Nicaragua

[blindpig]

NicaNotes: Biden declares another “national emergency” because of the threat posed by tiny Nicaragua
December 5, 2024
By John Perry

(John Perry is based in Masaya, Nicaragua, and writes for the Council on Hemispheric Affairs, London Review of Books, FAIR, Covert Action Magazine and others. This article was first published in Popular Resistance on Nov. 26, 2024.)

In the dying days of his administration, President Biden must have needed a reminder by his officials on November 22. He had to decide whether Nicaragua still posed an “unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States”. Presumably he agreed that it did, because he renewed its status as a “national security threat” for a further year, repeating the designation that first began under the last Trump presidency.

As figures from the Latin America Security and Defense Network show, this “threat” comes from a state which spends less of its national income on defense than almost any other country in the hemisphere. It even spends slightly less than neighboring Costa Rica, which has no army. Its total national income (GDP) is the equivalent of a small US city. Its seven million people have the second lowest income per capita in the region.


The map shows comparative figures for Latin American military spending. The first number shows the percentage of national income spent on the military in each country. Source: REDAL, 2024 Atlas Comparativo de la Defensa en América Latina y el Caribe.

What “unusual and extraordinary threat” does Nicaragua pose to a country with 50 times its population and the world’s biggest military budget, whose southern border is in any case nearly 2,000 miles away? According to the White House press release, the first threat is the Nicaraguan government’s “violent response” to a coup attempt that took place over six years ago and was, it omits to mention, instigated by the US. This attempted justification turns the story of what happened on its head. The uprising that shook Nicaragua lasted roughly three months, resulted officially in 251 deaths (including 22 police officers; others put the total deaths as higher) and over 2,000 injured. It allegedly “caused $1 billion in economic damages,” and led to an economic collapse. (After years of continuous growth, GDP fell by 3.4% in 2018). What other government would not have responded to such a damaging attack on its country?

In Washington’s view, further “threats” arise because Nicaragua’s government is “undermining democracy”, using “indiscriminate violence” against its citizens and destabilizing its economy through “corruption”. Quite apart from the fact that these are gross distortions of reality in Nicaragua and are in any case blatantly hypocritical, nothing in the press release shows how – even if true – these conditions could present any threat to the US, let alone an “unusual and extraordinary” one.

Or could it be something else? Recently, in response to Nicaragua’s support for Palestinian liberation, the Israeli regime has made allegations that “radical Iranian forces and terror groups operate freely” in the country, again with no evidence, presumably hoping to encourage Washington to add Nicaragua to the list of “state sponsors of terrorism”. However, this is not mentioned in the White House press release.

Nevertheless, perhaps Nicaragua’s “threat” to the US comes from its international relations? General Laura Richardson, until recently the head of the US Southern Command, put the blame for Russia’s “malign activities” in the region on its links with Nicaragua, Cuba and Venezuela. Nicaragua’s growing relationship with China is also seen as a problematic, with Taiwan warning that China’s planned deep-water port for Bluefields in Nicaragua will be its “naval outpost” in Central America. However, Nicaragua is hardly alone in developing close links with major powers seen by Washington as key adversaries. Peru’s Chinese-built port is also viewed as a threat by General Richardson. Many other countries in the region, including Brazil, now have close ties with China and, to a lesser extent, Russia. In part, the drive behind these links is a desire to be less dependent on the US and insure against its economic sanctions.

Of course, if any country is showing threatening behavior here, it is the US itself. Its sponsoring of the 2018 coup attempt involved the US embassy in Managua and funding from bodies like USAID and the National Endowment for Democracy, which (as they boasted at the time) trained 8,000 young Nicaraguans to take part in the coup. Washington has been trying to undermine Nicaragua’s Sandinista government since the moment it returned to power in 2007. It has repeatedly refused to acknowledge the outcomes of democratic elections, scores of Nicaraguan officials have been sanctioned, development loans via bodies like the World Bank and International Monetary Fund have been blocked for the last six years, Nicaragua’s government has been falsely accused of “preying on migrants”, and its people have been encouraged to migrate to the US. The State Department advises tourists not to visit a country which, according to an international Gallup poll, is “the most peaceful place on earth”.

Nicaragua has suffered 17 years of continuous bullying by its near neighbor but this, of course, is only a short episode in a history of US intervention that began in 1854 when US warships were sent to threaten Nicaragua’s Caribbean coast. Later it included two decades of the country’s occupation by US Marines, Washington’s support for the Somoza dictatorship for four more decades and then, under the Reagan administration, its sponsoring of the “Contra” war which cost 30,000 Nicaraguan lives in the 1980s. Reparations ordered by the World Court for the economic damage caused by that war were, of course, never paid.

So, not only is Washington the guilty party in terms of threatening behavior, but Biden’s declaration and his administration’s policies towards Nicaragua augment this by labelling Nicaragua as a pariah state, which holds “pantomime” elections and where its people flee “communism” and “political persecution”. This labelling is, of course, then repeated by corporate media.

In 2025, Nicaragua can expect new threats from Washington. Marco Rubio is penciled in as the Trump administration’s Secretary of State, acting as Trump’s “sharpshooter” against governments such as those in Nicaragua, Cuba and Venezuela. One target is likely to be the remittances sent by migrants in the US. As in neighboring Central American countries, they account for a quarter of Nicaragua’s national income, and could soon fall both because Trump plans to tax them and because he promises to deport large tranches of those migrants, who will return, jobless, to their home countries.

Those searching for evidence of the “threat” which the country poses to US interests might usefully look at developments in Nicaragua itself. For example, a recent report by the UN’s Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) showed that it is one of the countries in the region that invests most, proportionate to its population, in public health services. Health care is free in Nicaragua and it has by far the largest number of public hospitals in Central America, many of them recently built or modernized. ECLAC’s figures show that life expectancy in Nicaragua is one of the longest in Latin America, despite its income per capita being among the lowest. ECLAC showed that Nicaragua spends a high proportion of its national budget on social investment, and this is reflected not only in comprehensive health care, but in its advances in education, social housing, transport, electricity and drinking water coverage and its transition to renewable energy. The Sandinista government’s current plan to reduce poverty shows that its initial efforts led to it falling from 48.3 per cent of Nicaraguans in 2005 to 24.9 per cent in 2016. Clearly those who planned the 2018 coup attempt saw the “threat” presented by improved public services, since their violence deliberately targeted town halls, health centers, universities, schools and facilities for pregnant women (casas maternas).

In 1985, at the height of the Contra war, the aid agency Oxfam published a book entitled Nicaragua: The Threat of a Good Example? At the time, Nicaragua’s achievements in raising literacy levels, improving food security and bringing public services to remote rural areas were legendary, but necessarily much limited by a US trade embargo and the US-funded attacks on health and education facilities and their workers. Perhaps in 2024, after a popularly elected government has had 17 years to develop public services and reduce poverty, with results obvious to all, Nicaragua really is the “good example” that Washington finds so threatening.

* * * * *

Briefs
By Nan McCurdy
Highway Linking Corinto and Bilwi Complete!
The last section of the 557 kilometer-long strategic inter-oceanic corridor of the North Caribbean Coast is now complete. The road begins at the Port of Corinto on the Pacific coast and ends in Bilwi on the Caribbean coast. The Ministry of Construction and Transportation (MTI) announced the completion of the third section of the Sahsa-Puerto Cabezas highway, 25 kilometers long. With this section this 86 kilometer road is completed and this completes the connectivity between the Pacific and Atlantic coasts in the north of Nicaragua. The construction of this road provides a definitive solution to the historical isolation of 563,088 Indigenous and Afro-descendant people of the Autonomous Region of the Northern Caribbean Coast. This new section also will boost the growth of agricultural and fishing production as well as mining and contributes to the reduction of travel times and costs, strengthens national sovereignty and the security of Nicaraguan families. (La Primerisima, 3 December 2024)

Immigration Law Reformed
On Nov. 28 the National Assembly approved the “Reform to the General Law of Migration and Foreigners and Addition to the Penal Code,” with the purpose of strengthening the country’s legal framework in these areas. According to sponsors of the initiative, the reform will strengthen border controls, including rules governing the state’s ability to grant, deny and cancel the entry, stay, and residence of immigrants and regulate the acquiring of Nicaraguan nationality. Business visas are included in accordance with the goal of promoting investment and bilateral agreements. The new law states that anyone who enters the country in an irregular manner with the purpose of undermining the constitutional order of the country or conspiring to commit terrorist acts or economic destabilization shall be guilty of a crime and punished with two to six years prison time and a fine. National Assembly Deputy Patricia Sanchez said that the reform allows a modernization and updating of the legal framework of the General Directorate of Immigration and Foreigners. The amended articles reinforce the prevention of labor exploitation of migrants by reducing the period for employers to inform the migratory authority about the hiring of citizens of other nationalities. To see the entire newly reformed law: https://radiolaprimerisima.com/reforman ... gratorias/ (La Primerisima, 28 November 2024)

Expansion and Improvement of León’s Water System Almost Complete
ENACAL (Nicaragua’s water and sewerage company) reported that the project for the expansion, improvement and modernization of the potable water system of the city of León is in its final stages, reaching 97% completion to date. The 198 kilometers of pipelines, construction of 18 wells and 12 tanks will be completed in the first months of 2025. This will substantially improve service to some 48,200 families. The project has received financial support from the government of Nicaragua and the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI). See photos: https://radiolaprimerisima.com/casi-lis ... a-en-leon/ (La Primerisima, 27 November 2024)

Camilo Ortega Hospital in Juigalpa Renovated
The Ministry of Health concluded the renovation work, including the replacement of the roof of the inpatient area, of the Comandante Camilo Ortega Hospital in Juigalpa, Chontales. This will provide better conditions for attending the 117,000 patients who receive care and treatment in this health center every year. The work included the aforementioned replacement of the roof, ceiling maintenance, installation of gutters and downspouts for rainwater drainage in the hospitalization, general services, laboratory and imaging areas. See photos: https://radiolaprimerisima.com/rehabili ... -juigalpa/ (La Primerisima, 27 November 2024)

Much Excitement Over Arrival of Buses for Intercity Transportation
On Dec. 3rd, 400 buses and minibuses from the People’s Republic of China arrived in the capital to be distributed among the different intercity transportation cooperatives. Vice President Rosario Murillo reported that next week the government will be delivering the buses for the communities of the North and South Caribbean Coast. “With this we are honoring the memory of the Guerrilla Commander and Priest Gaspar García Laviana.” Murillo explained that “Dec. 11 is another anniversary of his transition to another plane of life. But the martyrs live and vibrate now in the hearts and lives of everyone. Why? Because every achievement, every step forward, they are there as the sun that illuminates us and never goes down.” In closing, Murillo reiterated that “These buses come to the families of the Autonomous Regions of the Caribbean Coast because we have peace and security that we proudly safeguard and defend, that we lovingly take care of.” Victor Zuniga, driver of one of the units, said, “We are proud of how this government has worked tirelessly with other nations to provide better transportation. Before, the units were in terrible condition. Today everything is different.” (La Primerisima, 3 December 2024)

Nicaragua Speaks Up at Meeting to Fight Desertification
The government of Nicaragua raised its voice before the powerful of the global north who ignore their historical responsibilities, demanding the creation of fair conditions that allow developing countries to face global environmental challenges. The Nicaraguan representative, Mohamed Lashtar, presented Nicaragua’s position during the final session of the High-Level Ministerial Segment at the sixteenth session of the Conference of the Parties (COP16) of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) which took place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from December 2 to 13, 2024.

Discussing the fight against desertification and drought, Lashtar said that climate change has become the climate crisis and that Mother Earth has been stripped of her protective elements. He emphasized that Nicaragua has been adopting policies that contribute to balance, development, and environmental sustainability with the active participation of families and communities. He denounced the capitalist model as the main cause of climate inequality and he called for justice under the principle of common responsibilities, demanding greater technological and financial efforts to create fair conditions that allow developing countries to face the climate crisis, promote multilateralism and a holistic approach to protect Mother Earth.

Rezq Basheer-Salimia, Head of the Palestinian Delegation to COP16 thanked Nicaragua and President Daniel Ortega and Vice President Rosario Murillo for the unconditional support of the Palestinian cause, conveying fraternal greetings to the people and government of Nicaragua. Several delegations highlighted the courage of Nicaragua in firmly supporting Palestine and its solidarity with Gaza, advocating for peace, solidarity, stability and global security.

The Nicaraguan delegation participated in the high-level ministerial segments on drought resilience, finance, and migration due to the effects of land degradation and drought. The delegation was composed of Mohamed Lashtar, Minister Advisor to the President for Africa, Middle East and Arab Countries and Jonathan Gonzalez, Climate Change Specialist of the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (MARENA) of Nicaragua. (La Primerisima, 3 December 2024)

Rock FM Celebrates 17 Years with Tribute to the Best National Metal Music
The most-listened to metal-rock radio station in Nicaragua, Rock FM, celebrated its 17th anniversary at the Polideportivo Alexis Argüello Stadium (an indoor sports and music venue) with a concert of the best exponents of national rock. This 11-hour marathon rock concert included only Nicaraguan bands like Decadencia, Coraje, Mofockos, Inanimate Like Corpses, Xibalba, Excelsyum, Omnífono, La Cegua, Carga Cerrada, and Momotombo on the stage and it closed with the band Ciclos. In total 23 national bands participated, each with five songs that they had written. Rock FM sponsors this concert yearly on their anniversary to promote national bands and the rock genre. As part of the event there was a Rock Fair Expo where products alluding to rock, including t-shirts, key chains, clothes and food, were offered. Rock FM is one of the most popular radio stations in Nicaragua with a complete programming of rock music in all its styles from Latin America, Europe, the US and more. Federico Rojas, lead singer of the band Momotombo, said that these concerts have reactivated the national rock movement, which he categorizes as good news. “I had not participated in a national event for a while and now to be able to come and see so many bands, some of them new, shows that there is a future; it is an excellent event.” All the bands that played are Nicaraguan and each one interpreted their own melodies making the platform that promotes these concerts every year more and more attractive. Rock FM promises a rock tour throughout the country in 2025. (19Digital, 30 November 2024)

https://afgj.org/nicanotes-biden-declar ... -nicaragua

The threat of a good example again...We know what they're afraid of.

[blindpig]

NicaNotes: “If You’re Not Studying, It’s Because You Don’t Want To”
December 12, 2024
By Becca Renk

(Originally from Idaho, Becca Renk has lived in Ciudad Sandino, Nicaragua, for more than 20 years, working in sustainable community development with the Jubilee House Community and its project, the Center for Development in Central America. Becca coordinates the Casa Benjamin Linder solidarity project in Managua.)


There are a multitude of opportunities available through the free education system in Nicaragua including free technical degrees available for those 14 years and older in everything from motorcycle mechanic to chef, veterinary technician to alternative energy tech.

The Right to Exist

I’m giving my new neighbor Wilmer a ride into town. He’s from the interior of Nicaragua, Siuna. To make conversation, I ask about horses. Wilmer explains to me the attributes of horses versus mules and donkeys, the relative cost of each animal and the cost of breeding a mare with a donkey.

The conversation moves on to food crops – Wilmer fills me in on the dates for bean, corn and rice harvests in different parts of the country and the price per pound for each crop on the farm versus the market. He tells me he’s headed up north at the end of the year to work the bean harvest.

Wilmer will take a bus all the way to the end of the line, then walk three hours and cross several rivers to get to his house. He is 18 years old and he’s only spent three months in a schoolroom in his whole life.

“I can read,” he says, “but I can’t write.”

Wilmer hasn’t been able to register for school, social benefits, or work a formal job because he doesn’t have a birth certificate. He was born at the end of the neoliberal era when it was very common to not register babies’ births at all.

The right to have a name is one of the many rights that the current Nicaraguan government has been restoring to its people since returning to office in 2007. Today, registering a baby’s birth is a free process available at hospitals where 97% of births now take place. Municipal governments also have a program providing free legal services for citizens whose birth was never registered.

The Right to Education

To take advantage of this program, Wilmer has come to stay with his mother in our rural village near Managua. He hopes to have his birth certificate before the end of the year. Once he is in the system, the local principal has ensured him that he can enroll for the new school year in high school on Saturdays. He is excited about the possibilities this will provide him.

Between 1990 and 2006, the neoliberal educational model in Nicaragua considered the public school system as useful only in creating future clients, viewing the poor as a source of cheap labor and not worthy of investment in their education. Public school funding was slashed, including even the daily glass of milk given to children during the 1980s. In the 1990s, the wealthy sent their children to private schools while public classrooms deteriorated to the point of being useless, and children had to bring their own desks or sit on the floor to receive their lessons.

As a consequence of these policies, by 2006, nearly a quarter of the country was unable to read or write. This is a particularly shameful statistic following on the triumphant National Literacy Crusade in 1980 that had managed to lower the 50.3% illiteracy under the Somoza dictatorship to 12.9% in a matter of months.

Economists agree that the progress of a country is dependent on education. According to the World Bank, earnings increase by 10% with each year of schooling received, a higher increase than any other individual action could provide.

Idaho Dead Last in Educational Spending

In the United States, education spending falls short of benchmarks set by international organizations such as UNESCO, of which the U.S. is a member. The U.S. puts just 12.7% of public funding toward education, well below the international standard of 15%, while spending 43% of the annual Federal budget on military spending.

When I graduated from public school in Idaho, the state spent less money per student on education than any other state in the nation. Thirty years later, that is still true. In the interim, things have actually gotten worse: the No Child Left Behind Act focused curriculum on teaching for standardized tests, and the charter school movement led to an exodus of creativity and public-school funding to the private sector. As a result of these policies, today 27.6% of Idahoans have a high school diploma, but no college education; and in my rural hometown, 15% of the adult population didn’t graduate high school at all.

Nicaragua’s Investment in Education

Eighteen years ago, when the Sandinista government came back into office, more than half of Nicaragua’s population was under the age of 21. It was clear that without a significant investment in education, the economy and society were not going to advance.

Nicaragua opted to make educational investment as a pillar in its poverty reduction programs, and that investment has risen every year since. In 2024, 53 cents of every dollar Nicaragua spent was on social programs, with education representing 19.5% of the country’s overall budget, well above UNESCO’s international standard of 15%. Nicaragua’s total military spending is only 3% of the national budget.

In this small country of seven million people, the educational investment has been huge. Since 2007, all existing classrooms been remodeled, and 9,000 more have been built new; all teachers have been trained and 10,000 new teachers have been added; 1.25 million school desks have been purchased and 1.2 million schoolchildren get a hot meal daily.

In addition to infrastructure investments, the Nicaraguan government has also invested in people: seniors graduating high school now receive a cash bonus from the government of $82. This year, the bonus was given to 63,717 students, adding up to a total investment of $5.24 million.

The results of these policies? Nicaragua has been declared free of illiteracy, the school retention rate is now over 92%, and Nicaragua is number one in the world for women and girl’s education.

“If You’re Not Studying, It’s Because You Don’t Want To”

Wilmer’s option to attend Saturday school in rural areas is just one of a multitude of opportunities now available through the free education system in Nicaragua. There are accelerated classes on weekends to finish high school in two years, short courses available in each municipality, and free technical degrees available for those 14 years and older in everything from motorcycle mechanic to chef, veterinary technician to alternative energy tech. Additionally, there are more than 400 university degree courses available at free universities around the country, with in-person, low residence and online options available in rural areas.

When talking to Nicaraguans about the variety of educational options, the phrase I hear most is, “Nowadays, if you’re not studying, it’s because you don’t want to.” Thanks to free third-level education and improved opportunities, since 2006, the percentage of population with a university degree in Nicaragua has risen from 9% to 19%.

Spoiled for Options in Nicaragua

Our daughters attended public school in Nicaragua from preschool right through high school. When they graduated, we considered sending them to live with their grandparents in Idaho to continue their education. But in rural north Idaho, in-person university classes are at least an hour’s drive, and the closest four-year degree available is at the University of Idaho three hours away in Moscow. Even with in-state tuition, the cost of U of I is estimated at around $25,000 per year.

Given the lack of options in north Idaho and the quality of choices available for free in Nicaragua, the decision is a no-brainer. After taking a gap year, our daughter Orla is one of nearly 62,000 applicants to public university this year. Just in the past few years, there has been a marked increase in the number of public universities and campuses around the country, so this year there is a single application for all the public universities.

In order to apply, a few weeks ago Orla went online and entered her student ID number into the online application. Her full name and grades from high school automatically popped up. She then entered her top three choices for majors, which she picked from a catalog of over 400 options, aided by an online quiz that matched her interests with available careers. Orla then entered her preferences for morning, afternoon, evening, Saturday and Sunday options and put in her contact information.

