Nicaragua Network

1. Earthquakes and volcanic eruptions mark week

2. Chinese firm wants to build “wet” canal and “dry” canal

3. Political news briefs

4. Law paves way for $6.6 billion oil refinery

5. Residents of last ruins of 1972 earthquake moving to new houses

6. Nicaragua pulls out of School of the Americas and Reciprocal Assistance Treaty

7. National Assembly passes new law to protect biodiversity



1. Earthquakes and volcanic eruptions mark week

San Cristobal, at 5,725 feet Nicaragua's highest volcano, emitted three massive explosions of ash and gas on Saturday, Sept. 8, causing the evacuation of over 400 families from the area and a yellow alert from the government for the Department of Chinandega. The clouds of ash rose to over 16,000 feet according to information provided to Nicaragua by the Volcanic Ash Advisory Center of the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Acid rain fell on many communities in the area. Ash clouds caused drivers on the Pan American highway headed for the Honduras border post of El Guasaule to move slowly with their headlights on and caused at least one accident. Schools were closed in Chinandega on Monday.

Besides the Army troops who helped evacuate families, the National System of Prevention, Mitigation and Attention to Disasters (SINAPRED) sent 240 specialists to the area. Officials at the Nicaraguan Institute for Territorial Studies (INETER) said that they were keeping close watch on the Telica volcano in Leon, Casita volcano in Chinandega, and Apoyeque volcano in Managua, all of which had been showing signs of activity. INETER said that aviation in the area was closed.

Geologist Mauricio Darce said that the volcanic activity and the recent large earthquakes off the coasts of El Salvador and Costa Rica (the one off Costa Rica last week registered 7.6 on the Richter scale) as well as the many smaller quakes Nicaragua has been experiencing are related to the subduction of the Caribbean plate which is sliding under the Cocos plate off the Pacific Coast of Central America. Martha Navarro, head of vulcanology at INETER, said that the recent activity was the greatest recorded for the San Cristobal volcano but added that, because no earthquakes had been recorded in the immediate area surrounding the volcano, INETER did not expect a higher level of activity. And, in fact, by Monday, Sept. 10, the volcano had calmed down.

Meanwhile, the Department of Managua was also on alert but at the lower “green” level after 29 small tremblers of between 1.7 and 3.9 on the Richter scale that were mainly unfelt by the population but monitored by INETER. Angelica Muñoz, director of Geophysics at INETER, said that the increased activity of the Apoyeque volcano, on the south shore of Lake Xolotlan (Lake Managua), was related to the tremblers. It was Muñoz who had said two days before the massive eruption of San Cristobal that the intense seismic activity in the zone of subduction in the Pacific could lead to an activation of the chain of Central American volcanoes.

There were fears that the 28 faults beneath the city of Managua could be activated. Schools were closed in the capital on Monday so that teachers could receive orientations on what to do in case “the big one” should hit while children were in class. Given that many of the quakes had their origin in the Pacific Ocean off Nicaragua's coast, Rosario Murillo, government communications coordinator, said that sirens would be placed in communities along the coast to warn residents in the case of a tsunami. Older sirens already in place will checked and repaired or replaced if needed, she said. She emphasized that SINEPRED, INETER, the Army, the Fire Departments, and other agencies were all working together to protect the population. (La Prensa, Sept. 7, 9; Radio La Primerisima, Sept. 6, 7, 8; El Nuevo Diario, Sept. 8; Informe Pastran, Sept. 6, 7)

2. Chinese firm wants to build “wet” canal and “dry” canal

On Sept. 6, the government of Nicaragua signed a memorandum of understanding with the Chinese company Xinwei for an inter-oceanic canal across Nicaragua. The company is authorized to structure the project and pursue financing for it. The feasibility studies already contracted to a firm from the Netherlands are taken into account by the agreement. President Daniel Ortega met with Wan Jin, president of the company, to discuss the project. Ortega said, “This company will work on the two canals, the dry canal and the wet canal.” These are Nicaraguan terms used to refer to a railroad and a shipping canal. Ortega added that the railroad would connect the future port at Monkey Point with the Port of Corinto. He reported that in Hong Kong the “Investment Company for the Development of the Grand Canal of Nicaragua” to be known as “HK-Nicaragua” has already been formed. He said that the dream of Nicaraguans for development, jobs, and poverty alleviation would be closer to reality with the projects.

