Nicaragua Network

1. ALBA and PETROCARIBE approve new economic zone
2. Canal briefs: Supreme Court rejects challenges; Balladares named minister for infrastructure; impact studies on schedule
3. Nicaraguans prepare for Christmas and New Year; many thousands cross border from Costa Rica
4. Zero Hunger Program to buy 130,000 chickens from chicken farmers
5. Tremblers felt on weekend before 1972 earthquake anniversary
6. Motorcycles, deaths, and accidents multiply
7. False TELEVISA reporters returned to Mexico to serve sentences
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1. ALBA and PETROCARIBE approve new economic zone

Last week the presidents and prime ministers of the member countries of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA) and of PETROCARIBE met in Caracas, Venezuela, and approved the creation of an economic zone that would include the members of both alliances and could be expanded to incorporate also the South American economic alliance MERCOSUR. 

PETROCARIBE is composed of Venezuela and 17 Caribbean and Central American countries.  Under the terms of PETROCARIBE, which was founded in 2005, Venezuela sells oil to the member countries at market prices with half paid in cash from the sale of the petroleum products in each country and half on credit under favorable terms, part of which can be paid in kind with food products, etc.  Member countries of PETROCARIBE are Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Belize, Cuba, Dominica, Granada, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic, San Cristobal and Nieves, Santa Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Surinam, and Venezuela.  ALBA was founded in 2004 as a collaborative trade alliance and has nine members: Antigua and Barbuda, Bolivia, Cuba, Dominica, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saint Lucia, and Venezuela, plus guest country Suriname.

In reading the final document of the summit, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro emphasized that this new economic zone would be different from the “free trade agreements pushed by imperialism” because will emphasize “truly equitable, shared , just, and complementary development.  He added that, “This is the only way to begin to overcome the asymmetries and inequalities that are the product of historic processes and of the [small] size of our economies.”  The committee to oversee the formation of the alliance will be composed of Venezuela, Nicaragua, Jamaica and Dominica and coordinated by Ecuador.

In a session with the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the ALBA-PETROCARIBE summit countries also approved a plan of action for the eradication of hunger and poverty in the region, including the adoption of policies to guarantee stable access to food, support for agro-industry projects, and the development of production chains between the markets of the various countries.

In his speech at the summit, President Daniel Ortega paid special tribute to South American independence hero Simon Bolivar and to Haiti, the nation that helped Bolivar when he had nowhere to turn during his struggle, and then to the late president of Venezuela Hugo Chavez who, Ortega said, followed the path marked by Bolivar which led him to form ALBA and PETROCARIBE.  He said that the Plan of Action to eradicate poverty and the Memorandum of Understanding to form a new economic alliance were both “powerful instruments to achieve the objective that we laid out with the FAO” to eradicate poverty and hunger and that these goals “demand from our countries the greatest economic fortitude.”  He added, “We have a common denominator which are the principles of solidarity, of complementarity, of fair trade, of sovereignty, and of dignity; principles that Bolivar left us and that we continue to defend with the example of Chavez.” (El Nuevo Diario, Dec. 17; Radio La Primerisima, Dec. 17, 18)

2. Canal briefs: Supreme Court rejects challenges; Balladares named minister for infrastructure; impact studies on schedule

On Dec. 18, the Constitutional Panel of the Supreme Court issued a ruling rejecting 31 challenges to the constitutionality of the concession given in June for feasibility studies and future construction of a shipping canal across Nicaragua. That concession, to Chinese businessman Wang Jing, was signed by President Daniel Ortega and approved by the National Assembly.  Justice Francisco Rosales told Informe Pastran that the decision was unanimous with the ruling backed by all ten Sandinista and Liberal justices.  He said that the justices felt that the canal concession did not conflict with the constitution and that the challenges were inadmissible.  Among those who had challenged the concession were two political parties, the Nicaraguan Center for Human Rights (CENIDH), the Superior Council on Private Enterprise (COSEP), and the Rama-Creole Indigenous Community of Bluefields.  COSEP had challenged the law approving the concession on the grounds that the canal commission’s powers to set prices for properties taken for the canal’s construction were too broad.  COSEP President Jose Adan Aguerri said his organization would study what further legal avenues were open.  Leaders of the Rama-Creole community expressed their disappointment in the ruling because they said the concession violates the Law on the Autonomy of the Atlantic Coast of Nicaragua.

