Nicaragua News Service
Published by the Nicaragua Network
Volume 7, No. 40
October 3 - 10, 1999
By Paul Baker-Hernandez


1. Storms: Red Cross Reports 22,000 Refugees in Nicaragua Alone
2. Water Supply for 90,000 Diverted to Aleman Properties
3. Ruben Dario, Latin American Cyber-Person of the Millennium?
4. Economic Institute Claims Government Undermining Nicaragua's
Competitiveness
5. New Minister of Labor Promises Permanent Dialogue
6. CENIDH at Heart of Kidnapping Case
7. News Briefs
___________________________________________________________

1. Storms: Red Cross Reports 22,000 Refugees in Nicaragua Alone

The Red Cross reports a total of 4,698 families (22,641 persons) registered
as refugees from the damage caused by the heavy rains falling throughout
Nicaragua's Pacific and central highlands regions. The most-affected
Departments are, in descending order of damage: Rivas, Leon, Chinandega,
Jinotega, Carazo, Granada, Managua and Madriz. So far, eighteen people have
been reported drowned, with several others missing. Meantime, Siuna, Rosita
and Puerto Cabezas, in the North Atlantic Autonomous Region (RAAN), are cut
off to road transport from the Pacific by the collapse of a bridge over the
Bambana River. The latest news reported on Sunday the 10th is that more
bridges are out in the North, cutting off Somotillo and the vital border
crossing into Honduras at Guasale.

The Nicaraguan Union of Farmers and Ranchers (UNAG) puts preliminary figures
for crop losses at 34+%, and the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure
(MTI) puts estimated road damage at US$2.12 million.

These figures are certain to rise as tropical storm after tropical storm
soaks the country. Unlike hurricane weather, these storms bring little wind,
just saturating rain, often accompanied by blindingly ferocious lightning
and thunder. Ricardo Godinez, UNAG president in Managua, says that the scale
of damage in some areas within the Department of Managua, for example in San
Francisco Libre, Tipitapa, and San Rafael del Sur, is already worse than
during Hurricane "Mitch". Basic grains (rice, corn, sorghum) have all
suffered serious damage, but root vegetables have been the hardest hit, with
up to 70% already lost. Of particular concern are the remaining corn and
peanut crops, particularly susceptible to the fungus growths that flourish
in warm, prolonged dampness.

Lake Managua (Xolotlan) continues to rise, and as the rainwater flows into
it via the rivers, it is almost certain to go above Mitch levels. Several of
Managua's poorest neighborhoods that border the lake are already flooded in
part, with wells and houses inundated, and many families made homeless.
However, so far, no overall state of emergency has been declared.

Friday saw the city of Matagalpa, 127 km north of Managua, virtually under
water after extraordinary deluges and, nearer the Honduran border, Ocotal, a
town of some 40,000, lost its piped drinking water, due to the partial
collapse of a reservoir dam.

Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and Costa Rica all report similar damage,
disruption and loss of life. Further north, Mexico has over 300 people
reported dead so far from flooding and mud slides. (El Nuevo Diario, La
Prensa, La Tribuna, October 6-10)

2. Water Supply for 90,000 Diverted to Aleman Properties

Arnoldo Aleman is in some danger of becoming hoist with his own
much-publicized petard: "Deeds, not words."  The president of Nicaragua is
most lately accused of having used government resources to provide water and
electricity to his private estates of Chinampa and San Antonio, in the
Department of Leon, effectively denying fresh water to more than 90,000
local people. The five wells, drilled on Aleman family property apparently
by order of the director of the government-owned water company, ENACAL,
Roger Solorzano, should have benefited several local communities, among them
Nandayosi 1 and 2, and Valle de Los Aburtos.

The Comptroller General's Office (CGO) has begun a summary process against
both the power and water companies, and also against the presidency,
claiming that government resources have been used inappropriately for the
benefit of private individuals. ENACAL officials counter-claim that the
company has the right to prospect for water, even on private property. The
CGO accepts this, but says that any viable wells found have to be purchased
by the government for the benefit of the whole community. Under no
circumstances can they be sold to private persons. The costs in machinery
and work involved are in the order of US$31,500.

