TUESDAY, AUGUST 14, 2012

Nicaragua News Bulletin (August 14, 2012)

1. SICA commemorates 25 years since Esquipulas II
2. Sections of San Juan River highway collapse
3. Parties announce their candidates for local elections
4. Tumarin dam construction ready to go
5. Adoption requirements change under new law
6. Food prices rise but inflation stays low
7. Small business fair successful

1. SICA commemorates 25 years since Esquipulas II

The Central American Integration System (SICA) summit, held in Managua on Aug. 7-8, commemorated the 25th anniversary of the Esquipulas II accord and focused on the issue of food security for the region and the fight against drug trafficking and organized crime. The Central American leaders, chaired by President Daniel Ortega who presides over SICA for this half year, agreed that the fight against crime and trafficking must be based on preventive measures to resolve social inequalities, while opening educational and employment opportunities especially for young people.

The leaders addressed food security in the face of global warming, drought in many parts of the world, economic crises, and the resulting rise in international food prices. Salvadoran President Mauricio Funes said that production of food must be increased and measures put in place to manage climate change and international commodity speculation. The leaders agreed to put in place regional mechanisms to confront these challenges. “The Central American people need for us to guarantee their access to food at affordable prices precisely to prevent hunger,” Funes said. The agreement on food security was praised by Gero Vaagt, UN Food and Agriculture Organization representative in Nicaragua, who said his organization was ready to support the Central American efforts.

Besides Ortega and Funes, the SICA Summit was attended by President Porfirio Lobo of Honduras while President Otto Perez of Guatemala, who had intended to come just for the day on Aug. 8, had to cancel his flight because of bad weather. He was represented by his foreign minister, as were President Laura Chinchilla of Costa Rica, and President Ricardo Martinelli of Panama. Also represented were Belize and the Dominican Republic. Jose Miguel Insulza, Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), was a special guest at the meeting. He gave a report in private to the SICA leaders on the issue of drug trafficking and organized crime while in his public presentation he praised the group's efforts toward integration, highlighted OAS crime prevention programs, and called on leaders to use prisons to rehabilitate young violators.

The 25th anniversary of the Esquipulas II Accord, signed August 7, 1987, which put in place the mechanisms to end the military conflicts in the region, was commemorated at the summit. President Ortega decorated then Guatemalan President Vinicio Cerezo with the Order of Ruben Dario, saying that he had brought together the Central American presidents, “when there were those who did not want us to meet,” [referring to US President Ronald Reagan] for the Esquipulas I meeting in Guatemala in May of 1986. It was there that they put together the agreement they would sign in August 1987 at the meeting known as Esquipulas II. Ortega also spoke of the efforts of Jose Napoleon Duarte of El Salvador and Jose Azcona of Honduras. When reminded of the work for peace of Costa Rican President Oscar Arias, Ortega, who has had differences through the years with Arias, recognized his part and said that all Central Americans felt “well represented by President Arias” when he won the Nobel Prize for Peace that year. Cerezo said that he was dedicating his recognition to the two presidents who have died since the accords, Duarte and Azcona and said “We all made an enormous effort to unite our proposals.”

An interesting headline came out of a seminar to commemorate the anniversary organized by the Esquipulas Foundation and supported by the Embassy of France, the Superior Council of Private Enterprise (COSEP), and the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (affiliated with the US Democratic Party). Former Defense Minister Humberto Ortega, who is also the president's brother, spoke of the efforts that went into the Esquipulas II Accord. He also spoke of the present, saying that while there have been many advances under the current government, including in the economy, there are also problems in the political arena, especially with the Supreme Electoral Council. But what made the headlines was his reference to Nicaraguan history and the current efforts to build an inter-oceanic canal across the country. Ortega noted that the United States has always considered a Nicaraguan canal a matter of US strategic interest and that the government should do a profound analysis and should beware of what might be unleashed by the canal project. Vice-Foreign Minister Manuel Coronel said that those were merely Ortega's opinions as a private citizen and the Ministry would not comment. (Radio La Primerisima, Aug. 8, 9, 11; La Prensa, Aug. 8, 10; El Nuevo Diario, Aug. 9)

