Nicaragua News Service April 23-29, 1995 Vol. 3, No. 18 by Coleen Littlejohn Major news stories for the week: 1. Antonio Lacayo launches his "National Project." 2. Community Movement demands resolution of property question. 3. Census begins in Nicaragua. 4. Administrative workers strike at Central American University. 5. President Chamorro "insults memory" of National Literacy Crusade. 6. New Supreme Court justices have not taken seats on Court. 7. New bishop named for Juigalpa. 8. Supporters of exile community march on U.S. embassy. ________________________________________________________________________ 1. Antonio Lacayo launches his "National Project." Members of the present government's cabinet, with Minister of the Presidency Antonio Lacayo as their major spokesperson, launched their new "National Project" last week at a rally held in the Olaf Palme Convention Center. "National Project" is the forerunner of the new political party being formed by Lacayo which he hopes will take him to the presidency in 1996. Some National Assembly deputies for the "Center Group" attended the rally as well as members of the Social Democratic party. Influential members of Nicaragua's private business sector were also present. Some commentators accused the government of having financed the activity with public funds but Emilio Pereira, Minister of Finances, stated that the funds came from private business sources. In his closing speech, which in fact represents his first campaign speech as an as-yet-undeclared candidate, Lacayo stated that the National Project stood for the continuation of the path chosen in 1990, saying that any other option would lead to "confrontation." He also spoke of his "Plan for Sustainable Development" that would create thousands of jobs, democratize credit and eradicate the extreme poverty that is threatening justice and sovereignty. Several columnists in local newspapers were of the opinion that, given the influence that Lacayo has had in the present government as the power behind the throne, this National Project should have begun five years ago and not have had to wait until the 1996 election campaign. (Barricada, April 24) 2. Community Movement demands resolution of property question. Hundreds of people who benefited from the Sandinista government's property reform laws marched on the National Assembly last week to present to the representatives their proposal for the first draft of what they are calling the "Law to Stabilize the Property Situation." The march presented a petition signed by 125,000 persons who support the passing of the law. The Community Movement, the largest neighborhood organization in Nicaragua, is pressuring for the resolution of the present property crisis, in which many thousands of people do not yet have secure title to the property they received under Sandinista land reform, before the elections of 1996. (Barricada, April 24, 27) 3. Census begins in Nicaragua. A national census began last week amidst innumerable bureaucratic problems, disorganization and lack of sufficient preparation of the 14,000 census-takers. Each census-taker will receive a stipend of 300 cordobas for the week that it will supposedly take to complete the census, the first in 25 years. (Barricada, April 26) 4. Administrative workers strike at the Central American University. Administrative employees of the Jesuit-run University of Central America (UCA) went on strike last week to demand higher salaries. Their strike is being supported by the university's faculty and students. All classes have been suspended. Earlier in the week the University had granted a pay raise of 41% to each of the university's five deans. The 267 administration workers had requested a 40% raise but were told that only 15% was possible. They are now demanding a 30% increase. "It is unjust that we workers are earning a hunger salary while the deans of the different schools are filling their pockets," stated David Torrez, head of the university's union. (Barricada April 23) 5. President Chamorro "insults memory" of National Literacy Crusade. President Violeta Chamorro stated last week that the hundreds of high school students who participated in the National Literacy Campaign went to the mountains to teach because the Sandinista government drugged their Coca Cola. The president was severely criticized for her remarks by the director of Radio Ya, Carlos Guadamuz, who in turn was threatened with a lawsuit by Minister of the Presidency Antonio Lacayo who made public his threats on Radio Corporacion, another Managua station. Ironically President Chamorro was a member of the five-person government junta when the decision was made to launch the literacy campaign. She was also at the Plaza of the Revolution for the official send-off of the volunteers. Lacayo's threat of a lawsuit came several days after a local polling agency confirmed that Radio Ya was still the most listened-to radio station in the country. Guadamuz speculated that the threats are