This week, the results will be available online: students are accepted to a program based on grades and are placed in the program at the university closest to them. If they aren’t accepted to their top three choices, they are given a list of degree courses that still have available places, and are given the option to enroll in one of those courses. The only cost ever for public university from application right through graduation, is a one-time fee to issue a diploma which is a maximum charge of $40.

As Wilmer makes the long trip home for the holidays, I know he will be fine. I’ve rarely met someone with such street smarts, despite coming from a place where there are no streets. But Wilmer has to work very hard just to survive. When he comes back from harvesting beans in January, birth certificate in hand, the new school year will be starting. I imagine him adding formal education to all his intelligence, and I know that nothing will be able to stop Wilmer.

* * * * *

Briefs
By Nan McCurdy
Millions of Plants for Reforestation
As a result of the “Verde que te quiero verde” (Green, I love you green) National Reforestation Campaign, 22,902,125 forest and fruit plants have been produced in 2024 through 3,585 nurseries throughout the country. Thanks to this initiative, 5,745,960 of the plants have been planted and established in protected areas and environmental restoration zones. Also, as part of the campaign, 2,376,848 plants have been delivered to campaign participants around the country. This action is part of the country’s commitment to the protection of natural resources and the recovery of essential ecosystems for the well-being of the communities. The National Reforestation Campaign is being developed with the objective of restoring degraded areas and facing the challenges that result from climate change. See photos: https://radiolaprimerisima.com/veintido ... s-en-2024/ (La Primerisima, 8 December 2024)

Nicaragua Moves Toward Food Sovereignty with 112% Growth since 3007
Food sovereignty is understood as the power of the state to guarantee the production of the food most consumed by the inhabitants of a country. In this scenario, Nicaragua stands out as a nation with high agricultural production and potential, consolidating itself as one of the main food producers in Central America. According to official statistics, Nicaragua produces more than 85% of the food it consumes. Entrepreneurs in the pork, poultry, livestock and other agricultural sectors discussed the work being done to boost production levels through genetic improvement plans and pest control. From 2006 to 2023, according to official statistics, production grew by 112.5%, which allows one to say that Nicaragua went from subsistence agriculture to an agriculture that supplies national markets and has agro-export capacity. Omar Cardoza, manager of a poultry farm, said: “We have a state-of-the-art poultry house, which has sensors that allow climate control of the chickens for their comfort. We have sensors for the food, so that they always have food and water, as well as ventilation or heating, if necessary. And we make the food concentrate ourselves.” Wilber Juarez, the Institute for Agricultural Protection and Health (IPSA)’s Director of Animal Health, said, “In 2022 and part of 2023, the Americas were hit hard by increased cases and high mortality rates from avian influenza. Nicaragua was one of the few countries that were able to mitigate its effects. That was thanks to our monitoring system and the effort that has been made by the central government, through IPSA and the other institutions of the system, in coordination with producers.” Castillo continued, “How can we achieve food security? From 2007 until now, we have grown 112%. For example, in agriculture, we have grown 125%, and in livestock, 100%. This gives you an idea of the results that our government has had. As part of the strategy, we are producing 101 types of crops, and there is no lack of food in our country. Food security has to do with having food availability everywhere.” (TN8, 7 December, 2024)

Exports bring in US$7.5 Billion in 2024
Nicaragua’s exports are expected to close this year at US$7.5 billion, as reported by the general director of foreign trade of the Ministry of Development, Industry and Commerce (MIFIC), Maricruz Prieto. She specified that the main destination market is the United States, at 48%, followed by Central America, then Mexico, the European Union, Canada and China. She said that the primary export items are garments, gold, automotive harnesses, coffee, other agricultural products, beef, sugar and seafood. She pointed out that there will be a growth in exports, but at a slightly slower rate than last year. However, there has been growth – in 2023 exports closed with US$7.3 billion. She said that next year export growth is expected to be between 3 and 5%. She pointed out that the plans are to diversify to more products. For example, with coffee – begin to give it greater added value and export more roasted coffee instead of unroasted green coffee beans. Regarding prices, she said that they have been stable. In the case of seafood, the international price has dropped quite a lot, although it is an important product in the export basket. She added that the price of coffee has been very good and it is one of the products that has maintained its value and has risen in some markets. (La Primerisima, 10 December 2024)

Nearly 1,000 Inmates Graduate in Different Educational Modalities
On Dec. 9th, 894 inmates graduated in different educational systems in the Penitentiary Systems of the whole country, as reported by Deputy Commissioner Rodrigo Garcia, director of the Penitentiary System of Tipitapa. He said that in La Modelo Penitentiary System, 25 inmates earned their high school diplomas. “These are tangible results of the educational policies promoted by the state. Eighteen percent of the entire prison population is involved in various study programs and we hope to expand this next year,” Garcia said. See photos: https://radiolaprimerisima.com/casi-mil ... dalidades/ (La Primerisima, 9 December 2024)

President Daniel Ortega Calls for World Peace
“We are committed to peace, and we call for peace to those who have the power to promote and make wars,” said President Daniel Ortega.” He particularly urged the promotion of peace to the powers that could launch atomic bombs. “At the end of the day, as history has shown, no matter how much power they have, in the end the victory belongs to the people.” He recalled the experience of Vietnam, and the young Americans who died in that Asian nation. “In the end, Vietnam managed to expel the U.S. troops and we do not forget the image at the U.S. embassy when the helicopters were coming down to take away the personnel … in other words, a humiliation for a power like the United States,” he recalled. The President stated that this happens because Washington cares little about the fact that American youth will give their lives for causes that are not just, and do not bring benefits to the American people, but on the contrary bring pain to the peoples they invade.

Ortega went on to say that “Syria is a country that is deeply divided and only a miracle will help there. But even being skeptical, we join the calls for peace made by many peoples and organizations in the world,” he said. In Syria the war has been about taking over a strategic area with petroleum. “God must want peace to come to Syria, but unfortunately the diabolical attitude of those who continue to dispute lands that belong to other peoples weighs more heavily,” he emphasized. (La Primerisima, 9 December 2024)

Granada — Tourism Capital of Nicaragua
The colonial city of Granada, founded in 1524, was declared a national treasure and tourism capital of the country in a decree from President Daniel Ortega. In 1856 the city was attacked and burned by U.S. invaders, making it a symbol of resistance for Nicaraguans. With half a millennium of existence, Granada preserves the richness of its architecture, art and ancestral traditions. After a morning full of joy, thousands of families from Granada and visitors gathered at the Monument of the 500 years of the city. People ate the traditional vigorón, in this case “El Vigorón Más Grande de Nicaragua” (the biggest vigorón in Nicaragua). In total, there were 85 quintals of yuca, 550 pounds of pork rinds, four drums of mimbro (bilimbi), six of vinegar and one of “Congo” chili, which resulted in more than 5,000 servings of vigorón; accompanied by corn chicha drink. The mayor of the city, Gladys Medina, said that the sharing of this vigorón with the city is “a way of honoring the gastronomic tradition of Granada. We have more activities for this day, all focused on making this an unforgettable celebration.” (TN8 and La Primerisima, 7 December 2024)

https://afgj.org/nicanotes-if-youre-not ... nt-want-to

******

Nicaragua Canal
December 16, 11:17



The Nicaraguan authorities say they want to invite Russia to implement the Nicaraguan Canal project as an alternative to the Panama Canal. Nicaragua also expects the participation of China and another group of countries interested in diversifying trade flows through the Caribbean.

This project periodically pops up, but faces obvious financial difficulties, as well as American pressure, since the United States is not at all interested in the emergence of a transport corridor to the Pacific Ocean that is not under their control. It can be expected that under Trump, US pressure on Nicaragua to overthrow the current government will increase.

Of course, if China is ready to finance most of the construction costs, it would be advantageous for Russia to participate in this project.

https://colonelcassad.livejournal.com/9554495.html

Google Translator

A project I'd rather not see because of the environmental damage. More to the point: why more and more trans-oceanic trade? Seems there are two primary reason to accept the additional cost of this trade: product availability and the cost of labor. Hard to argue with availability, you can't grow bananas in Canada and some minerals are not universally available, for example. But Labor: why should workers doing the same job be paid less in some countries? Most manufacturing can be done almost anywhere and anyplace benefits from that value-added activity. It was the cost of labor which impelled US capital to off-shore manufacturing, the Chinese didn't put a gun to anybody's head. Their situation, on several levels, made the differential feasible and the political situation made it necessary. True, their workers were paid less than US workers but they had more social and state support too. The Chinese took advantage of US capital's greed to their benefit and our detriment, quite a coup. I salute them. But in a better world, a socialist world, such competition of workers would be abolished and the costs of shipping could be greatly reduced along with the environmental costs.

[blindpig]

How the Human Rights Industry Manufactures Consent for “Regime Change”
By John Perry - January 2, 2025


[Source: rumble.com]

In the words of the United Nations, “human rights” range from “the most fundamental—the right to life—to those that make life worth living, such as the rights to food, education, work, health, and liberty.” These rights are supposed to be “inherent to us all.” But this lofty ambition has become distorted, not only by the UN itself but by the whole of what Alfred de Zayas calls the “Human Rights Industry.”

This industry, headed by the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC), has multiple layers that include UN “expert groups” and “rapporteurs,” regional commissions like (in the Western Hemisphere) the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, international NGOs such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, and tens of thousands of other non-governmental organizations.

In part, this industry still attempts to defend real human rights—the most topical example being the remarkable work of the UN’s Special Rapporteur on Palestine, Francesca Albanese. But, take almost any other country as an example—such as the much less publicized case of Nicaragua—and the real purpose of most of the human rights industry is exposed.


[Source: theodoresbooks.com]

This purpose, I argue, is what Noam Chomsky and Edward S. Herman in their 1988 book described as “manufacturing consent,” that is, promoting people’s acceptance of government policies on the basis of a partial picture of issues (in this case, human rights), denying them access to alternative views which would lead them to oppose such policies. The relevant U.S. government policy here is regime change.

In Nicaragua’s case, U.S. regime-change attempts have a long history. Most recently, the country was the subject of a U.S.-funded coup attempt in 2018. Since then it has also suffered U.S. sanctions, which have cost it an estimated $2.5-3.5 billion in lost aid for poverty-reduction projects.

Elections held in 2021 prompted further U.S. intervention and, when Daniel Ortega was re-elected, Washington labeled the election a “sham” and then escalated its attacks. None of these interventions, not even the unilateral sanctions which are contrary to international law, appears in any published “human rights” reports, despite the very obvious damage they have inflicted on ordinary Nicaraguans. Indeed, a feature common to all such reports is that they focus on the rights only of those opposed to the Sandinista government.


Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega has been the target of a U.S. regime-change operation that includes the spreading of disinformation about human rights in Nicaragua. [Source: newsweek.com]

The UNHRC has just published its periodic review of Nicaragua’s human rights record. Such reviews are supposed to show a country’s progress toward genuine human rights, as defined by the UN. Civil society groups are encouraged to make submissions about a country’s human rights, supposedly to allow the UNHRC to get a rounded picture.

Nicaragua has made huge advances in social and economic rights since 2007 under its Sandinista government. Just one example, highlighted in a new report from the respected international body, the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, is that Nicaragua is devoting a larger proportion of its budget to public health than most Latin American countries, and that one of the direct benefits is high life expectancy compared with the majority of the other, wealthier countries. But hardly any good news of this kind—of which Nicaragua has plenty—appears in the UN’s report.

In the hope that the UNHCR might want to present a balanced picture, I joined a small voluntary group, Friends of Latin America, which compiled and submitted first-hand evidence to the periodic review. The group had done this (successfully) to an earlier review on Cuba. However, our submission was rejected, on the spurious grounds that the evidence was not first-hand.

When we complained that this was untrue, the reason for rejection was changed to say we had made no recommendations (which is not required by the UN’s own guidelines). But by then, the periodic review had been published. Not unexpectedly, the majority of the civil society evidence it cited supports the U.S. narrative about Nicaragua, that its government is attacking, not defending, human rights.

Who submits this evidence?
Much of the evidence accepted by UNHCR comes from dozens of NGOs that champion Nicaraguan “human rights” but which are actually based in the U.S. and Costa Rica, including more than 20 operating under the banner Coalición Nicaragua Lucha. Their evidence is by definition second-hand!


Coalición Nicaragua Lucha. reflects the cooperation of the political left. It presents itself as an activist group committed to progressive causes, but aligns ultimately with U.S. imperialism. [Source: 100noticias.com]

Several have roots in NGOs originally based in Nicaragua but subsequently closed. For example, the Colectivo de Derechos Humanos Nicaragua Nunca Más was established with funding from a small NGO, the Nicaraguan Center for Human Rights (CENIDH, for its initials in Spanish), which in the build-up to the coup attempt was awarded a staggering $23 million by various European institutions, some with government connections.

The re-established NGO has conducted a highly questionable campaign around alleged systematic murders in rural Nicaragua. I investigated the background and funding of CENIDH and other NGOs in detail in 2019 for The Grayzone. Like the other NGOs, Nunca Más does not declare where its money comes from, but in 2021 it received a “democracy award” from the U.S. government-funded National Endowment for Democracy, a CIA offshoot that specializes in regime-change operations and political propaganda.


[Source: articulo.com]

Nicaragua’s “human rights” champions lost their NGO status and were forced to close by the government after the coup attempt was defeated. While this was inevitably portrayed as “persecution” by the corporate media, the behavior of these bodies suggested they were little more than foreign-funded propaganda outfits.

Their role, which they executed successfully, was to exaggerate the numbers killed in the coup attempt and to blame all the deaths on the government. For example, Coalición Nicaragua Lucha repeated the lie that 350 people were killed during “peaceful demonstrations” in 2018, denying the reality of horrendous opposition violence that resulted in the deaths of 22 police officers and of large numbers of government supporters and innocent bystanders.

Selectivity in compiling evidence on human rights is not new. Nicaragua’s first human rights NGO, the Permanent Commission on Human Rights, made wildly unjustified claims of human rights abuses by the revolutionary Sandinista government in the 1980s.

Another NGO, ANPDH, was set up by the Reagan administration in Miami, specifically to defend the “Contra” forces against the many accusations that they were victimizing civilians. It is now based in Costa Rica.


Right-wing Nicaraguan NGOs have their roots in Reagan-era regime-change and terrorist operations targeting Nicaragua’s left-leaning Sandinista government. [Source: 100noticias.com]


International human rights bodies refuse to acknowledge errors in their work

More interesting and alarming is how the contamination of human rights work extends to international bodies, whether well-known NGOs like Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, or the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (an offshoot of the Organization of American States, or OAS) or the UNHCR itself. All of these bodies utilize evidence provided by the local “human rights” NGOs, apparently without questioning its veracity.

Nor do these bodies respond if a lay person points out the errors, omissions and outright lies promulgated by these NGOs. I have found that emails to such international bodies routinely go unanswered, evidence of errors in published reports is ignored and, when official complaint mechanisms are used, nothing happens. The rest of this article gives examples from my personal experiences of dealing with such bodies, from 2018 until now.

During and immediately after the coup attempt, Amnesty International (AI) published two reports on Nicaragua that relied heavily on “evidence” from local NGOs. A group of activists working with the Alliance for Global Justice (AfGJ), alarmed at AI’s obvious bias, researched and prepared a response to the second report, which AI pejoratively titled Instilling Terror.

Our report, Dismissing the Truth, showed in detail the bias, omissions and errors in AI’s material. For example, it unraveled the story of a police officer who, according to AI, was killed by his fellow officers.

This unlikely explanation of his murder had been offered by his estranged mother, an opposition supporter, via a local NGO. In reality there was convincing evidence, including from his partner (also a police officer), that he was killed by an opposition sniper.

Several attempts were made to engage with AI about its report, including a formal complaint via its published procedures and the offer to discuss it at their London headquarters. There was never anything more than a peremptory response.

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) was one of several bodies invited by the government, in good faith, to visit Nicaragua in 2018 and investigate the human rights situation. After such a visit, IACHR’s GIEI-Nicaragua (Grupo Interdisciplinario de Expertos Independientes) presented a detailed analysis of deaths that occurred on May 30, 2018, when two large marches were held in Managua, one by the opposition and one by Sandinista supporters.

Yet the published material and a video reconstruction (since removed from its website) only examined in detail the deaths among government opponents, referring only briefly to the several Sandinista deaths and not at all to the many injuries to police officers.

Crucially, its report was shown to have ignored and manipulated evidence from its own experts. It omitted evidence of the use of firearms by the opposition, manipulated the analysis of a weapons expert, and concluded that the protesters were killed by the police.

As a result of the report’s gross distortions of the May 30 events, a large number of organizations and individuals wrote to the IACHR and separately made a formal complaint to the OAS, but received only a brief reply. Nevertheless, for Spanish newspaper El Pais and for the BBC, the reconstruction proved that the police were the killers.

In another example, from March 2021, the IACHR held an open session on Indigenous people’s rights in Nicaragua, to which no democratically elected representatives of Indigenous communities were invited, only spokespeople from two opposition-oriented NGOs. One was a recipient of USAID finance. The AfGJ, which discovered by chance that the hearing would take place yet managed to make a submission by the deadline, was not called to give evidence, nor was its submission even mentioned. In July 2024, the IACHR held another session in which only opposition-oriented NGOs took part.

Perhaps the most egregious example of partiality comes from the UN itself. In 2022, the UNHCR established a “Group of Human Rights Experts on Nicaragua” (GHREN) which, in February 2023, published a highly biased report. It went so far as to argue that Nicaragua’s government had committed “crimes against humanity.” The “experts” even went beyond their mandate and recommended further economic sanctions.

A ”collective” of small opposition NGOs had been given open access to the GHREN and clearly had a strong influence on its work. The Nicaragua Solidarity Coalition (consisting of a number of Nicaraguan government-supporting organizations in the Americas and Europe) quickly prepared a detailed critique of the report. For example, they showed how the GHREN’s chronology of events during the coup attempt in the city of Masaya (where I live) omitted almost all opposition violence, including murders, torture and destruction of municipal buildings and Sandinista homes.

When the Coalition accompanied this evidence with a well-supported petition, sent to the UNHCR and its “group of experts,” there was no response. After multiple emails containing further evidence, only a single, one-line reply was received, pointing the Coalition to the material on the GHREN’s website. Since then, further reports have been produced by the GHREN, none with any mention of our submissions.

The real purpose of “expert” groups

In The Human Rights Industry, Alfred de Zayas makes the point that the real purpose behind such expert groups or commissions is “to denigrate and destabilize the targeted government to facilitate undemocratic ‘regime change’ as desired by one or more powerful countries.”

They are part of the “hybrid war arsenal” which such countries employ. He goes on to refer specifically to the GHREN’s report on Nicaragua, labeling it a “political pamphlet” and saying that its accusations of crimes against humanity are undeserving of detailed comment. He duly signed the Coalition’s petition, along with several other human rights lawyers and experts. His signature carries the weight of someone who is, himself, a former UN expert.

It might be argued that little attention is paid to human rights reports about a small country like Nicaragua. However, if a country is being targeted by Washington, legacy media such as The New York Times and The Washington Post do cover them, often embellishing what they say.

For example, the item in the Times on the GHREN’s second report was headed “Nicaragua Nazis: Stunned researchers cite Hitler’s Germany.” Such media reports, carrying a message that Nicaragua is an authoritarian state, echo and reinforce Washington’s message that Nicaragua is a dictatorship or even, as former National Security Adviser John Bolton put it, part of a “troika of tyranny” with other target countries, namely, Cuba and Venezuela.

The real intention of the UNHCR’s “group of experts” can hardly be to appraise and influence the human rights of Nicaraguans. They are not even able to visit the country, because when the Sandinista government found that “experts” sent by the UN or OAS disregarded much of the evidence presented to them, it closed its doors. Real help to Nicaragua might include recommending that the damaging, illegal sanctions imposed on the country be removed (instead of calling for more of them).

As de Zayas says, such “experts” might even make a genuine offer of technical help in the field of human rights. But these groups, and these reports, are not really concerned with the rights of ordinary Nicaraguans, nor are they intended to assist the government. At best, they are concerned only with the rights of a small elite represented in the (mainly exiled) opposition groups. At worst, their purpose is to demonize the government, aiding the process of manufacturing consent for Washington’s aim of regime change in Nicaragua.

https://covertactionmagazine.com/2025/0 ... me-change/

******

NicaNotes: Holiday Reflection
December 19, 2024
By Kathleen Murdock

(Kathleen Murdock is a founding member of the Jubilee House Community from 45 years ago, and has worked with its project in Nicaragua, the Center for Development in Central America, for the past 30 years.)

I am a Christian. Many of you who read this are of different faiths or of no faith. This reflection is about the Christmas story found in the gospels of Matthew and Luke and I hope all of you will bear with me and keep reading.


