Nicaragua Network

1. New school year starts
2. Canal briefs: archeology; technical education; protests; Panama; Washington Post
3. Major road improvements planned for South Caribbean Autonomous Region
4. Health Shorts: maternity waiting homes; measles; smoking
5. Nicaragua begins year of Rubén Darío commemorations
6. No MIGs for Nicaragua
7. Flight options to Managua from US to increase

1. New school year starts

The 2015 school year began on Feb. 9 with 1.6 million students entering classrooms throughout Nicaragua. Entering school for the first time were 243,714 preschoolers while 836,149 students returned to school in the primary grades or special education. High schools welcomed 347,636 students for regular classes while 160,000 adolescents and adults were registered for continuing education in technical subjects. Sixteen thousand students in small isolated rural communities were registered for long distance secondary education. Government spokesperson Rosario Murillo said that those programs, held on weekends in 400 schools that have seventh and eighth grade classes during the week, began on Saturday, Feb. 7. Murillo said that several urban high schools have been completely renovated with new classrooms, computer and science labs, libraries, sports fields and other improvements, including the Elvis Diaz in Managua, the Jose Marti in Estelí, and the high school in Jalapa. She added that 42,350 new desks had been distributed to classrooms around the country.

Dismal results on university admissions tests by last year’s high school graduates have been pushing a reevaluation of educational content and teaching methods since data were released showing that only 8.76% of those who took the exam for the National Autonomous University-Managua passed the mathematics exam and only 24.5% passed the Spanish exam. Some specialists said that the educational challenge was to teach students to analyze a subject and to improve their ability to read with comprehension. Rafael Lucio, director of the Education Institute at the Central American University (UCA), said that there are three separate issues: 1) the curriculum both of the students and of those studying to be teachers; 2) the utilization of time in the classroom to teach and learn the required material and abilities; and 3) the socio-cultural and family dimensions. He said that whether young people find meaning in their lives and whether they can make a contribution to their country depends to a large degree on the education they receive in school. Erika Gonzalez, mathematics teacher at Maestro Gabriel High School, said that the fact that this year all primary and secondary students will receive their textbooks from the government, where in the past parents had to buy them, should make a difference in students’ achievement. (Informe Pastran, Feb. 4, 5, 9; El Nuevo Diario, Feb. 5, 9; Radio La Primerisima, Feb. 9; La Prensa, Feb. 7)

2. Canal briefs: archeology; technical education; protests; Panama; Washington Post

On Feb. 4, archeologists from the British firm Environmental Resources Management (ERM) turned over to the Nicaraguan Institute of Culture 15,000 pre-Columbian objects retrieved from sites along the route of the proposed inter-oceanic shipping canal. According to ERM, which is carrying out the environmental impact study for the canal, 213 new archeological sites were identified, 105 of which contained ruins of structures. The items, 13,000 of which were ceramic and 2,000 of which were made from stone, were found on the surface by a team of 29 archeologists, both Nicaraguan and foreign. Manuel Roman, principal archeological investigator for ERM, said that the next step is to carry out a more intensive study with focused excavations. Nicaraguan archeologist Jorge Espinoza proposed to President Daniel Ortega the building of a series of museums along the canal route to exhibit the pieces discovered at the various sites. Vilma de la Roca, director of the Institute of Culture, thanked the scientists for the pieces adding that the great work of rescuing and preserving of Nicaraguan ancestral treasures must continue. (La Prensa, Feb. 4; Informe Pastran, Feb. 5; El Nuevo Diario, Feb. 9; Radio La Primerisima, Feb. 4)

A major point of discussion around the canal has been how Nicaragua can prepare its education system to provide the workers needed to take advantage of the opportunities offered by the project. It has been projected that building the canal will need a work force of 50,000 people of which 25,000 would be Nicaraguan, 12,500 Chinese, and 12,500 from other countries. Sergio Argüello, president of the Nicaraguan Development Institute (INDE), said, “We don’t have in Nicaragua the experience for a construction project of this size. We will have to rely on foreign firms but we can create centers to train our people to be part of the team.” Instead of sending students abroad to study, it would be cheaper to bring in foreign professors to teach Nicaraguan students, he stated. Engineer Jaime Matus, president of the Nicaraguan Association of Engineers and Architects, said that there are enough Nicaraguan professionals to work on the canal but they might need specialized training. Engineer Reinerio Montiel added that some of them are working in the United States but could be convinced to return. And Argüello added, “One aspect that we have also been discussing is the preparation of technicians. Here we graduate lawyers, architects, doctors, but not nurses, plumbers, or electricians. We have to train those of the future and those working now; we have to certify them because there is a lot of empirical knowledge out there” but they are not certified. He added that more technicians of other types are also necessary for the country’s development, including in agriculture and industry. (El Nuevo Diario, Feb. 9)

