Nicaragua Network

1. Reports show economy in good shape
2. Citizens express concerns about Canal during consultations
3. Obama’s annual drug trafficking report includes Nicaragua
4. Environmentalists skeptical about UN Climate Summit results
5. El Niño may or may not return in October and November
6. Bill against human trafficking in National Assembly
7. Sandinista commitment to health care highlighted
8. Persons with disabilities to recover more rights

1. Reports show economy in good shape

In an interview with Channel 4 Television on Sept. 22, Central Bank President Ovidio Reyes said that Nicaragua’s economy is expected to grow by 4.5% this year and next and that the government’s budget will continue to prioritize health and education along with a program of public investment in infrastructure that promotes economic development. He said that the salary bonus for low income government workers, Zero Hunger, Zero Usury, community programs under the Ministries of Agriculture and of the Family Economy, and the low income subsidies for energy and transportation all had allocations in the budget. “Their continuity is guaranteed,” he said. Payment to those who provide services to the government and payments on the public debt are all assured, he stated. He noted that the budget for 2015 will grow by 15% over that of 2014, which grew by 18% over 2013. He said that the International Monetary Fund would not visit Nicaragua until 2015, adding, “We are maintaining a healthy macroeconomic equilibrium that permits us to say to the IMF, ‘Look, we do not need a program with you; we have an alliance with the private sector and that facilitates our economic management, without need for the IMF.’”

The Center for Export Procedures (CETREX) announced that exports of Nicaragua’s principal products had reached US$2 billion as of Sept. 21, up from US$1.85 billion at the same time last year, a growth of 8.22%. Coffee was the leader with exports valued at US$344 million, followed by beef at US$305 million, gold at US$277 million, and sugar at US$142 million. Also exported in substantial quantities were peanuts, cheese, shrimp, black beans, milk, and vegetable oil. Of the total products exported, US$541 million went to the United States, US$265 million to Venezuela, US$217 to Canada, US$163 million to El Salvador, and US$111 million to Costa Rica. Nicaragua also exported to Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Taiwan and other nations. (Informe Pastran, Sept. 22; Radio La Primerisima, Sept. 22)

2. Citizens express concerns about Canal during consultations

While the subject of private property and how it will be affected by the proposed shipping canal was the main subject of concern in the recent consultations with communities along the proposed route, there were numerous other concerns expressed as well. Citizens were worried about the impact the canal would have on the quality of the water of Lake Cocibolca (Lake Nicaragua), increasingly used for agriculture and drinking by communities near the Lake. There were questions about archeological sites along the route and what mitigation measures were planned for their preservation. The summary of concerns was included in a report from Environmental Resources Management (ERM) to which Informe Pastran had access.

Many residents were concerned about the possibility of salt water entering into the Lake and how that would affect water quality. There were questions about the impact on the rivers that Nicaraguans in the interior used for fishing and transportation. In Managua, there were questions about the proposed dredging of the Lake and how that would affect water quality and water level in the Lake. Many of the five thousand people who participated in the consultations also expressed concern about the impact the canal would have on the flora and fauna of the region, in particular the fresh water sharks in the Lake and the sea turtle nesting sites on the ocean beaches. Would local people still be able to fish in the Lake? What about the impact on species diversity? How would the canal impact the traditional life and customs of the Rama and Kriol peoples who live near the eastern terminus of the canal? What would the implications be for the communal land titles recently given to indigenous communities in the Caribbean region?

The majority of property owners in San Miguelito accepted the idea of selling their properties if the price was just or the land they received in exchange was “good and sufficient to survive.” There were questions about opportunities for work on the project and what qualifications would be required. The other communities were consultations were held were Nueva Guinea, Bluefields, Polo de Desarrollo, Rivas, Ometepe, and Managua. In all localities, the dominant theme was land, procedures for its purchase, titling, who would be in charge of the process, expropriations and when they would be used. What the report did not seem to include were the answers to these questions. (Informe Pastran, Sept. 16)\

3. Obama’s annual drug trafficking report includes Nicaragua

On Sept. 15, President Barack Obama released the annual “Presidential Determination on Major Drug Transit or Major Illicit Drug Producing Countries” in which he listed Afghanistan, The Bahamas, Belize, Bolivia, Burma, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, India, Jamaica, Laos, Mexico, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Panama, Peru, and Venezuela as “major drug transit and/or major illicit drug producing countries. The report noted that, “A country’s presence on the foregoing list is not a reflection of its government's counter-narcotics efforts or level of cooperation with the United States.” The document added that “the reason major drug transit or illicit drug producing countries are placed on the list is the combination of geographic, commercial, and economic factors that allow drugs to transit or be produced, even if a government has carried out the most assiduous narcotics control law enforcement measures.”

