Nicaragua Network

1. Marches scheduled; canal studies continue
2. El Limon Mine workers join dialogue; COSEP condemns violence
3. Electricity access expands while clean energy production increases
4. Budget for 2016 explained
5. House sub-committee hearing on Russian influence in Latin America
6. Economic briefs: good third harvest; banking activity up; 400,000 coffee harvest jobs
7. Prison system infrastructure improved
8. Groups demand law permitting therapeutic abortion

1. Marches scheduled; canal studies continue

Two marches were planned for Tuesday, Oct. 27, in Managua: one against the proposed interoceanic shipping canal with the support of some environmental groups and political opponents of the government and another by supporters of the government who announced a march for “Work and Peace.” The first march, demanding the repeal of the concession for the building of the canal, planned to begin at the offices of the daily newspaper La Prensa and end at the National Assembly. The second was planned for 3:00pm with a route on the Avenida Bolivar to the dock on Lake Xolotlan (Lake Managua). Religious and business leaders called for demonstrators to march peacefully.

Meanwhile, Bill Wild, principal advisor for the HKND Group which holds the canal concession, said that the company would not begin construction until it was certain that the final net social and environmental impact, after mitigation measures recommended in the environmental study were taken, was positive. However, he said that he was certain that mitigation work will be possible and “the project is totally and certainly viable.” He said that there were plans to guarantee water for human consumption and for the canal through the building of dams that will form two large artificial lakes “to conserve water resources that today flow into the Caribbean.” He added that once the environmental and social impact study that was completed by Environmental Resources Management (ERM) is approved by the Nicaraguan government, the further studies recommended by the report will be carried out. These include seismic studies, studies of water levels and salt water intrusion, and archeological studies. The seismic studies by air using LIDAR technology, which were suspended when a plane crashed in early October killing the pilot, will begin again, Wild said.

President Daniel Ortega said that the environmental study is the one that has to “give us the security that this great project brings immense benefits to the whole country including the population along the route.” He added that the project depends on the conclusions of further recommended environmental studies and until they are completed the work cannot begin.

Former Foreign Minister Francisco Aguirre Sacasa said that, after reading the executive summary of the environmental and social impact study carried out by ERM (http://hknd-group.com/portal.php?mod=view&aid=243), he was impressed with the quality of the study. “To me it seemed a very professional study, surprisingly objective, surprisingly independent, to the point that they fulfill what they say in their preface that they are not in favor or opposed to the canal but rather that they try to evaluate the benefits and costs that it would have from the environmental point of view and put those facts before the government, the HKND company and the Nicaraguan people.” However, Aguirre doubts that the project is viable financially and notes that the financial feasibility study has not been revealed. (El Nuevo Diario, Oct. 26, 27; Informe Pastran, Oct. 20, 23, 26)

2. El Limon Mine workers join dialogue; COSEP condemns violence

On Oct. 26, representatives of the unions at the El Limon Gold Mine, who had closed down the mine for 21 days this month, met in Managua with officials of the Ministry of Labor and the National Workers Front (FNT). Union leaders told Channel 12 News that they were demanding that the company respect their collective bargaining agreement, that the government free their members who were detained during the recent disturbances, and rehire three fired union leaders. They said that the B2Gold Company had changed the method of payment of wages so that halfway through the month workers received 40% of their month’s wages and the remaining 60% at the end of the month. The unionists said that Labor Minister Alba Luz Torres and FNT General Secretary Gustavo Porras had committed themselves to resolve the problems.

Country Manager for B2Gold Pablo Venturo said that things were back to normal at the mine and the company was willing to maintain a good dialogue with the workers, but that “what was done is done” and the company would not rehire the three workers whose firing started the protests. He said, “We are pleased because the company can fulfill several commitments that conditions did not permit us to fulfill [while the mine was closed] such as paying workers’ salaries and bonuses.”