Protests against the canal continue. On Feb. 6, La Prensa reported that one thousand people marched in the town of Altagracia on the island of Ometepe carrying signs that read, “What do the peasant farmers want? For the Chinese to leave!” (¿Qué quieren los campesinos? ¡Que se vayan los chinos!) and Ortega—sell out!” (¡Ortega – vendepatria!) Protesters said that they were not willing to sell their land and that they would continue to fight for national sovereignty in a peaceful way. Octavio Ortega Arana of the National Council for the Defense of Our Land, Lake, and Sovereignty announced that on Feb. 9 there would be more marches on Ometepe both in Altagracia and Moyogalpa. The canal route would pass near Ometepe in Lake Cocibolca (Lake Nicaragua). (La Prensa, Feb. 6)

Meanwhile, Panama Canal administrator Jorge Quijano said that a canal across Nicaragua was not economically viable. “I insist,” he said, “that there is not enough demand to justify another canal through the Central American isthmus; there is not sufficient demand to share between the two.” About 5% of world commerce passes through the Panama Canal and it has been estimated that its traffic could decline by 30% with the opening of a Nicaraguan canal. The declarations by Quijano came on the heels of a presentation in Panama about the canal by Paul Oquist, public policy advisor to President Daniel Ortega, in which he said that Nicaragua would become a major international logistics center with the building of the canal. When asked about Quijano’s statements on the canal’s feasibility, Oquist asked for commentators to wait for the publication of the studies that are currently ongoing. (Radio La Primerisima, Feb. 5)

The Washington Post published a lengthy article on the canal on Feb. 4 in which author Joshua Partlow interviewed supporters and opponents of the canal as well as those who are hopeful but still doubtful about whether the canal will become a reality. The article quotes a farmer from the Rivas area saying that the government is letting foreigners take the land without any obligation to the government or the people. Roger Guido continued, “If this government isn’t capable of understanding the disaster that this is going to be for this country, then violence is going to be the only solution.” But, Benjamin Lanzas, who is head of the Chamber of Construction and hopes to get contracts for the canal, told the Post, “It would be a relief for me to know that the Chinese government was behind this rather than just an entrepreneur,” referring to billionaire Wang Jing whose HKND company holds the concession for the canal. Arturo Cruz, former ambassador to the US and a professor at the INCAE business school, said, reflecting the view that poverty drives the continued extending of the agricultural frontier into more and more of Nicaragua’s rain forests, “I think the country’s poverty is a bigger problem than the environmental concerns. If we don’t achieve a more prosperous country in next five to 10 years—with or without the canal—we will see severe damage to the environment.” David Blaha, a partner with Environmental Resources Management which is preparing the environmental impact study for HKND, said that the most sensitive parts of the route are Lake Nicaragua, the Indio Maiz reserve, and the mangroves and marine reserves near the Brito beach on the Pacific. “Obviously you can’t build a project of this magnitude, in a location like this, without there being significant impacts,” Blaha said. “The question is: Can those impacts be mitigated? And do the benefits of the project outweigh the impacts?” (Informe Pastran, Feb. 4; http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/can-a-chinese-billionaire-build-a-canal-across-nicaragua/2015/02/03/e9cf3482-9aa5-11e4-86a3-1b56f64925f6_story.html)

3. Major road improvements planned for South Caribbean Autonomous Region

The Sandinista government and the Central American Economic Integration Bank (BCIE) signed a loan for US$149.2 million to improve rural roads on the Caribbean Coast. The project will include the construction of 126.55 kilometers of paved road, including 44.61 km. connecting Mulukuku and Siuna; 52.58 km. connecting El Rama, Kukra Hill and Pearl Lagoon; and, 29.46 km connecting the agricultural zones of Matagalpa and Jinotega, according to Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure Pablo Martinez. Martinez said, “This project we will finally unite the Pacific with the Caribbean. Some 2,000 workers will work double shifts to finish the project as soon as possible. This will bring progress to these areas.” BCIE Nicaragua Director Silvio Conrado said the project will benefit 195,000 rural residents of the region. “It should be noted,” he said, “that 85% of the country’s cattle ranches are located in this area.” [Beef topped Nicaragua’s exports in 2014.] The government will put an additional US$3.3 million into the project. The loan is for 15 years with a three year grace period. (El Nuevo Diario, Feb. 5)

4. Health Shorts: maternity waiting homes; measles; smoking

Sandinista government spokeswoman Rosario Murillo announced that, by the end of 2015, 181 casas maternas(maternity waiting homes) will be functioning throughout Nicaragua. She announced that 15 renovated casas were re-opened in recent days, in addition to 15 newly built ones, ten of which were built by municipal governments and five by the Ministry of Health. There are currently 166 government-affiliated casas maternas, of which 35 are awaiting further upgrades, according to Murillo. Prenatal care and professional birthing assistance have greatly reduced infant and maternal mortality in the country. (Radio La Primerisima, Feb. 9)

