TUESDAY, AUGUST 07, 2012
Nicaragua News Bulletin (August 7, 2012)
1. National Assembly extends deadline to get voter ID cards and other news2. Farmers fear drought because of El Niño
3. Food sovereignty advances on Caribbean Coast
4. Nicaragua and ALBA oppose UN Syria resolution
5. Are re-armed bands real?
6. Women's health initiatives go forward
7. Two kinds of disasters avoided
1. National Assembly extends deadline to get voter ID cards and other news
The National Assembly amended Nicaragua's Electoral Law to extend the deadline for citizens to apply for a voter identification card for the November municipal elections until August 21. In the weeks before the 2011 presidential elections, political opposition groups and parties accused the governing Sandinista Party of slowing down the process of issuing cards to opposition voters. Sandinista officials replied that in most cases the cards were ready to be picked up in local electoral offices. However, this time, the government was determined not to be accused of holding up the process. Sandinista Deputy Edwin Castro, who initiated the extension, said that electoral officials should if necessary set up tents in the parks “so that no citizens will be left without applying for their cards and so that there will be no reports in the media that they could not vote because they couldn't get their voter cards.” Almost 26,000 people have requested cards in Managua, electoral officials said, noting that 17,000 of those have been finished, but only 6,000 have been picked up. Officials called on voters not to wait until the last minute. Each year about 100,000 people in the entire country register to vote for the first time and another 70,000 apply for a new card. On Nov. 4, 3.3 million Nicaraguans are expected to vote for mayors and city council members.
Meanwhile, what does not appear on the National Assembly agenda for the next several months is the election of any of the high level officials whose terms have run out, including all of the members of the Supreme Electoral Council (CSE). Assembly leadership met with the heads of the different party benches to come to a consensus about the agenda for when the body resumes work after the August recess, according to Alba Palacios of the Sandinista Party. Some political and business leaders had expected the Assembly to put the election of at least some new officials on its agenda. Eduardo Montealegre, leader of the Independent Liberal Party (PLI), said that a new CSE should be elected after the August recess. Yali Molina of the Nicaraguan-American Chamber of Commerce (AMCHAM) said, “That's what the National Assembly is for and when they get back from vacations they should elect them.” The Ambassador of France, Antoine Joly, said, “It would be good for the impartiality of the electoral process if there were changes in the Supreme Electoral Council.”
In related political news, the Sandinista Assembly met on August 3 and set August 15 as the date for the FSLN Party Congress to officially name all the party's candidates for mayor, vice-mayor, and city council members. The Assembly approved the alliance of the FSLN with several other parties, including Yatama, the Christian Unity Movement, the Nationalist Liberal Party, Alternative for Change, Nicaraguan Resistance, Nicaraguan Christian Way, and the Multiethnic Indigenous Party.
Some civil society organizations are calling on citizens to abstain from voting in the elections, alleging that they will be fraudulent. Vilma Nuñez, president of the Nicaraguan Center for Human Rights (CENIDH), said, “I for one am not going to vote and CENIDH does not believe in these elections. We are preparing a pronouncement that we will make public saying that here we do not have the right conditions for elections.” However, the political parties that will be participating in the elections disagree. Miguel Rosales of the Constitutional Liberal Party (PLC) said that the organizations are “playing the game of the party of four letters [FSLN] by telling people not to vote in the elections” because they will decrease the opposition vote total. Alfredo Cesar of the Conservative Party said the call to abstain from voting was a “grave error” and he said that his party expected to win in some municipalities. (Informe Pastran, Aug. 2, 3, 6; El Nuevo Diario, Aug. 2, 4; Radio La Primerisima, Aug. 3)
2. Farmers fear drought because of El Niño
Martha Castillo, a meteorologist working for the Nicaraguan Institute of Territorial Studies (INETER) said last week that the weather phenomenon known as El Niño could begin between July and September of this year and last for six months, provoking a deficit in precipitation and higher temperatures. “We can't predict the strength of the El Niño phenomenon,” she said, adding, “We could have tropical depressions come through which would help the situation, but they would be very isolated.” According to the group Action against Hunger, when El Niño occurred in 2009 and extended into 2010, it produced losses in corn, bean, and sorghum crops which impacted negatively on poor families in agricultural areas. Particularly affected were the Departments of Madriz, Nueva Segovia, and Esteli where between 30 and 50% of the food crops were lost in some areas. Castillo said that the effects of El Niño and La Niña are more extreme and unpredictable now because of global warming.