part of a campaign to break the back of Radio Ya. He stated that "We do not fear official repression, and we are also aware that the repression can appear in many forms such as economic strangulation or even terrorist attacks against our facilities..." Hundreds of callers protested Mrs. Chamorro statement. Carlos Tunnerman, Minister of Education under the Sandinista government at the time of the literacy campaign, declared that what the President said was "absolutely false...it forms a part of political folklore; in Nicaragua we are used to treating topics with little seriousness, giving them a treatment that is less than adequate." He went on to state that the Campaign was "totally voluntary on the part of the 35,000 young people and their parents, who had to sign an authorization letter before their children could go.... The Crusade was one of the most beautiful endeavors that has ever been made in the history of Nicaragua, it was the most beautiful commitment on the part of Nicaraguan youth and one of the largest enterprises that the Revolution undertook in its first few months of life." The newspaper Barricada demanded editorially that the President apologize for her remarks. (Barricada, April 26, 27, 29) 6. New Supreme Court justices have not taken seats on Court. The National Assembly lost a round last week in the "war between the branches of government" due to the fact that the present members of the Nicaraguan Supreme Court did not induct the new members recently appointed by the National Assembly. All of the judges, new and old, held a closed-session meeting last week that was described as a "cordial encounter among close friends." Representatives of both groups later called a press conference where it became even more clear that the country was living in a kind of "legal limbo." "For the Supreme Court it is a little difficult to accept or reject them [the new judges]. We cannot opt for either option because that would mean we were handing down a decision either for or against the bottom line issue of the constitutional amendments," stated Dr. Orlando Trejos Somarriba, president of the Supreme Court. Dr. Trejos went on to say that the Court must decide officially on the matter of the amendments and stated that in his opinion there is a sufficient quorum on the court to do so. But he then went on to say that other judges are not in agreement and that, "finally there are a series of difficulties that make it hard to make a decision." Dr. Rodolfo Sandino Arguello, one of the recent National Assembly- appointed members to the Court, who also was a candidate of President Chamorro's late last year, stated that the new justices were received as "old friends." He added that both groups will work to find "a solution to the differences." (Barricada, April 27) 7. New Bishop named for Juigalpa. Monsignor Bernardo Hombach, of German origin, was consecrated last week as the new Bishop of Chontales, replacing Bishop Pablo Vega who retired last year because of age. Bishop Hombach will be in charge of the Catholic Church in the departments of Boaco, Chontales and Rio San Juan. Before his naming as bishop, Monsignor Hombach was national director of CARITAS, the official aid organization of the Nicaraguan Catholic Church. During the investiture mass, Antonio Lacayo, Minister of the Presidency sat next to Luis Humberto Guzman, president of the National Assembly and an opponent in the present constitutional crisis. During the Lord's Prayer, following custom, they even held hands, causing one government official to state that it was unfortunate that "other things couldn't be resolved so easily." The mayor of Managua, Arnoldo Aleman, kept his distance from the two. (Barricada, April 23) 8. Supporters of exile community march on U.S. Embassy. Last week approximately 2,000 people marched from the National Stadium to the U.S. Embassy to deliver a letter to President Clinton demanding that the U.S. Immigration Service stop denying work permits to Nicaraguan citizens living in the U.S. Leaders of the march included the Committee to Support Nicaraguans in Exile (CANE), top officials of the Party of the Nicaraguan Resistance, Lino Hernandez of the Permanent Committee on Human Rights (CPDH), and other representatives of the Miami exile community. Three U.S. Embassy officials were waiting outside to receive the letter which stated in part that "even though there was a change of government as a result of the 1990 elections, the military structure and the security forces are still controlled by the same political group that was in charge during the previous decade." CANE demanded that President Clinton stop the deportation of Nicaraguan citizens because Nicaragua does not enjoy the necessary economic conditions to be able to absorb the return of so many exiles. The letter was also signed by Cardinal Miguel Obando y Bravo, Vice- President Virgilio Godoy, National Assembly President Luis Humberto Guzman and former National Assembly President Alfredo Cesar.