TUESDAY, JUNE 21, 2011
Nicaragua News Bulletin (June 21, 2011)
1. CSE announces election accompanyment2. New Monkey Point port proposal
3. Candidate arrested in Los Angeles
4. Celebrating the day against child labor
5. Slut walk in Nicaragua
6. Regional security meeting
7. Cancer center opened; hospital ship arrives
8. New airports for tourism
9. Immigrant rights accord signed
1. CSE confirms election observation
Supreme Electoral Council (CSE) President Roberto Rivas announced that the CSE will publish the regulations for international and national election observation on August 16, after which the United Nations, European Union, Organization of American States and friendly countries will be able to send delegations to "accompany" the electoral process under the regulations and with the understanding that Nicaragua is a sovereign country. The presidential and legislative elections are scheduled for November 6. He said, "Their entrance is for accompaniment, but it is going to be under the rules established by the CSE and not by foreign imposition. We are going to listen to everything the United Nation says, what the OAS says, what the EU says, and what friendly countries such as Mexico, Venezuela, Costa Rica, Honduras and Panama say." EU Ambassador Mendel Goldstein confirmed that the EU has been invited to observe. He said that EU aid for the next year is assured, including US$35.8 million for environmental protection. He said discussions will continue to build confidence in the electoral process.
Rivas refuted Roberto Courtney, executive director of the US-funded Ethics and Transparency, who claimed that Nicaragua's electoral observation rules are not similar to Mexico's "which are an example to Latin America." Rivas said that Mexico's regulations require the deportation of any electoral observer who issues an opinion or judgment. He said that Nicaragua's regulations would "probably" include that provision. "If they offer an opinion, they'll be on the next plane out," he said. Rivas also emphasized that Nicaragua's requirement of two forms of identity to receive a voter ID is the norm in other countries such as Guatemala and the Dominican Republic and less than the three forms required in Colombia. "We are not acting differently than other countries," he said.
In other election news, the period for candidate challenges ended last week and the CSE published the list of 550 candidates from five electoral alliances for the National Assembly and Central American Parliament. Only three candidates were removed due to challenges including one who was eliminated because she was a US citizen. (El Nuevo Diario, June 16, 17, 18, 19; La Prensa, June 14, 19)
2. New Monkey Point port proposal
ProNicaragua, the agency which promotes foreign investment, announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding with a South Korean company to construct a deep water port at Monkey Point in the South Atlantic Autonomous Region (RAAS). This appears to be the most serious step forward for a project which has been under consideration for at least 15 years. The proposal differs from past proposals in that it contemplates a smaller port, this one on the scale of the Port of Corinto. The cost is estimated to be US$120 million, which Nicaragua would have to pay back over seven years at 12% interest. Moving to the next stage will require a change in the Law of Ports and economic and environmental impact studies.
Currently products shipped from Nicaragua's Caribbean Coast must go out of ports in Honduras and Costa Rica which increases their cost. The deep water port project has usually been tied to proposals for a wet or dry (railroad) canal which would move shipping containers from the Pacific Coast to the Caribbean where they would be loaded on ships to the US East Coast and Europe. The Rama Indian community at Monkey Point, which is the center of Rama territory, has long been concerned about the impact of a port on their community and culture. They fear the port would provide mostly skilled jobs for which their people would not qualify and they have demanded to have a role in any development decision. There was no indication in press reports that the Rama have been consulted in this new proposal. Only about 2,000 Rama remain in the RAAS.
In addition, the Port Authority will spend US$200 million to modernize the Port of Sandino on the Pacific Coast and the Nicaraguan Tourism Institute also announced last week that it will invest US$10-15 million to construct ports for tourism at Bluefields and Corn Island. The Bluefields port will accommodate 150 boats and the Corn Island port will accommodate 40. (La Prensa, June 14, 18; El Nuevo Diario, June 18)
3. Candidate arrested in Los Angeles
Alejandro Solorzano Morales, a deputy in the Central American Parliament (PARLACEN) who is running for reelection, was arrested by the FBI in Los Angeles while in transit to Taiwan with an official PARLACEN delegation. Solorzano reportedly attempted to claim immunity, but was told his legislative immunity had no standing in the United States. While no official statement from the US Department of Justice has been forthcoming, it appears that he was arrested on a 14-year-old warrant for conspiracy to launder money during the administration of President Arnoldo Aleman. He is being held without bail in Los Angeles. Solorzano was director of a money changing company, Multicambio, in 1997 when Aleman and his tax director Byron Jerez were looting the Nicaraguan treasury. Allegedly Solorzano laundered the money through his company.
Both Jerez and Aleman were convicted on multiple counts of money laundering and served part of their sentences before the cases were thrown out in what is widely believed to have been a political deal with current President Daniel Ortega. Aleman is running for president this year on the Constitutional Liberal Party-Conservative Party (PLC-PC) alliance. Solorzano is running for reelection on the Independent Liberal Party Alliance headed by Fabeo Gadea. US Ambassador Robert Callahan refused to comment on the arrest stating that more information will be released by the US Justice Department.
