Nicaragua Network

1. Canal briefs: Oquist, Talavera, the New York Times and PBS Newshour
2. World Earth Day noted in Nicaragua
3. Compensation of landowners affected by Tumarin almost completed
4. Ortega meets with high level Army officers; talks about Summit
5. Family Code supported and explained
6. Economic briefs: farm lending, housing rebound, home ownership, internet to RAAN
7. Nicaragua most improved in “happiness”
8. M&R: People speak freely to pollsters

1. Canal briefs: Oquist, Talavera, the New York Times and PBS Newshour

Paul Oquist, presidential advisor on public policies, said that work would begin on the interoceanic shipping canal when two criteria are met: when the British firm Environmental Resources Management (ERM) turns its environmental impact study and when all of the property along the route of the canal has been purchased. In answer to a question about the financing of the canal, he stated, “That is a question for HKND [Hong Kong Nicaragua Development Company of businessman Wang Jing]. They are the ones who are committed to mobilizing at least US$40 billion that can come from many different sources. They are the ones who are mobilizing the resources, not us.” Oquist also told a United Nations meeting in New York that the canal offers Nicaragua the possibilities of overcoming extreme poverty, of reforesting the country to produce a positive net environmental impact, and of achieving economic independence.

[The Nicaragua Network noted in a previous News Bulletin that besides ERM working on the environmental impact study, McKinsey & Company is in charge of the legal and financial studies while the Chinese firm China Railway Construction Corporation (CRCC) is doing the study of the project’s technical feasibility. The US firm McLarty & Associates has the task of putting together the consortium of investors for the project if the feasibility studies are positive.]

Telemaco Talavera, spokesman for the Canal Commission, told the Panamanian daily “Dia a Dia” that investors from all over the world, in the Americas, Europe and Asia, have expressed interest in investing in the canal. And while it is true that 97% of the current world fleet of container ships will be able to use the expanded Panama Canal, the very largest ships, the numbers of which are increasing, would be able to use the Nicaraguan canal.

The canal continues to receive coverage in international media. In an April 24 article in the New York Times entitled “In Paradisiacal Nicaragua, Contemplating a Canal,” Elizabeth Zach describes the beauties of Lake Nicaragua and the island of Ometepe but says it all may change if a canal becomes a reality. She quotes Manuel Coronel, president of the canal authority, as saying that Nicaragua’s leaders have confidence in the environmental studies being prepared by ERM, calling the firm “very serious and careful.” He continues, “As to the Nicaraguan government conducting a feasibility assessment, which would include cultural, social and environmental impacts, our country does not have the money for this.”

On April 22, PBS Newshour included a report on the canal by Fred de Sam Lazaro which presented both sides of the issue. The report began with a map from 1870 of a proposed canal route across Nicaragua and interviewed protestors against today’s version of the canal.  But, de Sam Lazaro stated, “Surveys still show a majority of Nicaraguans support the canal, which has been championed by the country’s president, Daniel Ortega. He sees it as this country’s ticket out of poverty.” He interviewed Bill Wild, the project’s chief engineer, who said, “It is by far the largest earth-moving project ever attempted in the world.” He asked Wild, “Have you ever had to manage the water balance of a body of freshwater that large?” Wild answered, “Industry manages those sorts of things all the time. I have no doubt that you can manage the loss of water and quantify the loss of water through a lock system.” He added that there are a number of proven methods for managing salinity as well. Wild said that the company would go beyond just relocating displaced people to new land and homes adding, “We are committed to providing equivalent or better livelihood for everyone we displace and that’s an absolute commitment.” Theologian Maria Lopez Vigil said that there had “not been one study on feasibility in terms of environment, financing, actual profits.” But she was immediately contradicted in the report by Wild who noted that a “strong team” of McKinsey and ERM were doing the feasibility and environmental studies. (Informe Pastran, Apr. 21, 23, 24, 27; New York Times, Apr. 24; PBS Newshour, Apr. 22)

2. World Earth Day noted in Nicaragua

On April 22, government spokeswoman Rosario Murillo said, “When we see all the effects of the depredation, the devastation, the lack of respect for Mother Earth; when we see the risks and reality of climate change, then more than ever we must wake up and treat all days as days to care for the earth, to love her.  We must establish a more respectful relationship between the earth as a living being and us as living beings.” Murillo announced a series of workshops on climate change and risk management with the objective of raising consciousness about the new climate reality in the world and in Nicaragua in particular. The workshops will be coordinated by the National System of Prevention, Mitigation, and Attention to Disasters (SINAPRED) and will be directed at representatives of the communications media and the National Police.