Joseph and Mary had gone to Bethlehem to register with the occupying empire. Photo: A street in Ciudad Sandino. Taken by Tom Twigg.

We tend to think of the birth of Jesus in relation to nativity sets (creches), the sweet imps in church playing their roles in the Christmas pageant, and carols like Silent Night and O Little Town of Bethlehem.

From the accounts in the two gospels, we have a much different story altogether with heavier implications.

First, Mary gave birth in a stable; thus, Jesus was born homeless.

Joseph and Mary had gone to Bethlehem to register with the occupying empire (Rome) to pay tribute. They, along with most Israelites, were not wealthy, which means Jesus was born into poverty.

The known people who recognized Jesus’ potential greatness were common folk (shepherds) because that’s who the angels decided to tell, and international scientists who studied astronomy. Jesus was first worshiped by scientists and regular people.

The powerful who discovered his birth were threatened by what they heard and so ordered Jesus’ death as a little one. Being warned, Joseph and Mary whisked Jesus away to Egypt to keep him safe; then Jesus was an immigrant / a refugee.

Many other parents of little boys were not warned and thus helplessly watched as their children were slaughtered at the hands of Roman soldiers. Jesus barely escaped a massacre.

So, when I say I’m a Christian that means I HAVE to write and talk about politics and the threats on the lives of the vulnerable. I have to talk about international politics and occupying forces because Jesus lived under all that. The heartaches, poverty, and massacres that occupying nations impose is evil.

I have to talk about science. Scientists worshiped Jesus as a baby. Scientists followed a star and scientists can show us how we are to follow Jesus regarding so many issues like climate, hunger, water, disease, etc.

I have to talk about economics because Jesus was poor and homeless. I have to talk about policies because Jesus was an immigrant / a refugee.

So many people in the States and across the globe are afraid now. And rightfully so; we are moving into a new world order and there is a mean edge to it.

The angels said, “Be not afraid for we bring tidings of great joy. A child has been born unto you who is Christ the Lord.” That babe grew up and called us to love and love and love. He told us to give and give and give…to heal and heal and heal…to liberate and liberate and liberate. He told us when we do this for others, we do this for him.

We also cannot forget that later he was executed as a threat to the state and the religion of his time…by the powerful.


Rainbow viewed over El Porvenir water tank. Photo by Tom Twigg.

There is a resurrection coming…until then we do what’s right.

(Like the Seinfeld Show Christianity is about everything and nothing.bp)

* * * * *

Briefs
By Nan McCurdy
Newborn Care Strengthened
On Dec. 16, the Ministry of Health delivered ten new neonatal thermal incubators to the Carlos Marx Hospital in Managua to strengthen the care of premature or low birth weight newborns. The equipment will be installed in the Newborn Intensive Care Unit and will improve the quality of life of more than 200 babies who receive care in this specialized area every year. See photos: https://radiolaprimerisima.com/fortalec ... n-managua/ (La Primerisima, 16 December 2024)

New Fully Equipped Mobile Clinics are in Operation
On December 6, 2024, five new fully equipped mobile clinics became operational. This will help the Ministry of Health in serving 1.7 million people living in the departments of Estelí, Nueva Segovia, Masaya, Jinotega and the North Caribbean. These units have two rooms, one for gynecological care and the other for dentistry; they have a dental chair, gynecological bed, portable ultrasound, dental instruments, air conditioning system, hydro-sanitary system, among other things to create a good experience for the patients. See Photos: https://nicaraguasandino.com/entregan-n ... equipadas/ (Nicaragua Sandino, 5 December, 2024)

Patients Suffering with Hip and Knee Problems Undergo Surgery
A total of 55 hip and knee replacement surgeries were performed by Nicaraguan specialists during the mega orthopedic health fair that took place on Dec. 14 at the Camilo Ortega Regional Hospital in Juigalpa, Chontales. During the mega health fair, doctors served 3,919 patients from the department of Chontales. During the activity, injuries to children were treated, as well as problems of the shoulder, knee and ankle joints. Electromyography and X-ray studies were also performed. See photos: https://radiolaprimerisima.com/operan-a ... -rodillas/ (La Primerisima, 15 December 2024)

The XXIV ALBA-TCP Summit: Unity and New projects for Latin America
The XXIV Summit of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America – Peoples’ Trade Treaty (ALBA-TCP) took place in Caracas, Venezuela, on December 14, 2024, in commemoration of the 20th anniversary of its founding. This meeting brought together leaders of member countries, such as Nicaragua, Cuba and Bolivia, as well as Caribbean nations and international representatives, reaffirming their commitment to integration, solidarity and social justice. During the event, important initiatives were approved, highlighting the Agro-ALBA project, focused on the sustainable production of organic food to strengthen food security. In addition, the reactivation of the ALBA Councils of Ministers in key areas such as energy, tourism and health was announced.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said in his speech that “The great productive and economic project known as Agro-ALBA for food sovereignty with organic and healthy food for all the peoples of Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa and beyond is born today.” The president of Nicaragua, Daniel Ortega, underscored the role of ALBA as an integration project that has fought for peace and justice in the region. He also denounced the constant external threats that seek to destabilize member countries. “It is really admirable the energy and effort, the dedication to the defense of the people that is carried out day by day. In spite of the sanctions, in spite of the attacks, in spite of the defamations, the slanders, this is a people loyal to Chávez, loyal to Bolivar. Today, 20 years after its inception, we are more committed than ever to continue moving forward,” Ortega said. “We have to continue incorporating new initiatives such as those we have shared today. And, in the midst of a world where the imperialists of the earth continue to murder the world’s peoples, ALBA, with the flag and soul of Fidel and Chávez, says to you: we will not fail you and we will continue to fight the battle,” he concluded. (TN8, 15 December 2024)

Nicaragua Broke Record in International Loans
“This year, foreign financing reached figures never seen in previous periods, closing with US$1.26 billion,” said National Assembly Deputy Wálmaro Gutiérrez, chair of the Economy and Budget Committee. During 2024, the committee analyzed, consulted, and passed nine international loans exceeding by 29.2% the 2022-2023 period and in absolute terms US$232.2 million more in comparison. Among the main sources of financing during 2024 were the People’s Republic of China with US$850 million; Saudi Arabia’s Fund for Development with US$103 million; and the Development Bank of the Republic of Belarus with US$72.9 million. Some of the approved projects with the greatest expected impact are the US$400 million for the reconstruction and rehabilitation of the International Airport in Punta Huete, the US$248 million for the second stage of the Pacific Coastal Highway, US$9.1 million in machinery for the repair of highways and roads nationwide, US$63.8 million for the purchase of machinery for all the mayors’ offices in the country, US$27.3 million for the construction of three butane gas storage spheres, US$68 million for the construction of the Photovoltaic Plant in Matagalpa, US$103 million for the construction of the new Carlos Centeno Hospital in Las Minas, US$70.5 million for the construction project of the Masaya Photovoltaic Plant, and US$33.8 million for SINAPRED for disaster prevention and response. Gutierrez said that these loans strengthen the General Budget of the Republic and the confidence of external officials in Nicaragua’s capacity, execution and development of projects. He added that 2025 augurs an even better year in economic matters, with the stability and security that has been recognized by international economic entities. (La Primerisima, 12 December 2024)

“There are Extra-Regional Interests to Isolate Nicaragua”
On Dec. 12, Foreign Minister Valdrack Jaentschke said that there is a political reason for Nicaragua’s failure to gain appointment of a Nicaraguan as the new Secretary General of the Central American Integration System (SICA), an appointment that corresponds to Nicaragua this year. “There are political interests imposed by some states in SICA, but there are also interests from outside the region which is what has always affected Central America; it has always been the outsider, the invader, the one who wants to create addiction among our countries,” stated Jaentschke in an interview in Studio tn8. “We are absolutely sure they are trying to isolate Nicaragua and we will not allow that. And also, our relations in the world are increasingly with more countries; our economic, political and cooperation relations have expanded,” he added. “There is an attempt at imposition by some countries that is now clear; in a communiqué those outside interests said that they do not agree with Nicaragua taking over the general secretariat of SICA,” Jaentschke said. The Foreign Minister pointed out that the obstructionist attitude began in 2021 with the attempt to impose SICA’s secretary general when by right it now should go to Nicaragua.

In 1991 the Central American Integration System was formed with the purpose of promoting greater unity and integration among Central American countries.

Panama, Belize and the Dominican Republic were added later and so eight countries now form SICA. Jaentschke explained that the Tegucigalpa protocol is the fundamental constitution on which all decisions and actions in SICA are based and among the different protocols are the election of a secretary general which rotates among the members. SICA also includes a president, a council of foreign ministers, as well as the Central American Court of Justice, the Central American Parliament and the Economic Integration System; the latter has functioned more autonomously. (La Primerisima, 12 December 2024)

More Buses and a Plan to Reduce Traffic Accidents
On Dec. 13 President Daniel Ortega announced that a plan is being worked on with the National Police to reduce deaths in traffic accidents. “Motorcyclists [of which there are tens of thousands], those who speed, drive under the influence or drive recklessly should not be surprised when the police stop them; and they could have their driver’s licenses taken away, prohibiting them for a certain period of time from driving” said the President.

During the ceremony to receive 400 new Chinese buses, destined for the Caribbean Coast and several departments of the country, President Ortega reiterated the call for drivers to be more careful, because their lives and those of the passengers are in their hands. “We have many traffic accidents, it is terrible to see the pain of the relatives who see dead, wounded, and seriously injured family and friends lying on the street. So, the responsibility is great for bus drivers; we trust you will be the first to take care of these vehicles, so that there are not so many accidents.”

President Ortega sent a message to President Xi Jinping through Chinese Ambassador Chen Xi, saying on that December 13, on the day of the birth of Camilo Ortega, the Apostle of Unity, in the company of drivers of conscience, 400 buses were delivered to be used by the people of Nicaragua. He said that 250 buses were delivered in October of last year, then in November 250, in May of this year 250, in July 250, in August 100 units and today, and now 400 buses, for a total of 3,000 buses.

Lumberto Campbell, the Coordinator of the Secretariat for Caribbean Coast Affairs, emphasized that attendees were witnessing a historic event with the delivery of so many new buses for the Caribbean Coast. He noted that, “In 2007, the government announced that it was going to create the conditions for connectivity between the Nicaraguan Caribbean Coast and the Pacific and there were many doubts … but in the last few years we have fulfilled that promise.” He recalled that, under the Somoza dictatorship and the three neoliberal governments [from 1990 to 2007] the trip from Bilwi on the North Caribbean Coast to Managua took three days, a real odyssey. Going from Bluefields to Managua took a day and a half. Campbell said, “We changed that story with new roads and now it takes less than eight hours to drive from Bluefields to Managua. And last week we inaugurated the last 25 kilometers of hydraulic concrete to have 100 percent of the road paved from Managua to Bilwi. This is only possible because there is … strong leadership that watches out for the benefit of all Nicaraguans, particularly those of the Coast. Today the coastal people are traveling in quality buses, … a dream come true, I only wish my grandfather and my father could see this. It is only possible with a revolution!” (La Primerisima, 13 December 2024)

https://afgj.org/nicanotes-holiday-reflection

[blindpig]

NicaNotes: How the Human Rights Industry Manufactures Consent for “Regime Change”
January 20, 2025
By John Perry

(John Perry is based in Masaya, Nicaragua, and writes for the Council on Hemispheric Affairs, London Review of Books, FAIR, Covert Action Magazine and others. This article was first published in Covert Action Magazine on January 2, 2025.)


Nicaragua has made huge advances in social and economic rights since 2007 under its Sandinista government. But hardly any good news of this kind—of which Nicaragua has plenty—appears in UN reports.

In the words of the United Nations, “human rights” range from “the most fundamental—the right to life—to those that make life worth living, such as the rights to food, education, work, health, and liberty.” These rights are supposed to be “inherent to us all.” But this lofty ambition has become distorted, not only by the UN itself but by the whole of what Alfred de Zayas calls the “Human Rights Industry.” This industry, headed by the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC), has multiple layers that include UN “expert groups” and “rapporteurs,” regional commissions like (in the Western Hemisphere) the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, international NGOs such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, and tens of thousands of other non-governmental organizations.

In part, this industry still attempts to defend real human rights—the most topical example being the remarkable work of the UN’s Special Rapporteur on Palestine, Francesca Albanese. But, take almost any other country as an example—such as the much less publicized case of Nicaragua—and the real purpose of most of the human rights industry is exposed.

This purpose, I argue, is what Noam Chomsky and Edward S. Herman in their 1988 book described as “manufacturing consent,” that is, promoting people’s acceptance of government policies on the basis of a partial picture of issues (in this case, human rights), denying them access to alternative views which would lead them to oppose such policies. The relevant U.S. government policy here is regime change.

In Nicaragua’s case, U.S. regime-change attempts have a long history. Most recently, the country was the subject of a U.S.-funded coup attempt in 2018. Since then it has also suffered U.S. sanctions, which have cost it an estimated $2.5-3.5 billion in lost aid for poverty-reduction projects.

Elections held in 2021 prompted further U.S. intervention and, when Daniel Ortega was re-elected, Washington labeled the election a “sham” and then escalated its attacks. None of these interventions, not even the unilateral sanctions which are contrary to international law, appears in any published “human rights” reports, despite the very obvious damage they have inflicted on ordinary Nicaraguans. Indeed, a feature common to all such reports is that they focus on the rights only of those opposed to the Sandinista government.

The UNHRC has just published its periodic review of Nicaragua’s human rights record. Such reviews are supposed to show a country’s progress toward genuine human rights, as defined by the UN. Civil society groups are encouraged to make submissions about a country’s human rights, supposedly to allow the UNHRC to get a rounded picture.

Nicaragua has made huge advances in social and economic rights since 2007 under its Sandinista government. Just one example, highlighted in a new report from the respected international body, the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, is that Nicaragua is devoting a larger proportion of its budget to public health than most Latin American countries, and that one of the direct benefits is high life expectancy compared with the majority of the other, wealthier countries. But hardly any good news of this kind—of which Nicaragua has plenty—appears in the UN’s report.

In the hope that the UNHCR might want to present a balanced picture, I joined a small voluntary group, Friends of Latin America, which compiled and submitted first-hand evidence to the periodic review. The group had done this (successfully) to an earlier review on Cuba. However, our submission on Nicaragua was rejected, on the spurious grounds that the evidence was not first-hand.

When we complained that this was untrue, the reason for rejection was changed to say we had made no recommendations (which is not required by the UN’s own guidelines). But by then, the periodic review had been published. Not unexpectedly, the majority of the civil society evidence it cited supports the U.S. narrative about Nicaragua, that its government is attacking, not defending, human rights.

Who submits this evidence?

Much of the evidence accepted by UNHCR comes from dozens of NGOs that champion Nicaraguan “human rights” but which are actually based in the U.S. and Costa Rica, including more than 20 operating under the banner Coalición Nicaragua Lucha. Their evidence is by definition second-hand! Coalición Nicaragua Lucha reflects the cooptation of the political left. It presents itself as an activist group committed to progressive causes, but aligns ultimately with U.S. imperialism. [Source: 100noticias.com]

Several have roots in NGOs originally based in Nicaragua but subsequently closed. For example, the Colectivo de Derechos Humanos Nicaragua Nunca Más was established with funding from a small NGO, the Nicaraguan Center for Human Rights (CENIDH, for its initials in Spanish), which in the build-up to the 2018 coup attempt was awarded a staggering $23 million by various European institutions, some with government connections.

The re-established NGO has conducted a highly questionable campaign around alleged systematic murders in rural Nicaragua. I investigated the background and funding of CENIDH and other NGOs in detail in 2019 for The Grayzone. Like the other NGOs, Nunca Más does not declare where its money comes from, but in 2021 it received a “democracy award” from the U.S. government-funded National Endowment for Democracy, a CIA offshoot that specializes in regime-change operations and political propaganda.

Nicaragua’s “human rights” champions lost their NGO status and were forced to close by the government after the coup attempt was defeated. While this was inevitably portrayed as “persecution” by the corporate media, the behavior of these bodies suggested they were little more than foreign-funded propaganda outfits. Their role, which they executed successfully, was to exaggerate the numbers killed in the coup attempt and to blame all the deaths on the government. For example, Coalición Nicaragua Lucha repeated the lie that 350 people were killed during “peaceful demonstrations” in 2018, denying the reality of horrendous opposition violence that resulted in the deaths of 22 police officers and of large numbers of government supporters and innocent bystanders.

Selectivity in compiling evidence on human rights is not new. Nicaragua’s first human rights NGO, the Permanent Commission on Human Rights, made wildly unjustified claims of human rights abuses by the revolutionary Sandinista government in the 1980s. Another NGO, ANPDH, was set up by the Reagan administration in Miami, specifically to defend the “Contra” forces against the many accusations that they were victimizing civilians. It is now based in Costa Rica.

International human rights bodies refuse to acknowledge errors in their work

More interesting and alarming is how the contamination of human rights work extends to international bodies, whether well-known NGOs like Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, or the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (an offshoot of the Organization of American States, or OAS) or the UNHCR itself. All of these bodies utilize evidence provided by the local “human rights” NGOs, apparently without questioning its veracity.

Nor do these bodies respond if a lay person points out the errors, omissions and outright lies promulgated by these NGOs. I have found that emails to such international bodies routinely go unanswered, evidence of errors in published reports is ignored and, when official complaint mechanisms are used, nothing happens. The rest of this article gives examples from my personal experiences of dealing with such bodies, from 2018 until now.

During and immediately after the coup attempt, Amnesty International (AI) published two reports on Nicaragua that relied heavily on “evidence” from local NGOs. A group of activists working with the Alliance for Global Justice (AfGJ), alarmed at AI’s obvious bias, researched and prepared a response to the second report, which AI pejoratively had titled Instilling Terror. Our report, Dismissing the Truth, showed in detail the bias, omissions and errors in AI’s material.

For example, it unraveled the story of a police officer who, according to AI, was killed by his fellow officers. This unlikely explanation of his murder had been offered by his estranged mother, an opposition supporter, via a local NGO. In reality there was convincing evidence, including from his partner (also a police officer), that he was killed by an opposition sniper.

Several attempts were made to engage with AI about its report, including a formal complaint via its published procedures and the offer to discuss it at their London headquarters. There was never anything more than a peremptory response.

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) was one of several bodies invited by the government, in good faith, to visit Nicaragua in 2018 and investigate the human rights situation. After such a visit, IACHR’s GIEI-Nicaragua (Grupo Interdisciplinario de Expertos Independientes) presented a detailed analysis of deaths that occurred on May 30, 2018, when two large marches were held in Managua, one by the opposition and one by Sandinista supporters.

Yet the published material and a video reconstruction only examined in detail the deaths among government opponents, referring only briefly to the several Sandinista deaths and not at all to the many injuries to police officers. (The video has since been removed from the website—when you sign up with Vimeo, it says “This page cannot be found”) Crucially, its report was shown to have ignored and manipulated evidence from its own experts. It omitted evidence of the use of firearms by the opposition, manipulated the analysis of a weapons expert, and concluded that the protesters were killed by the police.

As a result of the report’s gross distortions of the May 30 events, a large number of organizations and individuals wrote to the IACHR and separately made a formal complaint to the OAS, but received only a brief reply. Nevertheless, for the Spanish newspaper El Pais and for the BBC, the reconstruction proved that the police were the killers.

In another example, from March 2021, the IACHR held an open session on Indigenous people’s rights in Nicaragua, to which no democratically elected representatives of Indigenous communities were invited, only spokespeople from two opposition-oriented NGOs. One was a recipient of USAID finance. The AfGJ, which discovered by chance that the hearing would take place yet managed to make a submission by the deadline, was not called to give evidence, nor was its submission even mentioned. In July 2024, the IACHR held another session in which only opposition-oriented NGOs took part.

Perhaps the most egregious example of partiality comes from the UN itself. In 2022, the UNHCR established a “Group of Human Rights Experts on Nicaragua” (GHREN) which, in February 2023, published a highly biased report. It went so far as to argue that Nicaragua’s government had committed “crimes against humanity.” The “experts” even went beyond their mandate and recommended further economic sanctions.

A ”collective” of small opposition NGOs had been given open access to the GHREN and clearly had a strong influence on its work. The Nicaragua Solidarity Coalition (consisting of a number of Nicaraguan government-supporting organizations in the Americas and Europe) quickly prepared a detailed critique. For example, they showed how the GHREN’s chronology of events during the coup attempt in the city of Masaya (where I live) omitted almost all opposition violence, including murders, torture and destruction of municipal buildings and Sandinista homes.

