Nicaragua Network

1. Route 4 chosen for canal; definitive studies expected for October
2. New Family Code causes controversy
3. Coffee returns to export leader
4. Textile exports outpace neighbors due to labor stability
5. GDP growth rounds out good economic reports
6. Government officials at friendly 4^th of July gathering at US Embassy
7. Prehistoric ruins need better maintenance
8. Ash Eames, long-time Nicaragua solidarity activist, dies in NH

1. Route 4 chosen for canal; definitive studies expected for October

On July 7, at a press conference in a Managua hotel organized by the Advisory Commission for the Development of the Grand Canal chaired by Manuel Coronel, a representative of the HKND Group announced that, based on preliminary studies, the best from among the six routes originally proposed for the shipping canal across Nicaragua was Route Four. That route would begin at the mouth of the Brito River south of the city of Rivas, pass through Lake Nicaragua and end at the mouth of the Punta Gorda River in the South Caribbean Autonomous Region. The route would be 278 kilometers long of which 105 kilometers would be across Lake Nicaragua. According to HKND engineer Dong Yunsong, two sets of locks would be built, one at the Brito River and the other near the mouth of the Punta Gorda River. In the afternoon, the commission and HKND representatives met with business leaders, trade unionists, and environmentalists.

Then, at an evening meeting on the same day, Wang Jing, president of the HKND Group, told a gathering of 300 students at the National Engineering University that the feasibility studies and the environmental impact study for Route 4 would be completed in October. Through an interpreter, Jing said, “We are not going to begin the project without the complete scientific and feasibility studies. HKND is here to build a country together with the Nicaraguan family and we are not here to destroy it.” He went on to say, “We have full confidence in the plan to protect the environment and we hope that each sector of society, each one of you, will analyze, criticize, and comment on our plan for environmental protection. We are confident that we can present a satisfactory scientific environmental protection plan and begin the project at the end of this year.” He called on university students to “find your place in this project” noting that it would “need talent on a grand scale.” He said that the canal offered the possibility for the country to leave poverty behind and promised that Nicaragua’s sovereignty would be protected. He admitted that there have been many criticisms of the projects which he said he has welcomed, noting, “Only confronting them can we develop this project in the best manner.”

HKND representatives said that the project will include two deep water ports, a free trade zone at Brito, a tourist complex and airport in the Department of Rivas, and a series of highways. An electricity generating plant will need to be built along with plants to produce cement and steel. Morten Nygart of Global 2020, who is in charge of connecting European companies to the project, said that US$900 million was being spent on the various feasibility and impact studies. “They are taking these studies seriously,” he said, adding that the companies “have done colossal work.” Among the companies working on the studies are the British firm ERM (environment), New York-based McKinsey & Company (finances), MEC Mining of Australia (excavation), SBE Belgium (locks), and US-based Kirkland Ellis, LLP (legal). The canal as proposed would accommodate the largest ships, those that are too big to use the expanded Panama Canal, including the new Triple E ships of the Maersk Line.

Nygart said that fears of salt water entering the lake are unfounded for a canal of this type, noting that the waters are separated and the locks will work in a way similar to those of the Panama Canal which recycle the same water three times. But he said that the increase in traffic through the lake will have an environmental impact and this must be taken into account since it could have grave consequences for the flora and fauna of the lake. At a global level, Nygart said the environmental impact would be strongly positive since the canal would save the largest ships five to seven thousand miles on each journey from Asia to Atlantic ports because they would not have to travel around South America’s Cape Horn, resulting in a massive reduction in carbon emissions.

Sandinista National Assembly Deputy Edwin Castro explained why the studies were delayed saying that the route had to be chosen before the definitive environmental and other feasibility studies could be carried out. Elmer Cisneros, president of the National Autonomous University in Managua, said that his university was in conversations with universities in Italy and Canada about how best to prepare students for the professions that will be needed in building and managing the canal.  Geographer Jaime Incer Barquero, who has served as an environmental advisor to President Daniel Ortega, expressed the fear that the canal could put at risk the potable water of Lake Nicaragua for future generations while Jorge Huete, president of the National Academy of Science, said that the canal could destroy 400,000 hectares of forest. Economist Edmundo Jarquin said, “For a country to move out of poverty there are no miracles. This is a giant project and its impact on the national economy will depend on how it is done.” (El Nuevo Diario, July 7, 8; La Prensa, July 7; Informe Pastran, July 7)

2. New Family Code causes controversy

The new Family Code, which has been under discussion for two years in the National Assembly, was finally passed on June 24 and is now awaiting the president’s signature. But it has stirred up opposition from the Nicaraguan Catholic Bishops Conference and other religious and opposition groups. Among the 700 articles in the code are protections for children, adolescents, parents, and the elderly. According to the code, a family can be a married couple, a couple in a stable union, a single parent with a child, a grandparent raising a child, etc. Fathers are liable to pay child support in the amount of 25% of their salary if they are supporting one child, 35% if there are two children, and 50% if there are three or more children. The code establishes Family Courts in all department capitals and the Office of the Ombudsperson for the Family.