In related news, Army Major General Oscar Balladares was named presidential advisor on subjects of infrastructure with the rank of minister after being formally retired from the Army in a ceremony on Dec. 20.  Brigadier General Oscar Mojica Obregon was appointed by head of the Army General Julio Cesar Aviles to replace him as chief of staff.  Balladares will advise President Daniel Ortega on matters related to the shipping canal, railroad, ports, oil pipeline and other projects that are part of the canal concession.  Balladares, a lawyer by profession, has wide experience in the planning and execution of projects. Informe Pastran notes that the exit of Balladares from the Army and his appointment as presidential advisor were well planned jointly by the military and Ortega and were preceded by the amendments to the constitution and the military code allowing officers to serve in the executive branch and these legal measures provided the legal basis for the transfer. Informe Pastran stated that the amendments to the military code, which are set for a final vote in the Assembly in January, would allow Balladares to return to the military after his stint in civilian life.

Meanwhile, Vice-President Omar Halleslevens, himself a retired Army general, announced on Dec. 18 that feasibility studies on the canal are expected to be completed by the middle of next year.  He told reporters that, “We are in [the midst of] the studies, in particular everything that is related to the environmental impact, equilibrium, and the remediation of all the effects that the construction of the mega-canal could provoke.”  He said that numerous specialists are working on the ground to determine the feasibility of the project and the route it would follow.  When asked about the current expansion of the Panama Canal, Halleslevens said, “Our canal isn’t related to the one in Panama because, although that canal is being rebuilt, the canal that will pass through Nicaragua will have a much greater capacity for cargo than the Panama Canal.” (Radio La Primerisima, Dec. 18, 19, 21; El Nuevo Diario, Dec. 19, 21; Informe Pastran, Dec. 18, 19, 20, 23; La Prensa, Dec. 18, 20)

3. Nicaraguans prepare for Christmas and New Year; many thousands cross border from Costa Rica

Chicken with pork stuffing, cake bathed in rum (a delicacy known as “drunk soup”), and other traditional dishes were being planned in homes around Nicaragua in preparation for the Christmas holiday. The Christmas bonus of one month’s salary was being spent eagerly in the stores. In traditional homes, complex nativity scenes with a multitude of figures were being set up for the visits of neighbors, while the more modern opted for Christmas trees.  Meanwhile, with Christmas and New Years Day coming in the middle of the week, the government had declared two week’s vacation for all state workers, and installed a carnival of rides for children in the old center of Managua along with live nativity scenes and tall yellow metal “tree of life” sculptures in a post-modern design.  Distribution of 82,000 toys in 583 poor neighborhoods by the Sandinista Youth Organization and local “family cabinets” was completed on Dec. 21.

Entrepreneur Hector Torrez was selling cypress trees that he grows on his tree farm outside Esteli for US$20 each.  He said that he was raised in the United States and missed the smell of an evergreen tree in the house at Christmas and decided he wanted to continue the custom in Nicaragua.  He explained that the chopping down of pine trees in the northern forests of Nicaragua has been prohibited for many years by environmental laws and that inspired him to start a tree farm.  He has sold 50 trees so far this year.

Meanwhile, according to Costa Rican migration authorities, between the 14^th and 22^nd of December, 51,895 Nicaraguans crossed the border from Costa Rica to be with their families for the holidays. Over 18,000 tourists also entered Nicaragua during that period. This year the border posts are working 24 hours a day on Dec. 21 and 22. Managua Archbishop Leopoldo Brenes noted the many households where people are celebrating “the arrival of family members and friends who have been absent for months or years, many of them living in uncomfortable situations, but with the goal of providing for the welfare of their spouses and children and they are now enjoying a happy reencounter.”  (Radio La Primerisima, Dec. 22; El Nuevo Diario, Dec. 21; La Prensa, Dec. 22; Informe Pastran, Dec. 23)

4. Zero Hunger Program will buy 130,000 chickens from chicken farmers

The Sandinista government will buy 130,000 chickens during the first half of 2014, with a goal of 200,000 for the year, to distribute to enrollees in the Zero Hunger program. This is a substantial increase from the 80,000 birds purchased in 2013. Zero Hunger is a government program to provide animals, seeds, inputs, and training to families who have access to small plots of land but no resources to enable them to use the land productively. Zero Hunger is focused on enabling families to feed themselves and to sell any excess production, such as eggs, in local markets. It is focused on rural zones where 60% of the population lives in poverty. Between 2007 and 2012 the government gave out Zero Hunger benefits to 103,336 families primarily in the departments of Managua, Matagalpa, and Chinandega. In 2013 another 25,000 families were added and 800 agricultural extension officers were trained to assist the recipients.

