TUESDAY, JUNE 28, 2011
Nicaragua News Bulletin (June 28, 2011)
1. Carter Center mission visits Nicaragua2. Nicanet delegation looks at ¨democracy promotion¨
3. Presidents call on US to confront demand for drugs
4. Miner dies at Santa Pancha gold mine
5. Program Love delivers more birth certificates
6. Nicaragua has cheapest medicine
7. El Caracol benefits from ALBA
1. Carter Center mission visits Nicaragua
Marcelo Varela-Eracheva, of the U.S.-based Carter Center, said in Managua on June 21 that the Center is interested in participating as an observer of the Nicaraguan elections scheduled for Nov. 6, stating the view of the Center that observation is not intervention in the internal affairs of the country. He stated, ¨We are not coming here to tell the Nicaraguan government and the Nicaraguans how they should conduct their [electoral] process. We come to observe it and make reports that permit improvement in the process by bringing international experience.¨ He added that the Carter Center had not yet received an invitation from the government of President Daniel Ortega to observe the elections.
The Carter Center mission met with representatives of the Independent Liberal Party Alliance (running candidate Fabio Gadea) and the Constitutional Liberal Party Alliance (running candidate Arnoldo Aleman) and with non-governmental groups such as Hagamos Democracia, all of which told center representatives about the irregularities they allege are taking place.
On June 25, the Carter Center delegation met with Nicaraguan Foreign Minister Samuel Santos who told them that on August 16 the Supreme Electoral Council (CSE) will release the rules for observation of the electoral process. A member of the delegation said that while it was clear from their conversation with Santos that there would be national and international observers, ¨we don´t know what the rules of the game will be, what to do or not to do.¨
According to Jennifer McCoy, August 16 ¨is late because we need from three to six months before the election to monitor voter registration, the candidates, the campaign, and the voter rolls. That´s the way we´ve done it in the past.¨ McCoy added that they are seeing positive aspects also such as greater security than in neighboring countries and economic growth.
Meanwhile, Mendel Goldstein, delegate of the European Commission for Central America, said that the European Union had been invited to observe the elections and would send an observer delegation. He said that they were only awaiting the rules to be released by the CSE.
CSE President Roberto Rivas said that observers who voiced their opinions about the elections would be expelled from the country [a stipulation evidently found in the laws of other countries, including Mexico] adding, ¨Nicaragua cannot continue with those levels of intervention…. We have to learn to confide in our own electoral system.¨ He stated that the poll watchers from each party had a key role at all polling places. He also said that he had not received an official request for a meeting from the Carter Center. (La Prensa, June 21, El Nuevo Diario, June 25, 27, Radio La Primerisima, June 25, 27)
2. Nicanet delegation looks at ¨democracy promotion¨
A group of US citizens in a delegation organized by the Nicaragua Network (Nicanet), was in Nicaragua last week to investigate whether the democracy promotion programs financed by the government of the United States really fulfill that mission.
Katherine Hoyt, coordinator of the group, explained that the group of 15 members, including professors who have published books on Nicaragua, “wants to know if the programs that our country finances truly help to promote democracy.” The delegation met with Dora Maria Tellez of the Sandinista Renovation Movement (MRS) and with Vilma Nuñez of the Nicaraguan Center for Human Rights (CENIDH) and had numerous other meetings scheduled with representatives of other political parties, with the United States Embassy, USAID, the National Democratic Institute, the International Republican Institute, and with Nicaraguan organizations that receive funding from the United States such as Ethics and Transparency and Movement for Nicaragua.
Hoyt also spoke of the influence that her country has exerted on Nicaragua´s internal politics. “In 2006, perhaps you remember, the intervention of our country was extreme--the ambassador delivered public attacks and took part in Nicaragua's internal politics. This time we see less. We have been told that something subtler is taking place. There is double-talk because Ambassador [Robert] Callahan has said that he is not going to intervene, but underneath we find [the intervention],” she stated.
Nicanet is a solidarity network with Nicaragua founded by Nicaraguan exiles and US citizens in February 1979. It includes a network of local committees in many cities in the United States. According to Hoyt, they will release a report of the results of their visit in July. In June of 2006 Nicaragua Network released an official report that described the US electoral involvement as “intervention that surpasses what is acceptable.” (El Nuevo Diario, June 23)
3. Presidents call on US to confront demand for drugs
Presidents of the Central American countries, Mexico, and Colombia attending the International Conference of Support for the Central American Security Strategy in Guatemala June 21-23 emphasized the responsibility of the drug consuming nations for the trafficking in drugs and arms that have brought violence to the Central American region. Those nations are the United States and the European countries, according to the presidents, who urged them to take responsibility for the serious problems Central America is facing from organized crime.
