Nicaragua Network

1. Canal in the news: Kwok interview, Journal “Nature” letter, archeology at risk
2. Thirty-sixth anniversary of Army celebrated
3. Man shoots at Wednesday opposition political rally
4. Conflict between indigenous and settlers results in two deaths
5. Petrocaribe summit meets in Jamaica
6. Nicaragua’s economic advances confirmed by two international reports
7. Health care access means more childhood cancers diagnosed
8. UNFPA releases Nicaragua population statistics

1. Canal in the news: Kwok interview, Journal “Nature” letter, archeology at risk

El Nuevo Diario traveled to Hong Kong to interview Kwok Wai Pang, executive vice-president of the HKND Group, which holds the concession to build the interoceanic shipping canal across Nicaragua. El Nuevo Diario asked what measures would be used to prevent the contamination of Lake Nicaragua and Kwok answered that, while the risk of a ship contaminating the lake was minimal because the company has the capacity to identify ships with an oil leak before they enter the canal, if this were to happen mitigation measures would be taken immediately. In answer to a question about how many jobs there would be for Nicaraguans as construction began on the canal, Kwok said that it depended on who won the bidding to build the canal. He stated, “If a Colombian company wins the bidding, they could bring in their own people because it might be cheaper or, if a US company were to win, they might employ Nicaraguans because it might be easier. It all depends who wins the bidding.” But he added that there would be many opportunities for Nicaraguans depending on how competitive they were.  When asked about the recent financial problems in China, Kwok said that he personally had lost money but that he had seen no impact on the HKND Group, rather the drop in the price of oil would benefit the project by keeping costs down. El Nuevo Diario asked if the government of China was involved in the canal project and Kwok said, “I want to make something very clear: The construction of the canal is a completely neutral project and has nothing to do with politics. We are a completely independent company that welcomes international investors.” When asked what message he would like to send to the people of Nicaragua, he answered, “That the canal is not a dream, unless the people of Nicaragua don’t want it to be built. If you want it to be a reality, we are going to build the canal. We are committed to pay a just price for land and homes. We are listening to the people.” (El Nuevo Diario, Sept. 2)

The journal Nature published a letter to the editor by Jeffrey K. McCrary of the Nicaraguan Foundation for Integral Community Development and three other writers all of whom were members of the specialist team who contributed to the “baseline” biodiversity assessment for the environmental impact study of the canal project carried out by Environmental Resources Management. McCrary writes that, contrary to the depiction of the proposed canal route by other writers “as a pristine wilderness, human impacts are strongly evident over its entire length, particularly from agriculture.” He adds that “This includes nationally and internationally protected areas and Lake Nicaragua, where several fish species are already in decline.” McCrary says that he and the other team members share “concerns for environmental integrity and biodiversity along the proposed canal route. However, there were huge losses to these even before the canal project began, and this needs to be factored into the discussion.”  (Informe Pastran, Sept. 4; Nature, Sept. 3)

In the July issue of Envio, archeologist Suzanne Baker notes that “One subject has been largely omitted from public discussion – the great potential toll the canal would have on the country’s cultural heritage, including prehistoric and historic archeological sites, historic structures, and traditional sacred sites of contemporary indigenous groups.” She states that “archeologically, Nicaragua is the least known country in Central America” and that “untold numbers of archeological sites are threatened with destruction as a result of this neoliberal mega-project.” She noted that the six week archeological study done by the “very qualified and respected professionals” of Environmental Resources Management found 213 pre-Columbian sites apart from the 217 previously identified sites all of which are in the general proximity of the canal. But, she said that the “study must be seen as a very initial and preliminary work” and that “One archeologist estimates that it would take more than 10 years to do adequate excavation given weather conditions, often difficult logistics and the number of archeologists available to do the work.” While Baker agreed with the ERM statement that even the limited archeological excavation of the project was likely to increase knowledge of Nicaragua’s pre-Columbian past, she said that “tremendous and incalculable loss” will result from the destruction of thousands of sites that will never be investigated at all. (http://www.envio.org.ni/articulo/5051)

2. Thirty-sixth anniversary of Army celebrated

On Sept. 2, the Nicaraguan Army celebrated the 36^th anniversary of its founding in 1979 after the overthrow of the Somoza family dictatorship in July of that year. Speaking at the rally honoring the event, President Daniel Ortega said that the next day, Sept. 3^rd, marked another important anniversary, that of the passage in 1987 by the National Assembly of the Statute for the Autonomy of the North and South Atlantic Regions, in which “Nicaragua made a step forward in the Americas in the area of autonomy for original peoples, in this case the Miskitos, the Mayangnas, the Ramas and the Afro-descendent people; all the communities of the Caribbean Coast.” He went on to say that in 1990 the Army was reduced from 90,000 to 20,000 and there were those who wanted it to disappear but, in 1995 with the passage of the Legal Framework of the Nicaraguan Army, “the Army was definitively established as a fundamental institution for the governability of our country, for the economic and social development of our country, for the fight against poverty and, in recent years, for the fight against drug trafficking and organized crime as well as to defend our natural resources and protect our forests and nature reserves.”