But, in a huff, Informe Pastran headlined “Unjust mention of Nicaragua in Washington Report” and summarized Nicaragua’s stellar record in fighting drug trafficking: Nicaragua is “the only country that trains 6,000 at risk youth, works on delinquency prevention with 30,000 students, sponsors 85 sports leagues with 10,000 youth participating around the country. The National Police has eliminated in the past year 1,700 places where drugs were sold and prevented 4.5 million doses from getting into the hands of young people. In the last 14 years, the Army has confiscated 171,000 kilos of drugs which did not make it to the United States.”

Aminta Granera, head of the National Police, was calmer. She said that Nicaragua is fulfilling its obligations in the fight against drug trafficking and is not on the map which shows narco landing strips and drug warehouses, the only country in Central America that is free of such places. She said that Nicaragua has been a retention wall against drug trafficking and that the government of the United States has recognized this. (http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2014/09/15/presidential-determination-major-drug-transit-or-major-illicit-drug-prod; Informe Pastran, Sept. 16; El Nuevo Diario, Sept. 18)

4. Environmentalists skeptical about UN Climate Summit results

Nicaraguan environmentalists do not hold out much hope for the UN meeting on climate change hosted by Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon this week. Some 70 environmental groups met on Sept. 18 to define their positions for COP 20 [Conference of the Parties 20], the UN climate meeting scheduled for Lima, Peru, in December of this year. Tania Guillen, who coordinates the Humboldt Center’s Climate Change program, said of the New York meeting, “It’s an important political event because there are going to be 120 heads of State there, but what we need are mechanisms that provide results.” According to the UN, the New York Summit will differ from those earlier in that the objective is to encourage action on the part of governments, businesses, financial institutions, industry, and civil society, to make new commitments and contributions that are relevant, scalable and exportable, whose objective is to help turn the tide of the planet to use less carbon. Ban Ki-Moon personally promised as much to the many presidents who will attend. However, Nicaraguan environmentalists remain skeptical.  

Denis Melendez, president of the National Risk Management Roundtable (MNGR) said, “Nothing extraordinary is going to occur.” Environmentalists’ skepticism is based on past experience given the failure of the Kyoto Protocol which promised a 5% drop in carbon emissions compared to 1990 when carbon was 350 parts per million (ppm) but instead atmospheric carbon rose to 396 ppm in 2013. “All this, the Summit in New York, and COP 20 in Lima in December, is preparation for what is supposed to be adopted in COP 21 in Paris [in December of 2015],” Melendez said. The Paris decisions are supposed to be backed by a legal framework, and Melendez sees success only if the measures are legally binding on the member countries. The MNGR will take positions on six themes – climate crisis, lack of rain, food and nutritional security, human access to water, extractive industries, and knowledge of climate change. Those positions will be taken to a meeting next week of regional risk management roundtables where a Central American position will be decided upon. [For information about the delegation of the Alliance for Global Justice to Peru this December, send an e-mail to James@AFGJ.org!](Radio La Primerisima, Sept. 22; La Prensa, Sept. 21; El Nuevo Diario, Sept. 19)

5. El Niño may or may not return in October and November

La Prensa and El Nuevo Diario highlighted contradictory possibilities about prospects for this year’s first and second harvests.  La Prensa quoted Michael Healy, president of the Union of Nicaraguan Agricultural Producers (UPANIC), as saying that he expected a good finish to the rainy season [which officially lasts from May 1 to Nov. 1] allowing for successful planting of beans for the second harvest, known as the postrera. He did say that the planting for the postrera, which usually takes place in September, could be late because farmers will wait to choose the best seed from a late first harvest to plant for the second. He also said that the rains of recent weeks are permitting the recovery of corn, peanuts, sugar cane, and cattle pasture from the drought during the first part of the rainy season. El Nuevo Diario, however, highlighted a confirmation by officials of the Nicaraguan Institute for Territorial Studies (INETER) of a statement that the weather phenomenon known as “El Niño” could return in October and November. INETER officials are no longer giving weather predictions to the press possibly after their prediction that the rain deficit this year could be 40-45% turned out to be too alarmist and the deficit has only been around 20%. (La Prensa, Sept. 19; El Nuevo Diario, Sept. 18)

6. Bill against human trafficking in National Assembly

Hearings were begun on Sept. 22 in the National Assembly on a bill to address human trafficking. Among those who appeared were Commissioner Jaime Vanegas of the National Police legal office and Prosecutor General Ana Julia Guido. Vanegas said that between 2010 and 2014, police have rescued 110 victims of trafficking, with 30 cases reported last year (tied with Chile for the lowest number in Latin America) and 14 victims so far this year.