When the Coalition accompanied this evidence with a well-supported petition, sent to the UNHCR and its “group of experts,” there was no response. After multiple emails containing further evidence, only a single, one-line reply was received, pointing the Coalition to the material on the GHREN’s website. Since then, further reports have been produced by the GHREN, none with any mention of our submissions.

The real purpose of “expert” groups

In The Human Rights Industry, Alfred de Zayas makes the point that the real purpose behind such expert groups or commissions is “to denigrate and destabilize the targeted government to facilitate undemocratic ‘regime change’ as desired by one or more powerful countries.” They are part of the “hybrid war arsenal” which such countries employ. He goes on to refer specifically to the GHREN’s report on Nicaragua, labeling it a “political pamphlet” and saying that its accusations of crimes against humanity are undeserving of detailed comment. He duly signed the Coalition’s petition, along with several other human rights lawyers and experts. His signature carries the weight of someone who is, himself, a former UN expert.

It might be argued that little attention is paid to human rights reports about a small country like Nicaragua. However, if a country is being targeted by Washington, legacy media such as The New York Times and The Washington Post do cover them, often embellishing what they say. For example, the item in the NYT on the GHREN’s second report was headed “Nicaragua Nazis: Stunned researchers cite Hitler’s Germany.” Such media reports, carrying a message that Nicaragua is an authoritarian state, echo and reinforce Washington’s message that Nicaragua is a dictatorship or even, as former National Security Adviser John Bolton put it, part of a “troika of tyranny” with other target countries, namely, Cuba and Venezuela.

The real intention of the UNHCR’s “group of experts” can hardly be to appraise and influence the human rights of Nicaraguans. They are not even able to visit the country, because when the Sandinista government found that “experts” sent by the UN or OAS disregarded much of the evidence presented to them, it closed its doors. Real help to Nicaragua might include recommending that the damaging, illegal sanctions imposed on the country be removed (instead of calling for more of them).

As de Zayas says, such “experts” might even make a genuine offer of technical help in the field of human rights. But these groups, and these reports, are not really concerned with the rights of ordinary Nicaraguans, nor are they intended to assist the government. At best, they are concerned only with the rights of a small elite represented in the (mainly exiled) opposition groups. At worst, their purpose is to demonize the government, aiding the process of manufacturing consent for Washington’s aim of regime change in Nicaragua.

* * * * *

Briefs
By Nan McCurdy
The Revolution in Education: 18 Years of Free Education
One of the first measures taken by President Daniel Ortega, when he took office in 2007, was to establish free and quality education in all schools. Since then, the education sector has made significant progress at all levels. Quality education through the professionalization and training of teachers and modernization of the physical and educational infrastructures, just to name a few. Likewise, curricula have been updated with an integral vision of the formation of the human being. New technologies are available in the educational centers; schools have been equipped with computers and free WIFI so that students can expand and update their knowledge. The government has given financial bonuses to students as a recognition of their effort, discipline and development; and to high school graduates to be used for their continuing education. Teachers without teaching certificates have become a thing of the past with the professionalization of thousands of teachers. The budget for the education sector has grown significantly since the Sandinistas took office and increased 12.1 percent for 2025. School enrollment, student retention, and academic performance have grown at all levels. The school lunch program is a factor that contributes to all these things and is part of the restoration of rights in this second stage of the revolution. Higher education and technical education have improved and enrollment has increased due to the economic conditions and stability guaranteed by the revolutionary government. Universities and higher technical education centers were assigned this year a budget of approximately US$258 million. January 11 has been established as National Education Day and on that day activities were carried out around the nation to celebrate this unforgettable day in Nicaragua’s history. (La Primerisima, 11 January 2025)

New York Times Includes Nicaragua in its 52 Places to Visit in 2025
A recent travel article in the New York Times lists Nicaragua as number 14 in its list of 52 places to visit in 2025 and calls the country “A darling of eco-tourists,” The article notes, “The largest country in Central America, Nicaragua, is full of attractions like tropical jungles, picturesque colonial towns, Caribbean islands, and long, sweeping beaches. This year the country will be much easier to explore, with the unveiling of the Costañera highway, a multimillion-dollar project connecting more than 50 beaches and communities on its Emerald Coast along the Pacific, from the Gulf of Fonseca in the north to Playa El Naranjo in the south.” The article adds, “With new nonstop flights from the United States into Managua, you can take in the country’s colonial capital before heading on a road trip along the coastline. Set up digs at the sustainable Rancho Santana, with five beaches on the vast property as well as riding stables and turtle sanctuary.” [Editor’s note: Rancho Santana a very pricy hotel. There are wonderful small hotels all over the coast and horseback riding is easily available. In the editor’s opinion two of the prettiest beaches, right next to each other, 20 minutes north of San Juan del Sur, are Majagual and Madera – the south end of Madera is a surf beach] (https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/202 ... -2025.html Ondine Cohane, New York Times, January 2025)

Bertha Calderón Hospital Inaugurates Oncology Outpatient Clinic
Around 20,000 women who receive treatment each year at the Bertha Calderón women’s Hospital in Managua will be received in optimal conditions with the new Isabel Beteta Oncology Outpatient Clinic. The clinic has five consulting rooms, endoscopy services, pharmacy, admission and clinical archive. This is of vital importance for thousands of women fighting cancer. Biopsies for the early diagnosis of breast cancer are frequently taken at this health center, as well as free mammograms. See photos: https://radiolaprimerisima.com/el-hospi ... ncologica/ (La Primerisima, 12 January 2025)

Some 177,000 Baby Turtles Released
The Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (MARENA) reported that from January 9 to 12, protected areas guards and members of the Nicaraguan Army released 176,980 baby Olive ridley sea turtles (Lepidochelis olivaceae) born from eggs laid on the beach of La Flor Wildlife Refuge, in the Department of Rivas. Similar to the turtle release at Chacocente last week, the baby reptiles were carefully transferred from the hatchery of the biological station to the beach to begin their short sprint to the Pacific Ocean. 119 national and international tourists participated in the turtle release. La Flor Wildlife Refuge is one of the main nesting sites for sea turtles, where there is also hiking, camping and releasing of baby turtles. The release of baby turtles is an important action that contributes to the protection of sea turtles, a millenary species in danger of extinction and is part of the efforts of the National Campaign “Together We Conserve Our Sea Turtles,” part of a larger action plan promoted since 2007 by the Sandinista government, in order to strengthen biodiversity conservation policies. This wonder of nature, La Flor Wildlife Refuge, is at kilometer 22 of the road that leads to El Ostional, Municipality of San Juan del Sur. See photos: https://radiolaprimerisima.com/mas-de-1 ... ma-semana/ (La Primerisima, 14 January 2025)

Ochomogo Traffic Circle on the Panamerican Highway Ready
The new traffic circle in Ochomogo, Rivas, located in the heart of the South Mesoamerican Corridor on the route to Costa Rica, improves traffic on one of the busiest roads in the country. This traffic circle improves road safety and also transforms the daily lives of thousands of families; 82,714 people from 18 communities now enjoy more agile travel and a definitive solution to congestion in the area. The traffic circle boosts tourism, strengthens local and international trade and opens new doors for entrepreneurs in the region. See photos: https://radiolaprimerisima.com/lista-ro ... icano-sur/ (La Primerisima, 13 January 2025)

1,600 Tons of Fresh Tomatoes Exported to El Salvador
The Institute for the Protection of Agricultural Health (IPSA) reported that 1,600 tons of fresh tomatoes were certified for export to El Salvador. The IPSA ensures phytosanitary surveillance in the framework of keeping pests that affect tomato and chili crops under control. According to a press release, in the year 2024 monitoring was carried out through 4,402 trapping services on 2,007 farms and 1,098 other sites nationwide, maintaining the quarantine pest free status. See photos: https://radiolaprimerisima.com/exportan ... -salvador/ (La Primerisima, 11 January 2025)

President Ortega Attends Maduro Inauguration in Caracas
At the swearing in of the reelected Venezuelan head of state Nicolás Maduro in Caracas, President Daniel Ortega exalted the importance of youth and shared the story of how Nicaragua has also circumvented the interests of imperial countries. Ortega recalled that President Maduro was a young boy when he started in the social struggles for a dignified and sovereign Venezuela. “And here we have the results … with the strength that Bolivar vindicated, with the strength of the Heroes, of the Martyrs,” Ortega said. He continued, “Here is David, the hero, the revolutionary: Nicolás Maduro Moros – and with him, Chávez, Bolívar and the Venezuelan heroes, long live the youth.” President Ortega recalled that revolutions have been led by young people: “I see an immense majority of young people, of boys, of girls that Rubén Darío in one of his poems described: Youth, divine treasure.” He went on to say, “Honestly, we see in the youth their commitment and their conscience, their dedication to the waging of struggles for sovereignty and independence. There is the strength and the magic of youth and that is why revolutions throughout history have been led by young people. With the youth, with this people and with this party we will continue fighting.”

During his speech he also referred to the history of Nicaragua. He recounted the invasion by US filibuster William Walker and his reinstating slavery a few decades after Nicaragua had achieved its independence from Spain and abolished slavery. He praised the heroism of those who had fought the filibusters at the Battle of San Jacinto including the Indigenous bowmen from Matagalpa and the young Andres Castro who threw stones that downed Yankee invaders. He recalled how the revolutionary poet Fernando Gordillo wrote a poem that is valid today. Ortega said, “Gordillo wrote, ‘throw the stone, throw it because the enemy is the same’ and here the stone has been thrown by all of you brothers and sisters, giving the vote to President Nicolás Maduro. (La Primerisima, 10 January 2025)

https://afgj.org/nicanotes-how-the-huma ... ime-change

[blindpig]

NicaNotes: Nicaragua’s Education Revolution: No One Size Fits All
January 23, 2025


Register here: bit.ly/NicaJan26

* * *

Nicaragua’s Education Revolution: No One Size Fits All
By Becca Renk
(Becca Renk is originally from Idaho, USA. She has lived and worked in sustainable community development in Nicaragua since 2001 with the Jubilee House Community and its project, the Center for Development in Central America; she coordinates the solidarity work of Casa Ben Linder.)


A half million school children are receiving checks for about $55 to buy supplies for the new school year. Here the checks are being distributed in the South Caribbean Autonomous Region.

In early January, Nicaragua’s Vice President Rosario Murillo announced that 500,000 school children will receive cash from the government to purchase school supplies.

“For this school year, which begins in the last days of January, all children in preschool, first and second grade will receive $55 each for the purchase of supplies to the child’s taste,” Murillo explained. “We think that this way we are better off because everyone will find the backpack and the notebooks they like, the ones that make them happy to start school.” This new initiative is an adjustment of government support for families with school-age kids which has been ongoing since 2007.

Revolutionary and Evolutionary

While Nicaragua’s revolution sticks to its fundamental principles – essentially those laid out by the FSLN’s Historic Program in 1969 – it is not afraid to evolve as well. This is what is meant when we say the Nicaraguan people are “revolutionary and evolutionary” – when a program isn’t working the way it was intended to, that program gets tweaked for improvement or even scrapped altogether in favor of a better way of doing things.

When the Sandinista government first came back into power in January 2007, President Daniel Ortega announced at his inauguration that public school would be free. The government had a huge task ahead of them just to repair the 27,000 completely deteriorated classrooms and train teachers – at that time, 47% of public-school teachers had no formal training. But the government also wanted to make education accessible for all families.

No One Size Fits All

In order to do so, the government started a program to give each student a pair of shoes – the most expensive part of the school uniform. Our daughter Eibhlín was in first grade when she got a pair of these shoes – but they were big enough for a sixth grader! It turned out that the shoe donation, while a great idea, was a logistical nightmare – getting a million pairs of shoes and sending them to each school around the country, it was impossible to hand out the right sizes to each kid. We parents wound up trading shoes within the school as much as possible, some parents even sold the donated shoes for money to buy ones that fit.

As a result, the revolutionary support for families evolved. The shoe plan was scrapped and the Ministry of Education began instead to give out backpacks with school supplies. Each year of elementary school, along with one million other school kids, our daughters received colorful backpacks full of notebooks and other school supplies. This year, the program to support families getting kids ready for school has again been tweaked in order to improve.

Blessings and Victories

In December, the Ministry of Education concluded a six-month long consultation process which involved input from hundreds of thousands of students, teachers and families across the country to create the new National Education Strategy, “Blessings and Victories.” This constantly evolving strategy is based on a student, family and community-led model which informs everything from curriculum to overall pedagogical approach. It’s also a time for families to express themselves on all aspects of education, including things like their preference to pick their kids’ backpacks themselves.

As a result of families’ feedback, the backpack program has this year been traded for a cash transfer. This new program will put $55 in the hands of the families at the time they need to purchase school supplies. This will spread out the $27.4 million investment in education among a wide variety of small and micro businesses around the country, creating a welcome cash infusion for Nicaragua’s economy. Additionally, parents are empowered to spend the money on what their children need most for school: with the C$2,000 they will receive on January 15th, parents can purchase not only a backpack and notebooks, but it will also stretch to purchase a uniform or other needed items.

Graduation Bonus

This school bonus program is similar to the successful unconditional cash transfer program given to high school graduates in Nicaragua. In order to incentivize students to finish high school, the Sandinista government has distributed this special bonus to high school graduates for more than a decade. The transfer checks are made out to the students themselves – they must have their identification card (issued at 16 in Nicaragua) to sign for the check. It is a day of “adulting” – for most, it is the first time they will cash a check in their own name. The first bonuses were $30 each, two years ago the program was adjusted and the bonuses were raised to $82. In 2024, there were 63,717 graduates; the bonus program represented an investment of $5.24 million in Nicaragua’s youth.

Getting your kids back to school is expensive, no matter where you are or what type of school they are in. It’s gratifying to know that this year, the smallest kids in public school in Nicaragua will have the support they need to get them back in class.

* * * * *

Briefs
By Nan McCurdy
Presidential School Supply Checks Begin for Lower Grades
On Jan. 20 the Sandinista Government began the delivery of the 2,000 Córdoba voucher (US$55) for children in preschool, first and second grade, in all public schools in the country. This money will allow parents to buy school supplies for their children plus uniforms or shoes. The activities at the schools are accompanied by face painting, piñata breaking and colorful festivals through the Leonel Rugama Cultural Movement. The Federation of Secondary School Students and the 19 de Julio Sandinista Youth are in charge of giving out the vouchers. See photos: https://radiolaprimerisima.com/inicia-e ... l-escolar/ (La Primerisima, 20 January 2025)

Two Thousand Children Have Heart Surgery in Last Ten Years
Two thousand children have undergone free heart surgery at the heart surgery center located at the Manuel de Jesús Rivera La Mascota Children’s Hospital during its ten years of operation. During this period 79,000 echocardiographic studies have been performed and a total of 103,000 children with heart diseases have been treated. The center has highly trained personnel, high-tech equipment, including an extracorporeal circulation pump and high-resolution echocardiographs; it also has two operating rooms and an intensive care room to provide specialized, quality care to children. With the creation of the Cardiosurgery Center, the government reaffirms its commitment to continue improving the quality of life of children with heart problems. See photos: https://radiolaprimerisima.com/dos-mil- ... n-10-anos/
(La Primerisima, 20 January 2025)

Beef Production Exceeded 358 million Pounds in 2024
In 2024, national beef production was at least 358.8 million pounds, 6.9% higher than in 2023. This volume supplied national consumption and also allowed for export growth. In Nicaragua, livestock activity represents one of the main economic motors that contributes to the generation of employment and income throughout the year. Beef is one of Nicaragua’s top exports and generates much needed foreign exchange. The National System of Production, Consumption and Commerce continues to develop programs that promote genetic improvement, cattle herd management and feeding techniques to achieve higher levels of production that are sustainable, profitable and environmentally friendly. (La Primerisima, 17 January 2025)

More than 53,000 Food Packages to be Distributed during January
In January the Government will distribute 53,718 food packages to Mothers of Heroes and Martyrs, people with disabilities, and vulnerable families. According to the program, 20,575 will be distributed to mothers of the fallen revolutionary combatants, 20,643 to people with disabilities and 12,500 to social emergency cases nationwide. The food packages will be distributed between January 27 and 31. (La Primerisima, 17 January 2025)

History Incorporated at All Educational Levels
“History and National Identity” as a fundamental subject in all educational levels is being incorporated in the 2025 school year. Modules and training courses will be developed for students at technical schools and universities, as well as updating the contents of the subject of history to be taught to primary and secondary school students. A training process has been organized for 65,405 university, primary, secondary and technical education teachers to be held from January 14 to 31, 2025, contributing to their knowledge of the history of the struggles of Nicaraguans and of other peoples. (La Primerisima, 17 January 2025)

Study Finds that Nicaraguan Program Increases Marginalized Women’s Income
The family economy program in Nicaragua includes a number of different programs that promote the development of the family economy. It is part of the Ministry of Family, Community, Cooperative and Associative Economy (MEFCCA) with input from INATEC (National Technological Institute). Researchers from Seoul National University and Yonsei University, both in Korea, and from Harvard University, conducted an in-depth evaluation of the Family Economy Small Business Program. This government initiative, launched in 2012, aims to support self-employed individuals in sectors such as agriculture, forestry, and commerce and offers comprehensive business training, skill-building sessions, and market access strategies. A distinctive focus is placed on empowering women by addressing gender-specific barriers and fostering female participation in entrepreneurial activities.

While the program showed no significant impact on the overall earnings of self-employed workers, it had notable benefits on women. Female participants with primary education experienced a 14.5% increase in earnings, while those with secondary education enjoyed an 18.3% rise. These results highlight the program’s ability to generate targeted benefits for marginalized groups. However, for male participants, the program did not lead to statistically significant changes in income. The study offers valuable insights for policymakers in developing countries with high levels of informal self-employment. Targeted interventions, like this program, can play a critical role in empowering marginalized groups like women. By addressing gender-specific barriers, such programs not only improve individual outcomes but also contribute to broader goals of income equality and inclusive economic growth. By enabling women to overcome structural barriers, the program contributed to meaningful improvements in their earnings and work opportunities. See Article: https://www.devdiscourse.com/article/in ... ss-program (Devdiscourse, 19 January 2025)

More than 2,000 New Minibuses and Buses Arrive from China
Vice President Rosario Murillo announced that this week President Daniel Ortega will deliver more than 2,000 minibuses and full-size buses in honor of the poet Rubén Darío (whose birthday is Jan. 18) and General Augusto Sandino (who died on Feb. 21). “Buses and minibuses continue to arrive from the People’s Republic of China; this time we are receiving passenger buses and tourist type buses,” Murillo said. She said that this week President Ortega will be handing over minibuses for the Departments of Masaya, Chinandega, Leon and Carazo. 140 minibuses will also be delivered in the Departments of Boaco and Granada, and in the municipalities of Bilwi, Siuna and Bonanza. She said that the buses for tourism will be for the Caribbean Coast and the San Juan River area. (La Primerisima, 20 January 2025)

Celebration of the Meeting of the Saints in Diriamba
In an atmosphere full of fervor and joy the traditional Meeting of the Saints was celebrated on Jan. 19 in Diriamba. The parishioners gathered to witness the emotional encounter of the venerated statues of Saint Sebastian Martyr, Saint Mark Evangelist and Saint James Apostle. The religious activity was full of culture and tradition, accompanied by the colorful dances of Toro Huaco and El Viejo y la Vieja. Also, the population enjoyed the traditional Picadillo, highlighting the rich gastronomic heritage of Diriamba. See photos: https://radiolaprimerisima.com/celebran ... -diriamba/ (La Primerisima, 19 January 2025)

https://afgj.org/nicanotes-nicaraguas-e ... e-fits-all

[blindpig]

Sandino: The Unique Phenomenon of the Nicaraguan Revolution
Posted by Internationalist 360° on February 4, 2025
Alexander Tuboltsev


General Sandino [center] and Entourage enroute to Mexico. Photo via U.S. National Archives and Records Administration

By joining the flag of the Sandinista National Liberation Front, the people of Nicaragua have made their historic choice in favor of a sovereign and free path.

The great Nicaraguan poet Rubén Darío, who lived in the second half of the 19th and early 20th centuries, praised in his poems the beauty of his native country, its tropical forests and turquoise lakes. Darío carried a deep respect for his native land through all his immortal works.

And indeed: Nicaragua is a stunningly beautiful land. Volcanoes, mangroves, Pacific coast, and endemic flora and fauna. And on this blessed land, a socio-political concept was born, which is a unique phenomenon. I’m talking about the ideology of Augusto César Sandino.