At a press conference on Oct. 20, Jose Adan Aguerri, president of the Superior Council of Private Enterprise (COSEP), said that the Nicaraguan private business sector rejected the actions of some sectors in opposition to the government who take advantage of claims for redress by workers or other groups to call for violence. He said that, while there was still a need for more dialogue and political consensus in Nicaragua, the dialogue that the private sector carries on with the government was vital to achieve socioeconomic development goals for the country. But, he said, there were sectors who ignore this reality and “have knit together a campaign to convince society that there is a ‘good dialogue’ and a ‘bad dialogue’ and that the dialogue that the private sector has developed to strengthen economic development and, of course, to influence political institutionality, is bad.” He noted that these same opposition sectors “want to sell us the idea that there is also a ‘good violence’ and a ‘bad violence,’” and that the violence at the mine that left one police officer dead, and 31 people injured, including 23 police, is ‘good violence.’ He stated, “We [COSEP] have demanded a ‘yes’ to dialogue and ‘no’ to violence. However just the demands might be, nothing justifies this behavior. It is correct that vandals and delinquents be detained and brought before a tribunal. It is not justifiable to try to sell us the idea that these premeditated and irrational acts against persons and property are good and that the reestablishment of order and the right to work and to mobilize is bad.” (Informe Pastran, Oct. 20, 21, 23, 26; El Nuevo Diario, Oct. 20, 22)

3. Electricity access expands while clean energy production increases

Sandinista government policies continue to expand access to electricity to the population while at the same time increasing the production of electricity from renewable resources. 120 families in the municipalities of Palacaguina, Matagalpa, and La Trinidad, Esteli, were hooked into the national electrical grid with a US$130,000 investment by the National Sustainable Electrification and Renewable Energy Program that is being implemented in all 153 municipalities with an emphasis on reaching rural communities.

Meanwhile, Polaris Infrastructure, a Canadian company, announced it is seeking a US$115 million World Bank loan to finance construction of the La Casita-San Cristobal geothermal energy project in the department of Chinandega. The San Cristobal Volcano has a potential productive capacity of 224MW of clean energy. The first phase of the project is projected to produce 35MW.

The government also announced that the Nicaragua Energy Company (ENEL) has signed a contract with the Andritz Hydro consortium of Austria to modernize the 50 year old Central America and the 48 year old Carlos Fonseca hydroelectric facilities. The US$40 million project will be financed by the Nicaraguan government, the Inter-American Development Bank, and the Central American Bank for Economic Integration. (Nicaragua News, Oct. 23, 26; Informe Pastran, Oct. 26)

4. Budget for 2016 explained

More details were reported about the budget that the executive branch sent to the National Assembly on Oct. 19. Treasury Minister Ivan Acosta said, “The plan is to generate 2,000 new jobs, including the hiring of 1,000 new teachers, 600 new health workers, and 415 new police officers.” The budget for the Ministry of Education for 2016 is US$436 million. Daily school meals are planned for 1.2 million children along with 600,000 free packets of school supplies, according to National Assembly Deputy Jose Zepeda. Zepeda, a teacher who is a member of the National Association of Nicaraguan Educators (ANDEN), added that 1,220 classrooms will be built or repaired next year, 138,000 desks will be built or repaired, and professional training provided for 18,500 teachers. He said, “People always ask if more funds should be directed to education. I say that yes, we need more. Nevertheless, we should remember that in 2006 the education budget was US$109 million; today it is four times as much and we continue improving.”

Public investment for next year receives an allocation of US$600.8 million for construction which includes major highways such as the one to Bluefields along with farm-to-market roads, hospitals in Managua and Chinandega, centers for collection of farm products, local markets, and port facilities. (Informe Pastran, Oct. 20, 21; El Nuevo Diario, Oct. 21)

5. House sub-committee hearing on Russian influence in Latin America

The US House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere lined up a right-wing Costa Rican think tank director, a former Washington Post Nicaragua correspondent known for his Cold War views, and the wife of the US ambassador who directed the Contra War from the US embassy in Honduras, to testify at a hearing on Russia’s involvement in Latin America. The results were what one might expect from the Republican-controlled sub-committee hearing testimony from Constantino Urcuyo, Douglas Farah, and Diana Villiers Negroponte – plenty of dire warnings of Russian infiltration of the US’s backyard in support of “anti-American governments” such as Venezuela and Nicaragua.

Urcuyo said Costa Rica fears the sale of Russian MiG-29s to Nicaragua [without noting that Costa Rica, which technically doesn’t have an army, has a defense budget far greater than that of Nicaragua].

Farah is now president of IBI Consultants. His company “offer[s] a broad range of expertise and access across Latin America on issues of national security, transnational crime, terrorism, terror finance and non-state armed actors.” Farah said that after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Russia’s influence dwindled to “practically nothing.” He said, “One could argue that Russia now has more influence in Latin America than ever before, even including at the height of the Cold War.”

