Nicaragua Network

1. Nicaragua celebrates Purísima with no one burned from fireworks
2. Government will not extend life of official ID cards past Dec. 31^st
3. Power generating windmill explodes and collapses, causing blackout
4. Heritage Seed Alliance highlights success in organic farming
5. Social policy issues briefs: English teachers, domestic violence shelters, Chikungunya
6. Economic briefs: exotic fish, cane workers, drones
7. Nicaragua reads declaration at Peru climate change talks
8. Transparency International releases Index

1. Nicaragua celebrates Purísima with no one burned from fireworks

There were no injuries from fireworks in this year’s celebration of the Purísima, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary, a holiday which traditionally involves noisy and colorful explosions along with the traditional hymns, prayers, and treats of sugar cane, sweet lemons, and candy. The Managua Fire Department reported that a campaign among parents and in the schools to lower injuries from fireworks has reduced the cases of burns, particularly to children, from fireworks each year to the point that so far this December there have been none. However, the Fire Department noted that the upcoming celebrations of Christmas and the New Year will bring more fireworks.

The celebration of the holiday (which commemorates what Catholics believe was the conception of Mary without original sin in order to be a fit vessel for Jesus) in Nicaragua is believed to date back 452 years to 1562 and the arrival in the town of El Viejo, Chinandega, of a statue of the Virgin Mary. Papal Nuncio Fortunatus Nwachukwu visited the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception of Mary in El Viejo on Dec. 6 for mass and the traditional “polishing of the silver” of the church, including chalices, patens, and crosses. He said when leaving the church, “It is a contradiction to live with violence against women and then come and sing to the mother of Jesus. Jesus loved his mother; Jesus loves each woman as he loved his mother. We want to call ourselves followers of Jesus but we have to respect women and not continue [tolerating] violence against women.”

The National Police assigned 11,000 officers to protect the tens of thousands of Nicaraguans who filled the streets on Dec. 7, the eve of the feast day, to sing songs at traditional altars in front of homes throughout the country and receive the customary treats. This part of the celebration reportedly dates to 1857 in Leon. Government ministries also set up altars along the Avenida Bolivar in Managua and neighborhood groups organized barrio altars where government agencies provided treats of more practical items such as bags of beans and rice. (El Nuevo Diario, Dec. 7, 8; La Prensa, Dec. 7; Radio La Primerisima, Dec. 7)

2. Government will not extend life of official ID cards past Dec. 31^st

The Supreme Electoral Council (CSE) has announced that official government identification cards that expire on Dec. 31 of this year will not have their validity extended and citizens will have to obtain new ones in order to vote or carry out other official business. National Assembly Deputy Wilfredo Navarro said that the Assembly is debating changes to the law that would increase the life span of the new cards to 15 years from the current ten years. CSE magistrate Jose Luis Villavicencio said that people would have the choice of obtaining a digital card for C$300 cordobas (about US$12) or the old style card for C$50 cordobas (about US$2). About one million Nicaraguans will see their cards expire at the end of this month. Lines began to form at SERVIGOB, the government office in Managua that issues the cards.  Taxi driver Rafael Rodriguez, whose card expired in July of 2008 but which has been renewed by the government several times since then, said that he had saved the money to buy the digital card. Others said that they needed a valid card to open a bank account, register for school, or apply for Social Security. Vice-President Omar Halleslevens said that citizens could save money by getting the less expensive card and that “giving extension after extension is not the solution.”

Political activists criticized the announcement that there would be no renewal so close to the expiration date and some said that the CSE should provide the cards free. Violeta Granera of the Movement for Nicaragua said, “The CSE has received enough money from abroad; where is that money?”  The bishop of Granada, Jorge Solorzano, said that what would be best for Nicaragua would be a complete change of the electoral system with credible officials and he called on the government to give more time to obtain the cards and to provide them free of charge. Independent Liberal Party (PLI) leader Eduardo Montealegre said that peasant farmers in the interior would have to travel long distances to the departmental capitals to obtain their cards. Sandinista National Assembly Deputy Evelyn Taylor said that in the regions of the Caribbean Coast the difficulties were multiplied and that the CSE should send teams to the communities.  Deputy Brooklyn Rivera estimated that half of the voters on the Caribbean Coast would see their cards expire on Dec. 31 and would have to obtain new ones. (El Nuevo Diario, Dec. 2, 4, 6; La Prensa, Dec. 1, 3, 5, 7)