For the government-owned power company (ENEL), the costs involved in
providing electricity to the two farms were US$45,800. Although these were
paid by the estates (only under the pressure of media revelations, some 6
months after the bills' due dates), nonetheless the CGO says the same
principle was violated. In addition, the Comptroller claims to have
documentary evidence that the works were undertaken on direct orders from
the president's office.

Solorzano took out a full-page advertisement in the Friday edition of La
Tribuna. Headlined "Senor Comptroller, Why Do You Continue With These
Infamies?" it showed several ENACAL letters and receipts which purportedly
bolstered Solorzano's position that the wells had been drilled in accordance
with normal water exploration procedures. However, the ad did not address
the critical question of benefits from public works accruing to private
individuals.

For the CGO, sub-Comptroller Claudia Frixione emphasized that the
proceedings were not a legal judgement as such, but were due process
according to the Probity of Public Persons Act, which could well lead to
court proceedings against the principals, including the president.

In another issue, the Tax Office has issued a writ against the Comptroller's
Office, claiming that it owes back rent to the government. Assurances that
the two matters are entirely unrelated are regarded with some suspicion by
most observers of the ongoing duel between the president and the CGO. (El
Nuevo Diario, La Prensa, La Tribuna, October 7-10)

3. Ruben Dario, Latin American Cyber-Person of The Millennium?

Not likely. The BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation)'s vote count
currently reads: Simon Bolivar: 19,759, Dario (possibly Latin America's
greatest poet): 132. Even Pinochet is doing better, with 160. Sandino is
currently running in second place to Bolivar, but with only a miserable 497
votes.

What's going on? It seems the BBC is running a cyber vote, by e-mail, to
find the "Latin American Person of the Millennium." Nationalism and male
pride apart, what is actually revealed is just how narrow the much-vaunted
"Information Super-highway" is, especially in Latin America. Venezuela, with
over 20 million people and a large computer owning/savvy population, has
Bolivar way out ahead. Little Nicaragua, with 4 and a half million people
("mostly unemployed") has a tiny computer elite and an even smaller number
of computers.  Intriguingly, given the disparity in cyber-power, Nicaragua
is the only country with three contenders in the top 20, including one of
the only two women nominated: Violeta Chamorro (Eva Peron is the other).

Director General of Culture, Clemente Guido, claimed that not only were the
cyber-odds heavily stacked against small, impoverished countries, but also
that the BBC seemed to be accepting only one vote per internet address.
"This effectively makes the process a vote on the Internet," he said, "since
only those countries with a wide network of Internet access computers are
able to promote their particular candidate effectively."

Apparently one of Nicaragua's banks (Banco del Café) had promised to make 5
computers available, so that people could cast their votes for free; and the
national phone company, had agreed to dedicate five lines, also without
cost. "However," Guido said, "if the BBC is only accepting one vote per
Internet address, the whole plan is worthless." He explained that Sandino
was doing relatively well because the Augusto Cesar Sandino Foundation
(FACS) had mounted a campaign on behalf of the hero of Nicaragua's
liberation. He went on, "Of course we're pleased that a Nicaraguan is in
second place, but surely Ruben Dario is a major world figure of Spanish
language and culture, and as such merits a far higher standing."

Despite repeated attempts, so far no one had been able to reach the BBC for
more information. (El Nuevo Diario, October 8)

4. Economic Institute Claims Government Undermining Nicaragua's
Competitiveness

According to the Nicaraguan Institute for Economic Development (INDE), the
Aleman government's high gasoline taxes make it impossible for Nicaraguan
businesses to compete in the global market, and/or just within Central
America. Taking a regional survey of the all-important price of fuel, basic
to most business costs, William Baez, INDE's president, said that while a
gallon of diesel costs US$1.02 in Costa Rica, in Nicaragua it costs US$1.53.
El Salvador, next on the scale of prices in Central America came in
considerably lower, with diesel 12 cents a gallon less, at US$1.41.

According to the INDE study, the difference between the gasoline purchase
price Nicaragua pays at Gulf of Mexico terminals and that charged to people
at the pumps was a staggering 359%. Although some of this could be explained
by insurance, transportation and other middleman costs, by far the major
proportion was government tax (43%). As a result of the huge differential,
projections for 1999 show the government stands to reap a harvest of some
US$26.6 million over anticipated income.