Fr. Silvio Fonseca, head of the Office of Family Life of the Archdiocese of Managua, said that the Catholic Bishops Conference would send a letter to President Daniel Ortega with the observations of the bishops on the new code. Ortega could veto the legislation in whole or in part. Fonseca said, “The family is at risk when stable unions are put on the same level as civil marriage” and the code also attacks the family because it accepts as families those headed by just one person. Cardinal Leopoldo Brenes said that all parishes in Nicaragua are reflecting on the new code and the situation of the Nicaraguan family in general in preparation for a meeting in October at the Vatican on the family, marriage, divorce, sexuality, homosexuality, contraception, and other issues which will be attended by Bishop of Juigalpa Rene Sandigo representing Nicaragua. Brenes said that while the Church respects all ideas, it laments the fact that “many institutions end up undermining the base of the family and we know that if the family falls apart, the bases of society come falling down.” He added that the institution of the family is composed of a man and a woman.

Rev. Roberto Rojas, general secretary of the Assemblies of God in Nicaragua, echoing another one of the complaints of the Catholic Church, said that the neighborhood Family Cabinets referred to in the code “damage the harmonious functioning of society.” He stated that the family, the state, and the church each have their role in society and to say that the state can regulate the family “which is the basic cell of society is incorrect because it usurps the role which is exclusively that of the family.” (The code states that “the Family Cabinets are organized with women, men, young people, and seniors who live in a community to reflect and work together.”) Rojas said that this week the Assembly of God would send a formal statement to the president. There are more than 2,000 Assembly of God churches in Nicaragua.

Neyla Abboud, a professor of law at the University of Central America (UCA), a Jesuit school, said that the voices in opposition to the new Family Code are few and do not represent the majority.  She said that the legislation was widely consulted with many sectors of society and all had the opportunity to make suggestions and proposals for changes. It was debated article by article in two Assembly sessions—2013 and 2014. “For that reason,” she said, “it must be admitted with humility that some have one opinion but the opinion of the majority is different.” She stated that no one is obliged to join the Family Cabinets and they will not be mediators in family disputes because the law does not say that. Finally she stated, “In the Code I do not find negative values when it speaks of dignity, of recovering the rights of children, of vulnerable people, of the elderly. It would be interesting for those who maintain this position to tell us which articles promote these negative values.” (El Nuevo Diario, June 25, July 5, 7; La Prensa, July 7; Informe Pastran, July 1, 3)

3. Coffee returns to export leader

King Coffee recovered its preeminence among Nicaragua’s exports during the first six months of 2014 after being beaten out by gold and beef exports in 2013. Coffee exports brought in US$254.5 million in the first semester followed by beef with US$207.8 million and gold exports which earned US$195.7 million. Overall, Nicaragua’s exports grew by 7.2% in 2014 over the same period in 2013, reaching a total of nearly US$1.4 billion. This is significant because during the same period, international prices fell by 3.8% for the same products indicating increased productivity in Nicaragua. The United States remained Nicaragua’s largest customer importing 26.8% of Nicaragua’s exports followed by Venezuela with 13.8% and Canada with 11.4%. Other Central American countries imported a total of 21.2% of Nicaragua’s export products, which went primarily to El Salvador, Costa Rica, and Guatemala. (Radio La Primerisima, July 4; El Nuevo Diario, July 1)

4. Textile exports outpace neighbors due to labor stability

In the first four months of 2014, Nicaraguan textile exports to the United States grew by 8.27% over the previous year registering a US$23 million increase to US$784 million. According to businessman Carlos Vargas Mantica, this growth was at least double that of the other countries in the region. Guatemala reported growth of 2.77%, Honduras 3.14%, El Salvador 4.14% while Costa Rican textile exports fell by 2.65% based on US Commerce Department reports. Vargas attributed the difference to the tripartite alliance of labor unions, free trade sector businesses, and the government, which together negotiate wage agreements creating labor stability. Vargas praised the alliance’s “maturity as reflected by participants putting economic issues rather than political issues first in the effort to generate seven thousand new maquila sector jobs this year.” (Informe Pastran, July 3)

5. GDP growth rounds out good economic reports

Rounding out the good economic news this week, Nicaragua reported a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) increase of 5.3% for the first quarter of the year compared to the same period in 2013 according to the Central Bank. The greatest growth engines were the food industry, sugar, animal husbandry, basic grains, mining, fishing, fish farming, transportation, hotels, and restaurants.  Financial services, rentals, public administration, free trade zones, and communications were also areas of growth. The Central Bank is projecting GDP growth of 4.5% for 2014. Only Panama in the region is seeing greater economic growth. (Radio La Primerisima, July 4)

