Nicaragua News Service Published by the Nicaragua Network Education Fund May 19-25, 1996 Vol. 4, No. 20 Major News Stories for the Week: 1. Political alignments up to the last minute 2. PARLACEN discusses a Central American nationality 3. Influx of cases of "guillaen barre" 4. FISE to continue 5. Columbia announces canal construction 6. US Immigration officials to work in Nicaragua? 7. Price of basic grains rising 8. Important Canadian donation to small and medium producers 9. Radio silenced on Atlantic Coast -------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Political alignments up to the last minute With a caravan of dozens of buses, cars, and bicycles, the FSLN presented its list of candidates to the Supreme Electoral Council (CSE) on the afternoon of May 24. The FSLN also inaugurated its Managua Committee, composed of Monica Baltodano, Carlos Guadamuz, Nathan Sevilla, Iris Montenegro, Emiliano Martinez and Henry Petrie. The official list of candidates was presented by Tomas Borge to Rosa Marina Zelaya, head of the Supreme Electoral Council. The FSLN campaign will officially begin in August according to the calendar of the CSE. The campaign for the mayorship of Managua, however, will begin earlier due to the strategic importance of the capital city. Carlos Guadamuz, FSLN candidate for mayor of Managua, stated after having registered himself as a candidate that, "We are not going to betray the hopes of our people. We are going to win these elections with a lot of work, without resting, because we are facing enormous forces. The right wing is using everything they have to take away the victory from our people. We have to work night, day, Saturdays and Sundays, five months without rest in order to win these elections." Alvaro Robelo, forced last week to resign as vice-president of the European Bank of Central America (BECA) and also taken off the "Arriba Nicaragua" ticket by his own people, re-emerged last week as the presidential candidate of a new coalition, the Nicaraguan Alliance, made up of the Christian Democrats (UDC) and the National Action Conservative Party (PARNC). His vice-presidential candidate is the Arriba Nicaragua coordinator, Emilio Molina Palacios, an agricultural producer. Azucena Ferrey, former UDC presidential candidate, will now appear on the new Alliance ballot as first candidate for the National Assembly. Sergio Ramirez and the Sandinista Renovation Movement also registered its candidates, having failed in its attempt to promote a "center" coalition. According to Ramirez, the failure was due to the fact that none of the candidates were willing to abandon their presidential aspirations and accept a consensus candidate. The Socialist party offered its presidential candidacy to retiring Bishop Pablo Antonio Vega, who was seriously considering the proposal. It was not clear by Saturday, May 25 if that candidacy had been registered. Alejandro Serrano was registered as presidential candidate of Nicaraguans United for a Democratic Alternative (UNIDAD), a coalition composed of the following parties: the Social Christians (PSC), Movement of Revolutionary Unity (MUR), Central American Integrationist Party (PICA), National Convergence (PCN), and the Social Democrats (PSD). Moises Hassan Morales was also registered as a presidential candidate of the Movement of Renovating Action (MAR). Meanwhile, Antonio Lacayo is still in the running. There has been no announcement on his eligibility by the Supreme Electoral Council (CSE) as of yet. At the end of the week, the CSE announced that it was extending the deadline for political parties to present their list of candidates. The new deadline is May 28, extended from the previous deadline of May 24. The CSE also declared that the elections could not be held on the Atlantic Coast if the National Assembly does not approve this week the amendments to the Law of Political and Administrative Divisions, which would settle once and for all, which municipalities belonged to the Southern Autonomous Region (RAAS) and the Northern Autonomous Region (RAAN). The National Assembly decided to meet over the weekend to discuss the law. (Barricada, May 22, 25; La Prensa, May 23) 2. PARLACEN discusses a Central American nationality More than 60 political parties from the Central American region met last weekend in Managua at the new Camino Real Convention Center during a regular meeting of the Central American Parliament (PARLACEN). The parties recommended to PARLACEN that the area's presidents sign a treaty which would create a Central American citizenship. Earlier in the month the same topic had been discussed with the Central American presidents during their summit at the Montelimar beach resort. (La Prensa, May 23) 3. Influx of cases of "guillaen barre" Despite an increase in the number of cases of "guillaen barre" diagnosed in recent months, Barricada reported that there was not an epidemic of the disease, given that an average of 20 cases a year is about "average" for a country the size of Nicaragua. However, more fears were raised when MINSA announced the creation of an investigative commission to rule out the possibility of a gb epidemic. The commission has also sent away samples to rule out the possibility that those diagnosed could actually be suffering from polio, a disease that was eradicated from Nicaragua in the early 1980s. Meanwhile, the director of Epidemiology of the Ministry of Health, Dr. Juan Jose Amador, gave a press conference last week in which he informed that 40% of the Nicaraguan people last year suffered from some form of dengue fever. 4. FISE to continue The Social Emergency Fund of Nicaragua (FISE) hopes to convert itself into a permanent government institution in order to combat long term poverty, according to its director and founder Carlos Noguera. FISE, founded in 1990 as a palliative program to the structural adjustment measures of the IMF, has received over $200 million in the last six years which it has used to create temporary, short-term employment. 5. Columbia announces canal construction According to a Reuters cable published in El Nuevo Diario last week, the Colombian government announced that it was accepting bids for the construction of an interoceanic canal to be located in the northeastern part of that country. If true, the construction of the canal could seriously affect the plans of those who are at present designing a "dry canal" to be built in Nicaragua during the next decade. (El Nuevo Diario, May 23) 6. US Immigration officials to work in Nicaragua? According to Barricada, the Nicaraguan government has authorized a certain number of US immigration officials to install themselves at some border points, including the Managua airport, in order to reduce the flux of illegal aliens to the United States. (Barricada, May 24) 7. Price of basic grains rising Within the next few weeks the prices of corn, beans and rice will begin to increase and will not tend to level off until the first harvest season of the agricultural year, which is normally in August. (Barricada, May 22) 8. Important Canadian donation to small and medium producers The government of Canada last week donated a total of $3.2 million Canadian dollars ($2,315,000 US) to a program of institutional strengthening of the principal organizations in Nicaragua that work with the small and medium agricultural producers. The recipients of the donation include UNAG, which represents private owners of small and medium farms; UNAPA, which represents the worker-owners of the privatized state farms; and FENACOOP, which represents agricultural cooperatives. The goal of the project is to contribute to the solid development of the private agricultural sector, in this case of the small and medium producers, given that this is the most important economic sector of the country on whom much of the responsibility for economic reactivation lies. (Barricada, May 22) 9. Radio station silenced on Atlantic Coast A group of criminals armed with machetes and sticks attacked and destroyed a 10 kilowatt radio transmitter of Radio Zinica, one of the principal radio stations of the southern Atlantic Coast. The radio station, property of the FSLN, was forced off the air. The transmitter will cost $40,000 to replace. The director of "Zinica", Arturo Valdez, stated that the attack was an act of criminal sabotage, given that it occurred right at the beginning of the political campaign season. (Barricada, May 22)