Many books have been written about this brave man. He was born in Niquinohomo, Nicaragua, in 1895. In my opinion, it is important to remember that it was in 1895 that the national liberation uprising began in Cuba, led by the great thinker and poet José Martí, who sought to achieve Cuba’s independence from the Spanish colonial empire. Sandino was born on May 18, and on May 19, 1895, José Martí died heroically in battle. These two courageous revolutionaries were separated by time, but in their desire to fight for freedom and independence, they both became models for future generations.

When Augusto Sandino began his national liberation struggle, there were 29 people in his squad. It was in the autumn of 1926, at the very beginning of his revolutionary journey. At the time, Nicaragua was experiencing a difficult situation: various political groups were fighting for power, there was a Constitutionalist war, and the United States was intervening in the country’s internal affairs. Coffee exports were the mainstay of the economy, but only large landowners and American corporations profited from it. The peasants were in distress, and the actions of the US occupation forces caused just indignation among every Nicaraguan patriot. Washington’s military, political, and financial elites extended their colonial expansion to the countries of Central America and the Caribbean (Guatemala, the Dominican Republic, and Haiti).

In this tragic situation for Nicaragua and its people, Sandino took a brave step. He joined the battle and opposed all those who wanted to plunder the republic with impunity. The dream of the broad masses of Nicaragua about the appearance of fighters against foreign occupiers and corrupt elites has come true. Such fighters have appeared. Taking up rifles and machetes, they rose up to save their homeland. They decided to show that their republic was a country of free people.

Sandino became the head of the guerrilla army and began to fight against the American occupation forces. He had his own ideological program: defending the Motherland and the oppressed people, fighting against foreign aggression, supporting the principles of justice and fraternity, and the unity of Latin American nations. Sandino appreciated the example of such historical figures as Simon Bolivar and Jose de San Martin. These were the heroes of the war for the freedom of Latin America from the Spanish empire, and their lives influenced the formation of the ideals of the great Nicaraguan revolutionary.

Sandino and his movement became the quintessence of patriotic ideas that were developed by many intellectuals, such as José Martí and the Uruguayan philosopher José Enrique Rodó (who actively defended the idea of the cultural identity of Latin America). Like a spark, Sandino ignited the flame of a popular revolution. He died in February 1934, but his socio-political concept became immortal.

He was replaced by new generations. The heroes who continued the cause of resistance in Nicaragua were the patriots of the Sandinista National Liberation Front. And speaking of them, it is important to focus on the figure of a modern revolutionary leader, a follower of Sandino’s ideas. This leader is Daniel Ortega.


Jubilant Sandinista rebels ride a small tank in the main square of Managua as junta arrives June 20, 1979 to take control of the government. Bettmann / Getty Images

18 years ago, in January 2007, Daniel Ortega assumed the office of President of the Republic of Nicaragua, having previously won the November 2006 elections. Under his leadership, the country entered a new stage of historical development.

Daniel Ortega is a renowned revolutionary leader, a man who, together with the Sandinista National Liberation Front, raised the banner of struggle and resistance in Nicaragua. Since the 60s of the last century, he has been at the forefront of the struggle against the pro-American kleptocratic regime of Somoza and his Western sponsors. It was a revolutionary battle for the freedom of the people and the sovereignty of Nicaragua, and it culminated in victory in July 1979, when the Sandinista National Liberation Front forces entered the capital, Managua. After that, the process of restoring the republic began, which Somoza and his henchmen had been plundering for decades.

Thanks to the Sandinistas, a broad campaign to combat illiteracy was launched and the active development of school education and the construction of new hospitals were launched. At the same time, the United States was trying to destabilize the situation in Nicaragua by using paramilitary groups that received money and weapons from Washington.

Daniel Ortega’s efforts to develop Nicaragua continued after 2007 when the legendary revolutionary became President of the Republic. New programs have been launched to electrify the country and strengthen the public education system. Over the years, Nicaragua’s GDP has grown, and the republic maintains good economic growth rates. Nicaragua has become one of the main supporters of the transition to a new, just, multipolar world order, and is actively developing friendly relations with Russia, China, Venezuela, and Cuba.

By joining the flag of the Sandinista National Liberation Front, the people of Nicaragua have made their historic choice in favor of a sovereign and free path. This means that Augusto Sandino’s heroism still lives in the hearts of millions of people.

These ideas are relevant for the 21st century. What Sandino and his followers talked about remains extremely important in our era. We can briefly list some important elements of this ideological concept:

1. Mass education, accessible to the general public. This is extremely important because literacy and public education are the key to successful national development. The Nicaraguan revolutionaries followed this path from the very beginning, creating new schools and engaging in educational work among the population.

2. Cultural identity. Here we are talking about an original cultural heritage, about the preservation of national history, which is important for every sovereign state. This was confirmed by Sandino himself, who was well aware of the history of Latin American independence fighters of the 19th century, respected and loved the historical and cultural traditions of the Nicaraguan people. The principle of cultural identity is also important for the development of multipolarity in the world.

3. Patriotism, protection of oppressed and disadvantaged people, struggle for justice. These are the great principles that Sandino defended, and they became the basis for many national liberation movements around the world.

https://libya360.wordpress.com/2025/02/ ... evolution/

******

NicaNotes: Bread and Roses…and Coffee too! Excerpts from a 1986 Coffee Brigade Diary
January 30, 2025
By Maylin Heard

(Maylin Heard, a peace activist from Bath, England, was a member of one of the ten coffee brigades organised by the UK Nicaragua Solidarity Campaign (NSC) that spent four weeks picking coffee on a state-owned farm the Department of Matagalpa in 1986.)

Part 1 Introduction: In the 1980s, as the US military, economic and political war on Nicaragua intensified, more and more men were being drafted into the military resulting in a shortage of agricultural labourers especially coffee pickers. International brigades from around the world travelled to Nicaragua to help to fill this gap. But even more important was the role of brigadistas when they returned home having acted as witnesses to the realities of the Sandinista Revolution and the suffering and destruction caused by the multifaceted US war. The brigade was called ‘Bread and Roses’, a name originating from a 1912 strike of women textile workers in Massachusetts, calling not only for fair wages but also dignified conditions.

17 November 1986: London to Managua via Moscow, Shannon (Ireland), and Havana on Aeroflot


‘Carlos Fonseca came from Matagalpa and so is a local hero. There are posters everywhere commemorating the 10th anniversary of his death and urging everyone to remember and stand with him by picking coffee. They shout his name, and everyone shouts back “Presente!”’

After two hours and attempting 101 positions in which to sleep in an airline seat I have decided to give up and try writing instead. It is 4am GMT, and I am en route from Shannon in Ireland to Cuba, where we expect to arrive at 12.30.

This journey started at 7.45am when we left Bath for Heathrow Airport, an hour’s journey. At Heathrow, we were seen off by a representative from the Nicaraguan Embassy and had our photos taken for press releases to be sent to local newspapers in the places we come from. Look out for something in the Bath Chronicle!

The flight from London to Moscow was diabolical but the worst part was the take-off and landing. I had a splitting headache most of the time but was only sick when we landed. The vegetarian lunch that we ordered through the travel agent never materialised and we spent our time scraping rice and peas from the side of beef something or other.

Well, our 3.5 hours stay in Cuba wasn’t so exciting. There wasn’t much that seemed revolutionary in Havana Airport – unlike Sandino Airport in Managua, where the first thing we saw was a large FSLN (Frente Sandinista de Liberacion National) on the side of a mountain. There were military tents and gun emplacements all around the Managua airport. All along the route into town there were revolutionary slogans.

18 November 1986: Settling into our new home in the mountains

We have been warned not to have our photos taken holding the guns of the militia; this is to avoid giving credence to accusations that we are being trained as guerrillas to start a revolution back in the UK! [Margaret Thatcher, a staunch ally of US president Ronald Reagan, was the UK Prime Minister at the time].

We are staying in a cramped hostel, five bunk beds in a dormitory. We have had a briefing with CNASP (the government institution responsible for liaising with international solidarity organisations). We leave for the mountains tomorrow where we will be working on an UPE (state farm) called San Jose, 6km from Matagalpa.

Well it’s 8pm and we are settled into our new home after our 80km trip into the mountains. The bus was amazing but the road not so much! The windows were open, and it was wonderfully breezy. Fantastic scenery. Nearer the UPE, we changed to a lorry as the road was rougher. It was exciting, fantastic, standing in the back of the lorry dodging exotic trees, rocking backwards and forwards along the deep ruts, seeing this indescribable country opening up to us. The air is fresh and clean, and I have already caught the sun [gotten sunburned].

Nicaragua, Central America!

We are not sleeping on shelves in a barn like the two previous UK coffee brigades but housed in a broken-down villa of a general in the armed forces of brutal Somoza dictatorship that ruled Nicaragua for 43 years. He now presumably presides in Miami. [Anastasio Somoza Debayle first fled to the US but was assassinated in Paraguay in Sept. 1980.] The villa is crumbly and basic but wonderful. I am sitting on the porch under a weak electric lamp, (one of only two) while the local kids are playing some energetic games that resemble American football, except there is no ball.

We have established a women’s space with (practically) no bad feeling. We have a reasonable amount of space each and have strung up lines for hanging clothes. There is one shower and one loo and a wash basin. All complete luxury compared to what we were expecting.

There are a few Nicaraguan families in the same villa with us and about 180 people on the UPE altogether. They are very friendly, especially the children. The food is a ten-minute walk uphill – rice, beans, tortilla. Breakfast is at 6am, lunch at 12 noon and dinner at 5pm. When we come back from dinner, it is dark and fireflies are twinkling in the grass. There are bananas, grapefruit, clementines and lemons growing everywhere. It feels much later than it is because it has been dark for so long.

Jane and I continued working on a banner with a very large audience. We now have a logo and our brigade name in Spanish: Pan y Rosas (Bread and Roses) and all our names around the edge.

Hal, our interpreter, went off to agonise over the translation and handed the draft over to Gonzalez who works on the UPE but is also a poet (along with half the population). We had some spare material and tried to persuade the children to make banners too but only one would; it was beautiful, and we hung it up.

19 November 1986: Rows of coffee become a coffee jungle and we learn about Carlos Fonseca.

We are sitting on the porch listening to a Nicaraguan group who have come to play and sing for us: three guitars and a bow (as in bow and arrow). What a day it’s been and we are almost dropping. There are things to discuss about bedtime and getting up times, which widely differ.…but a 6am start it is.

We had been given our instructions and shown which rows to pick. Sounds straightforward, doesn’t it? Well, it was so steep that we had to climb on our hands and knees with day packs on our backs, baskets around our waists, sacks in our hands, and hats on our heads.

Within about three bushes, most of us had converged having ‘lost’ our rows! They seemed to be at such odd angles. Plus, ‘rows’ was a bit of a euphemism, the vegetation was so dense. It was a coffee jungle that we had to tunnel our way through. The coffee is planted under other trees, such as banana, grapefruit, and orange, so it was a real jungle. Add to this the season had not properly begun, and we seemed to average about two beans per bush.

We kept having to shout for Rene, our supervisor, to tell us where we were supposed to be picking. Our conversations went like this ‘This is my row’, ‘Shouldn’t there be two other people between you and me,’ ‘My row has disappeared’. At one point, we were picking on a 60-degree slope in good parts, slippery on wet banana leaves, and we were supposed to get down with all our gear to pick coffee. In fact, we managed about 12 beans between us because that’s all there were!

Some of us went down to the bottom of the slope, where there was a stream with the most amazing turquoise fireflies. Anyway, worse than coming down the slope we were told we had to climb back up. I’m going to have limbs of steel after all this!

Generally, the lingering impression is of the incredible scenery on the slopes, the clear air of the mountains, the amazing trees dripping with fruit, and butterflies bigger than your hand. And when the wind blows, which it does sporadically in quite powerful bursts, it was just like a Rousseau painting, the sense of movement is just awe inspiring.

Our guide Rene had a belt with what looked like a large CND (Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament) symbol, Lucia, [a Spanish speaking member of the brigade], explained what it meant to us and he let us take photos of him showing it off when we stopped at a disused swimming pool (miles from anywhere in the middle of the coffee), lost and eating fruit.

We had picked 5 ½ latas [tin cans which hold about 6 lbs. of coffee cherries each] between us, the average for one Nicaraguan when the coffee is riper. After lunch and clothes washing, boot cleaning and showers, some of us went to a meeting at the school.

It was set for 3pm but actually happened at 4.30pm. It was a mixture of boredom when there were long readings and quotes in Spanish and excitement when they were making revolutionary speeches and singing songs. During the meeting, we were told that although Sunday is a day off, any volunteers can pick, and the proceeds will go to our companero/as in El Salvador. They also said that a Carlos Fonseca brigade was being formed, made up of those who on average pick eight latas a day. (Carlos Fonseca was one of the founders of the FSLN, killed in combat 1976.)

The school is one room with long benches painted red and black inside and out. Carlos Fonseca came from Matagalpa and so is a local hero. There are posters everywhere commemorating the 10th anniversary of his death in 1976 and urging everyone to remember and stand with him by picking coffee. They shout his name, and everyone shouts back ‘Presente!’

PS: A journalist from the daily newspaper El Nuevo Diario drove up to interview us today.

To be continued….

If you have memories of your involvement with Nicaragua from years ago, write them down and send them to us! Even better if you have photos! Many of us are getting old and some of us have died! Leave a legacy! Write katherinechoyt@gmail.com.

* * * * *

Briefs
By Nan McCurdy
More than 1.8 Million Students Return to Class
The Minister of Education, Mendy Aráuz, reported that this school year enrollment has reached more than 1.8 million students at all levels. This figure is important, because one of the priorities of the Sandinista Government has been that no child, young person or adult should be left out of the educational system. In that sense the Minister said that the system, including basic, technical, and professional education, is expanding and diversifying educational programs and fields of study, especially in the countryside. “Hundreds of boys and girls are today starring in these achievements and in the restauration of their right to education,” the Minister said. The Ministry of Education (MINED) distributed food around the country to guarantee the school meal for students, and the US$55 check for school supplies and uniforms was delivered to the children of preschool, first and second grade. Events to inaugurate the school year are being held simultaneously in different educational centers throughout the country. See photos: https://radiolaprimerisima.com/mas-de-u ... -a-clases/ (La Primerisima, 27 January 2025)

Victories In Health
1) Maternal mortality has decreased by 79.8%, going from 104 maternal deaths in 2006 to 21 in 2024.
2) Infant mortality has decreased by 52.6%, going from 1,916 children under the age of 1 who died in 2006 to 908 in 2024.
3) Neonatal mortality has decreased by 62.5%, going from 1,352 newborns who died in 2006 to 507 in 2024.
4) Chronic malnutrition in children under five has decreased, going from 21.7% in 2006 to 4.5% in 2024.
5) Cervical cancer mortality has decreased by 14.4%, going from 228 women who died from cervical cancer in 2006 to 195 in 2024.
6) Mother-to-child transmission of HIV has decreased by 98%; in 2006 56 children were infected and in 2024 only 1 child was infected.
7) Vaccination coverage has increased from 88% in 2006 to 95% in 2024.
8) The number of health services provided to the population has increased, going from 8,503,987 in 2006 to 35,956,696 services in 2024.
9) In 2024, 72,161 pregnant women spent their last days/weeks of pregnancy in Maternity Wait Homes, over-complying with the established goal by 8.4%. [This is to assure women from more remote areas can have their babies in a hospital or health center].
10) In 2024, there were 418,963 natural medicine consultations for an over-compliance of 15.4% of the established goal.
11) In 2024, 422,465 visits were made to people with disabilities through the “Everyone has a Voice Program,” surpassing the goal by 2.5%.
12) In 2024, 111,590 CAT scans and 22,249 MRIs were performed, unprecedented numbers, unimaginable without the Revolution.
13) In 2024, 29,700 health fairs were held, providing 6.9 million services.
14) From March 2021, when the first fetal surgery was performed to 2024, 483 fetal surgeries have been carried out. Nicaragua is the only country in Central America that performs this type of surgery for free in the public health system.
15) “Operation Miracle” was launched in 2007 allowing hundreds of thousands of Nicaraguans to see more clearly. Between 2007 and 2024, 346,162 ophthalmological surgeries for pterygium and cataracts were performed and more people are treated every year.
16) In 2024, 2,163 nuclear medicine sessions for the treatment of cancer and hyperthyroidism were performed.
17) In 2024, 40,197 radiotherapy sessions as part of cancer treatment were performed.
18) In 2024, 50 heart surgeries were performed.
19) In 2024, 1,163,467 dialysis and hemodialysis sessions were carried out. [There are about 1,000 dialysis machines throughout Nicaragua].
20) In 2024, 31,478 chemotherapy sessions were carried out, primarily on women with breast cancer.
21) In 2024, 251 pacemakers were inserted; in 2006 only 7 Pacemakers were inserted.
22) In 2024, 31 Mega Health Fairs were held (Internal Medicine, Gynecology, Orthopedics and Neurosurgery), providing 181,994 specialized services.
23) The number of health workers increased by 77%, going from 22,083 in 2006 to 38,984 in 2024.
(Government of Reconciliation and National Unity, published in Tortilla con Sal, 10 January 2025)

Nearly 30,000 Babies Born at Vélez Paiz Hospital in Seven Years
The Ministry of Health reported that the Doctor Fernando Vélez Paiz Hospital celebrated seven years of serving the population on January 23 [One of the 26 new hospitals in Nicaragua since the Sandinistas regained the presidency in 2007.] During this time, more than 29,000 babies have been born, 90,000 surgeries have been performed and more than two million consultations have been provided. In this Managua hospital that at times serves the entire country, mammograms, tomographies, X-ray studies, ultrasounds, pathology studies, fluoroscopy studies and laboratory tests have been guaranteed to Nicaraguan families. With this anniversary, the Sandinista government reaffirms its commitment to guarantee modern and quality attention to Nicaraguan families. See photos: https://radiolaprimerisima.com/casi-30- ... iete-anos/ (La Primerisima, 23 January 2025)

Loan Approved from India for Quick Impact Projects
A loan of US$1.25 million from the government of India was approved by the plenary of the National Assembly on January 23. Deputy Wálmaro Gutiérrez, president of the Economic Committee of the National Assembly explained that the resources will be destined for quick impact projects, that is to say, works that are not contemplated in the investment plans of institutions or municipalities. This will be the modality of assistance granted by India to the government of Nicaragua. There will be 25 projects during the five years of the agreement, five for each year, and each project will have a financing amount of US$50,000. These funds will be destined for socioeconomic development, including roads, community centers, social infrastructure in health, education, and sanitation, as well as community development. (La Primerisima, 23 January 2025)

Strong Economy Guarantees Fuel and Electricity Subsidies
The prices of fuels and liquefied gas will remain frozen as long as necessary to avoid impacts on the country’s economic sectors and on families, according to the executive president of INE (Nicaraguan Energy Institute), José Antonio Castañeda. He said that President Ortega and Vice President Murillo want to protect families and all economic sectors. He said that all gas stations are being checked every week to ensure that prices are not increased. The Minister pointed out that without this measure a gallon of gasoline would cost US$7 a gallon. From December 23, 2024, to January 15, 2025, there was a 15% increase internationally in the price of a barrel of oil. However, in Nicaragua there was no increase at all to the population. The government has provided subsidies of up to US$8 million in one week; in some weeks it has been less, but what is more important than the amount, is stability and security. In March of this year, it will be three years that fuels or oil derivatives in Nicaragua do not reflect price alterations, despite the increase at international levels.

Santiago Bermúdez, General Director of Electricity and Renewable Resources of the Ministry of Energy and Mines (MEM), said that another important point is that electricity rates have remained frozen since 2021. In other countries rates have moved up and here they have remained intact, thanks to the government. Bermudez said that all this is due to having a healthy and strong economy; but above all the important thing is the political will that exists in Nicaragua. Finally, officials reiterated that all these measures help the Government of Nicaragua to continue promoting projects for the welfare of the people and so that everyone can live in peace. (La Primerisima, 28 January 2025)

New Fleet of Chinese Buses Arrives in Managua
The 110 new Chinese buses arrived on Jan. 25 in Managua, to be later distributed among the different transportation cooperatives to strengthen intercity transportation. These units left early in the morning from the Julia Herrera de Pomares Logistics Center in the municipality of El Realejo and will be delivered to the coops in the capital next week by President Daniel Ortega. The new batch of vehicles allows Nicaragua to continue renewing, modernizing and transforming transportation, an effort undertaken by the Sandinista Government in order to restore the rights of users and carriers, which almost vanished under the neoliberal governments between 1990 and 2007. The new units are for the intercity routes of Managua, Boaco, Chinandega, Masaya and Río Blanco. The new buses are longer and some of them have a built-in roof-basket and a capacity for 50 passengers. See photos: https://radiolaprimerisima.com/llega-a- ... es-chinos/ (La Primerisima, 25 January 2025)

https://afgj.org/nicanotes-bread-and-ro ... gade-diary

[blindpig]

Is USAID a “Criminal Organization?”— In Nicaragua, the Evidence Suggests it Is
Posted by Internationalist 360° on February 26, 2025
John Perry



U.S. President Donald Trump has just closed down USAID after Elon Musk branded it “a criminal organization,” adding “it’s time for it to die.” Is there any truth to Musk’s allegation?

