TUESDAY, MARCH 10, 2015

Nicaragua News Bulletin (March 10, 2015)

1. International Women’s Day celebrated
2. Government publishes compilation of achievements benefitting women and families
3. Petrocaribe summit meets in Caracas
4. Bishops release Lenten message
5. Industrial farming methods spell damaging dust storms for Leon and Chinandega
6. Photovoltaics lighting up the night in rural Nicaragua
7. Ortega dedicates new stadium to Chavez

 

1. International Women’s Day celebrated

International Women’s Day on March 8th was marked in Nicaragua with both celebrations of advances made and denunciations of blockages to further progress. Supporters of the government of President Daniel Ortega held handicraft fairs and other gatherings and began to gather at traffic circles in Managua on Mar.7 waving the blue and white flag of Nicaragua along with the red and black of the Sandinistas. Martha Ruiz, minister of defense, said, “We have seen many advances materialize in our Nicaragua; we have seen many women stand out in the economic, social and political arenas making decisions that affect their homes and their communities.” Cristal Valdivia, a Managua resident, said that for the past seven years the government has been structuring programs to assist women and the population in general “from education to empowerment with programs such as Zero Usury, Zero Hunger, and dignified housing. In this way women have advanced under this revolutionary project.”

Activists from around the country organized by a number of groups, including the Autonomous Women’s Movement (MAM), the Network of Women against Violence, the Feminist Movement of Nicaragua, and the Network of Women from the North, marched on Mar. 8 from the Hugo Chavez traffic circle to Plaza España (an alteration from their original plan that was ordered by the police to keep them separate from Sandinista supporters) where they read a declaration with their demands. The declaration demanded gender equality, an end to femicides, the eradication of machismo, and legalization of therapeutic abortion. It said, “We feminists have endured lack of respect and recognition and exclusion by an authoritarian state, the political class, and economic elites who act in the name of a republic by and for men, in the name of fundamentalist religions and machista traditions.”

In related news, on Mar. 6, the National Assembly declared Blanca Arauz, the telegraph operator who became Augusto Sandino’s wife, a national hero. She is the first women to receive that honor. Deputy Iris Montenegro said, “We honor in this way a woman who was outstanding in her work, intelligent and dedicated in her accompaniment of General Sandino in the defense of national sovereignty.” The proposal was introduced by Sandinista Deputy Edwin Castro and was approved with 64 “yes” votes, one “no” vote, and 19 abstentions. The National Assembly Medal of Honor was given to Arauz’s daughter Blanca Segovia Sandino. Augusto Sandino wrote that Blanca transmitted his telegraph messages during many hours day and night and “that is how I fell in love with Blanca.” They were married in 1927; Blanca was imprisoned for a time in 1929, and died giving birth to daughter Blanca Segovia in 1933 at the age of 24.

Meanwhile, on Mar. 5, Police arrested five people for human trafficking and rescued ten young women, including two fourteen-year-old girls. Masaya Police Chief Marlon Sevilla said, “It was a complete trafficking network. They contacted young women, among them the two girls, and offered them US$250 to make contact with foreigners.” The five were charged with organized crime and human trafficking and ordered to be held without bail by Judge Socorro Lopez who scheduled a first audience for March 15. The victims were transferred to shelters in Managua. (La Prensa, Mar. 7, 8; El Nuevo Diario, Mar. 1, 5, 6, 7, 9; Radio La Primerisima, Mar. 7, 8; Informe Pastran, Mar. 5, 6)

2. Government publishes compilation of achievements benefitting women and families

Government spokesperson Rosario Murillo presented a compilation of the achievements of the government of President Daniel Ortega (2007-present) that have benefitted women and families. Since 2007, there have been 228,091 property titles turned over to families, 55% of them in the names of women. Communal titles have been extended to 294 communities in 21 indigenous territories with a total population of 210,241. Since 2009, 445,161 families, the majority headed by women, have received ten sheets of galvanized roofing from Plan Roof. The Solidarity Housing Program, which has been in existence five years, has built 9,464 houses, of which over half have been in the municipality of Managua. Another 4,002 houses were given to seniors, the disabled, and people from disaster zones.