In a summary of activities of the past year, Gen. Julio Cesar Avilés, head of the Army, said that the Naval Forces traveled 125,000 nautical miles in the country’s territorial waters as well as in its rivers and lakes and the Air Force carried out more than 250 missions. He added that more than 3,500 kilos of drugs were seized in the last twelve months while 297 illegal weapons were confiscated. “The level of security in our country has been recognized internationally as well as by local and foreign business people who see it as a good place to invest.”

Ortega referred also to the complaints by beef exporters that cattle are being illegally taken across the border to be sold in Honduras. He said that police and military authorities were looking into the problem and that slaughterhouses with information about the issue should pass it on to the police. He admitted that the government had intercepted some cattle crossing the border illegally and noted, “Surely there is some contraband; there is no country in the world where they can close the borders in a way that nothing gets through.” But, he added that, since the price for beef on the international market had dropped while the price within Nicaragua had risen, it was unlikely that the contraband would continue. He recommended focusing on increasing cattle production to satisfy the national market for meat and dairy products. (Informe Pastran, Sept. 3, 4; El Nuevo Diario, Sept. 3, 4; Nicaragua News, Sept. 3)

3. Man shoots at Wednesday opposition political rally

The usual Wednesday opposition protest rally in front of the Supreme Electoral Council proceeded normally on Sept. 2 until, at approximately 11:30 am, a man dressed entirely in black fired two shots at or in the air over the demonstration and fled on a motorcycle driven by another man. No one was injured. According to one report he appeared to arrive with a group of former contras who came to support the Sandinista government. An hour later the National Police had detained the shooter and identified him as 27 year old Samir Antonio Matamoros, a man with a long criminal history and time served in prison for robbery and assault but who had apparently turned his life around and was counseling former gang members. Monica Zalaquett, director of the Center for the Prevention of Violence (CEPREV), said that Matamoros had participated in a CEPREV rehabilitation program and had joined an evangelical church.

Rumors flew throughout the week. Some reports said that Matamoros had joined the Sandinista Youth Association. Dora Maria Tellez of the Sandinista Renovation Movement (MRS) said that he was a member of President Daniel Ortega’s “shock troops.” His neighbors said he was devoted to his church in Milagro barrio and wanted to be a pastor. National Assembly Deputy Eliseo Nuñez of the Independent Liberal Party (PLI) said that one faction within the Sandinista Party wanted to create disturbances “to justify selective political assassinations.”  A group of young people made a formal complaint at the Nicaraguan Center for Human Rights (CENIDH) saying that the Police had failed to protect their right to peacefully protest and that they were victims of attempted murder. They said that the complaint would be sent to the appropriate government offices. Managua Archbishop Cardinal Leopoldo Brenes said in his Sunday sermon, “We hope that these acts are not repeated because they create more tensions in our country.” He added that Pope Francis had said, “Open your ears and hearts to receive the Holy Spirit and out of your mouth only good things should come because gossip and falsehoods are things of the evil one.” (El Nuevo Diario, Sept. 2, 3, 4, 7; Informe Pastran, Sept. 2, 3, 4. 7)

4. Conflict between indigenous and settlers results in three deaths

Conflict between indigenous communities in the North Caribbean Autonomous Region and settlers that have moved into the area to clear land for planting and cattle grazing resulted in three people dead and five wounded last week. Yuri Valle, head of the National Police for Puerto Cabezas and Waspam, said that indigenous leaders have burned 18 homes of settlers in the indigenous area of Wanky Twi Tasba Raya, municipality of Waspam. The first death occurred on Aug. 28 and the other two on Sept. 3. Valle said that one of the men was Miskito and the other mestizo. Of the five injured, only one is out of danger. A government commission that included medical personnel traveled to the area on Sept. 3. On Sept. 7, El Nuevo Diario reported that the indigenous communities have organized for what they said would be an “offensive against the invaders.”