One “beneficiary” of USAID is Nicaragua, a country with one of the lowest incomes per head in Latin America. Between 2014 and 2021, USAID spent US$315,009,297 on projects there.

Uninformed observers might suppose that this money helped poor communities, but they would be wrong. Most of it was spent trying to undermine Nicaragua’s government and, in the process, gave lucrative contracts to U.S. consultancies and to some of Nicaragua’s richest families.

USAID has been working in Nicaragua for decades, but this article focuses on the period 2014-2021. The story is not a pleasant one. The key element is the agency’s role in the coup attempt against Nicaragua’s Sandinista government in 2018 and, later, in trying to disrupt the country’s general elections in 2021.

Detailed information has been revealed by websites such as Nicaleaks, Tortilla con Sal and Behind Back Doors, but after 2021 many of the local “non-governmental” organizations USAID funded were closed (voluntarily in some cases, in others following resolutions by Nicaragua’s parliament). In the last few years, the agency’s operations, in Nicaragua at least, have become more obscure.

The last major operation that was exposed to the public gaze, via a leaked document, was called “RAIN” (“Responsive Assistance in Nicaragua”). If you ask Google’s AI assistant, Search Labs, what it is, you will be told that it provides rapid aid in response to natural disasters. But it does nothing of the sort.

It started with a $2 million program in 2020-2022 to try to ensure that the Sandinistas were defeated in the 2021 elections. I described the project here and an article by Ben Norton went into further detail. The contract, active until recently, is now recorded as worth $5 million and was extended at least to April 2024.

The RAIN contract was awarded to the Navanti Group, one of many large consultancies that have benefited from USAID’s Nicaraguan projects. Binoy Kampmark recently noted in CounterPunch that nine out of every ten dollars spent by USAID go to a limited number of consultancies, mostly based in Washington. Back in 2023, New Lines Magazine commented that “USAID and its massive budget have spurred a network of firms, lobbyists, academics and logistics personnel that would cease to exist without government funding.”

One such firm is Creative Associates International, a company described by Alan MacLeod in Mintpress News as “one of the largest and most powerful non-governmental organizations operating anywhere in the world,” its regime-change work has taken place in Cuba, Venezuela and elsewhere, mostly marked by failure.

In Cuba alone it received $1.8 billion of USAID money. Then from 2018 to 2020, Creative Associates was awarded $7.5 million for projects in Nicaragua. One, dubbed TVET SAY, was to train young opposition political leaders in towns on Nicaragua’s Caribbean coast so that they could engage more effectively with business leaders opposed to the government.

Manuel Orozco, a Nicaraguan organizer of the 2018 coup attempt, later became a director of Creative Associates International. Now based in Washington, when he last planned to visit Nicaragua in June 2021, he was advised by USAID to cancel his trip as he risked being arrested for his role in the coup. Shortly afterwards he was formally accused of conspiracy by the Nicaraguan prosecutor.

Another large company, Dexis, which had $144 million of new contracts with USAID in 2024, ran a $9 million “Institutional strengthening program” in Nicaragua between 2013 and 2018. Its purpose was to help opposition leaders mobilize and to run media campaigns. In 2023, USAID audited Dexis contracts and found more than $41 million in ineligible or unsupported costs.

Dexis subcontracted the Nicaraguan work to another U.S. firm, Chemonics, which has 6,000 employees (“teammates”) and is USAID’s largest contractor. It received awards of well over $1 billion in both 2023 and 2024, despite heavy criticisms of its previous work, for example in Haiti. Chemonics’s founder, Thurston F. (Tony) Teele, told The New York Times in 1993 that he created the firm to “have my own CIA.”

Two U.S. consultancies had USAID contracts to promote anti-Sandinista opinion and instill anti-government practices. DevTech Systems, a company awarded $45 million in USAID contracts in 2024, ran a $14 million education project on the Caribbean coast with these objectives, from 2013 to 2019.

Global Communities, two-thirds of whose revenue ($248 million in 2023) comes from the U.S. government, ran a similar $29 million program.

Yet another large consultancy, the International Research and Exchange Board (IREX), formed close ties with one of Nicaragua’s richest families, the Chamorros. IREX has a global staff of 760 and more than 80% of its $155 million in revenue comes from the U.S. government. It ran “media strengthening” programs in Nicaragua worth $10,300,000.

Ticavision, a Costa Rican TV channel, recently reported that USAID is investigating the misuse of $158 million allocated through IREX to Nicaraguan projects. The money from one of IREX’s projects went to a number of well-known Nicaraguan journalists, now based abroad, including Confidencial’s Carlos Fernando Chamorro.

The Chamorro family, owners of the newspaper La Prensa and online outlet Confidencial, were the main beneficiaries of USAID in Nicaragua.

In the past, the Chamorros and La Prensa have received funding from the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), a CIA front organization that is also on the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)’s chopping block.

The Violeta Barrios de Chamorro Foundation is named after a former Nicaraguan president and run by her daughter, Cristiana Chamorro.

It received $7 million in USAID funds to promote opposition media platforms, including those owned by the family. From this it disbursed smaller sums—typically $40,000 each—to other media organizations such as 100% Noticias and various radio and TV channels. But the bulk of the money stayed with the Chamorros.

All the media that received money were openly anti-Sandinista. In 2018, the owner of 100% Noticias, Miguel Mora, incited a violent arson attack against Sandinista-supporting Radio Ya, from which the journalists barely escaped alive.

Later he told Max Blumenthal of The Grayzone that the U.S. should have intervened militarily to remove the Nicaraguan government. Mora was later welcomed at the White House by then-Vice President Mike Pence.

Another Chamorro organization, the think tank FUNIDES, was allegedly created by USAID and received $3,699,221 to run anti-government research projects. Its head was Juan Sebastián Chamorro (cousin of Cristiana and Carlos).

Yet another Chamorro think tank, CINCO, headed by Carlos Fernando and opposition activist Sofía Montenegro, received $3,247,632. There is considerable evidence of close liaison between the Chamorros, Montenegro and U.S. officials.

For example, Montenegro received money directly from USAID and was also photographed at the U.S. embassy; USAID representative Deborah Ullmer met Juan Sebastián Chamorro in October 2018 to discuss why the coup attempt had failed. Juan Sebastián was then head of one of the main opposition political parties, the Civic Alliance.

In total, it is estimated that the Chamorros benefited personally to the tune of $5,516,578 in U.S. government money. In 2022, Cristiana Chamorro was found guilty of money laundering (her eight-year sentence was commuted to house arrest; after a few months she was given asylum in the U.S.).

Luciano García Mejía, a wealthy member of the family of former dictator Anastasio Somoza, was another beneficiary of Washington’s dollars. He ran another political pressure group, Hagamos Democracia (“Let’s make democracy”). This was partially funded by USAID but principally (with $1,114,000) by the CIA.

Hagamos Democracia openly called for criminal acts during the coup attempt, recruited known criminals, and directly threatened President Ortega to “look to his own and his family’s safety and leave without further repercussions.”

Other affluent Nicaraguans who received USAID money included Mónica Baltodano who, through her Fundación Popol Na was paid $207,762. Similarly, Violeta Granera’s Movement for Nicaragua was paid $803,154. Both were opposition leaders; Granera later called for U.S. sanctions against Nicaragua.

Not only did USAID fund and actively monitor the 2018 insurrection as it developed, but once it realized that the coup had failed, it began to undermine the 2021 elections. This was another failure, but the corporate media’s current depiction of Nicaragua as a “dictatorship” or an “authoritarian regime” is due in no small part to the work of the U.S. government’s “aid agency.”

Very little of USAID’s work over the past eleven years benefited ordinary Nicaraguans. Instead, millions of dollars were creamed off by wealthy consultants in Washington and wealthy oligarchs in Nicaragua.

Evidence of fraud comes mainly from Nicaraguan government investigations but, as noted in the examples in this article, it fits within a pattern of U.S.-government largesse with limited accountability and plentiful evidence of bad practice.

This is only a small part of the story in which the agency spent $315 millions in training and funding Nicaraguan opposition leaders who coordinated the violence and criminality of the 2018 coup attempt. In Nicaragua at least, the evidence arguably supports Musk’s contention that USAID is “a criminal organization.”

https://libya360.wordpress.com/2025/02/ ... sts-it-is/

******

NicaNotes: My Early Days in Nicaragua, Part One
February 20, 2025
By Brian Willson

(Brian Willson is a Viet Nam Veteran, trained attorney, and long-time activist confronting historical USA imperialism. He first came to Nicaragua in 1986, and has visited many times over the years. For several years he has resided in Nicaragua as one of its proud citizens.)


In Estelí, Willson stayed with Asunción and her family. In the photo, Asunción stands in front of her home with (l. to r.) her granddaughter, her youngest son, and her daughter, whose fiancé had been killed by the contras in 1983.

I landed in Managua, Nicaragua, on January 4, 1986. I had signed up to take Spanish classes at a school in Estelí, a city of seventy-thousand located in a mountainous region ninety miles north of Managua. A bus picked up the twenty or so of us who were going to study there, drove us to Estelí, and dropped us off with our host families. An artist friend and I had traveled together from Vermont. My friend and I actually stayed alternately with two families of campesinos, expanding our language learning opportunities.

One household was headed by Asunción, whose son, Ramón, had been killed fighting Somoza in 1979, and whose son-in-law, Justo, had been killed in 1983 by the Contras while serving as a first lieutenant in the Sandinista army. Another son, Enrique, was also in the Sandinista army fighting the Contras.

The other family was headed by Alejandra, whose son Oscar also had been killed fighting Somoza. Alejandra had three other sons serving in the Nicaraguan army; one had been wounded and was recovering in a military hospital. Each family had a photo of their dead son hanging conspicuously on their living room wall. These families lived in small, simple houses with part-tile, part-dirt floors. They had electricity to power a couple of light bulbs and a TV. They cooked in a semi-outdoor kitchen so the smoke could go right outside; they didn’t have any indoor plumbing, so they used an outhouse. The houses’ walls were pockmarked with machine gun bullets from the 1978-1979 Estelí insurrection against Somoza’s US-funded and armed National Guard.

They were lively houses, with grandchildren running around and a bunch of chickens in the backyard along with a pig or two. While I was on the plane to Nicaragua I had read a 1985 Oxfam America booklet, “Nicaragua: The Threat of a Good Example”? This booklet reminded me again of what historian William Appleman Williams taught was the “American” weltanschauung: achieving prosperity through expansion, with any impediment to that prosperity either assimilated or eliminated.

I had not been in Estelí more than a couple of days before I began to encounter the realities of U.S. power. Each night I was kept awake by the sound of powerful explosions in the distance, with machine-gun fire tracers visible within three kilometers to the east of Estelí. I was not reading about Nicaragua anymore. I was there, hearing and seeing for myself how my country’s money was being used to kill campesinos.

On January 13, just over a week after I landed in Nicaragua, the U.S. National Security Council (NSC) launched an all-out campaign to convince Congress and the American people that the Sandinistas were a growing threat to all of Central America. Elliott Abrams, President Reagan’s assistant secretary of state, began this new propaganda campaign with a nationally distributed op-ed piece in which he declared that there was “no question the Sandinista regime is repressive and undemocratic… subverting neighboring democratic countries.”

Abrams and the Reagan administration were asking Congress for an additional $100 million to fund “freedom fighters, that is, the Contras, to counter the “threat” the Sandinistas posed to neighboring “democratic” countries. In short, Reagan was asking for $100 million to fund terrorists, which meant many more civilians would be killed before this ugly “secret” war ended. Abrams’s op-ed was a part of a massive Orwellian campaign spearheaded by the White House in 1983 to manage “public perceptions, that is, to “manufacture consent.” Obsessed with eliminating the dangerous “virus” posed by Nicaragua’s popular revolution, administration officials knew that the vast majority of Nicaraguans resisted the Contra “freedom fighters” and that the majority of U.S. Americans opposed Contra aid as well. The religious right was involved in this campaign as well. Pat Robertson, one of my parents’ favorite TV evangelists, was quoted in Time magazine as saying, “The U.S. has a moral obligation to support ‘freedom fighters’ who battle ‘satanic’ Communism.”

Robertson was adamant that the Contras be “saved” for Jesus and led religious services in their Honduran camps as he publicly applauded their armed invasion of Nicaragua. Another of my parents’ favorite TV evangelists, Jerry Falwell, set up his Liberty Federation in January 1986 to develop support for various U.S. foreign policy adventures, including Star Wars. This organization was instrumental in helping to increase funding for the Contras.

Abrams’s op-ed piece was followed four days later by a scathing condemnation of the Contras from former Contra director Edgar Chamorro: “During my four years as a Contra director, it was premeditated policy to terrorize civilian noncombatants to prevent them from cooperating with the [Sandinista] government. Hundreds of civilian murders, mutilations, tortures and rapes were committed in pursuit of this policy of which the Contra leaders and their C.I.A. supervisors were all aware.”

Those who were paying attention understood that the Contras were terrorists undermining a popular elected government: The Reagan administration set out to twist that truth around. Its Office of Public Diplomacy (OPD) aimed to negate news about the positive developments in Nicaragua’s health care, literacy, and land reform programs, while discrediting Reagan’s critics. To them, the public’s opposition to Contra aid was simply an inconvenient fact that had to be reversed.

In OPD’s first year of operations it sent materials to editorial writers in 150 cities while arranging 1,500 speaking engagements. The Washington Post described OPD’s function as the “selling” of U.S. foreign policy. It seemed as if, in the eyes of the Reagan administration, the people of the United States were part of a foreign, enemy nation requiring a massive dose of propaganda delivered via covert CIA operations to subvert their ideas and change their minds. The OPD, of course, was not without historical precedent.

In 1917, President Woodrow Wilson created the Committee on Public Information (CPI), headed by newspaperman George Creel, which carried out a relentless propaganda campaign to overcome public resistance to entering World War I. Using seventy-five thousand propaganda foot-soldiers called “Four-Minute Men” throughout the country, a vast propaganda ministry asserted itself into every aspect of social life in virtually every community in the United States through lectures, entertainment, and news. Among those who assisted was journalist and intellectual Walter Lippmann, who believed in the importance of the “manufacture of consent,” and Edward Bernays, the father of modern public relations, who believed that democracy required the government to shape and guide public opinion to maintain order. This he called the “engineering of consent.”

The power of the executive to assert its own will despite public opinion has since been a constant throughout much of modern U.S. history. In case propaganda proved insufficient to move public sentiment toward favoring a Contra paramilitary victory, Reagan and his CIA director, William Casey, seriously considered a backup plan that would utilize U.S. troops in an illegal invasion. In that eventuality, a corresponding arrangement would be necessary to contain the anticipated substantial domestic opposition to it. Casey, a former Office of Strategic Services (OSS) agent in Europe during World War II, had become a wealthy Wall Street tax lawyer before becoming Reagan’s 1980 presidential campaign manager, and both men held great contempt for Jimmy Carter. Casey was known to be tough and cold, self-righteously proud that Western intelligence operations are ruthless and cutthroat. As early as 1982, Reagan and Casey directed Oliver North in the NSC to draft contingency plans to suspend the Constitution under several scenarios, one of which was widespread internal dissent or opposition to a U.S. invasion abroad (i.e., in Nicaragua). Suspension of the Constitution, code-named REX-84, would mean turning government control over to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), appointing military commanders to run state and local governments, and declaring martial law.

The plans also called for the detention of thousands of aliens and dissidents. What stunned so many, later, when these plans were exposed, was the Reagan administration’s clear understanding that “prosperity” trumps “democracy.” The power of the people was only a means to an economic end. When the people got in the way of the wealth machine, they were to be silenced. Reagan, Casey, and North were more than willing to implement the same policies “at home” that they were already using in Nicaragua.

Well, I became a victim of this policy, as I sat in front of their murder machine at Concord, Calif., Naval Weapon Station that was the source of the murder weapons intended for Central America.

To be continued.

If you have memories of your involvement with Nicaragua from years ago, write them down and send them to us! Even better if you have photos! Many of us are getting old and some of us have died! Leave a legacy! Write katherinechoyt@gmail.com.

* * * * *

Briefs
By Nan McCurdy
Health System with Special Attention for Children with Cancer
The Government of Nicaragua guarantees free and specialized attention to children with cancer, strengthening early diagnosis, and ensuring timely and free treatment.

The Ministry of Health last week reported that more than 242,000 pediatric consultations have been provided to child cancer patients since 2007. Currently, 350 children receive chemotherapy, radiotherapy with linear accelerators and palliative care. As part of the attention, hospitalization areas, children’s operating rooms, and recreational spaces have been built in the health units to provide comprehensive and emotional support to the children during their treatment. International Childhood Cancer Day is commemorated every February 15. (La Primerisima, 14 February 2025)

Thousands of Inmates Receive Opportunity to Reintegrate into Society
The authorities of the eleven centers of the National Penitentiary System held ceremonies on Feb. 14 to mark the release of 2,000 inmates who had been granted what is called Family Coexistence. During the activity held at the Jorge Navarro Center in Tipitapa, the head of the Ministry of the Interior, María Amelia Coronel, said this new year begins with blessings and joys for so many families gathered in the penitentiary centers of the country. She announced that the government is providing this benefit to 1,862 men and 138 women. Coronel said that this year the government is starting a massive educational plan so that, in each penitentiary center, the largest number of people can study in primary, secondary, technical, and university courses. There will be many courses offered to give prisoners the necessary tools to succeed when they are released and begin their new lives with their families. As for the 2,000 being released now, Coronel said, “Their families are waiting anxiously, nervously and with great joy to give them the loving embrace they have been longing for. We only ask them to enjoy this freedom with great responsibility; they are given another opportunity to improve their lives and that of their families, and to illuminate a new path.” During the ceremony, letters of release were signed and delivered, allowing former prisoners to reintegrate into society hand in hand with their mothers, fathers and children. (La Primerisima, 14 February 2025)

Exports Exceed US$647 Million in January, 2025
The Ministry of Development, Industry, and Commerce (MIFIC) announced that exports for January 2025 were US$647.4 million, revealing a growth in the value of exports of 10.7% with respect to the same period of the previous year, while also showing a growth in volume of 39.2% in metric tons. MIFIC pointed out that exports experienced dynamic behavior in 2024, which established the basis for a good start in January. The manufacturing sector stands out as one of the main drivers of this growth. The results suggest a consolidation of the national economy and a strengthening of Nicaragua’s presence in international markets. Meanwhile, Nicaragua imported US$955.1 million in January 2025, a growth of 6.3%, mainly driven by crude oil and the textile sector. This generalized increase in imports suggests a dynamism in the economy and a greater demand for foreign goods and products. It is important to highlight the significant increase in vehicle imports for the transportation of goods and people. (La Primerisima, 14 February 2025)

Exports Totaled US$7.7 Billion in 2024
Nicaragua’s total exports were US$7.7 billion in 2024, reflecting an increase of 2.3 percent with respect to 2023, the Central Bank of Nicaragua reported on February 16. The report states that this is explained by increases of 3.9 percent (+US$158.7 million) in exports of products and 0.4 percent (+US$15.2 million) in free trade zone exports. It indicates that the growth in exports of products was the result of a 20.1 percent increase (+US$233.0 million) in mining exports, mainly driven by the increase in international prices; a 10.0 percent increase in fishing exports (+US$15.9 million), and a 1.2 percent increase in manufacturing exports (+US$20.9 million), mitigated by the 11.2 percent decrease (-US$110.9 million) in agricultural exports. A trade deficit of US$925.2 million was recorded, which was 3.1 percent lower than that recorded in the same period of 2023 (US$954.5 million). The accumulated deficit to December 2024 was US$3.058 billion, a year-on-year increase of 24.6 percent from 2023 (US$2.454 billion in 2023). (La Primerisima, 17 February 2025)