Murillo added that Jose Milan of the Nicaraguan Institute for Territorial Studies (INETER) has prepared a study of temperature change and the rise in sea level in low lying areas of the Pacific coast such as Poneloya in the Department of Leon. Sea level rise is aggravated, she said, by warming in the Pacific Ocean during weather phenomenon known as El Niño. Also in honor of Earth Day, Murillo announced that the Nicaraguan government, with the support of the Italian organization Africa 70, inaugurated a US$700,000 recycling plant in Chinandega. She said the new plant has an annual processing capacity of up to 2,300 tons of waste, has created more than 1,000 new jobs and is reducing environmental pollution. "We are celebrating Earth Day with more clean energy, increasing recycling and reforestation. We are taking specific steps to protect mother earth,” she stated.

With regard to clean energy, Javier Chamorro, director of the Nicaragua Investment Promotion Agency (ProNicaragua), said that more than 53% of the energy consumed in Nicaragua is currently generated from renewable sources. He also noted that during the past five years 14 foreign companies have invested US$1.5 billion in clean energy projects in Nicaragua including geothermal, wind, solar, hydroelectric and biomass. (Informe Pastran, Apr. 22, 23; Nicaragua News, Apr. 23, 24)

3. Compensation of landowners affected by Tumarin almost completed

Representatives of the Nicaraguan Hydroelectric Company (CHN) and the Brazilian Ambassador to Nicaragua, Felipe Mendoza, told members of the National Assembly’s Infrastructure Committee about the progress being made in the Tumarin hydroelectric project, which is being financed with Brazilian money. They told the deputies on the committee that compensation has been paid to 590 property owners out of 612 in the area to be affected by the dam and resulting lake in the region of Apawas. CHN officials said that US$16.5 million had been spent so far. Ambassador Mendoza said that access roads were being built along with the camp for the engineers. The paved road of almost 50 kilometers is almost finished, he said. Sandinista deputy Jenny Martinez, chair of the committee, said afterwards that the Brazilian government and company representatives renewed their commitment to complete the project.  (Informe Pastran, Apr. 23)

4. Ortega meets with high level Army officers; talks about Summit

On Apr. 24, President Daniel Ortega met with 400 officers of the Nicaraguan Army. At the meeting, head of the Army General Julio Cesar Aviles said that the Firewall Strategy against drug trafficking has been strengthened with 3.3 tons of cocaine and 638 pounds of marijuana confiscated in the past year. He said that between 2000 and 2015 more than 150 tons of drugs were seized. President Ortega said that the fight against drug trafficking and organized crime was essential to attract foreign investments and to build a more prosperous Nicaragua for all. "We need to continue to ensure stability, security and peace. All these elements are fundamental in the building of inclusive economic growth in the country," he said.

Ortega spoke about his meetings with other hemispheric leaders at the recent Summit of the Americas in Panama. He said that he spoke briefly with Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos with whom he said, “we maintain a good communication… and we are waiting for a dialogue for an accord that affirms the [November 2012] ruling by the World Court.” He noted that in Nicaragua a resolution accepting the ruling has passed the National Assembly and the Colombians “have to take it to their congress also.” The ruling gave the islands of the San Andres Archipelago to Colombia but much of the surrounding waters to Nicaragua, a decision that Colombia has yet to accept.

Ortega said that the summit reaffirmed “the carrot and stick policies of the United States” with the opening toward Cuba accompanied by the declaration that Venezuela was a security threat to the US. “When the United States launched that decree against Venezuela, it was threatening all of us,” Ortega said. He said, however, that at the meeting of the Central American Integration System (SICA) before the summit, he spoke with President Obama and introduced him to Jose Adan Aguerri, who was part of the Nicaraguan delegation. Ortega said that Aguerri, as president of the Superior Council of Private Enterprise, represented the public-private alliance in Nicaragua. He said that he told Obama of his delight that Cuba was at the summit but that Puerto Rico was missing and added, “I’ll have to say that on the occasions that I have been able to converse with President Obama, there is respect; he listens and we listen.” Ortega said that he told Obama that he was very happy to see Secretary of State John Kerry at the summit because Kerry “has been a friend of Nicaragua for years, in the hardest moments.” He said that he had invited Kerry as well as Obama to visit Nicaragua. Ortega said that, in spite of differences, the meeting with the US administration had been “very constructive.” (Informe Pastran, Apr. 24, 27; Nicaragua News, Apr. 27)

5. Family Code supported and explained

While Bishop Silvio Fonseca of the Managua Archdiocese Office of the Family has spoken out strongly in opposition to the new Family Code, which went into effect earlier this month, Cardinal Leopoldo Brenes supports the code. “We have to spread the word about the Family Code and in this way create a culture of non-violence in society and stop future generations from growing up with mistreatment,” he said referring to the code’s prohibition of physical punishment and humiliation of children.” He said, “People have to learn about the law, read it and then practice it; only in that way will it bring results.” Brenes said on Apr. 27 that he would send a copy of the code to Pope Francis. “One of the copies of the Code will be sent to the Holy Father through the Papal Nuncio [ambassador] here in Managua and the other to the Latin American Bishops Conference,” he said, “as Nicaragua’s contribution on the issue of violence.”