Elasio Rivas Evels, a community judge of Santa Fe—one of 18 communities that have armed themselves—explained that for more than three years they have been trying to explain to the colonizers that they have to leave indigenous lands but they have refused to go. He went on to say, “Many said that they didn’t have land on the Pacific side and they told us that they came to this zone because the land was unoccupied, but this is false.” He said that the land was reserved for the subsistence of the indigenous communities and “We have explained that and if they continue destroying our resources our existence is at risk and that is why we have taken up arms to carry out this process of saneamiento ourselves.” [Saneamiento is the fifth and most difficult stage in the government’s process of demarcation and titling to give deeds to their traditional land to the indigenous communities. It involves the removal of non-indigenous settlers who have often been duped by land grabbers who have “sold” them false titles.] (El Nuevo Diario, Sept. 4, 7)

5. Petrocaribe summit meets in Jamaica

The member countries of Petrocaribe agreed over the past weekend to create “an economic council for the Caribbean” which, according to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, would work “on the colossal task of transforming the economic and commercial reality of the entire Caribbean region” by putting together a development plan for the Petrocaribe bloc of nations. Another goal, a “social protection plan,” would be a system for the protection of the area’s population against natural disasters. Petrocaribe was founded by the late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez in 2005 to sell Venezuelan petroleum to countries of the Caribbean under preferential payment conditions.

At the meeting President Daniel Ortega expressed his support for the Venezuelan president who ordered a “state of exception” in his country’s relations with Colombia and closed the border between the two nations. Both countries have withdrawn their ambassadors as part of the disagreement that began when Venezuela expelled a number of undocumented Colombians accusing them of smuggling. Ortega asked how Colombia could threaten to take the case to the International Court of Justice (World Court) when it had failed to comply with the 2012 ruling on its dispute with Nicaragua over territorial waters. “Let Colombia recognize that ruling before it has the moral and legal authority to talk about returning to the Court with any other dispute with a sister nation,” Ortega said. (El Nuevo Diario, Sept. 7)

6. Nicaragua’s economic advances confirmed by two international reports

The Fifth Report of the State of the Region released a study confirming modest poverty reduction in Central America, Belize and Panama from 2000-2013. With the exception of Guatemala, where poverty grew, each country showed some decrease in poverty and extreme poverty rates with Nicaragua’s indicators exceeding the region in most categories. Region-wide poverty was lowered from 54% to 49% during the period studied. Houses without basic necessities decreased from 60% to 54%. Extreme poverty decreased three points from 29% to 26%. Despite the percentage decreases, the report stated that due to population growth, two million more people lived in poverty in 2013 than did so in 2000. It said that 22 million people do not have the economic resources to attain a minimum standard of living.

Nicaragua (which has historically, along with Honduras, had the highest poverty level in the region, exceeding 55%) showed the greatest decrease, dropping 11%, and a reduction of extreme poverty from 42% to 30%. The report claims Honduras poverty has decreased by 6%. [Ed. Note: The survey measures change between 2000 and 2013 but, in the period since the 2009 Honduras coup, the social security institute has been looted, teachers’ pension fund depleted to fund the coup government, and conditions in the countryside have worsened due to land grabs by the oligarchy, all factors that will affect poverty reduction going forward.]

Another recent report by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) ranked Nicaragua as the country in the hemisphere that has most reduced inequality. Nicaragua was followed by Bolivia, Ecuador, El Salvador, and Argentina. IMF economist Nora Lustig noted, “Whereas inequality increased in nearly every region of the world, in the majority of Latin American countries it has decreased since 2000.” She said the biggest influence, accounting for about 60% of the drop, has been increased equality of income among formal and informal sector workers with government social programs accounting for about 20% of the total decrease.  (http://www.estadonacion.or.cr/images/stories/biblioteca_virtual/otras_publicaciones/ECA-2014.pdf, Informe Pastran, Sept. 1)

7. Health care access means more childhood cancers diagnosed

Dr. Fulgencio Baez, chief of the Hematology-Oncology unit at the Manuel de Jesus Rivera La Mascota Children’s Hospital, reported that due to increased access to health care and education campaigns under the Sandinista government, the number of children being diagnosed with cancer has risen each year for the last several years. In the first half of 2015, 195 new cases of childhood cancer have been diagnosed compared to a total of 234 all of 2014. He lamented the fact that 50% of new cases are in an advanced stage by the time they are diagnosed and said that the health care system must work to catch the diseases earlier. Leukemia is the most frequent childhood cancer diagnosed at the hospital followed by tumors in the lymph nodes. (El Nuevo Diario, Sept. 2)

8. UNFPA releases Nicaragua population statistics

The UN Population Fund (UNFPA) recently reported Nicaragua’s population has grown to 6,180,000 with a median age of 26.5 years old, which is younger than the Latin American average. Youth aged 15-29 account for 1.8 million with 965,000 available for employment. The report noted that government investment in youth is one of the most important actions the country is taking. The UNFPA data also showed that 58% of the population lives in urban areas. (Informe Pastran, Sept. 4)