Nicaragua News Service Nov. 13 - 19, 1994 Vol. 2, No. 48 by Coleen Littlejohn Major news stories for the week: 1. Constitutional amendment discussions begin in National Assembly. 2. Changes at the top in Ministry of Natural Resources. 3. El Tigre found guilty of murder of police chief. 4. Nicaragua and Mexico reaching agreements. 5. Struggle over "privatization" at public high school. 6. Government to give shrimp concessions to South Americans. 7. Former bishop dies. 8. Cholera epidemic in Leon hospital. _______________________________________________________________________ 1. Constitutional amendment discussions begin in National Assembly. Seventy-six deputies in the National Assembly voted last week to amend articles 1, 2, 4 and 5 of the present Nicaraguan Constitution. The articles to be amended are concerned with affirming national self determination, sovereignty, political pluralism and the rights of indigenous peoples. The discussion of the amendments had been blocked by a procedural question concerning three members of the executive committee of the Assembly who had been boycotting the legislative sessions as a way of stalling the amendment debate. The President of the Assembly, Luis Humberto Guzman asked for a motion to change the agenda of the day's debate so that the amendments could be discussed. Nathan Sevilla of the FSLN stated that the Sandinista Front supported the amendments to be discussed that day. However, he urged that the Assembly act with supreme caution to avoid that any of the changes be found unconstitutional. Daniel Ortega left the debates calling the workings of the Assembly "archaic," a "mess," and said that what prevailed there was a fight for power by some while the interests of the majority were not taken into consideration. (Barricada, Nov. 16) 2. Changes at the top in Ministry of Natural Recourses. Dr. Jaime Incer, Minister of MARENA, Nicaragua's natural resource ministry, was removed from his job last week along with MARENA's two vice-ministers. Incer and his two subordinates had been involved in a public scandal which included mutual accusations between Incer and the vice-ministers in the local newspapers. Incer was accused at the time of only being concerned about his own "pet" projects. The controversy occurred in the days prior to the Ecology Summit held in Managua with the presence of most of the presidents of Latin America and also of the Vice-President of the United States. The new minister of MARENA is Milton Caldera, former Minister of INAA, the Nicaraguan Water Ministry. Incer was named special advisor to the President on ecological issues and President Chamorro stated that she would find "a little place" in her government for the two now unemployed vice-ministers. (Barricada, Nov. 15) 3. El Tigre found guilty of murder of police chief. Manuel Velasquez (El Tigre) was found guilty last week, with two others, of the murder of Sub-Commander Saul Alvarez, a high ranking police official who died last September 21st during the confrontations between police and strikers in the national transport strike. The courtroom was the scene of a marathon trial which lasted over 20 continuous hours. The jury listened to the reading of volumes of testimony and then recessed for an hour to decide Velasquez' fate. The courtroom was full of high police officials who supported a guilty verdict and members of the Parrales Vallejos Transport Cooperative who insisted that the real murderer was another police officer and that Velasquez' gun held only blanks. Roberto Gonzalez, head of the Parrales Vallejos Co-op accused the second in command of the police riot squad of guilt in the murder. The defense brought forth surprise testimony that included a video showing that police officer pointing his gun in the direction of Alvarez. The Police insisted that the guilty verdict in the trial would send a message to the public and to the unions that violent demonstrations would not be tolerated. (Barricada, Nov. 20, La Prensa, Nov. 19) 4. Nicaragua and Mexico reaching agreements. Nicaragua is in the process of negotiating its over $1 billion debt with Mexico and has come to an agreement to cancel at least part of the debt with assets of the state industries that are ready to be privatized. Mexico has already purchased the Cementera, the only cement producing plant in the country (which belonged to the Somoza family before the Revolution), and is studying the trading of energy and tourism facilities for debt as well. One of the industries which seems to be destined to be traded is the Momotombo geothermal complex, one of the major energy projects of the Sandinista government which was made possible by an Italian company backed by the Italian government. Mexico was also in the news last week based on the announcement that, before the newly elected president of Mexico takes office this year, Nicaragua and Mexico will have signed a free trade treaty. The expected signing date is November 28th. According to the Minister of the Economy, Pablo Pereira, Nicaraguan agricultural