Nicaragua Achieves Food Sovereignty and Strengthens its Exports
Nicaragua has achieved food security and sovereignty through programs that diversify production while working to eradicate hunger, achieving self-sufficiency and greater exports. Ninety percent of the food consumed by Nicaraguans is produced in Nicaragua, thus achieving food security and sovereignty rarely seen in a country where the main economic activity is agriculture. Miguel Obando, codirector of the Nicaraguan Institute of Agricultural Technology (INTA), stated, “Beans are a basic food product here and we produce all that we consume. Of the four million hundredweights of beans we produce each year, we consume two and a half million and the rest we export to the rest of Central America.” The country works with no fewer than 20 new technologies and improved plant varieties per year, in addition to serving 2,100 community banks with 48,000 hundred weights of high genetic quality seeds resistant to climate change that are delivered to small and medium producers, in whose hands most of the national production rests. It is estimated that Nicaragua’s productive and agricultural activity for the current 2024-2025 cycle will grow at least 4.6% in global terms. (La Primerisima, 17 February 2025; Informe Pastran, 17 February 2025)

Child Development Centers in Boaco to be Strengthened
Officials of the Ministry of the Family and the municipalities of the department of Boaco, signed an agreement for subsidy funds that will benefit 485 children enrolled in the country’s Child Development Centers. The Vice Minister of MIFAM, Erika Espinoza, emphasized the importance of this subsidy that will contribute to the well-being of the Revolution’s children. The municipalities benefited are Boaco, San Lorenzo, Camoapa, Santa Lucía and Teustepe, where education and food will continue to be guaranteed. Likewise, safe and dignified spaces will be created for children under six years of age. The mayor of San Lorenzo, Marcos Sandoval, commented that the most important aspect of the agreement is that the municipalities will be able to count on resources that will improve the quality of life while the children are at the Child Development Centers. During the cultural event held in San Lorenzo, children from the different centers were the stars in artistic presentations, showing their talents and intellectual capabilities. At the conclusion of the activity, officials of the Ministry of the Family handed out packages of educational material to the teachers which will be used as learning tools for the children. (La Primerisima, 15 February 2025)

More than 900 Physicians Sit for Specialty Exams
More than 900 doctors in the country took an exam on Feb. 15 to qualify for free studies in medical and surgical specialties. The Sandinista Government has set up the programs through the UNAN-Managua [National Autonomous University of Nicaragua] in coordination with the Ministry of Health. Health professionals are seeking to qualify for the special training in one of the 33 specialties that will be taught free of charge. “We are focusing on the preparation of professionals at a level to provide better care to the Nicaraguan people,” said Dr. Denis Duarte Silva, professor at the UNAN-Managua. Doctor Angel Garcia Gonzalez said he is opting for the specialty of Orthopedics and Traumatology as first choice and as a second choice General Surgery. “We are excited waiting for results to give us the opportunity to continue advancing and to be useful,” he said. (La Primerisima, 16 February 2025)

Geothermal Energy Advances
The technical capacity for geothermal sampling at Momotombo plant is being strengthened with new equipment and training. Within the framework of the Third Country Course on Capacity Building in the Geothermal Sector, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the Nicaraguan Electricity Company (ENEL) held a workshop on improved geothermal fluid sampling techniques in the Momotombo geothermal field. ENEL officials participated in this workshop where they explained the use of new equipment donated by JICA. This equipment improves the safety, precision and efficiency of the geothermal fluid sampling and analysis processes, which are fundamental for studying the behavior of the reservoir that feeds the Momotombo Plant. This initiative seeks to strengthen the technical capabilities of ENEL’s personnel to guarantee the production of clean and stable energy in Nicaragua with the use of geothermal resources.

https://afgj.org/nicanotes-my-early-day ... a-part-one

[blindpig]

NicaNotes: Development and the Environment: An Interview with Nicaragua’s Environment Minister
March 27, 2025

Interview of Javier Gutiérrez, Nicaragua’s Minister of the Environment and Natural Resources (MARENA), by Erving Vega of Studio TN8- Channel 8 on March 4, 2025. Translated by Tortilla con Sal.


Minister of the Environment Javier Gutiérrez (right) told journalist Erving Vega: “We think that as we improve the standard of living, as we are getting out of poverty, our environmental conditions are improving. Why? Because there is less pressure on natural resources.”

Erving Vega: Our main topic in Studio TN8, today, is the strengthening of good environmental practices in the private sector. Our guest is Javier Gutiérrez, Minister of MARENA. We welcome you again and thank you for joining us, Minister. I’d like to note, by way of introduction, that Nicaragua has a regulatory environmental framework that each company is obliged to comply with in its economic activity and there are sanctions for those who do not comply.

Javier Gutiérrez: Yes, as we know, the natural resources of our country are the heritage of all of us, a natural heritage, which the Ministry of the Environment is empowered to facilitate, regulate and guarantee with relation to economic activity. Our regulatory framework is quite robust, in terms of allowing all economic activity, as long as the environmental parameters established within the regulations are respected.

For example, if our regulations say that only one amount of tree cutting is authorized in a municipality, it is because it is guaranteed that this resource can be recovered in one year; if 10 trees are authorized, it is because it has already been verified by our technicians that those 10 trees can be recovered in one year. But if a person cuts 20, then the forest resource already begins to degrade until it disappears. So, in that sense, our regulations guarantee that we are able to make economic activity happen responsibly.

Erving Vega: Are there some activities that by their nature are more prone to generate some damage?

Javier Gutiérrez: Yes, we have them classified according to the impact they could generate in different categories; there are categories that require more detailed studies. Environmental impact assessments, for example, for large companies that are expected to move a lot of soil, that will cut a lot of trees, that will generate many situations that could cause environmental impacts.

Then, specific procedures are established in which they are asked for more information, and possibly more mitigation measures will be required…. Because let’s remember that environmental risks affect natural resources, but really the effects are on our people. That is, in terms of the pollution that could be generated in an economic activity, the ones who are going to suffer are our people, our population, children, etc.

We can guarantee that economic development takes place safely because today we have the environmental sciences; there are environmental practices that are appropriate and that reduce environmental impacts. It does not eliminate them since we generate environmental impacts just by walking, breathing, and going about our daily business. Nowadays, environmental science allows that, with well-organized, well-ordered economic activity complying with the regulations that we have, the country can be developed without any problems.

Erving Vega: Minister, in broad strokes, how we are doing in the country in terms of preserving and taking care of our environment?

Javier Gutiérrez: We have seen positive performance; we have almost four million hectares in different types of forests; that places us as one of the countries, at least in the Central American area, with the greatest forest coverage by country. We have about 74 areas that are taken care of by the state, known as protected areas, but they are really areas where certain very particular natural characteristics are preserved. There is a lot of biodiversity; they are very dense forests. In some cases they have species unique in the world where there is interaction of a lot of fauna. We have to take care of those biological corridors.

Erving Vega: Seventy-four protected areas, and three of them, Biosphere Reserves, are recognized by UNESCO. The San Juan River, Bosawás; and the Island of Ometepe are internationally recognized as areas that generate not only environmental benefits for our country, but in the world. There is a difference when UNESCO recognizes that this benefit is not only for Ometepe; it’s not only for Nicaragua, but it also benefits the rest of the world.

Javier Gutiérrez: We also have a national marine biosphere that is the Caribbean Biosphere. That is everything we recovered via the International Court of Justice at The Hague; everything that is the marine-coastal area that is rich in marine fauna. We are very blessed in terms of natural resources in our country, added to which our forests are suppliers of many important environmental services, such as water resources, for example.

Erving Vega: How are we doing in terms of percentage of forest cover?

Javier Gutiérrez: We’re at about 30, 35 percent of forest coverage in our territorial extension. Of those between 20 and 25 percent are areas which the state preserves, because they have very particular natural conditions, in which certain economic activity is not allowed, because they are, as we say, our great natural savings account that we have to take care of as our genetic banks. We have a species of pine in Yukul that is the only one in the world; if that disappears, imagine what it would mean. But in general, our country, our Environmental Assessment System requires environmental practices as a fundamental condition for developing appropriate economic activity.

Erving Vega: Thirty percent of forest cover in our territory.

Javier Gutiérrez: Of different types of cover. Let’s remember that the Caribbean is what is called moist, broad-leaved forest. The important and remarkable thing about the Caribbean is that it has very high dynamism. That is to say, regeneration is very fast. If, in another country, it might take 10 years for a tree to grow one meter, in the Caribbean it maybe takes eight months or a year for it to grow one meter. So, there is dynamic growth and that is why sometimes forest fires do damage, but the greatest damage is when, after the fire, people come in to cut illegally.

Erving Vega: Because nature after the fire takes responsibility for regenerating.

Javier Gutiérrez: It regenerates, and the Caribbean has a very high regeneration rate. If a forest burns, it degrades; it is affected, but in one or two years that forest, if you don’t touch it, has recovered. But if we go in to take advantage of the fact that the space is already burned and start cutting…. These are the kinds of damages we are working to prevent in order to allow us to really always count on our natural resources, because in the end it is a heritage that all Nicaraguans have to take care of.

Erving Vega: Thirty percent coverage, that means a lot if we look at the behavior and the data that the rest of the countries in the region have and, when we talk about the region, can we go beyond Central America, Latin America or the hemisphere?

Javier Gutiérrez: Yes, it is a very high percentage, but let’s remember that we had a period, for example the neoliberal era, where deforestation rates soared. In fact, we have statistics that show that the neoliberal era was when there was the greatest environmental damage in the country. But we have been reducing that rate of damage.

Erving Vega: Is there any other country in Central America that has 30% forest coverage in its territory?

Javier Gutiérrez: Nicaragua has one of the highest levels of coverage in Central America; but we also have to take into account differences in total area. What Costa Rica has, to give an example, are areas that have been recovering. They practically destroyed their forests, but they have been recovering them, and Honduras has a lot of pine forests. But we are on the front line in coverage, almost 4.5 million hectares, and we have one of the highest coverage rates in relation to our territorial extension, which is also the largest in Central America.

In proportional terms we are one of the countries that has the highest performance in terms of coverage and a moderate deforestation rate. Because here we have to clarify that the deforestation that has to be quantified is the illegal kind. Because there are a series of forest management permits that allow the cutting of trees, the use of wood that is not deforestation; that is by design.

Erving Vega: Are there any management plans?

Javier Gutiérrez: There are forest management plans, technical designs that are made based on our national standards, and that cannot be said to be deforestation. That is why statistical data has to be done very carefully and very responsibly.

Erving Vega: Are there any companies in the country that cultivate trees?

Javier Gutiérrez: Quite a few; there are more than one million hectares in forest plantations. We have great potential, and of high-value species.

Erving Vega: I think in Rivas and Nandaime there is a quantity of teak.

Javier Gutiérrez: Teak is being cultivated; there is a large quantity. And, if you look at teak furniture stores you see it is of a high quality. Forestry activity is advancing; I think it is important, and we have the potential to continue growing in these areas.

Erving Vega: We were talking about the promotion of environmental practices in the private sector. What concrete actions are we talking about in promoting these practices?

Javier Gutiérrez: We are working on strengthening our National Environmental Assessment System; in fact, perhaps eight days ago we launched the online application system; that is, people can now obtain a code to be able to access their permit. Before, they had to go to MARENA. ….

Erving Vega: Does every application need to be accompanied by an impact study? For example, for the use of the forest, a farmer may want to exploit his forest, does he have to make a study and a management plan?

Javier Gutiérrez: Yes, that’s under a forest management plan, a harvesting plan. …. And then when you transport the wood, you have to get another permit, because … when you go from one municipality to another, the competent authorities ask you, does this wood have a permit? They check if your permit is for the right volume; if the permit is 20 wooden planks, then the permit has to say that those 20 planks are made of cedar, with such and such dimensions…. If it’s right, you are allowed to keeps moving; if you do not present the correct permit, the Police retain the timber.

Erving Vega: Is it like a timber traceability?

Javier Gutiérrez: It’s called forest traceability: Of origin from an authorized forest, because a study was made where the competent authority authorized it, supervised it and attests that it comes from there. That’s the bit about traceability.

Erving Vega: There are rogues, right, I authorize 10 trees and they cut down 20?

Javier Gutiérrez: Unfortunately. We visit the industries; we make inventories of entrances and exits; the police give us incredible help, because they are the ones who are in the control centers. We visit the areas where timber is being exploited; we do all the corresponding monitoring, but indeed there are always situations.

Erving Vega: And are they punished if it is discovered?

Javier Gutiérrez: Yes, there are administrative processes and the law is applied. Let us remember that this is a patrimony; … we do apply the Law.

Erving Vega: Industrial plants, it’s one thing to build them, and it’s another to track what they’re going to do with waste.

Javier Gutiérrez: These types of activities must follow the Environmental Management Programs; these are the measures established by MARENA so that the environmental risks are reduced, or their impacts are not generated. Then, we follow up, and it usually takes one year. When the year is up the project is evaluated and an update of its general environmental management plan is made. That’s the follow-up, but we have to get better at that follow-up; it all depends on the staff.

Erving Vega: For example, there are the Free Trade Zones that generate certain waste; there must be a wastewater treatment plan especially with dyes.

Javier Gutiérrez: There are sites that have to construct their own treatment plants because they do not have service from ENACAL [the water and sewerage company]; we have to follow up on all that. For example, in 2024 we authorized almost 3,000 permits nationwide. In this first quarter we have already reached almost 1,000 permits.

We can see that the economic activity of the country is growing incredibly. The country is attracting investment. Also, it impresses us that these companies do come to MARENA to ask for permission. Usually before, they did not. Then the activity was carried out, sometimes they were supervised and they were penalized. That was very frequent. But now they come to Marena. First of all, we consider that there is more environmental awareness. It is not so much that they love little birds. It’s because they know that environmental activity can have an impact on people’s health, on well-being, on livelihoods, and there is an awareness of that.

Erving Vega: I think this in part answers the following question. Is the private sector complying or not complying with good environmental practices in Nicaragua?

Javier Gutiérrez: The formal private sector, the one that is working within all the parameters, is complying. Moreover, it is bringing important co-benefits in these environmental areas. There are things as a ministry we can’t do and they complement us. They do a lot of environmental education; they do a lot of information outreach; they have a very important outreach system on environmental issues. So, they complement us. We still have a struggle to improve in some areas, but we consider that in general the private sector is fully aligned with our government to promote economic activity that does not generate environmental impacts, either in the medium or long term.

Erving Vega: It is no longer seen so much that the person who undertakes something, or builds something does so any way they want. They are already coming to MARENA.

Javier Gutiérrez: One thing that we have been demonstrating through our Family and Community Model is that our main ally for environmental improvement is improving the livelihoods and the economy of our population. That is, getting out of poverty as indicated by our Co-Presidents Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo, which is our main objective; that is, we cannot have effective environmental management if we do not reduce poverty.

This model that we have is a unique model in the world, because sometimes environmental management is based, for example, on the carbon market about which we hear a lot, those carbon offsets. We don’t agree with that. We think that as we improve the standard of living, as we are getting out of poverty, our environmental conditions are improving. Why? Because there is less pressure on natural resources. People have their jobs; they have their entrepreneurship; they no longer go to the forest to get iguanas, to get firewood; there is less pressure.

In fact, employment in the areas where there has typically been high deforestation in the Caribbean, which is what we call the agricultural frontier, a lot of employment is being generated there. So, that has allowed deforestation in our country to be reduced. This model is very important for our country.

Erving Vega: The logic of the environmental permit is not to hinder, rather it is a support to make it easier for people to do things appropriately.

Javier Gutiérrez: Right, what we are saying is, to carry out economic activity, we need its environmental impacts to be minimal, and if there are going to be impacts, we will try to reduce them with actions that we are going to recommend to people. It’s a matter of respecting the legal framework that is the expression of our people where it says in the law, “Do it, generate employment, but do not affect the environment.” Because our great working model is that the more we generate income, the more employment we have, then environmental impacts are reduced. That is not accepted by other countries where they apply another type of model, more along the lines of carbon markets or other types of models that are not models which we can apply in our country.

Erving Vega: I want to take advantage of the last two minutes, to look at the position of Nicaragua at the international level in terms of environmental conservation.

Javier Gutiérrez: We have long been defenders of our principles based on responsibility within differentiated and respective spheres. That’s why I always like to talk about something that Rosario Murillo told us and I think it sums up our position very clearly. Compañera Rosario, our Co-President, said that what they call climate change is no longer just that, it is destroyed land, it is Mother Earth that we have stripped of her natural protective elements, through looting, the eagerness to take everything in exchange for nothing and leave the consequences to the rest of us. That is what generates these phenomena, and what we call climate change.

The responsibility for pollution, degradation, climate change, all those hydro-meteorological phenomena that affect us year after year, is with the Global North. It is the capitalist countries who continue to pollute and do not stop despite all the famous conventions of the United Nations. They continue and what they are doing is applying a very perverse and exhausted model that is, the one who pollutes pays. In other words, if I have money I pay it, but I keep polluting. But what we want is to stop polluting. So, this model they apply in all countries. In Latin America, for example, it is very common that they pay you a peso or so for a ton of carbon, and they buy it because it is cheaper to buy it at a peso than to change their technology, change their pollution models, by which they are enriching themselves at the cost of all the hydrometeorological phenomena that cause problems in our country.

For example, in Nicaragua we have already seen that they affect almost 4.5% of our gross domestic product, and who pays us back after that? That is why we believe that climate justice with reparations should be a pillar of these pollution models.

Erving Vega: So, this a debate that needs to be continued?

Javier Gutiérrez: We keep insisting on that debate; we have been defending that principle for a long time, a principle of justice. We do not pollute; we emit almost nothing. We only emit .02% or .03% of what is emitted in the world. …. If Central America says, we won’t produce any emissions, the world will still be the same or worse, because the ones that are emitting here are the capitalist countries, the Global North, Europe, the United States. And we already saw that the new government of the United States said that it was leaving the Paris Agreement. So, they go ahead and continue with all the pollution through the fossil fuels that they have been using and that is going to mean more emissions and there is going to be a greater impact on our countries.

Erving Vega: Your closing comment, on our central theme which is the promotion and strengthening of good environmental practices in the private sector.

Javier Gutiérrez: We urge people to continue working in an appropriate way with the Ministry of the Environment, in order to ensure that our economic activity continues to grow; we are very concerned about making it possible for our economy to continue to grow.

Our government offers incredible facilities so that anyone who wants to invest in a respectful, socially responsible way can do so in our country. And we as a Ministry are going to guarantee that this economic activity is within the framework that our environmental regulations allow. We want to generate those incomes, those livelihoods, those economic facilities for our families, without losing our national heritage, without losing the environmental quality that we all want. We all want to live in a place without pollution; we don’t want bad smells; we don’t want the soil to become infertile; we want to see the rivers without pollution. No one wants to live under those conditions. So that is our role, making sure that economic activity is being generated without losing those great natural landscapes, those environmental benefits, which thank God in our country we continue to enjoy.

Erving Vega: Thank you very much.

* * * * *

Briefs
By Nan McCurdy
Nicaragua Withdraws from the Central American Court of Justice
Nicaraguan Foreign Minister Valdrack Jaentschke reported on March 18 that the Government of Nicaragua had decided to withdraw from the Central American Court of Justice (CCJ). In a letter addressed to the Acting President of the CCJ, Jaentschke stated that “Against all logic, the Court is subject to the decisions of the Central American and Caribbean Judicial Council, which is not part of the Central American Integration System (SICA).” And, Co-President Rosario Murillo said, “This is a paradox, how can a Court of the region, a regional court, be subject to decisions of a Council that is not part of SICA?”