Xinwei, as the largest telecommunications company in China, also promised to invest in advanced 4G technology in Nicaragua, making possible use of smart phones, etc. in the entire country. Jin also said that his company intended to make Nicaragua its headquarters in order to expand to the rest of Central America.

Noting, “We have conceived the canal as a multinational project,” presidential economic advisor Bayardo Arce said that a French company would be visiting Nicaragua this week. The company is interested in offering the opportunity to participate in the canal project to investors around the world, Arce said. (Informe Pastran, Sept. 7; Radio La Primerisima, Sept. 6; El Nuevo Diario, Sept. 8,)

3. Political news briefs

Supreme Electoral Council (CSE) President Robert Rivas announced on Sept. 7 that the ballots for the Nov. 3 local elections will not include the pictures of the candidates but rather just the name of the party or alliance, the flag of the party, and the names of the candidates for mayor and deputy mayor. The electoral law does not mandate the use of candidates' photos but ballots in recent elections have included them. The ballot for city council seats will not list the names of the candidates because, with the increased number of seats, the print would have to be too small to read. Rivas said that more than half the candidates had not submitted photos and that Nicaraguans usually voted by “party flag” anyway. He added that the ballots would be simpler and easier to manage without photographs or complete lists of each party's list of candidates. “We'll just keep the photos for the presidential elections,” he said. Rivas also announced that the CSE did not accept any of the challenges to candidacies by the different political parties but 110 candidates have been called to present themselves to the CSE and clarify which party ticket they will be running on. Their names appeared on the slates of two or even three different parties. (El Nuevo Diario, Sept. 8; Radio La Primerisima, Sept. 7; La Prensa, Sept. 7)

The Sandinista Party could sweep the local elections scheduled for Nov. 3, according to Esteban Alvarez, general manager of the polling firm CID-Gallup in Nicaragua. Alvarez said “The elections are representative of a wider phenomenon in which Nicaragua has been converted into what is essentially a one-party state. No less than 54% of Nicaraguans say that they support the Sandinista National Liberation Front, according to a survey from June in comparison with only 3% for all the other political groups.” He went on to say, “By offering stability and making administrative processes more agile, the Sandinista government has attracted a considerable amount of investment, both national and international, to the point that Nicaragua is creating jobs and opportunities that have not been available for over a decade.” In contrast, he added, “There is now an almost total lack of opposition, as much political as in the communications media, many of which fear to criticize a government that directly or indirectly controls many of the principle businesses and advertisers.” (Informe Pastran, Sept. 10; Radio La Primerisima, Sept. 10)

The Independent Liberal Party will not be running candidates in five municipalities after the mayoral candidates for those towns declined to participate because there have been no changes in the magistrates of the Supreme Electoral Council. [The terms of the magistrates, whom the opposition accuses of fraud in recent elections, have run out and the National Assembly has not elected new magistrates.] These PLI candidates disagreed with the national leadership of the party which had decided to run in the Nov. 3 elections. The towns are El Sauce, Santa Rosa del Peñon, Cardenas, San Juan de Nicaragua, and La Concordia. (Informe Pastran, Sept. 10; Radio La Primerisima, Sept. 10)

More arrows flew last week in the war of words between the business community and the Sandinista Renovation Movement (MRS). Noting the reelection of Jose Adan Aguerri to a sixth term as president of the Superior Council of Private Enterprise, National Assembly Deputy for the MRS Victor Hugo Tinoco said, “He is comfortable; he's reached an understanding with the government and it's not important to him what happens in the political sphere; he sometimes criticizes a little but what interests him is maintaining his businesses without the government bothering him.” Cesar Zamora, former president of the Nicaraguan-American Chamber of Commerce, reacted by saying, “It would be stupid for COSEP and the business people to take advice from a spent political class that is in reality the traditional enemy of the private sector as is the MRS.” He added that the current Sandinista government engages in dialogue for the good of Nicaragua and for economic development and respects private business. Zamora said that the private sector would be calling on citizens to vote in the municipal elections even though they would like to see changes in the Supreme Electoral Council. (Informe Pastran, Sept. 6)

4. Law paves way for $6.6 billion oil refinery

The government of Nicaragua will own 49% of a US$6.6 billion oil refinery and pipeline financed by the government of Venezuela. It is the largest ever foreign investment in Nicaragua according to Edwin Castro, head of the Sandinista bench in the National Assembly. Castro said the authorizing legislation has the support of opposition members as well as the Sandinista bench. In 2007 the cornerstone was laid for the project called the Supreme Dream of Bolivar. The work will be done in three phases and when completed will provide enough refined petroleum for the entire Central America market. The Miramar fuel storage, distribution center and the refinery are scheduled to be completed in 2014. The second phase, expected to begin in 2015, will be an oil pipeline to bring the Venezuelan crude from a port at Monkey Point on the Atlantic to the Pacific side of the country. The final phase, a petrochemical plant, is slated to begin in 2018.