Baez said this massive tax burden, on top of price rises in telephone
service, electricity and water, meant that Nicaraguan businesses are
struggling to survive, at a major disadvantage compared to their
international competitors.  He continued by saying INDE is working on
several initiatives to alleviate the situation. First, the organization will
make a proposal to the Nicaraguan government itself, that it should lower
its gas tax. Second, it will recommend that the five Central American
governments should together seek an agreement standardizing the price of
Mexican and Venezuelan crude oil. And, third, INDE will attempt to set up
meetings with representatives of the International Monetary Fund and the
World Bank to explain the difficult position of the Nicaraguan entrepreneur.
(El Nuevo Diario, October 6)


5. New Minister of Labor Promises Permanent Dialogue With Business and
Unions

Mario Montenegro, newly-appointed as Minister of Labor, replacing Wilfredo
Navarro, who quit to run for Mayor of Managua, announced that his first
concern will be to set up a "permanent dialogue" between his ministry,
business and the labor unions.

He said "I've spoken with the vice-minister, Roberto Moreno, and our goal is
to call together the two most important forces for the economic well-being
of Nicaragua, business and the workforce, so that together we can fight
poverty and unemployment."

During the hand-over ceremony, former minister Navarro stressed that his
successor would be signing two major contracts, one for 1,000 workers with
the ship-building company "Carnival," which requires that they all speak
English, and the other with Taiwan, to send 5,000 Nicaraguans to work in
"the domestic and agricultural sectors."

The new minister will be able to cut his teeth responding to a 5,000-person
health worker protest march, which took place in Managua on Friday, and to
the workers in ENEL, the state-owned electrical power industry, who are
threatening to torpedo ENEL's privatization.  The health workers want a 200%
wage rise (they currently average US$40-50 per month), paid overtime, and an
upgrade in lunch credits from US 2 cents to US 7.5 cents per day.  The
electrical power workers want proper indemnification for workers laid off in
the privatization process, shares in the new companies created, and
generally improved wages and conditions. (La Prensa October 10, La Tribuna,
October 5, 9,10)

6. CENIDH at Heart of Kidnapping Case

Canadian Manley Guarducci, kidnapped last week together with Nicaraguan
soldier Salvador Orlando Rocha Sanchez, may be released by his captors for a
ransom of one million cordobas (approximately US$90,000). The two men were
picked up by a heavily-armed group just outside Bonanza, one of the
principal mining towns in the Northern Autonomous Region of Nicaragua
(RAAN). The group is said to be a remnant of the Frente Unido Andres Castro
(FUAC), a "re-armed" band which supposedly gave up its weapons two years ago
in return for government promises of land and work.

Asserting that the kidnap victims are alive, Nicaraguan Center for Human
Rights (CENIDH) President Vilma Nunez said the ransom demands were by no
means limited to money, but included some eleven other demands besides.
Nine of these demands are addressed to the Aleman government, and two to
HEMCONIC, the mining company for which Guarducci works.

At the request of Canadian Consul Johnny Adams, the Nicaragua government is
keeping the police and army out of the case, even though the government is
currently mounting a major campaign in the region specifically targeting
such groups. As a result, CENIDH finds itself at the heart of the
negotiations, with Nunez trying to make and maintain contact with the
kidnappers, led by Jose Luis Marenco.

Nunez said the situation was especially difficult since CENIDH, as a human
rights body, is not allowed to negotiate under threat or subject to demands
for money.  In addition, there are many conflicting stories and explanations
concerning the kidnapping, including exactly how much cash the kidnappers
want.  Nunez explained that the group's primary non-financial demands are
for the government to fulfill its part in the accords it reached with the
FUAC in 1997. These accords call for the allotment of land for settlement,
titles to that land, and the bestowing of legal status for the group as the
"Andres Castro Foundation."

The captors also seek the release of some former comrades-in-arms, and the
re-instatement of fired mine workers, together with unspecified wage
demands.

Nunez, speaking in Managua, said that the kidnappers were expecting her to
return next week with the government's response. (El Nuevo Diario, La
Prensa, La Tribuna, October 8-10).

______________________________________________________________________

News Briefs

1. The Constitutional Liberal Party "Will Never Legalize Abortion"

An anonymous group of doctors has denounced the Sandinista Party, claiming
that it is taking advantage of the bill to amend the Penal Code currently
before the Justice Committee, to liberalize laws on abortion. Liberal Party
deputy to the National Assembly, Silvio Calderon, stated that the doctors
approached the governing Liberal Party bench with their accusation, saying
they would mount a fierce campaign to make sure the Sandinista Party failed
in its alleged goal.