Alfonso Valerio, a board member of the Association of Small and Medium Poultry Producers (Apemepan), said that he hoped the government would pay promptly because in previous years it has taken up to six months to receive payment. He said poultry producers have no working capital due to egg smuggling from Honduras this year which has caused bankruptcy for 30 small and medium producers. He said there are 230 chicken farms in the country and they create more than 12,000 direct jobs. (La Prensa, Dec. 20)

5. Tremblers felt on weekend before 1972 earthquake anniversary

With Dec. 23 being the 41^st anniversary of the 1972 earthquake that leveled the center of Managua, tremblers on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday made people nervous. Residents in Pacific Coast cities felt four tremblers on Dec. 20, three on Dec. 21, and one on Sunday, Dec. 22. The minor quakes registered between 3.1 and 4.9 on the Richter scale. No injuries or damage were reported. The tremblers were all ocean-based ranging from the Gulf of Fonseca to 70 km. southwest of Managua.

On Dec. 19, the Army’s Civil Defense branch conducted the 40^th earthquake simulation exercise this year held in different neighborhoods of Managua as part of its disaster relief preparations. The training exercises, which involve dozens of volunteers as well as members of the fire department, Red Cross, and emergency health officials, simulate a 6.2 Richter scale earthquake. (Radio La Primerisima, Dec. 21, 22; El Nuevo Diario, Nov. 21; La Prensa, Nov. 20)

6. Motorcycles, deaths, and accidents multiply

Statistics released by the National Transportation Agency show that 150 new motorcycle licenses are issued each day adding to a total of nearly 200,000 motorcycles in the country. Police Commissioner Roberto Gonzalez, head of the agency, said, “This is incredible and alarming that every day there are accidents involving motorcycles. Each day there is a death and 13 injuries from 50 accidents” with 33% of the vehicle deaths being motorcyclists. Gonzalez said factors involve excess speed, too many passengers, drunkenness, and lack of helmets.

Gonzalez explained that the National Highway Plan will use alcohol checkpoints and radar as well as the training of motorcyclists, bus drivers, and taxi drivers in order to bring down the death toll. He said there are 13,600 motorcycles without license plates and police have been instructed to arrest those without plates. He also referred to the recently reformed transit law which increased fines for speeding and driving drunk. Health Minister Sonia Castro had previously issued statements about the high cost of medical treatment for motorcyclists involved in accidents, saying it cost over US$1 million each year to treat them.

While motorcycle deaths were up, Gonzalez announced on Dec. 23 that total traffic deaths were down 12% from last year with a total of 555 deaths, among them many pedestrians.  (El Nuevo Diario, Dec. 21, La Prensa, Dec. 23)

7. False TELEVISA reporters returned to Mexico to serve sentences

On Dec. 23, a strong contingent of Nicaraguan police officers accompanied vans carrying the 18 Mexicans arrested in Nicaragua in August of 2012 to the Managua airport where they were boarded on a plane for Mexico City. They had been were convicted by a Nicaraguan court of money laundering and drug trafficking.

The 18 entered Nicaragua from Honduras travelling in six vans marked with the logo of the Mexican television network TELEVISA and presented themselves as reporters for that network.  Nicaraguan authorities found traces of cocaine in the vans and a stash of US$9.2 million and accused them of being a “highly organized criminal network dedicated to trafficking large quantities of drugs” between Costa Rica and Mexico.  They were sentenced to18 years in prison, a sentence which they will now serve in Mexico.  They had in their possession a letter signed by a TELEVISA executive and it was never established whether the signature on that letter was false or real although TELEVISA denied involvement. (Informe Pastran, Dec. 23; Radio La Primerisima, Dec. 23)