Meanwhile, farmers in the Departments of Leon and Chinandega say that it has been 40 days since it last rained in that part of the country and they fear for corn, bean, and rice crops. Solon Guerrero, president of the Nicaraguan Federation of Cattle Ranchers (FAGANIC), said that ranchers should put up silage now for the dry season which in normal years does not begin until November. He said that the production of milk and meat could decline and he predicted that 35 to 40% of the national herd could be affected. He called for coordination between the government and ranchers to do what is possible to minimize the effects of El Niño.
While the first August harvest is coming in, farmers are waiting to decide whether to plant for the second which is usually completed in December. Farmer Roberto Argüello said, “You buy the seed and the fertilizer, you rent the land, but many have decided to wait.” For sorghum, the second harvest is the principal one and farmers have to decide whether to plant in July and August. Sorghum is more resistant to drought than corn or other crops and farmers are being encouraged to plant more acreage to sorghum. Those with irrigation will have less of a problem but most small and medium scale farmers do not have access to irrigation. Antonio Garcia of the National Union of Farmers and Ranchers (UNAG), an organization of small and medium farmers, said that UNAG-Leon, which has 4,000 members, would be meeting on Aug. 9 to decide how to proceed.
Pedro Haslam, Family Economy Minister, told Channel 13 news that the first harvest has been greater than projected, with minimum losses in corn, beans, and rice and the amounts in storage are enough to fulfill Nicaragua's food needs even with the threat of a prolonged drought. He added, “There is no reason to raise the price of beans or of rice; we have sufficient reserves!” (El Nuevo Diario, Aug. 2; Informe Pastran, Aug. 3, 6; La Prensa, Aug. 2. 3, 5; Radio La Primerisima, Aug. 3)
3. Food sovereignty advances on Caribbean Coast
The Sandinista government has advanced its strategy of food self-sufficiency on the Caribbean Coast that has enabled thousands of families to have access to sufficient basic food while at the same time generating the capacity to produce excess to sell. Food security is central to the government's strategy for economic growth and poverty reduction through the advancement of micro, small, and medium scale rural and urban producers. Since passage in 2009 of the Law of Food Security and Sovereignty, Nicaragua's objective has been to guarantee the right of all citizens to access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food. This objective is advancing on the Caribbean Coast, a region historically neglected by Nicaragua's central government.
Recognizing the unique territorial and ethnic composition of the Autonomous Regions of the Caribbean Coast, the government has worked with the participation of indigenous and afro-descended communities to revise the national programs such as the Food Production Program (PPA) to meet their different needs. From 2007-2011, there have been advances in productive capacity which have benefitted families in a culturally appropriate manner. The Agri-Food Seed Program has also helped to strengthen productive capacity for 49,492 producers who have received 29,303 hundredweights of seed in order to cultivate 70,000 acres thanks to a government investment of US$1.8 million. The certified seed program has enabled farmers to harvest a surplus of 75% over their family needs, significantly improving family income and advancing the goal of local and regional food sufficiency. The government has also opened 119 ENABAS subsidized basic products outlets in both autonomous regions.
While the goal of food self sufficiency has advanced in some areas of the autonomous regions, other areas have yet to benefit from the programs due to climatic issues such as high temperatures, floods and drought and the government has had to implement special programs such as food distribution and greater technical assistance. The Zero Hunger Program has benefitted 13,719 rural women with the association model modified to the cultural norms of indigenous, afro-descended, and peasant communities. One example is the Black Farmer Association in the South Atlantic Autonomous Region municipality of Pearl Lagoon. The 200 farmers in the association received a loan of US$95,000 to plant and process 522 acres of rice and plant nearly 200 acres of coconut trees. Six cooperatives have also been formed to produce high quality bean seed which are stored in 17 seed banks serving 766 cooperative farmers.