Carlos Emilio Lopez, vice-chair of the Committee on Women, Children and the Family in the National Assembly, told Prensa Latina that the new Family Code repealed many scattered and contradictory laws related to the family, including laws related to adoption, child support, divorce, etc., and replaced them with one coherent law. He stated, “Before, there were many areas that were not regulated, among them that of couples living together in a stable union which is now recognized along with marriage as one of the two institutions with all the rights of a family.” He noted that some parts of the Civil Code harkened back to the 1800s, categorizing marriage as a contract entered into for the purpose of the procreation of children and the home of the wife was always in the home of the husband. In contrast he said, in the new code, marriage is conceived of as “a relationship of absolute equality between the man and women; a space for mutual cooperation, harmonious cohabitation, where both have the same rights and obligations.” (Informe Pastran, Apr. 22, 27)

6. Economic briefs: farm lending, housing rebound, home ownership, internet to RAAN

During the 2014-15 agricultural cycle, Nicaraguan farmers planted 2.55 million acres for an increase in production of 4.7%. Now, lenders are announcing how much funding they have available to finance the new planting season that will begin next month. Juan Carlos Sanson, general manager of the Central American Bank (BAC), said that for this year his institution projected an increase in lending of 15% over last year. “We expect,” he said, “that this agricultural cycle will be better than last year and because of that optimism we are planning to dedicate US$150 million to finance small, medium, and large producers.” Only 13 out of every 100 dollars that the financial system issues in credit each year goes to the agricultural sector, according to Roger Incer of Banpro Grupo Promerica, a very low figure for a country that is primarily agricultural. He said that, for the 2015-16 cycle, Banpro would also be “injecting 150 million fresh dollars” into the farming and ranching sector. (Informe Pastran, Apr. 22)

The Chamber of Developers of Nicaragua (CADUR) announced a rebound in sale of homes with government interest rate subsidies. In the first four months of the year 450 homes were approved for subsidies. For the whole year, the industry expects to sell between 1,600 and 1,800 houses with subsidies, the largest number since the law was amended and lending rules eased. Judith Silva of the governmental Urban and Rural Housing Institute (INVUR) said that in four months 5,000 housing units were sold, many of them highly subsidized and the rest with bank mortgages. This year’s Housing Fair is coming up in June. (Informe Pastran, Apr. 21)

Meanwhile, according to the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Managua, the capital of one of the poorest countries in Latin America, has the highest percentage of families owning their own homes. Andres Blanco of the IDB told the BBC World Service that in Managua 90% own the houses they live in. (Informe Pastran, Apr. 21)

The Nicaragua government, with support from the World Bank, implemented a five million dollar project to install telecommunication and internet services for Mayangna and Miskito communities in the Northern Caribbean Autonomous Region in the Alto Wangki region. Government spokeswoman Rosario Murillo said the project is part of the efforts undertaken by the government to promote greater social inclusion and to ensure restitution of the rights of Afro-descendant and Indigenous peoples. She said the project will benefit more than 5,000 people. The project was carried out by Telcor, the national telephone company.  (Nicaragua News, Apr. 24; Informe Pastran, Apr. 24)

7. Nicaragua most improved in “happiness”

According to the 2015 World Happiness Report published by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), Nicaragua is the country that has improved the most in the world in happiness since the last survey in 2013. Ecuador also has improved in “happiness” occupying third place. In the general ranking, however, Nicaragua ranks 57 out of 158 countries with the Swiss being the happiest in the world while Costa Ricans are the happiest in the hemisphere at number 12. (Informe Pastran, Apr. 24; http://worldhappiness.report/)

8. M&R: People speak freely to pollsters

Raul Obregon, managing director of M&R Consultores, one of the polling firms that consistently shows high levels of support for the government of President Daniel Ortega, said, “I have heard arguments from some people who say that there is fear [among those polled] of the government sponsored community organizations such as the CPC; however, in our surveys we observe that the people interviewed clearly express their lack of confidence in those organizations. I think that if these arguments were true, the organizations would have higher levels of approval.” He added, “If the Nicaraguans are approving anything it is living in peace and the possibility to practice without restrictions their freedom of expression.” (Informe Pastran, Apr. 23)