In related news, the Brazilian firm Andrade Gutierrez will not be building the port at Monkey Point, according to a company communiqué. The company said that its financial feasibility studies did not show that the port would produce the income needed to justify the US$500 million investment. Presidential economic advisor Bayardo Arce said that Andrade Gutierrez had been given an exclusive concession to pursue the project but that now the government was looking for other possible investors by promoting the port as a “port of regional consolidation.” The government agency that promotes investment, ProNicaragua, said that it is working with a Spanish firm that is interested in the project. (Radio La Primerisima, Sept. 7, 8; La Prensa, Sept. 9; El Nuevo Diario, Sept. 6, 8,)

5. Residents of last ruins of 1972 earthquake moving to new houses

Last week's 7.6 Richter scale earthquake in Costa Rica and last month's 7.3 earthquake off the coast of El Salvador have increased the urgency felt by the city government of Managua and the national government to accelerate removal of the remaining 40 year old ruins of Nicaragua's 1972 earthquake which leveled old downtown Managua at the cost of 10,000 lives. Recent volcanic eruptions in Nicaragua are also cause for concern. Historically, Managua has been hit by a major earthquake approximately every 40 years. Most condemned buildings have already been removed and the unstable ruins demolished. But a few remained and the government moved to relocate 163 families to live in dignified “social housing” [government built or sponsored affordable housing]. Twenty-two families inhabiting the old Jorge Navarro building near the Palace of Communications are moving to a new “social housing” project. Demolition of their former home was begun on Aug. 27 and was expected to be completed on Sept. 6. They will join the more than 5,000 poor families from many different circumstances who have seen their standard of living improve through the “social housing” program. (Informe Pastran, Sept. 4; La Prensa, Sept. 7; Radio La Primerisima, Sept. 7, 8,)

6. Nicaragua pulls out of School of the Americas and Reciprocal Assistance Treaty

On the evening of Sept. 4, President Daniel Ortega met with a delegation co-sponsored by School of the Americas Watch and the Nicaragua Network to announce that Nicaragua had stopped sending soldiers to be trained at the US School of the Americas [WHINSEC] in Ft. Benning, GA, and that it would send no more in the future. Ortega explained to the delegation the difficulties of a small country like Nicaragua which is economically dependent on the United States. Nevertheless he announced, “The SOA is an ethical and moral anathema. All the countries of Latin America have been its victims. The SOA is a symbol of death and terror. For that reason we have been reducing the number of our troops in the SOA. Last year we sent only five soldiers and none this year.” He added, “It is the least that we can do. We have been its victims.” He also informed the group that Nicaragua has joined several Latin American countries in announcing that it is withdrawing from the Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance, the NATO-like military treaty which is part of the Organization of American States. The 10 day delegation met with diverse sectors of society including rural and urban communities, women, youth, cooperatives, religious organizations, government representatives, media, and leaders of the opposition. [For more information go to: http://soaw.org/news/news-alerts/3968-nicaragua-withdraws-its-troops-from-the-school-of-the-americas-soa-whinsec and http://www.nicanet.org/?p=1159] (Radio La Primerisima, Sept. 5)

7. National Assembly passes new law to protect biodiversity

Last week the National Assembly approved the Law of Conservation and Sustainable Use of Biological Diversity which aims to preserve the diversity of flora and fauna in Nicaragua. This new law strengthens previous environmental protection laws and is based on international agreements that will provide a greater protection of the country's natural resources. National Assembly Deputy Edwin Castro, head of the Sandinista bench, emphasized the importance of treasures such as the Indio Maiz and Bosawas Reserves and praised the new law for its educational and preventive features, emphasizing that, “If we do not preserve the biodiversity of our habitat, we risking not just exotic species but human life itself." He noted that the law also contained sanctions for those who violate its provisions.

The Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, the Institute of Agricultural Technology, National Agriculture University and the Alliance for Biodiversity Protection will all be involved in the administration and implementation of the law. (Radio La Primerisima, Sept. 5; El Diario, Sept. 6)