In the area of health services, the government has sought to increase the number of health personnel providing services to women. The number of specialists in obstetrics and gynecology in Nicaragua increased from 149 in 2006 to 320 in 2014, with 60 doctors currently training in that field. The number of specialized obstetric nurses has increased over the same period from 20 to 575. Last year the government launched a program to train 500 community and family health auxiliaries from the most isolated parts of the country, most of whom are women. With better health services for women, maternal mortality in Nicaragua has dropped from 92.8 deaths per 100,000 live births (115 deaths) in 2006 to 38.9 deaths per 100,000 live births (54 deaths) in 2014.

Contributing to the decline in maternal deaths has been the increase in the number of maternity waiting homes. In 2006, there were 50 casas maternas in the country and by 2014 that number had increased to 169. They have served a total of 39,990 pregnant women mainly from isolated rural areas. In 2006 there was no registry of midwives in Nicaragua; in 2014, there were 5,947 women trained and registered to assist at childbirths as part of the Family and Community Health Model, increasing the number of professionally assisted births from 87,350 in 2006 to 111,757 in 2014.

Turning to other women’s health issues, cervical cancer detection has improved with an increase in the number of papaniculaou tests from 166,036 in 2006 to 443,021 in 2014 while the number of women treated yearly increased from 1,200 to 3,600 in the same period. In 2006, Nicaragua had only three mammography machines in the country which performed 1,581 mammograms in 2006. The number of machines increased to twelve and the number of mammograms to 18,474 in 2014.

During the 1979-1990 revolution, 37,000 children were cared for in child development centers (CDI), rural child services (SRI), children’s dining rooms, and other centers around the country. By 2007, only 18 CDIs survived. Currently, under a program called “Love for the Littlest Ones,” there are 68 CDIs caring for 10,000 children between 45 days and six years of age. That number should double by Dec. 2015 with the opening of new centers under the auspices of municipal mayors and, according to the report, 18 are ready to open. Preschools around the country have been improved and their numbers increased.

Brochures on educational activities for babies and toddlers have been distributed to 240,000 homes along with attention to vaccinations and measurement of children’s growth. Working with funds from the Inter-American Development Bank, 100 rooms for early childhood stimulation are being set up in local health centers.  Methodological guides are being developed for parents’ schools where weekly classes will strengthen parents’ knowledge of child raising methods that avoid violence. Neighborhood programs are being put into effect to help families prevent domestic violence by examining the cultural roots of such violence and strengthening non-violent values.  (Radio La Primerisima, Mar. 4)

3. Petrocaribe summit meets in Caracas

On Mar. 6, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro hosted a summit meeting of heads of state and government of the member countries of Petrocaribe. Petrocaribe was founded in 2005 by Venezuela with the objective of providing Venezuelan oil to member countries under favorable conditions of payment. Member countries include Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Belize, Cuba, Dominica, El Salvador, Granada, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Nicaragua, Dominican Republic, San Christopher and Nieves, St. Vicente and the Grenadines, St. Lucia, Surinam and Venezuela.  Maduro confirmed Venezuela’s “commitment to continue consolidating Petrocaribe as a mechanism to promote the development of our nations.” He proposed and the member countries approved the creation of a high-level commission to examine proposals of new formulas for trade among the members as well as a “Petrocaribe-Alba Solidarity Investment Fund” of US$200 million for projects in economic development and renewable energy on top of the US$220 million already invested in development projects with funds made available from Petrocaribe. According to Venezuelan officials, Venezuela exports 100,000 barrels of oil per day to the Petrocaribe countries, half of which is paid for in cash and the other half on credit. Payments are often in goods and services. Venezuelan Foreign Minister Delcy Rodriguez said that Petrocaribe had contributed to an increase of 25% in the GDP of the economies of the Caribbean region.

In his speech at the summit meeting, Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega, said that the success of Petrocaribe “is the proof that [late President Hugo] Chavez lives and is here represented by Nicolas [Maduro] and his people defending this revolutionary project.” Commenting on US President Barack Obama’s recent declaration of Venezuela as a security risk to the United States and the imposition of new sanctions on Venezuela, Ortega remembered the US-supported coup attempt against Chavez in 2002 and asked, “What will make us think that the imperialists have changed their conduct? They have not changed their conduct nor will they change as long as they remain imperialists. They use all the schemes that they can utilize, including presenting themselves as ‘saviors’ of democracy but they are no more than the manifestation of the tyranny of the dictatorship of global capitalism.” (El Nuevo Diario, Mar. 7; Informe Pastran, Mar. 9; Radio La Primerisima, Mar. 6)

4. Bishops release Lenten message

On Sunday, Mar. 8, the Nicaraguan Catholic Bishops Conference released its Lenten message to the faithful calling on them to open their eyes to the needs of their neighbors. They exhorted citizens to “lend attention to many problems, to suffering and injustice, through frank and transparent dialogue, offering solutions and committing ourselves to the common good.” The bishops said that they are concerned about “the indifference into which a large part of our society has fallen when faced with the grave political and social problems of the country.” They said that the country is “dominated by forgetfulness of the common good, by ambition, authoritarianism, illegality, and above all by corruption, a grave sin.” They added, “Also alarming is the lack of sensitivity on the part of the government and society in general to the protests and the pain of so many people, among them the aged, workers, women, young people, peasants, who clamor for justice when confronting the violation of their rights.”