6. Government officials at friendly 4^th of July gathering at US Embassy

Informe Pastran reported that, even though critics of President Daniel Ortega say that the relationship between Nicaragua and the United States is not good, the Fourth of July cocktail party at the US Embassy was marked by “enormous camaraderie.” Ambassador Phyllis Powers said that thirty-five years ago the Nicaraguan people began their path to democracy by overthrowing the Somoza dictatorship and had to suffer through a cruel civil war. She said that her government was oriented toward working for the Nicaraguan people, strengthening the ties of friendship and cooperation.  Nicaraguan Vice-President Omar Hallesleven said that the relationship between Nicaragua and the United States functions within a framework of mutual respect, cordiality and cooperation under the principles of non-intervention and respect for sovereignty and self-determination. He said that President Ortega had made extraordinary efforts to resolve the property question in a just manner and hoped that, by establishing a system under international arbitration procedures for all remaining property claims, Nicaragua could be freed from the annual waiver requirement altogether. He also noted the levels of cooperation between the United States and Nicaragua in the fight against drug trafficking. After the speeches, Hallesleven and Powers toasted the July holidays of their respective countries with glasses of red wine.

Also present at the Embassy were many other high officials of the government, including National Assembly President Rene Nuñez, Foreign Minister Samuel Santos, Head of the Army Julio Cesar Aviles, Head of the National Police Aminta Granera, as well as former President Enrique Bolaños, former Foreign Minister Francisco Aguirre Sacasa, business leaders, opposition National Assembly deputies, and representatives of national and international organizations. (Informe Pastran, July 4)

7. Prehistoric ruins need better maintenance

As part of a series called “Theme of the Day,” El Nuevo Diario summarized information from archeologists, geographers and historians about Nicaragua’s prehistoric heritage which the experts said is not being properly maintained. Nicaraguan Institute of Anthropology director Jorge Espinosa Estrada said that the Angie shell midden near Bluefields contained human remains [see Nicaragua News Bulletin for June 10 of this year] and discarded shells along with pieces of earthenware and sharpened flint from 5,200 to 7,600 years ago. Espinosa said that the Angie midden is probably the oldest site of human habitation around the Caribbean Sea that has been discovered to date. He said that this site could be of interest to tourists but nothing has been done to promote it. Other sites that should receive more care, according to Espinoza, are the Footprints of Acahualinca dated at 2,000 years ago. The site belongs to the municipality of Managua which Espinosa says has not maintained it properly. Another site, at El Bosque in the municipality of Pueblo Nuevo in the Department of Esteli, has been dated to 5,000 years ago using the Carbon 14 dating method.

Nicaragua also has two pyramids: the first at Canto Gallo on the Indio River in the Department of Rio San Juan and the second at Garrobo Grande, 14 kilometers from La Gateada in the Department of Chontales. The larger is the one at Garrobo Grande which measures 131 feet long by 98 feet wide and is 26.2 feet tall. No pottery shards have been found at the pyramid or in the area that could be used for Carbon 14 dating so it is speculated that it was built before the inhabitants made clay vessels, possibly as long ago as 5,000 years, making them among the oldest pyramids in the hemisphere. Jaime Incer Barquero said that these archeological sites should be protected by the government to prevent the looting of artifacts and the disturbing of archeological evidence at the site. Ana Maria Rocha, coordinator of the Museum Network of the Nicaraguan Institute of Culture, said most of Nicaragua’s museums that contain pre-Columbian and colonial artifacts (29 out of a total of 80 museums) are in private hands but some are administered by towns and cities with only a few national museums directly run by the national government through her Network. The Museum Network provides technical assistance for the care of the pieces or sites under the management of local and national museums. (El Nuevo Diario, July 1)

8. Ash Eames, long-time Nicaragua solidarity activist, dies in NH

Long-time Nicaragua solidarity activist Ashe Eames died on July 3 at his home in Wentworth, NH. Eames traveled to Nicaragua with a Nicaragua Network delegation in 1991 to attend the first international solidarity conference after the Sandinista electoral loss and plan Nicanet’s program to support the gains of the revolution. He continued as an activist with the Nicaragua Network for many years. In 1993, Eames founded Compas de La Primavera as an informal friendship group from central New Hampshire that traveled to Nicaragua each year to carry out community projects in La Primavera, a poor neighborhood of Managua. The group became Compas de Nicaragua and carries out programs in La Primavera to this day. There will be a gathering to celebrate Eames’ life on July 20 at 2:00 pm at the Starr King Unitarian Universalist Fellowship on Fairgrounds Road in Plymouth, NH. Ash Eames, ¡Presente! (http://www.compas1.org/asheames.html)