3. Power generating windmill explodes and collapses, causing blackout

Preliminary investigation by the Rivas fire department indicates that the explosion and collapse of a 125 meter tall windmill at the Amayo II Wind Park on Dec. 5 was the result of a faulty regulator. The failed safety feature, which regulates the speed at which the blades can turn, is the probable cause of the explosion and collapse of the electricity generating windmill. The investigation is ongoing. The windmill was one of 30 at the site. It produced 2.1 megawatts of electricity. Its destruction caused a blackout when the structure fell on electricity transmission wires in the pre-dawn incident which also shut down the entire 63 megawatt, US$45 million facility for a period of time and damaged two other windmills. There was no mention in the media of any suspicion of foul play. Police and military responded to the explosion, mobilizing a strong force to the site between kilometers 128 and 130 on the South Pan American Highway. (El Nuevo Diario, Dec. 6; La Prensa, Dec. 7)

4. Heritage Seed Alliance highlights success in organic farming

Thirty-five thousand farm families, belonging to the Heritage Seed Alliance, have stopped using agrichemicals in favor of organic farming methods. Heritage Seed Alliance promotes the rescue of creole and creolized traditional seeds along with seven national agricultural organizations including the Union of Farmers and Ranchers (UNAG), the Nicaraguan Movement of Agro-ecological and Organic Producers (MAONIC), and Humboldt Center. Harold Calvo, coordinator of the Heritage Seed Alliance, touted the benefits of organic farming for the environment and for sustainability including water preservation. He said that the participating families maintain over 400 community seed banks. “These banks save the seeds and then lend them to other small producers,” Calvo explained. There are seed banks in 13 of Nicaragua’s 17 departments [states] with enough seeds to plant over 16,000 acres.

Before the initiative began in 2008, Calvo said few organizations worked with peasant families in the use of heritage seeds. Over time, he said, the heritage seeds have proven to have greater resistance to flooding and their greater diversity make them more resistant to climate change and better suited to micro climates. The Heritage Seed Alliance will now begin to organize fairs at which farmers can trade heritage seeds so they can experiment with what works best for them. He said the network has identified 80 varieties of beans, 50 varieties of corn, and four varieties each of sorghum and rice. The alliance, which opposes the use of chemicals and genetically modified crops, celebrated the Global Day of No Pesticide Use on Dec. 3. Calvo said they used the day to promote actions and interchanges to present the experiences of organic farmers. He said, “We are going to have a campaign in the country to educate the general population about the negative effects of pesticides on the environment and health, and on the danger of introducing transgenic crops in Nicaragua.” (El Nuevo Diario, Dec. 4)

5. Social policy issues briefs: English teachers, domestic violence shelters, Chikungunya

According to Julio Cesar Canelo, secondary school technical coordinator at the Ministry of Education, Nicaragua only has 1,800 teachers of English as a foreign language. He said that 47% of the 1,200 who teach in public high schools do not have degrees in the field. But, he said that the Ministry is working on a process of professionalization under which teachers could study for degrees in English at several of the country’s universities. On Dec. 5, Keiser University, a Florida-based school with a campus in San Marcos, Carazo, launched a program for international certification for English teachers that will begin instruction in March of 2015.  The Nicaraguan-US Cultural Center noted that the demand for its courses had increased by 40%. Franklin Tellez, director of the Center and president of the Nicaraguan Association of English Teachers, said that “tourism is developing and many call centers do not have enough bilingual personnel so I believe that we should all participate in that national program.” (El Nuevo Diario, Dec. 6)

The ten domestic violence shelters in Nicaragua have launched an appeal for financial support for their programs. Martha Munguia of the Shelter Network said that each center needs US$150,000 annually but only receives US$80,000 from international funding agencies. The shelter in Ciudad Dario was recently forced to close temporarily, she said. “Nicaragua is one of the few countries where the shelters or refuges for mistreated women and victims of violence do not receive support from the national budget,” according to Munguia. They do, however, receive women referred to them by the Ministry of the Family. On Dec. 3, Marcia Ramirez, head of the Ministry, said, “We believe that the solution is prevention from within the heart of the family.” She added that taking a victim to a shelter “is an emergency measure that can protect someone.” Police commissioner Isabel Largaespada, second in command of the women’s police stations, said that in the last meeting that she had with shelter representatives they did not mention financial concerns and that she believed that they were receiving funding from the United Nations Development Program. Between 2009 and 2013, the shelters provided attention to 8,640 women and 19,902 children. (El Nuevo Diario, Dec.2, 3)

Government spokesperson Rosario Murillo said on Dec. 8 that 91 new cases of Chikungunya had been detected in Nicaragua bringing the total to 1,740. All the new patients, 68 of whom are in Managua, are in stable condition, she said. Besides Managua, recent cases have been reported in Chinandega, Chontales, Carazo, Masaya and Jinotega. While the numbers are increasing more slowly, health authorities are still urging people to continue to take measures against the mosquito-borne disease, including eliminating standing water where the insects can lay their eggs. Chikungunya causes fever, headache, and pain in the joints.  (Radio La Primerisima, Dec. 5, 8)