The competing right-wing electoral alliances rushed to frame Solorzano's arrest to their advantage. PLC spokespeople said Solorzano's arrest reflects badly on the presidential campaign of Fabio Gadea, who heads the PLI Alliance and is running on his claim that he would run an honest government. Nicaraguan Liberal Alliance presidential candidate Enrique Quiñónez, said that the PLC has no moral standing to criticize Solorzano and that Aleman still has a lot to answer for about the corruption during his presidency. (Radio La Primerisima, June 14, 16; El Nuevo Diario, June 16, 17, 18; La Prensa, June 14, 18)
4. Celebrating the Day Against Child Labor
To commemorate the International Day Against Child Labor, the Telefonica Foundation and the International Program for the Eradication of Child Labor held a fair. Children from around Nicaragua participated in the festivities by expressing their right to education, participation and recreation through dramatizations, news reports and drawings. The problem of child labor continues to impact some 115 million children globally. In Nicaragua, a 2005 poll revealed that 238,827 children between the ages of five and 17 work. Eighty percent of these children worked in dangerous positions that entail high temperatures, use of machinery or heights. The International Labor Organization is currently focused on the goal of ending the most dangerous forms of child labor by 2016 and over the past year Nicaragua has passed tougher laws against child labor. (El Nuevo Diario, June 14)
5. Slut Walk in Nicaragua
In response to a Canadian police authority's statement that, "women should avoid dressing like sluts so that they are not victims of sexual violence," so-called "Slut Walks" have been popping up globally. The marches have been used as a pretext to make visible relations of power, inequality and injustice between men and women. The protesters reject the idea that women are responsible for the verbal, sexual and physical violence perpetrated against them. Moreover, the marches seek to reclaim the word "slut," which has been used for decades to marginalize women and justify sexual violence. The Matagalpa Women's Network held a march in that city for June 11. (Radio La Primerisima, June 16)
6. Regional security meeting
The five presidents of Central America along with the presidents of Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Mexico and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will meet in Guatemala June 21-23 to discuss regional cooperation against organized crime. With Honduras allowed to rejoin the Central American Integration System (SICA), this will be the first meeting including all the presidents of Central America since the coup in Honduras almost two years ago. This will also be the first international meeting attended by both Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega and Costa Rican President Laura Chinchilla since Costa Rica took Nicaragua to the World Court over its dredging of the Rio San Juan. Costa Rican Minister of Communication Roberto Gallardo told the press that there was no possibility that there would be a bilateral meeting between Chinchilla and Ortega during the summit.
During the Organization of American States meeting earlier this month in El Salvador, the Central American countries said that they will be asking the United States for US$900 million in aid to combat organized crime. Salvadoran Foreign Minister Hugo Martínez said last week that the summit will not only discuss financial needs to combat crime, but also cooperation among the countries in the region. El Salvador currently holds the rotating presidency of SICA. Nicaragua is the safest country in Central America and has the best record of preventing drug traffickers from establishing a foothold on its territory. Its methods will be among the topics discussed at the summit. (El Nuevo Diario, June 18; La Prensa, June 18)
7. Cancer center opened; hospital ship arrives
The Ministry of Health (MINSA) inaugurated a medical center for free treatment for those suffering from thyroid cancer. The radiation therapy center will also be used for those suffering from prostate and renal problems, myocardial studies and other diagnoses that are impossible without leaving the country. Currently, those Nicaraguans whom can afford treatment generally travel to Costa Rica for such services. Radiation cannot yet be given at the facility, however, as there are still licensing procedures that must take place.
In other health news the US Navy ship, USNS Comfort, arrived in San Juan del Sur Bay on June 17 for its third time in Nicaragua. The hospital ship will stay in Nicaraguan territory for ten days on its humanitarian mission, performing free surgeries and offering free medical and dental exams. The ship will even provide some veterinary attention. The ship was sent by the US military under the Continuing Promise program and will also dock in Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Jamaica and Peru. In Nicaragua alone, the program has already treated some 47,000 patients. (Radio La Primerisima June 17; El Nuevo Diario June 17, 18; La Prensa, June 17)
8. New airports for tourism
The Nicaraguan government announced that it will spend US$25 million to construct two new airports and repair a third this year. A new airport with a 1,500 meter runway able to accommodate planes carrying up to 42 passengers will be constructed on Ometepe Island. It is expected to begin operations in 2012. Ometepe is the largest freshwater island in the world and was designated a World Historical site last year by UNESCO. The island, which is a double volcano, is filled with petroglyphs, beautiful beaches, and an exciting climb to a crater lake. Airlines in Costa Rica have expressed interest in tourist flights to the island. Orlando Castillo, director of the International Airport Administration Company (EAAI) stated that the planned airport and fire station would have no negative impact on the environment. A similar airport will be constructed on the mainland at the Rio San Juan historic site of Greytown, an old English settlement with tourist potential. Finally, the runway of the former military airport of Punta Huete, known as Panchito, will be repaired to serve as a back-up in case of an emergency at Sandino International Airport in Managua. (El Nuevo Diario, June 16, 17; La Prensa, June 17; Radio La Primerisima, June 19)
9. Immigrant rights accord signed
"There are many undocumented workers who do not know that they also have rights in this country," declared US Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis as she signed an accord June 16 with Guatemalan Ambassador Francisco Villagran de Leon, and Nicaraguan Ambassador Francisco Campbell to protect their citizens' labor rights on US soil. The Department of Labor and the embassies and local consulates of these two Central American countries collaborated on distributing information to immigrant workers about their labor rights. "United States law protects them whether or not they have papers," affirmed Solis.
All three strongly emphasized that all inquiries to their offices would be confidential so that workers in irregular situations can solicit information without fear. The Department of Labor has similar agreements with El Salvador and Mexico. Solis told the media following the signing of the accord that with these four conventions they have already covered "a great percentage" of the immigrant workers in the US. She declared her intention to promote similar initiatives with other countries. Salaries, job security and health laws are the three themes in which immigrant workers are most vulnerable. Construction jobs and domestic work generate the most violations of labor laws and both employ a great quantity of immigrant employees. One of the principal problems that confront immigrant workers is that some of them do not understand English, and the majority of businesses that hire them cannot explain tasks in a language other than English. (El Nuevo Diario, June 17)
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