In the case of the shipping canal project, the bishops did not say that they opposed it, rather they asked for responsibility and a national vision based on science and a sustainable development perspective, concern for the ecological dimensions of the project, and for the impact the canal would have on communities. They stated, “This project could be a good thing for the country only on the condition that serious and profound studies are carried out that assure the feasibility of the project ecologically and economically; that the project is carried out with due transparency and legality; that sufficient and truthful information is offered to the population; that open debates are held with different social and scientific sectors and; above all, that the rights and the dignity of the populations most directly affected are respected.”

The bishops said that one of the temptations to try to overcome for the Lenten Season is that of being a spectator and an accomplice to the “globalization of indifference.” The bishops said that, “Returning to God means renouncing the idol of money and returning to mercy toward the poor, toward those who have less, to those in whom no one takes an interest and for whom no one speaks.” (Informe Pastran, Mar. 9; La Prensa, Mar. 8)

5. Industrial farming methods spell damaging dust storms for Leon and Chinandega

Leon and the Chinandega departments have been subjected to four days of dust storms with winds gusting to 30-50 km per hour. Residents say the dust storms are an annual event with dust carried from the industrial scale planting of sugarcane and peanuts in the region. Residents said trees serving as windbreaks had been chopped down and they called on the government to plant more windbreak trees. They criticized the industrial farming methods as ecologically unsound. The dust is so bad that drivers on the Leon bypass highway had to drive slowly with lights on at noon. Poor people’s homes are filled with dust because they are not air tight.

There were increased incidents of respiratory illness, skin irritation, and potential contamination of water sources reported in Chinandega. Dr. Marcio Arteaga warned that the dust carries viruses and bacteria and warned the public to be cautious, especially children.  “There are more respiratory illnesses such as influenza, pneumonia, and the dust can also cause conjunctivitis. People need to be careful not to expose children, especially children with allergies. Another important thing is to wash hands, because bacteria stick to the hands,” Arteaga said. (La Prensa, Mar. 8)

6. Photovoltaics lighting up the night in rural Nicaragua

Photovoltaic projects, both large and small, are transforming the night in rural Nicaragua. Salvador Mansell, minister of energy and mines, also noted that the Sandinista government is prioritizing the installation of electric service on the Caribbean Coast. He also said that a new substation in Mulukuku will supply power to the North Caribbean Autonomous Region. “We are beginning a very broad program of electricity coverage in the Caribbean,” he said. “Two hundred kilometers of transmission lines have been built between Siuna and Puerto Cabezas (Bilwi), and 1,500 solar panels will be installed as well as several new substations.” In Tipitapa, near Managua, Canadian Solar has announced it will build the largest photovoltaic park in Nicaragua (3.1 megawatts) to serve the Franca Astro Free Trade Zone which is home to 26 companies. Two Nicaraguan banks are financing the project. (Informe Pastran, Mar. 6)

7. Ortega dedicates new stadium to Chavez

President Daniel Ortega inaugurated a new youth baseball stadium, dedicated to Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on the second anniversary of his death, in the September 14 neighborhood of Managua. With lights, artificial turf, radio broadcast booths; the stadium will seat 500 people. Ortega said the choice of the September 14 neighborhood was no accident as the neighborhood is named after the date that Central American forces defeated the US filibusterer William Walker, who had invaded and named himself president. “This is a symbol of the anti-imperialist resistance of the people of Nicaragua, the defeat of the Yankee invaders at San Jacinto,” Ortega said. He praised Chavez as one of the men who have given the most to Latin America.”  Ortega said that now the US wants to install “a Yankee president in Venezuela, but they are crazy.” Venezuelan Ambassador Javier Arrue and hundreds of young people participated in the stadium inauguration. (Radio La Primerisima, Mar. 5)


Labels: Nicaragua News Bulletin