuel needed to run the machine that removes the pulp from around the coffee bean. Thus the depulping machine in effect produces most of the energy it needs to run itself. The beneficiaries are CECOCAFEN (an association of coffee cooperatives in Matagalpa), El Polo (a cooperative in Jinotega), and CISA (a big exporter headquartered in Managua). (Radio La Primerisima, Dec. 7)
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