Nicaragua News Service
                         January 7 - 13, 1996
                            Vol. 4, No. 2
 
Major news stories for the week:
 
1. Rash of suicides in the north of Nicaragua.
2. Government initiates witch hunt before Pope's visit.
3. Police protect sugar factory from impending strike.
4. Trade with rest of Central America increases.
5. Students march on National Assembly.
6. UDC wins presidency of National Assembly.
7. FSLN primary has 2000 candidates.
8. US Ambassador comments on property law.
9. National Development Bank to call in outstanding loans.
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1.  Rash of suicides in the north of Nicaragua.
 
Five persons in the last ten days, the majority of whom were young 
adults, have taken their own lives in the town of Somoto, located in 
the northern part of Region I, one of the poorest areas in the 
country. Two other young people were saved due to quick action on the 
part of their families. Economic and emotional problems were cited as 
the cause of the tragedies. (Barricada, Jan. 12)
 
2.  Government initiates witch hunt before Pope's visit.
 
The Minister and Vice Minister of Government, Sergio Narvaez and Frank 
Cesar, along with the head of the Nicaraguan police, Fernando Caldera, 
held a press conference last week in which they warned that "groups 
associated with violence" intend to escalate violent activities in the 
country before the arrival of the Pope.  They will also try to 
limit the "legitimate functions of the police" in the months before 
the October elections.  Stated Narvaez,: "We are worried about the 
coming together of certain groups that in the past have provoked bloody 
incidents and are now preparing conditions to manipulate the police 
by an increase in violent activities that they themselves will 
initiate."  Narvaez also stated that these groups were associated with 
the "propaganda campaign" of a local newspaper associated with a 
political party, in an obvious reference to the FSLN daily, Barricada. 
The officials also talked of a "new increase in terrorist activity to 
begin the year and to mark the occasion of the visit of the Pope."
 
Vilma Nunez, president of the Nicaraguan Center for Human Rights 
(CENIDH), stated that the veiled threats of the Ministry of Government 
and police authorities translated into "dangerous political 
persecution of freedom of expression," especially against the FSLN and 
that they came at a delicate time of pre-electoral activity. Nunez 
stated that the media were also under threat by those who violate 
human rights because the media gives coverage to the activities of 
CENIDH.  "On different occasions," she said, "those who violate the 
human rights of Nicaraguans have not only restricted free press and 
the free dissemination of ideas but have also threatened the physical 
integrity of journalists from Barricada and other media outlets."
 
Based on rumors that the government was going to arrest a number of 

leaders of popular organizations, including unions, student groups and 
others, before the visit of the Pope, a group of activists went to the 
Supreme Court to ask for an order to protect grassroots FSLN political 
leaders and others such as transport union officers. The government 
reportedly has a list of 172 leaders who could be detained. (La 
Prensa, Jan. 11, Barricada, Jan. 12)
 
3.  Police protect sugar factory from impending strike.
 
Riot police, civilians in uniform and regular police last week 
surrounded the San Antonio sugar factory following a request from the 
Pellas family which is being threatened by a cane cutters' strike in 
the next few days.  Union leaders also protested that they are being 
followed by the police 24 hours a day.
 
Cane cutters may go on strike for better wages and fringe benefits. A 
cane cutter now receives a total of 3 cordobas for each ton of sugar 
cane cut.  An average worker cuts 6 to 7 tons a day, for a daily wage 
of $2.75 a day.  Cane workers want 5 cordobas per ton and also the 
restitution of fringe benefits that they formerly received, such as 
schooling for their children and health benefits. (Barricada, Jan. 12)
 
4. Trade with rest of Central America increases. 
 
In the last five years, Nicaraguan exports to the rest of Central 
America have increased 126%, from a total of $46.9 million in 1990 to 
a total of $106 million in 1995, according to information from the 
Ministry of Economy and Development. Imports to Nicaragua from 
Central America rose 159% during the same time period, from $70.8 
million to $184.3 million. The Central American market is the most 
important market for Nicaragua after the United States. 
 
5. Students march on National Assembly.
 
More than 5,000 students marched last week in front of the National 
Assembly and planted six crosses on the spots where two students were 
killed by police in last month's student demonstrations in support of 
their right under the Constitution to 6% of the national budget.  The 
police had not given authorization for the march due to the visit
of the president of Guatemala but no incidents were reported.  Yudelia 
Aburto, leader of the student organization UNEN, stated that "the 
march was a way to remember Ernesto Porfirio and Geronimo Urbina," 
the two persons that were killed last December 13th.
 