United States Secretary of State Hilary Clinton also attended the conference and announced that US assistance to the region for fighting drug trafficking and organized crime would increase this year from US$260 million to US$300 million.
Guatemalan President Alvaro Colom said that his country faced ¨mega aggression¨ from organized crime and is reaching the limits of its capacity to fight the traffickers. The rate of homicide in Guatemala is said to surpass levels during the country´s almost four decades of civil war with a current rate of more than 5,500 murders per year. But the record is held by Honduras with 58 murders each year per 100,000 inhabitants, followed by El Salvador with 52, and Guatemala with 48.
Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega said in Managua in a speech at a ceremony in honor of the 75 anniversary of the birth of Carlos Fonseca, that ¨As long as we don´t attack this phenomenon at the root, it will continue to grow. There is no way to avoid the growth in supply for a product that has such great demand in the rich, developed countries.¨
World Bank officials announced that the Bank would loan the Mesoamerican nations a total of US$1 billion over the next two years and the Inter-American Development Bank announced a loan of US$500 million. (Radio La Primerisima, June 23, El Nuevo Diario, June 23)
4. Miner dies at Santa Pancha gold mine
Workers at the Santa Pancha gold mine in the Department of Leon blamed the company Triton Minera, S.A. for negligence in the death of miner Victor Vilchez. His body was recovered on June 23 by rescuers from the fire department and divers from the Civil Defense corp following an avalanche caused by heavy rains on June 18. A communiqué issued by the workers said that a statement by the company saying they had evacuated the workers was false and the 25 workers in the mine had themselves decided to abandon the mine. The mine´s rescue brigade was not activated, according to the workers, on the day of the avalanche but only several days later.
The workers said that the company, a subsidiary of the Canadian company B2 Gold, does not have accident prevention policies, does not maintain a map of the risks in the zone and does not train workers to address risks. The communiqué said the Labor Ministry was a ¨coauthor¨ of the tragedy because ¨It has not been able to make the company comply with labor laws.¨
Martin Esparza, general manager of the company, said, ¨We extend our sympathy to the family and we reiterate that we are here to support you in your pain.¨ He thanked the all those who he said had worked with the company to bring out the Vilchez´ body. (Radio La Primerisima, June 23, 27)
5. Program Love delivers more birth certificates
With the participation of local leaders and parents, several institutions joined forces for the second time last weekend and issued 480 birth certificates in more than 30 communities in Leon. The purpose of the campaign, part of ¨Program Love,¨ is to facilitate free registration of births at the Civil Registry. The hope is to register 2,000 children and adolescents in the next three years. Many children in rural and marginalized urban areas are not registered at birth. "Our goal is that there be no child in the city who isn't registered," said Cándida Rosa Hernández, who runs the registry in the city of Leon.
Additionally, the local government is working with a number of institutions to hold planning workshops entitled, "Together We Protect the Future of Our Neighborhood." The meetings will discuss problems with the old railway station building. Currently, the proposal is to rehabilitate the building and install a center where artisans can produce handicrafts. (Radio La Primerísima, June 27, La Prensa, June 27)
6. Nicaragua has cheapest medicine
According to a study by the Commission for the Defense and Promotion of Competition (CDPC), Managua and Tegucigalpa (the capitals of Nicaragua and Honduras) have the lowest prices for pharmaceutical drugs in the Central American region. The study's findings were based on research on 30 essential medications. For this set of medications, Nicaraguans pay an average of US$14 less than even their Honduran counterparts.
Over the last five years, the Central American market for medicine grew 15%. Of the US$1.4 billion of drugs (generic and brand name) sold in the region, Nicaraguans only purchase 8% of the total. (Radio La Primerisima, June 23)
7. El Caracol benefits from ALBA
Workers at El Caracol, a factory that produces the flour and other powders for typical Nicaraguan drinks based on corn, oats and other grains, said last week that a US$450,000 loan from ALBA has enabled them to recover much of the share of the market they had lost in recent years. The factory is one of the previously state-owned businesses that became worker-owned after the Sandinistas lost the 1990 elections. With the loan, the factory was able to buy new machinery to grind the flour, pack it, and trucks to deliver it. Worker Pedro Joaquin Leiva noted that the products of El Caracol are ¨100% natural and that is what people like.¨ He added that their products were being sold in the posts of ENABAS where the government-subsidized prices are lower. (El Digital 19, June 26)
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