Part of developing food sovereignty is human development. The government has transferred technology to 2,950 producers and also to 263 agriculture extension workers who have established demonstration plots of rice, beans, corn, roots, and tubers and pasture systems for cattle. In the RAAS the government has installed a processing plant to produce cassava flour and trained local people to operate it. The government has also implemented Farm Schools (Escuelas Campo) on the Caribbean Coast costing US$400,000. The schools are taught by 100 agricultural specialists and 1,000 extension workers and offer technical and basic adult education classes. The government has also expanded the Farm Schools into 19 indigenous communities in the municipalities of Waspam and Rio Coco to promote the consumption of food appropriate to their communities and culture. As a result, nearly 60% of the population could benefit from the program and better understand the nutritive value of their traditional foods, the importance of eating other foods to complete a balanced diet, and the need to adopt new food preparation techniques. (Radio La Primerisima, Aug. 4)
4. Nicaragua and ALBA oppose UN Syria resolution
Nicaragua joined ALBA allies Cuba, Venezuela and Bolivia in voting against a UN General Assembly resolution condemning the government of Syria for the conflict in that country which has to date cost thousands of lives. Ecuador abstained on the vote which was 133 in favor, 12 against, and 31 abstentions. Venezuela's ambassador said that the only viable option was a “sincere and inclusive” political dialogue in which the opposition so far has refused to participate. Explaining Nicaragua's position, President Daniel Ortega echoed ALBA UN ambassadors in calling the resolution unbalanced and an intervention into Syria's internal affairs as well as opening the way to foreign intervention like what was seen recently in Libya. Ortega said that “the forces that promote confrontation in Syria are not interested in a peaceful solution.” He said the problem goes beyond the president of Syria and has to do with the fact that Syria is a bastion for the Palestinian people and their right to self-determination. He joined ALBA UN ambassadors in committing to seek peace through dialogue, warning that a continuation of conflict will destabilize the country and the region, “and the world will convulse because after this will come the war against Iran. That is, it is part of a plan to trigger more space in those territories, in these areas. More space to dominate, control the resources of the region, and control, therefore, the world. We will continue struggling for peace in Syria and in any country in the world.” [For an analysis by two scholars that is somewhat different from that usually heard in the US and that makes the ALBA position more understandable, see http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/world/july-dec12/syria2_08-06.html] (La Prensa, Aug. 3; Radio La Primerisima, Aug. 3; Informe Pastran, Aug. 6)
5. Are re-armed bands real?
The Global Post, a Boston-based web outlet, published on Aug. 3 an article by Tim Rogers about the possibility of re-armed bands in the mountains and jungles of northern Nicaragua with funding from abroad and the goal of overthrowing the government of President Daniel Ortega. Rogers interviewed a man named “Emilio” who said that he had 1,600 men in arms and had confronted the Nicaraguan Army six times in recent months. However, Army Colonel Juan Ramon Morales said that the stories are “fantasies” and the only armed bands out there are cattle rustlers. Esteli Bishop Juan Abelardo Mata has been saying for many months that there are political fighters in the mountains who he said were the ones who killed the Sandinista political secretary of the village of Luku Paraska, near Mulukuku, in December. But, Roberto Orozco of the Institute for Strategic Studies and Public Policy (IEEPP) said that he went with a team into the mountains to investigate and after ten days came back with nothing to report. “I don't believe that there are re-armed groups,” Orozco told the Global Post. (Informe Pastran, Aug. 3; Global Post, Aug. 3)
6. Women's health initiatives go forward
Ministry of Health representative Dr. Víctor Treminio announced last week that there have been no reported maternal deaths in Estelí since 2010. He attributes this to the work of the staff of the Ministry of Health and especially the brigade volunteers, midwives, and community leaders who work with pregnant women to ensure they receive adequate prenatal care. Nurses talk to pregnant women about the importance of pre-natal care, family planning, and their own healthcare prior to having a baby and this has proven successful. Women with high-risk pregnancies are encouraged to spend the last weeks of their pregnancy in a place close to a hospital or clinic, such as a maternity waiting home.
With the recent passage by the National Assembly of Act 798, Nicaragua established the first week of August as National Breastfeeding Week (in coordination with United Nations World Breastfeeding Week) and August as Breastfeeding Month. Xanthis Suarez, president of the National Alliance for Breastfeeding, said the Alliance plans to evaluate the obstacles that prevent women from exclusively breastfeeding in the first six months of life. "We are concerned because although we have five thousand women every day in communities promoting breastfeeding, rates are not rising in the country. We are just under 35 percent when we should have at least sixty percent," said Suarez. (El Nuevo Diario, Aug 2; La Prensa, Aug 1)
7. Two kinds of disasters avoided
As tropical storm Ernesto bore down on Central America, Nicaraguan naval forces evacuated hundreds of families from the Miskito Cays and the area surrounding Gracias a Dios Cape on Sunday as a precaution. The tropical storm was expected to turn into a class 1 hurricane Monday night, but the storm took aim for Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, sparing Nicaragua all but sporadic rain. Col. Nestor Solis said on Monday that the families could return to fishing in the Cays. The Executive Secretary of the National System of Prevention, Attention, and Mitigation of Disasters (SINAPRED), Ernesto Gonzalez, said that civil defense committees in the region had been activated.
Also on Monday Nicaragua experienced three small earthquakes. Two were in the northeast part of the country measured at 4 and 3.1 on the Richter scale, and the other near Masaya in the southwest part of the country measuring 3.7. No damage or injuries were reported but Masaya school children were sent home. (La Prensa, Aug. 5; Radio La Primerisima, Aug. 6)
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