Carlos Emilio Lopez, of the Committee on Women, Youth, Children, and the Family, said that the law will address all forms of human trafficking, including forced labor, involuntary servitude, sex trafficking, illegal adoptions, organ trafficking, and forced marriages. Sandinista Deputy Filiberto Rodriguez, chair of the Peace, Defense, Governance and Human Rights Committee, said the fund to carry out the provisions of the law will need a budget of US$1 million annually and that the private sector will be asked what contribution businesses can make to that budget. Rodriguez said that a final vote is not expected on the bill until October.

When the bill first came up for discussion in April, it contained a provision that would tax each tourist entering the country US$2 to fund anti-trafficking efforts but, in the light of objections from the tourism industry, the new version of the bill does not include the tax, although Rodriguez said that other Central American countries have such a tax. And the private sector appears unwilling to take on the burden of supporting anti-trafficking efforts by contributing to a special fund. Jose Adan Aguerri, president of the Superior Council on Private Enterprise, said, “The one that has to support the fund is the government through the budget…. It is the state that should do this and not create more laws that invent more taxes because we are already paying taxes.” (El Nuevo Diario, Sept. 22; Radio La Primerisima, Sept. 22; Informe Pastran, Sept. 22)

7. Sandinista commitment to health care highlighted

A total of 106 health care units have been improved by the Sandinista government between 2007-2014, according to Vice-Minister of Health Dr. Napoleon Ortega Balladares. He said 61 hospitals, 15 primary health units, and 30 health care centers have been remodeled and provided with modern equipment. Ortega said that during that period a new hospital was constructed in Boaco and primary health units were rehabilitated in San Juan de Rio Coco, Prinzapolka, Mulukuku, El Sauce, Chichigalpa, San Francisco Libre, and El Tuma-La Dalia. New health units were constructed in San Rafael del Norte, San Rafael del Sur, Ayapal, Managua, and Santa Teresa in the past year. He said the government is seeking Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) funding for a new hospital in San Jose de Bocay, Jinotega, and to build and equip a primary health unit in Chinandega. Ortega said they are also looking to replace equipment in the Oscar Danilo Rosales medical school hospital in Leon, and to remodel the Alfonso Moncada hospital in Nueva Segovia as well as to make improvements to the Amanecer health unit in the North Caribbean Autonomous Region.  Before the end of the year the Health Ministry will also initiate study for a new hospital in Nueva Guinea. Ortega said that the new Fernando Velez Paiz Hospital will serve El Crucero, San Rafael del Sur, Mateare and Villa El Carmen with a full spectrum of medical specialties. (Radio La Primerisima, Sept. 18)

8. Persons with disabilities to recover more rights

The Sandinista government has announced that it will open a technical school for people with disabilities where they can learn carpentry, plumbing, cosmetology, and costume jewelry making. Maritza Cuan, director of the System of Local Health Attention (SILAIS) in Managua noted that during the 1980s Nicaraguans had the National Center for Disabilities in District 6 of Managua, but it was closed under the neoliberal governments.   The new technical school will be located in the building housing the Aldo Chavarria Hospital which is moving to a new building. Cuan said, “This will be another dream [fulfilled], another vindication of increasing rights, in this case for all the families of the disabled in Nicaragua.” She also said that a new maternity-infant center will be built on land near the Central Bank.

The Ministry of Health (MINSA) recently expanded the list of disabilities to include bipolar disease, chronic renal deficiency and some types of heart disease.  Also added to the list were soldiers who lost genitalia to land mines during the contra war. Those with disabilities newly added to the list under Law 763 will soon receive cards identifying them as persons qualifying for disability programs. Rosa Salgado, special ombudswoman for disabled persons, commented that the family has an essential role with disabled children helping them study, work, and play. She said 24.1% of disabled persons are minors with 14.4% of them between five and 14 years of age.  Forty percent of them have never been to school, 19.08% have attended only pre-school, while 25.68% have achieved some level of primary school. “It is for that reason that we are making a strong effort to change this problematic situation so that we are seen as people with equal rights.” (Radio La Primerisima, Sept. 20; El Nuevo Diario, Sept. 19)