Finally, Woodrow Wilson Senior Scholar Negroponte said that unless the US shows it cares, “others will fill the vacuum.” She called on Congress to pass a US$1 billion aid package to Central America proposed after the flood of unaccompanied minors crossed the US border in 2014. (Informe Pastran, Oct. 26; Tico Times, Oct. 25)

6. Economic briefs: good third harvest; 400,000 coffee harvest jobs; banking activity up

Denis Melendez of the National Risk Management Roundtable said last week that the recent rains that have fallen over a good part of Nicaragua will benefit the country’s cattle and also will contribute to a good third harvest while at the same time filling rivers, lakes and underground aquifers. He said, “If in the months of September, October, and part of November we have sustained rains, it is probable that we will have a good agricultural cycle during that period.” He added that the El Niño phenomenon will likely last until the end of May of 2016 and thus affect the beginning of the next rainy season. However, El Niño is often followed by La Niña and so the country must be prepared for the excess of rain that the latter would bring. “We have to learn to live under these modifications,” he said. For times of drought, he said that planned irrigation systems will help large and medium scale farmers but for the small farmers that supply Nicaragua with its beans, a different type of community system will have to be used. (Informe Pastran, Oct. 22)

The 2015-2016 coffee harvest is projected to generate 400,000 temporary jobs, some 50,000 more than pervious harvests, according to National Assembly Deputy Juan Ramon Obregon, who is also a coffee grower. If there is no unusual weather event, production estimates range between 2.4 and 2.5 million hundredweights of coffee, substantially more than the two million harvested during the last cycle. [A hundredweight is 100 pounds.] Obregon said that the coffee is just beginning to mature but that the plants show good development. The beginning of the harvest is predicted for November 15. (Informe Pastran, Oct. 21)

Bank credits and deposits through the end of July grew in Nicaragua over the previous year. During the first seven months of the year, the national financial system made loans amounting to US$3.9 billion for an annual growth of 20.7% over 2014. However, only US$500 million of that went to agriculture although economists considered that the sector needed at least US$1.2 million. Most of the credit went to commerce, consumption and industry. The delinquency rate was low at 0.93%, down from last year’s 1.03%. Deposits into the nation’s banks grew by 16.5% over last year. Economist Alberto Ramirez said, “If we analyze the different risk factors of the financial system we observe that there is a low level of exposure to them and [the system] is capable of supporting most shocks.” (El Nuevo Diario, Oct. 20)

7. Prison system infrastructure improved

President Daniel Ortega said Nicaragua has improved infrastructure in the National Penitentiary System this year. He added that funds from the National Treasury and money seized in antidrug operations have contributed to the building of new prisons with better water services, lighting and security. “We have made significant progress in this area, but we must continue to improve the penitentiary system infrastructure in order to reduce overcrowding,” Ortega stated in remarks at the Ministry of Governance 36th anniversary on Oct. 15^th in Managua. He added that with the overcrowding that has been prevalent in Nicaraguan prisons, the basic rights of prisoners were not respected.  (Nicaragua News, Oct. 16; Informe Pastran, Oct. 15)

8. Groups demand law permitting therapeutic abortion

Women and men from different sectors of society asked the National Assembly on Oct. 20^th to support a bill entitled “Special law to allow interruption of pregnancy for health reasons” which was introduced on Oct. 6. Leslie Briceño, legal representative of the committee promoting the bill, said that the ‘We want them alive!’ campaign had gathered 6,164 signatures to accompany the petition. National Assembly statutes state that a bill presented as a citizen initiative must have at least 5,000 signatures. “This initiative is born out of the current systematic violation of women’s right to life,” Briceño said. She added, “We have evidence that girls and women have died because of lack of adequate medical attention during pregnancy.” She said that there is a legal vacuum that keeps doctors from interrupting a pregnancy in situations of risk. The group presented information indicating that approximately 30 women die annually because they cannot have a medically necessary abortion.

Carlos Emilio Lopez, vice-chair of the National Assembly Committee on Women, Youth, Children, and Family, said that he was not aware of the citizens’ bill, adding that therapeutic abortion has been illegal in Nicaragua since 2006 [having been legal for over a century before that]. (El Nuevo Diario, Oct. 21)