The Ministry of Health reported that it is stepping up vigilance to prevent measles, responding to a Pan-American Health Organization alert on the measles outbreak in the US. Nicaragua has not had a case of measles in 20 years, but the health ministry is going to change its vaccination regimen to start the first shot when a child is 9 months old followed by the second at one year. Health professionals will also receive refreshers on the symptoms and treatment of the highly infectious viral disease. (Radio La Primerisima, Feb. 9)

Members of the National Assembly Health and Safety Committee proposed to strengthen enforcement of the 2011 indoor smoking ban after a study by Catholic University revealed that 85% of commercial indoor space in Managua showed elevated air pollution. Areas where smoking was observed showed 28 times the level of pollution of areas where no smoking was observed.Vice chair of the committee Argentina Parajon said that the goal of the Tobacco Control Law, in effect since 2011, is to protect present and future generations from exposure to dangerous cigarette smoke. (La Prensa, Feb. 6)

5. Nicaragua begins year of Rubén Darío commemorations

On the 99^th anniversary of his death, Nicaragua declared the beginning of a yearlong commemoration of the life and work of the poet Rubén Darío that will end on Feb. 6^th of next year, the 100^th anniversary of his death at age 49. Darío, known as the “Prince of Castilian letters,” was the founder and best known representative of a movement in Spanish poetry, literature and architecture known as modernismo that also included Cuban poet Jose Marti and Catalan architect Antonio Gaudi, among many others. Dario lived many of his limited years in South America and in Europe where the Nicaraguan government named him to diplomatic posts. He wrote mainly about nature, beauty, love, and death but one of his most famous poems is the anti-imperialist “To Roosevelt” written in 1904 in reaction to the United States maneuvering to achieve the separation of Panama from Colombia in order to build the canal.

Members of the National Assembly placed a wreath on the monument to Darío next to the Plaza of the Revolution. Assembly President Rene Nuñez remembered Darío’s famous phrase, “If one’s country is small, one dreams it large” from his poem Retorno written in 1907 when he returned to Nicaragua from one of his stays abroad. Sandinista Deputy Edwin Castro said that the people and government of Nicaragua were turning Darío’s dream into reality. Opposition Deputy Wilfredo Navarro said, “Dario with his work made a literary and cultural revolution, reestablishing Latin American verse and prose in the world.” Government spokesperson Rosario Murillo said that Nicaragua’s diplomatic posts around the world were marking this 99^th anniversary of Darío’s death and will be preparing commemorations for the 100^th anniversary next year.

In Leon, where Darío grew up, mass was held in the cathedral where he is buried. Carlos Tunnerman, former president of the National Autonomous University-Leon, said that Darío’s work transcends Nicaragua but “We Nicaraguans have the obligation to commemorate the centennial of his death with all the splendor and dignity that Darío merits because he is our highest national glory.” He added that wherever a Nicaraguan travels, people say either, “Oh, you’re from the country of Dario,” or the “country of Sandino.” He also noted that Darío is the Spanish American author who has inspired the most books, essays and doctoral theses. (Radio La Primerisima, Feb. 6; La Prensa, Feb. 6)

6. No MIGs for Nicaragua

Defensa.com, a Spanish language web page dedicated to news about weapons and defense policies, contained an article on Feb. 4 that said that the Colombian Air Force had asked the government to look into acquiring a modern war plane in response to the “probable arrival” in Nicaragua of eight Mig-29 jets from Russia in 2016. The article said that “if the Nicaraguan plans became concrete, it would have a negative impact on the regional strategic balance for Colombia in its Caribbean Sea waters.” Nicaraguan Army spokesman Col. Manuel Guevara Rocha flatly denied that there was any truth to the report adding that those planes were not in the Army’s plans now or in the future. National Assembly deputies from the governing Sandinista and opposition parties made similar statements.  Sandinista Jose Figueroa said, “We are interested in building a Nicaragua where there is no poverty, where there is no misery. That is the primordial interest of our government, not arming ourselves with that type of weapons.” (Informe Pastran, Feb. 4, defense.com, Feb. 4; El Nuevo Diario, Feb. 7)

7. Flight options to Managua from US to increase

Visitors to Nicaragua will soon see increased options for travel by air. Responding to increasing demand from tourists (267,304 from the US in 2014), Delta, Spirit, and American Airlines have announced that they will increase the number of flights to Managua in June. American Airlines will add one flight a day from Dallas, Spirit will add three flights to its current five a week from Houston, and Delta will add flights from Los Angeles beginning June 6.  The total number of flights from the United States to Managua will increase from 18 per day to 34 according to Orlando Castillo, general manager of International Airports Administration. (Radio La Primerisima, Feb. 6)