In one of his first public comments in recent months, retired General 
Humberto Ortega stated that the government was responsible for what 
happened last month. (Barricada, Jan. 11)
 
6. UDC wins presidency of National Assembly.
 
For the third year in a row, a member of the Christian Democratic 
Union (UDC) has won the presidency of the National Assembly, an 
amazing feat considering that the party has only six representatives 
in the Assembly.  Cairo Manuel Lopez won the vote over Conservative
Eduardo Paladino, who had been proposed by the Sandinista Renovation 
Movement (MRS).  Besides Cairo Manuel Lopez, the new Executive 

Committee of the Assembly is composed of:
1st Vice President: Adolfo Jarquin Ortel (Social Democratic Party, 
PSD)
2nd Vice President: Edmundo Castillo (independent)
3rd Vice President: Doris Tijerino (Sandinista Unity)
First Secretary: Jaime Bonilla (recently resigned from the Liberal 
Constitutionalist Party, PLC, and now affiliated with the Liberal 
Independent Party, PLI)
2nd Vice Secretary: Julio Marenco (Sandinistas of Reflection)
Third Vice Secretary: Alvin Guthrie (National Project, PRONAL)
 
No member of the MRS won positions on the Executive Committee due to 
the change in alliance of the UDC, which had formerly aligned itself 
with the MRS in Assembly elections.  Sergio Ramirez, head of the MRS 
party, charged the FSLN of aligning itself with the government for 
this election but that charge was rejected by Daniel Ortega who 
participated in the voting.  "If we are going to talk about deals, 
then we have to say that the FSLN has only made voting deals with 
those who were going to vote for a Executive Committee that would 
defend a patriotic agenda."
 
According to Ramirez, the selection of the new Executive Committee 
was the result of negotiations between Minister of Labor Francisco 
Rosales, advisor to the president Julio Ruiz Quezada, Daniel 
Ortega, and National Assembly members Fernando Zelaya and Alfredo 
Cesar.
 
The MRS will probably lose control now of the principal committees 
which its members have chaired for the last two years, including the 
committees on the economy, justice, human rights, finances and 
environment.  According to La Prensa, the two new power alignments in 
the National Assembly are the following:
1. UDC, the parties that remain of the extinct UNO coalition, PRONAL 
and the FSLN (the three groupings: FSLN, Sandinista Unity and 
Sandinistas of Reflection);
2. PLI, Conservative Popular Action (APC), Conservative National Party 
(PNC), and MRS.  (Barricada, Jan. 10, La Prensa, Jan. 11))
          
7. FSLN primary has 2000 candidates.
 
According to estimates given in Barricada, almost 2,000 people have 
registered to be candidates in the upcoming FSLN primary elections. 
For example, in the city of Chinandega alone, over 400 people have 
signed up to run for the posts of mayor and town council.  In the 
small town of Nindiri, over 115 people have signed up to run in the 
FSLN primaries for the same positions.  (Barricada,  Jan. 11)
 
8. US Ambassador comments on property law.
 
The US Ambassador to Nicaragua, John Maisto, stated last week that his 
Embassy would not rest until the Nicaraguan government has justly 
settled all the claims of US citizens confiscated during the 
Sandinista period of government.  Maisto stated that he still has not 
seen any concrete results from the recently passed property law and 
commented that the problem of property was still a great challenge for 
the Nicaraguan government and its people.


The property law was passed on November 27th, 1995.  When asked what 
he thought of the law, Maisto commented that:  "Frankly, I do not 
know.  We have to see how it is applied.... The challenge is with the 
Nicaraguan people.... I want to see the results." 
 
President Chamorro, however, in her speech at the opening of the 1996 
legislative session spoke of advances on the property question.  After 
stating that the country would grow by 5% in 1996 with a projected 
inflation rate of only 10%, Chamorro affirmed that 100% of the cases 
pending had undergone administrative review and that 43% of the 5,288 
claims of persons who supposedly had been unfairly confiscated had 
either been given back their property or compensated. (La Prensa, Jan. 
9, 10)
 
9.  National Development Bank to call in outstanding loans.
 
Minister of Finance Emilio Pereira last week announced that his office 
is ready to call in the bad loans of over 13,000 persons, whose lack 
of payment has the National Development Bank supposedly on the verge 
of bankruptcy.  Pereira announced that each client would be given an 
opportunity to restructure but that those who did not pay would lose 
their collateral which, in most cases, is their farm.
 
Spokespersons for bank clients stated that they cannot pay because of 
the excessive interest rates being charged by the bank, at times 
doubling or even tripling the amount originally borrowed.  The Central 
Bank recently raised interests rates to 24%, plus the 1% extra added 
on each month to take into account the indexed exchange rate between 
the cordoba and the dollar. (La Prensa, Jan. 11)