2. Sections of San Juan River highway collapse

The Costa Rican daily La Nacion reported on Aug. 13 that several sections of the highway built by the Costa Rican government next to the southern bank of the San Juan River have been washed away and several bridges have collapsed due to recent rainfall. Local resident Omar Cortes told the media outlet, “They are not doing upkeep and this destruction will continue. To rebuild it will cost the government many millions.” The Ministry of Public Works and Transportation placed a paid ad in the same newspaper denying that the Ministry had abandoned the highway, which has been the subject of much controversy because of the environmental damage that it was predicted to cause and because of recently exposed corruption in the contracting of the construction work. The Ministry said it would continue improving the unpaved roadway with temporary measures to stop erosion until contracts could be completed for finishing the road and for environmental mitigation. But, La Nacion reported that “the stretches of the road that do not present problems are few.”

Meanwhile, in related news, Nicaragua presented its written arguments to the International Court of Justice (World Court) at The Hague on Aug. 7. In the case, which Costa Rica brought against Nicaragua, San Jose claims ownership of a triangle of land near the mouth of the San Juan which the Costa Ricans call Isla Calero but the Nicaraguans say is Harbour Head. The court case began in November of 2010 after Nicaragua started a dredging project in an attempt to make the river, which belongs in its entirety to Nicaragua, more navigable. Costa Rica alleged that part of the area affected by the dredging belonged to Costa Rica. Now that Nicaragua has presented its written arguments to counter Costa Rica's original claims, the government of President Laura Chinchilla can decide if it wants to present counter arguments in written form or proceed immediately to oral arguments. If the latter is chosen, the Court could issue a ruling before the end of Chinchilla's term in May of 2014. News reports say that Nicaragua included in its arguments information about the damage caused by the construction of the highway on the banks of the River without the required environmental impact study. (El Nuevo Diario, Aug. 7, 13; La Nacion (Costa Rica), Aug. 13; Informe Pastran, Aug. 13; Radio La Primerisima, Aug. 7)

3. Parties announce their candidates for local elections

Last week two major Liberal Party alliances officially announced their candidates for the Nov. 4 municipal elections. The Constitutional Liberal Party (PLC) candidate for mayor of Managua will be businessman Eduardo Fonseca. The Independent Liberal Party (PLI) announced that its candidate for that post will be Alfredo Gutierrez, who is currently serving as an alternate in the National Assembly. Gutierrez, who is not well know, nevertheless said that the PLI goes into these elections with the advantage of having been the second strongest party in the national elections of last year and therefore will have better representation on the local precinct electoral boards than it has ever had in the past. He promised to fight to defend the vote of Managuans and present new and modern proposals to capital residents. However, the Christian Democratic Union (UDC) saw both Liberal parties' candidates as weak and predicted that the UDC's candidate, the well-known public figure Agustin Jarquin, would have a good chance at the mayor's office. A type of alliance between the UDC and the PLI was rumored under which each would support the other's stronger candidates in certain cities. Jarquin's party had been in alliance with the Sandinista Party for a number of years but Jarquin wanted to run for mayor of the capital and broke with the FSLN this year.

The FSLN will hold its Party Congress on Aug. 15 to ratify the alliances signed with other parties and the candidates for mayor, deputy mayor, and city council in the country's 153 municipalities. Daysi Torres and Enrique Armas are expected to be the Sandinista candidates for reelection as mayor and deputy mayor of Managua. There remain three municipalities where there is conflict over who the candidates should be. That number was reduced from 30 after a number were changed as a result of opinion surveys among Sandinistas in those towns. In related news, Nelson Artola, who was in charge of the selection of Sandinista candidates, was replaced in that post by journalist William Grigsby, head of Radio La Primerisima. Artola also resigned from his post as the director of the Emergency Social Investment Fund (FISE).

Members of a group known as the Broad Opposition Front (FAO) continued to occupy a spot in front of the Supreme Electoral Council demanding that new magistrates be selected to run the municipal elections because the terms of the current magistrates have run out and they continue in office under a presidential decree. The protesters recently began transmitting their activities on an internet radio station. They have been attacked several times by groups of people whom they accuse of being Sandinista supporters. One young woman was beaten by the attackers and suffered a miscarriage having been two months pregnant. A middle aged man who was attacked lost consciousness from the blows.