Calderon said, "It woke us up to what was going on. The Constitutionalist
Liberal Party (PLC) will never de-crimminalize abortion. Rather we demand
that all accept the constitutional requirement that all life be respected."

Sandinista deputy Dora Zeledon roundly denied that the Sandinista Party had
presented any such initiative. "The FSLN has taken no specific position on
this issue," she said. "At the appropriate time, the Sandinista bench will
meet to make a decision on therapeutic abortion and related topics, but
that's all."  (La Tribuna, October 5)

2. US Ambassador Spells It Out

New US Ambassador to Nicaragua Oliver Garza, is in Nicaragua to "make a
frontal attack" on drugs and corruption, and to "strengthen the structures
of democracy." So he gave the world to understand in his first speech before
the National Assembly.  Replacing Lino Gutierrez, a Cuban-American noted for
his smooth diplomacy and non-confrontational style, Garza came out of the
starting gate guns blazing.

Reminding many of former US ambassador, John Maisto, with his "frank, direct
and belligerent" style, informed observers said that Garza had all the
characteristics of a "pocho", that is, someone born in New Mexico, but who
has absorbed all the mainstream culture of the USA. A long-time heavy-hitter
in the US "War on Drugs" (he served for a time as a drug enforcement agent
in the Justice Department), Garza said that "cooperation to combat the
scourge of drug-trafficking is an area of greatest importance for our two
nations. Drug traffickers are criminals who have destroyed the lives of
millions of young people throughout the Americas. We all have the moral
obligation to fight them." (La Prensa, October 6)

3. Aleman Tangles With Another International Non-Governmental Organization
(NGO)

President Aleman has pitted himself against the international NGO community
once again, this time "defending Nicaragua's sovereignty" by dismissing the
representative to the International Regional Organization of Agricultural
Health (OIRSA), Dr. Augusto Cordon Morice. Dr. Cordon Morice is a highly
qualified professional of wide experience and a specialist in his field. His
appointed successor, although a veterinarian, has no such claims to
competence, his chief merits appearing to be that he has the president's ear
and is a former member of the Somoza National Guard.

Cordon Morice enjoyed the complete confidence of his superiors in OIRSA, who
pleaded the case against his dismissal in vain. The same is true for his
colleagues in the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAG-FOR), who, in
addition to lamenting the loss of a respected and valuable co-worker, also
denounced the presidential initiative for violating the independence of both
OIRSA and MAG-FOR.

During the president's previous run-in with internationals working in
Nicaragua, he suspended a post-hurricane Mitch housing project, supported by
the European Community to the tune of US$10.9 million, to try to ensure that
his own picked people would get 14 of the first 17 houses completed. The
Europeans stood firm and Aleman eventually backed down. That confrontation
saw millionaire Aleman claiming that Nicaragua was in charge of its own
destiny, and that therefore it was "better that the poor go on eating dust"
than that he should submit. (El Nuevo Diario, October 5)

4. Nicaragua's Tragedy

"From Revolutionary to Criminal State," thus El Nuevo Diario sums up
Nicaragua's tragic transformation.  Editorial writer Augusto Zamora wrote
this sad little piece on October 7: "In the '80s, all the talk was of
teaching literacy, land reform, development (and the war, of course). In the
'90s, all we hear about is corruption, drug-trafficking, looting.  Then,
hopes. Now, mass poverty and misery. Daily, worse; daily more widespread.

"One day, we breakfast on the robbery of millions. The next, scandalous
frauds. Always the same names, always the same means: bribery, peculation,
impunity. We've lost all guidelines, all moral sense. Where once there were
ethics and determination, now we endure a-morality and cynicism.

Without moral guidelines, our society is dissolving into miasma. Every one,
at his/her own level imitates the ruler: ministers of state dip into
government funds and resources, judges auction off judgments, National
Assembly deputies award themselves privileges. At every level, obscenely
inflated salaries.

Little or nothing for the country itself: impassable roads, collapsing
schools, illiteracy, disease, poverty. Open your eyes! No one is coming to
save us. There is ourselves - and there is the great Nothing." (El Nuevo
Diario, October 7)