6. Economic briefs: exotic fish, cane workers, drones

Nicaragua has begun to export exotic fish to water parks in the United States run by German businessman Lukas Jansem, according to a Notimex report published in several Nicaragua media outlets. Among the fish being harvested are angel fish, rays, morays, batfish, and barberfish as well as sea anemones, hermit crabs, and sea stars. The business, which is being run out of El Ostional, 140 kilometers south of Managua on the Pacific Ocean, has reportedly produced earnings of US$51,000 so far this year. Ten men work as divers and twenty women are also employed in the operation collecting specimens along the coast. According to manager Henry Arauz, the company only collects species authorized by the Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources and the Nicaraguan Fisheries Institute. (Radio La Primerisima, Dec. 4; El Nuevo Diario, Dec. 4)

On Dec. 1, former sugar cane workers from plantations in Nicaragua’s northeast who are suffering from kidney disease began a march to Managua to demand treatment. Luis Nicoya told Radio Ya that there are hundreds of workers who are in the terminal stage of chronic renal insufficiency while over 8,000 have already died of the disease. “We won’t stop until we arrive in Managua and they listen to us,” he said. The workers blame their illness on their exposure to agricultural chemicals on the sugar plantations where they worked. They are demanding changes in labor laws on workplace risks and on illnesses that would require farm owners to take responsibility for injuries and illnesses acquired on the job. They are also asking the municipality of Chichigalpa to declare a health emergency and identify the causes of the epidemic. Another demand is for medical attention by specialists and for tests of the water purification plant in Chichigalpa. The former cane workers walked twenty kilometers on their first day out. (El Nuevo Diario, Dec. 2)

On Nov. 28 the Nicaraguan Institute of Civil Aviation (INAC) issued a communique in which it said that drones constituted a threat to civil aviation and prohibited their use above 100 feet and over more than 30 meters of territory. Juan Jose Granados, a computer engineer who has built two drones which he hires out for commercial video and photography, said that it would be better to adequately regulate drones rather than prohibit them. The INAC prohibition will impact audio visual companies that produce advertisements with drone technology, he said. He pointed out that drones are also useful for topographical studies, inspection of electrical transmission lines, volcano research, and rescue operations. (El Nuevo Diario, Dec. 2)

7. Nicaragua reads declaration at Peru climate change talks

Presidential Advisor Paul Oquist, Nicaragua’s representative to the COP 20 [Conference of the Parties 20] climate change talks being held in Peru, read a statement to the plenary adopted by the Like Minded Developing Countries Group (LMDC). The group is composed of the following countries: Bolivia, China, Cuba, Dominica, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, India, Iran, Iraq, Malaysia, Mali, Nicaragua, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, and Venezuela.The resolution demands solid and robust international results to implement the provisions, principles and structure of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The declaration states that time is running out and the world cannot afford half measures or half commitments with respect to climate action and the protection of Mother Earth.  “This will permit all the countries to resolve the climate crisis together in a just manner.

While developing countries already are doing much to address climate change, primarily with their own resources, developed countries should be leaders in reducing their own emissions in accordance with the Framework Convention and its Kyoto Protocol rather than reducing their commitments,” said the statement. “Also, we hope to see the developed countries meet their commitments under UNFCCC and more, by providing more financial resources, improving access to climate change knowledge and technology through the transfer of effective technology and help to build skills and capacity for developing countries to carry out the adaptation, mitigation, sustainable development, and poverty eradication simultaneously, thus benefiting everyone,” the declaration added. Oquist said, “We can only do it if the process is open, transparent and inclusive, driven by the parties involved, built on consensus and if the content is fair and balanced.” (Radio La Primerisima, Dec. 3)

8. Transparency International releases Index

Transparency International released its annual Corruption Perception Index last week that put Nicaragua in 133^rd place out of 175 countries analyzed, the worst position in Central America, while Costa Rica occupied the best, at 47^th. The Index combines the results of a number of opinion polls on corruption-related matters made by different institutions among observers around the world. Critics say that data can vary widely depending on the public perception of a country. Index authors reply that “perceptions matter in their own right, since… firms and individuals take actions based on perceptions.” Nicaragua’s position is virtually unchanged in the last few years. The countries with the lowest perception of corruption were Denmark, New Zealand, and Finland. (El Nuevo Diario, Dec. 4; La Prensa, Dec. 3; http://www.transparency.org/cpi2014; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transparency_International)