These local elections are a challenge for all of the opposition parties because new legislation increased the number of council seats and mandated that half of the candidates be women. The law also requires that they participate in 80% of the municipalities. The PLI said that it has its list of candidates ready as does the PLC, but many doubt if they will cover all localities. The PLC suffered an electoral debacle last November when candidate former Pres. Arnoldo Aleman received only 6% of the vote. (Informe Pastran, Aug.7, 9. 13; La Prensa, Aug. 10, 13; El Nuevo Diario, Aug. 7)

4. Tumarin dam construction ready to go

The president of Hydroelectrics Central of Nicaragua (CHN), Marcelo Conde, confirmed on Aug. 8 that construction of the Tumarin hydroelectric project is ready to begin as soon as the rainy season ends. Conde said that negotiations for compensation of property owners whose properties will be inundated by the reservoir behind the giant dam on the Rio Grande de Matagalpa have been completed. The project is in the municipality of La Cruz de Rio Grande in the South Atlantic Autonomous Region. Financing for the US$1.1 billion mega-project is in place from the Central American Bank for Economic Integration and the National Bank of Economic and Social Development of Brazil. It is projected that the renewable energy project, which will add 253 megawatts of electricity generation capacity and lower consumer energy costs, will pay for itself over 27 years. A 50 kilometer all-weather road from San Pedro del Norte to the construction site will be built, and two camps for workers are already in place. The project will continue the Sandinista government's commitment to switch from petroleum-generated electricity to renewable sources including water, wind, and thermal. (El Nuevo Diario, Aug. 9; Informe Pastran, Aug. 8,)

5. Food prices rise but inflation stays low

Although inflation continues to run below previous years, a survey of Managua markets by El Nuevo Diario (END) showed that the price of beans, beef and cheese jumped significantly last week. Beans went from 38 cents/lb. to 46 cents/lb. while beef rose by 2 cents/lb. and cheese by a little more. Vendor Lourdes Cabrera said, “I think beans are essential for Nicaraguans, but if the customer previously bought five pounds they now buy three.” While END's surveyors often found the market meat aisles empty of customers, chicken was selling briskly and the prices of fruit and vegetables were stable. Inflation in the first seven months of 2012 was 2.46% compared to 3.99% the previous year. Union leader Luis Barbozo, who is preparing for minimum wage talks later this week, noted that February's talks assumed that the basic market basket, Nicaragua's measure of the Consumer Price Index, which was projected to be US$485.68, turned out to be lower at US$422.33. Most inflation this year was accounted for by recreational and cultural activities, restaurants, and hotels. Essentials such as housing, water, electricity, and transportation actually fell by 0.1%. Overall inflation for the year is expected to be between 8-9%. (El Nuevo Diario, Aug. 9, 13; Radio La Primerisima, Aug. 9, 13)

6. Adoption requirements change under new law

Last week the National Assembly debated and approved all the articles in the new adoption law under the Family Code, making some significant changes to adoption requirements. Single-parent adoptions will be allowed for Nicaraguan nationals as will adoptions by couples in common law marriages. International adoptions still require a legally married couple to be eligible, along with background checks. Adoptive parents must be at least 24 years old and no one over the age of 55 will be allowed to adopt. Additionally, the adoptive parents must be 15 years older than the child being adopted. There are exceptions to this requirement where the National Council for Adoption can consider allowing family members to seek adoption of their relatives, even if they don't meet this age requirement.

New strict requirements seek to reduce child trafficking with foreign adoptions. They include mandating regular reporting of the development of adopted children until they are 18 years of age. "These measures were included in the Adoption Law in order to prevent organ trafficking and human trafficking,” said Irma Davila, chair of the Justice Committee of the National Assembly. (La Prensa, Aug 10; Radio La Primerísima, Aug 9)

7. Small business fair successful

Small and medium-sized businesses that participated in MicroFair 2012 in Managua reportedly sold over US$250,000 worth of handicrafts, footwear, textiles, hammocks, furniture, and vegetables, leaving the vendors and buyers both happy. The Fair, organized by the recently established Family Economy Ministry, had free admission, activities for children, and various musical and cultural performances. Another will be held in September for artisans, cooperatives, and microenterprises. (Radio La Primerisima, Aug. 10, 13)
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