exports such as meat, sugar, sorghum, sesame seed, peanuts and seafood will be favored by the new treaty. The future president of Mexico, Ernesto Zedillo, made a short visit to Nicaragua last Saturday to discuss Mexican-Nicaraguan economic and political relations in a private interview with President Chamorro. Meanwhile, Nicaragua is anxiously awaiting the results of the discussions of the Club of Paris group of creditor nations which is presently discussing the possibility of approving substantial debt relief for Nicaragua, Bolivia and Uganda. (Barricada, Nov. 19, El Nuevo Diario, Nov. 19) 5. Struggle over "privatization" at public high school. The education community at one of the most prestigious public high schools in Managua, the Ramirez Goyena National Institute, is at present debating the pros and cons of the Ministry of Education's idea to grant administrative autonomy to the high school. To many, administrative autonomy means privatization and an end to the right to a free high school education. The principal of the school is in favor of autonomy which would mean charging students for their education. She stated that it is the only way for the school to pay its debts. The National Water Institute (INAA) cut off water to the school last week because of non-payment of more than $10,000 in water bills at the school which has over 3,000 students in three sessions per day, morning, afternoon and adult education at night. The majority of students at the school are protesting against the measure. The principal of the school accused them of acting "like a mob and destroying school property." She used the protest as an excuse to call in off-duty police to guard the area. Students protested the pitiful situation of the school's physical plant which they said is a result of lack of maintenance over the past several years. The Minister of Education, Humberto Belli, has initiated a public information campaign in local newspapers to defend his autonomy project. Last week he stated that: "School autonomy does not mean privatization nor additional fees, as some have said." He stated that autonomous centers will still receive funds from the State but that local decisions in the school will be taken by a type of school board which will have representatives from the student body, parents, and teachers. To date forty-six high schools have been granted autonomy and the Ministry of Education plans to include 100% of the schools in this plan by March of 1995. Meanwhile, the university community is pushing for the resignation of Ernesto Medina, President of the National University Council and Dean of the National Autonomous University in Leon. Medina evidently made a unilateral decision to communicate to the National Assembly that the National University Council accepted the agreement within the Constitutional amendment process that affirms the right of universities to six percent of the ordinary national budget. The universities, over the past several years, have demanded 6% of the nation's ordinary budget as well as 6% of all foreign aid. Medina stated that the concession was necessary in order to keep the original 6% in the amendment agreement and that he did not have time to consult with the rest of the Council before informing the Assembly of the Council's position. Students at the university in Leon called last week for a strike in order to pressure the National Assembly into respecting the promise made to students in August of 1992. That promise ratified a broad interpretation of the article in the Constitution which assigns 6% of the national budget to the universities. (Barricada, Nov. 15, 16, 17, 18) 6. Government to give shrimp concessions to South Americans. Leaders of shrimp cooperatives in Chinandega protested last week the announcement that the Ministry of Economy and Development (MEDE) is about to give an Ecuadorian company a concession to export over 400 million shrimp larvae a year from Nicaraguan territorial waters. Such a concession would seriously affect the livelihood of members of over 39 cooperatives and 10 national companies that raise shrimp in the waters of that area. Officials of MEDE confirmed that the Ecuadorian company is in Nicaragua negotiating but denied that any agreement had been signed as yet. (Barricada, Nov. 17) 7. Former Bishop dies. The former Bishop of Matagalpa and Leon, Julian Barni, died last week in the city of Leon at the age of 80. Barni was born in Italy in 1914 and came to Matagalpa in 1951. 8. Cholera epidemic in Leon hospital. The growing cholera epidemic in Nicaragua has begun to claim even the hospitals now that a quarantine has been declared at the University Hospital in the city of Leon. Over 45 hospital workers, including doctor, nurses and administrative personnel have come down with cholera over the last two weeks after having eaten in the hospital cafeteria. In order to contain the epidemic, the over 1800 employees of the hospital were given massive doses of antibiotics and the hospital was thoroughly fumigated and chlorinated.