Another part of the story concerns Nicaraguan Supreme Court Judge Juana Méndez Pérez, who presented her resignation from the Supreme Court when she was nominated to occupy the position of president of the Central American Court. It is Nicaragua’s turn to hold the presidency of that Court. But Nicaragua’s nomination was rejected in what was described by one source as a secret meeting of other members. This is likely part of the reason for Nicaragua’s withdrawal from the Court. Judge Méndez was restored to her position on the Nicaraguan Supreme Court on March 19. (La Primerisima, 18 &19 March 2025; Informe Pastran, 18 March 2025; El Gato Sandinista, 19 March 2025)

Foreign Direct Investment Exceeded US$3 billion in 2024
On March 20 Nicaragua’s Central Bank reported that, in 2024, gross foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows totaled US$3.04 billion, 8.6% higher than in 2023 (US$2.8 billion). Meanwhile, net FDI inflows were US$1.3 billion, 21.4% higher than in 2023 (US$1.1 billion). Gross FDI inflows represented 15.4% of GDP; while net flows represented 6.9% of GDP in 2024 (and 6.3% in 2023). The main source of annual gross FDI inflows was external disbursements received from parent and/or related non-resident companies, which totaled US$1.7 billion in the year (56.5% of the total), followed by gross profits with US$993.6 million (32.7% of the total), and capital contributions with US$329.2 million (10.8% of the total). Regarding the net FDI flows, reinvestment of profits (US$882.7 million) represented 65.3% of the total; new capital contributions accounted for 24.3% of the total; and net inflows from external indebtedness with related companies (US$140.4 million) represented 10.4%. The economic activities with the highest annual net FDI inflows were: industry with US$419.1 million (31.0% of the total), financial intermediation with US$282.6 million (20.9% of the total), energy and mines with US$260.8 million (19.3% of the total), and commerce and services with net FDI inflows of US$199.8 million (14.8% of the total). With regard to the countries of origin of net FDI, inflows from Panama stood out, totaling US$336.3 million (24.9% of the total) and the United States with US$282.9 million (20.9% of the total). Net inflows were registered from Spain (US$95.9 million; 7.1% of the total), Barbados (US$82.8 million; 6.1% of the total), Costa Rica (US$82.1 million; 6.1% of the total) and Mexico with US$66.8 million (4.9% of the total). (La Primerisima, 20 March 2025)

Emergency Drill to Include 7,000 Possible Scenarios
The National System for Disaster Prevention (SINAPRED) has prepared more than 7,000 possible scenarios for the first drill of the year which will be carried out simultaneously in different parts of the country on March 27. Disaster preparedness officials will observe how communities and neighborhoods put in place their response plans. The exercise will suppose a 7.9 earthquake at a depth of 22 kilometers that would be located 35 kilometers off the coast of El Astillero, in the Department of Rivas, and would include tsunami waves of from four to six meters high. Students, teachers and administrative personnel from 9,000 schools, mainly those located in coastal areas, will be involved. (La Primerisima, 20 March 2025)

Sandinista Government Has Built More than 145,000 houses
In the last 18 years, 145,134 affordable housing units have been built, notably improving the standard of living of the same number of families in the different municipalities of the country. On March 21 the co-director of the Nicaraguan Institute of Urban and Rural Housing (INVUR), Gabriela Palacios, said that the neoliberal governments did not invest in or implement a housing policy for sustainable urban development, and this led to the proliferation of squatter settlements. She noted, “Today housing is a fundamental constitutional right, a right that is framed under a special law for the promotion of access to housing.” She explained that this policy has allowed the Sandinista government to achieve it’s goal with the construction of new and improved housing impacting thousands of families. She also highlighted that housing not only generates an economic impact, but also an impact on the welfare of the family. She highlighted the social, economic and political stability which the government has created, providing facilities and tools for investors to develop projects in this sector

In related news, the fifth national housing fair will be held in Managua on April 5 and 6 at the Olof Palme Convention Center. More than 60 collaborators from the sector will participate, including banks, government institutions, material and equipment suppliers, insurance companies and real estate brokers. Representatives of urbanization projects located in the municipalities of Mateare, Ciudad Sandino, Tipitapa, Managua, Granada and Nindirí will also be present. There will be affordable housing projects represented as well as projects for other segments of the population, in which the houses may have a cost of more than US$50,000. In 2024 more than 9,000 people attended the fair and 500 people were pre-qualified for mortgage credit in the banking system. See picture of affordable housing: https://radiolaprimerisima.com/gobierno ... viviendas/ (La Primerisima, 21 March 2025)

Nicaragua Improves its Score on the World Happiness Index
Nicaragua is one of ten countries that have most improved their score on the World Happiness Index over the last decade. The Index measures a range of factors including GDP, life expectancy, generosity, social support, freedom and corruption, and is published by a partnership between the UN, Oxford University and Gallup. Nicaragua is currently ranked the 47th happiest country on the Index, compared with 65th in 2013. Its score has improved from 5.5 to 6.28. In contrast the US, whose score is currently slightly higher at 6.72, has fallen from 13th place in the Index in 2013 to 24th now. The world’s ‘happiest’ country for the last eight years has been Finland. The link to the report is https://worldhappiness.report/. You can also compare the US and Nicaragua on a whole range of indices. One interesting one is defense spending per head: $2,781 in the US, $14 in Nicaragua. Or, roughly speaking, the US spends 200 times more per person than does Nicaragua. And that very likely under-counts US defense spending. https://countryeconomy.com/countries/co ... /nicaragua

European Solidarity with the Government of Nicaragua
In a statement released on March 24, the European Committee in Solidarity with the Sandinista People’s Revolution stated that it was urgent at this moment to express support for the Nicaraguan people who are organized under the Sandinista National Liberation Front and led by Co-Presidents Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo. The following are a few excerpts from the statement:

The so-called “revolutionary” Nicaraguan opposition, having given up the ideals they fought for in the 1970s and ‘80s, now collude with the same Contras they were supposedly fighting against back then. This is seen in the justifications they give for the events of 2018, calling it a “popular, peaceful uprising.” This leads one to ask, “Did they participate in or support those acts of violence?” 2018 was not an uprising; nor was it popular, and much less was it peaceful. It was a violent attempted coup d’etat, orchestrated by the US government through its various agencies such as USAID and major Nicaraguan business interests … together with private universities and their students …. Their objective was to get President Ortega to resign and to move up the elections. But they failed. The complaints expressed by the “revolutionary critics” were never leveled against the rampant corruption and neoliberal policies of the Violeta Chamorro, Arnoldo Alemán, and Enrique Bolaños administrations. All three of these governments … greatly reducing the State and government jobs, privatizing banks and State enterprises, and increasing unemployment, underemployment, and the informal economy, as well as reducing investment in the energy sector. This contrasts with Daniel Ortega’s administration, which has shown great concern for and commitment to such public policies as free education and healthcare for all Nicaraguans…. Therefore, it is urgent to express our support for the Nicaraguan people organized through the Sandinista National Liberation Front and led by Co-Presidents Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo. We know they will continue to implement these social development policies and confront the continuous interference of the US government and its accomplices within and outside of Nicaragua.

The European Committee in Solidarity with the Sandinista People’s Revolution.
24 March 2025 (https://www.ces-rps.com/2025/03/24/la-s ... -exterior/)

https://afgj.org/nicanotes-development- ... t-minister

[blindpig]

Nicaragua’s Opposition Media Welcome Trump’s New Tariffs – and Ignore How They Were Calculated
Posted by Internationalist 360° on April 6, 2025
John Perry


Trump on “Liberation Day” [Photo: White House]

Five countries in Central America, together with the Dominican Republic in the Caribbean, have a free trade agreement with Washington, but this didn’t protect them from the punitive tariffs announced on President Trump’s “Liberation Day.”

A minimum 10 per cent tariff on exports to the US will hit low-income countries throughout the region. But exports from Nicaragua have been saddled with an even higher tariff of 18 per cent. Delighted opponents of Nicaragua’s Sandinista government have blamed it, rather than Trump, for the country receiving this additional penalty. However, simple examination of the figures shows that Nicaragua’s tariff was calculated in the same way as every other country’s.

Before examining the opposition media’s error-strewn reports, this article first explains the background: how the tariff was set, whether it is legitimate and how US-Nicaragua trade is changing. Then it turns to the opposition’s mistakes and explains how they are using Trump’s actions to bolster their attacks on Nicaragua’s government and people.

How the tariffs were set

Trump’s chart of tariffs has two sets of figures for each country: the “tariffs charged to the USA” and the “reciprocal tariffs” to be imposed this month. Bizarrely, the “tariffs charged to the USA” do not relate to actual tariffs charged on US imports. Instead, they are the product of a calculation based on each country’s trade gap with the US. For most countries, the value of these “tariffs charged” has been set at 10 per cent, on the basis that the US has no trade deficit with them, or only a small one. All of these countries (including Nicaragua’s neighbors) are hit with a “reciprocal tariff” of 10 per cent on their exports to the US, from this month onwards, even if they buy more from the US than they sell to it.

However, a higher “tariff charged” is calculated for countries with which the US is judged to have a bigger trade deficit. For each country, the White House looked up the deficit for its trade with the US in goods for 2024, then divided that by the total value of the country’s exports to the US. Trump, to be “kind”, said he would offer a discount, so halved that figure. The calculation was distilled into a formula.

For example, these are the figures for China:

Goods trade deficit (exports from the US minus imports): – $291.9 billion
Total goods imported to the US from China: $438.9 billion
A ÷ B = – 0.67, or 67 per cent
Half of this is 34 per cent, the new tariff being applied to China.
Based on this formula, the small African country of Lesotho was saddled with the highest “reciprocal tariff” of 50 per cent, while several major SE Asian countries were also hit with very high tariffs.

How Nicaragua’s tariff was calculated

Nicaragua’s “reciprocal tariff” was calculated in the same way. According to US trade figures, in 2024 US goods exports to Nicaragua were $2.9 billion, while US goods imports from Nicaragua totaled $4.6 billion. The US goods trade deficit with Nicaragua was therefore – $1.7 billion in 2024.

The calculation was therefore: trade deficit (- $1.7 billion) ÷ imports ($4.6 billion) = – 0.37, or 37 per cent, halved to produce a “reciprocal tariff” of 18 per cent.

This means that from April 9, there will be a new tax of 18 per cent on Nicaraguan goods sent to the US, payable as a customs duty on their arrival by the company or agency importing the goods.

How Nicaragua might contest the tariff

It seems unlikely that Trump will bend to pressure on the tariffs. However, at least in theory, there are three ways in which Nicaragua might argue that the tariff is wrongly imposed:

Nicaragua’s Central Bank shows a smaller trade gap with the US. According to the Central Bank’s figures for 2024, Nicaragua’s exports to the US totaled $3.7 billion, not $4.6 billion, while its imports from the US totaled $2.7 billion, giving a trade gap of $1 billion, not $1.7 billion. On the basis of Trump’s tariff formula, the result should have been a 14 per cent tariff, not 18 per cent, if Nicaragua’s trade figures are correct. (A possible explanation for the difference may be the way that goods, originating in Nicaragua, are processed in other Central American countries before arrival in the US.)
Although most Central American countries import more from the US than they export to it, Costa Rica also has a trade surplus with the US, amounting to $2 billion, bigger than Nicaragua’s, yet it is only being penalized by the standard “reciprocal tariff” (10 per cent).
Most importantly, as the Guatemalan government pointed out, under the CAFTA-DR trade treaty new tariffs are illegal (under both US federal and international law). The treaty prohibits new tariffs or customs duties between the seven member countries. Therefore, all six of the other countries that are parties to CAFTA-DR are entitled to challenge the US for breaching it.
Action by CAFTA-DR members is complicated by the fact that Nicaragua is not only worst hit by the tariffs but is also a country that the US would like to exclude from the treaty completely, a point picked up below.

Changing significance of Nicaraguan exports to the US

Nicaragua’s Central Bank divides its trade figures between “merchandise” and products from free trade zones (principally, apparel). This, as we will see, confused the opposition media. This is the breakdown:

Exports of merchandise (e.g. gold, coffee, meat, etc.) totaled $4.2 billion in 2024, with the US accounting for 38.7 per cent of these, or $1.62 billion.
Exports from free trade zones were lower ($3.5 billion) but the proportion going to the US was much higher (59 per cent, or £2.08 billion).
Of Nicaragua’s total exports, at $7.7 billion, $3.7 billion went to the US (48 per cent).
Exports provide 39 per cent of Nicaragua’s annual income or GDP.
Exports to the US therefore account for a significant 18 per cent of GDP.

These figures exclude services, such as tourism and transport, where trade between Nicaragua and the US is roughly in balance (unlike Guatemala and Honduras, with whom the US has a strong trade surplus in services).

Exports to the US have fallen slowly from over 50 per cent of the total two years ago, as the government looks for other markets. Exports to the Republic of China, for example, were four times higher in 2024 than in 2022, but (at $68 million) are still a small proportion. There are other growing export markets, of which the most notable is Canada (now the second biggest buyer of Nicaraguan merchandise).

The Nicaraguan government’s response to the tariffs is likely to involve continued efforts to diversify trade and keeping a watchful eye on the effects on different sectors of the economy. Producers of products like coffee and gold may be less affected as they already have diverse markets. On the other hand the apparel sector, which until this month enjoyed zero tariffs on its $2 billion exports to the US, is geared to the US market and might find greater difficulty in mitigating the tariff’s effects.

Celebration and misinformation in opposition media

Nicaragua’s opposition media, long financed by the US government, admit that they have been hit by Elon Musk’s cuts. How they are now funded is unclear. However, prominent opposition activists enjoy salaried employment in US universities and think tanks, where they call for sanctions that would hit poor Nicaraguans. Naturally, they welcomed Trump’s announcement.

Errors in reporting on the tariffs showed opposition journalists’ unfamiliarity with Nicaragua’s economy. Confidencial, in a piece translated and reproduced in the Havana Times, claimed that the tariff imposed on Nicaragua ignored a trade surplus “of $484 million in favor of the US” which “has been growing in recent years.” This completely ignored exports to the US from the free trade zones. The same error was made a day later by Despacho 505.

According to Confidencial, the reason for the higher tariff on Nicaragua (and on Venezuela, hit with a 15 per cent tariff) was to punish their authoritarian governments. In reality, the higher tariffs on both countries resulted from the application of Trump’s formula, but this deliberate misrepresentation was to be repeated.

In an “analysis” for Confidencial on April 4, Manuel Orozco painted the 18 per cent tariff as specifically aimed at the Nicaraguan “dictatorship” (again, linking it with Venezuela). Orozco is a former Nicaraguan now living in Washington, working for the Inter-American Dialogue, an NGO funded by the US government and its arms industry. It is most unlikely that he was unaware of how the tariff was calculated; misleading his readers strengthened his argument that the higher tariff was a purely political move.

Further articles in Despacho 505 and Articulo 66 also blamed political factors without explaining the arithmetic behind the tariff. In La Prensa, activist Felix Maradiaga wrongly remarked that the US accounts for over 60 per cent of Nicaragua’s exports. According to him, the supposed weakness of Nicaragua’s Sandinista government means the country will struggle to cope (he disregards its remarkable resilience in dealing with the much heavier economic consequences of the 2018 coup attempt and the 2020 pandemic).

Then, also in Confidencial, opposition activist Juan Sebastián Chamorro made the claim that the new tariffs, which of course he welcomes, are entirely compatible with the CAFTA-DR trade treaty. He argued that Washington’s action is justified on grounds of “national security.” This echoes the absurd classification of Nicaragua (during the first Trump administration, continued by Biden) as “an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States.”

Opposition media are trying to present the new tariff as the first round of the stronger sanctions on Nicaragua that they have been urging Washington to adopt. They do this regardless of their illegality under the CAFTA-DR trade treaty or wider international law. The possibility of going further – excluding Nicaragua from the treaty – was trailed by Trump’s Latin America envoy, Mauricio Claver-Carone, in January, although he was careful to note the difficulties. But if this were to happen it would delight the opposition even further.

Obsessed with promoting regime change in Managua, these anti-Sandinista activists disregard the effects of tariffs and trade sanctions on ordinary Nicaraguans. On “Liberation Day” Trump showed his indifference to the millions of people in low-income countries whose livelihoods depend on producing food and other products for export to the US. The likes of Orozco, Maradiaga and Chamorro behave in just the same way.

https://libya360.wordpress.com/2025/04/ ... alculated/

******

NicaNotes: My Early Days in Nicaragua, 1986-1987, Part Four
April 3, 2025
By Brian Willson

This is part of a series by Brian Willson. For Part One, click here; for Part Two, click here, and for Part Three, click here.

(Brian Willson is a Viet Nam Veteran, trained attorney, and long-time activist confronting historical USA imperialism. He first came to Nicaragua in 1986, and has visited many times over the years. For several years he has resided in Nicaragua as one of its proud citizens.)


Veterans’ Peace Action Team members (center), including the author, are welcomed to Wiwilí by locals at the end of their 75 mile walk from Jinotega on heavily mined and ambushed roads. (Photo: Chris Vail)

In 1987, frustrated by the continuation of the US-funded Contra war, our Veterans’ Peace Action Team decided to embark on a riskier satyagraha action. We wanted to walk unarmed and undefended on a seventy-five-mile rural road through one of the most dangerous areas in all of Nicaragua—the remote but important, and heavily mined, trade road from Jinotega north through the Pantasma Valley to Wiwilí near the Honduran border. Three of our original team members had to leave for personal reasons before the walk, but we still had ten sturdy walkers. This walk would traverse the same area that saw intense fighting between U.S. Marines and Augusto Sandino’s forces fifty-five to sixty years before.

The devastating October 20, 1986, tank mine explosion of a passenger truck had occurred in the Pantasma Valley, and dozens of other vehicles had been destroyed on this road (and other roads) with dozens of civilian casualties, and the loss of many limbs. Wiwilí in northern Jinotega, and Murra fifteen miles further northwest in Nueva Segovia, had been the two villages bombed by the Honduran air force at U.S. direction in December 1986. The destruction of Murra by Marine bombs in March 1928, fifty-seven years earlier, was still remembered by Nicaraguan campesinos. Just four days before we were to start the walk, a New York Times headline reported that the “C.I.A. Gives Contras Detailed Profiles of Civilian Targets” to be destroyed in a “spring offensive” (March 19, 1987).

Spring was two days away! There was plenty of adrenaline flowing, I can assure you. Because of the danger involved, we needed official permission, since we planned to march toward Honduras close to dozens of Contra camps. Though the Nicaraguan government discouraged the walk, President Daniel Ortega finally okayed it. We wanted to walk directly into the heart of the war zone to bear witness to what our US government was doing. We would decide each night where to bed down.

On March 20, we briefed the U.S. Embassy in Managua of our plans. We met with U.S. Ambassador Harry Bergold and his information officer, Alfred A. Laun III. Laun not only informed us he had been a Phoenix operative in Viet Nam but warned us that if anything happened during our walk, “We [the U.S.] will hold the Sandinista Government responsible.” We specially noted that no investigation would be held if anything happened to us, as the “satanic” Sandinistas would be automatically blamed.

On Sunday afternoon, March 22, the day before the walk was to begin, we received a military briefing about watching for loose mounds of gravel on the road surface that might be concealing “antitank” mines and how to detonate them if necessary. We were to surround any suspected mine location with rocks. Later that evening, we received an intelligence briefing from the Sandinista military in Jinotega about locations of recent Contra sightings and attacks along the road, which of course made us very nervous.

When we asked one of their officers, well-known Sandinista commander Omar Cabezas, what we might expect, he replied, “I think they are going to try to kill you.” We paused, looked at one another, and asked, “Do we really want to do this?” After a couple of hours of further discussion, we all agreed to proceed. At the same-time we were told that the U.S. was conducting its largest-ever war trainings in Honduras with fifty-thousand troops.

Our briefing disclosed that three days earlier there had been a serious Contra attack on the Monterey coffee cooperative eleven miles north of Jinotega. Two campesinos were murdered and six injured, and fifteen homes and all the coffee processing facilities and farm equipment were burned. Our route would take us through the destroyed cooperative, and we wondered where this band of Contras would be in a day or two. On that same day, March 19, the agricultural cooperative of El Cedro in rural Jinotega was attacked, resulting in the deaths of two people and total destruction of a house, the health clinic, and the food supply center.

On the day of our departure, Monday, March 23, a Miami Herald head- line story, “Contras in Training for Major Offensive,” suggested the threat of a broadened war for the Nicaraguans. And the 1987 March issue of the Progressive magazine reported that a former U.S. Marine intelligence officer was providing the Contras with a list of civilians in Nicaragua marked for assassination. Nicaragua was definitely a terror zone on many fronts, thanks to Reagan’s “freedom fighters.”

On the Road

We packed rice and beans and snacks. Each morning, we would rise at dawn and get ready for the day’s walk. Because I had numerous bone spurs on the bottom of my feet that made walking painful, especially on rough ground, I wrapped my feet with extra gauze bandages before slipping on my boots. It would take a few minutes to get our sleeping bags and bedrolls roped up, then prepare or locate a local breakfast. Some mornings we prepared enough rice and beans for several meals and ate them cold along the road.

Each day we wondered whether we would be confronted on the road by the Contras, or worse, ambushed from behind brush or trees along the road. We walked in two columns, one on each side of the road, each person about ten to fifteen feet behind or ahead of another. Looking forward or backward, each of us knew we should always see eleven others, which included an unarmed Nicaraguan guide. Each of us was strategically paired with another walker and was responsible for always knowing where our partner was, especially when resuming our walk after a stop or break.

Our first day, we walked through the Monterey coffee cooperative, which had been destroyed only four days earlier. We paused to observe the destroyed houses, farm buildings, and equipment. Knowing that a number of cooperative members had been murdered or injured, team member and radical missionary Gary Campbell, who had witnessed the destruction of villages as a US Army veteran in Korea, said to me, “The books of God must ultimately be balanced.” It struck me that there was a whole lot of balancing due after five-hundred years of Eurocentric plunder, and that sooner or later we would have to pay a dear price for this.

There were many small bridges on the road, and though each one had been damaged due to sabotage, they were still passable, with some having been substantially repaired. Again, we found that all electric power lines had been destroyed over the entire distance from Jinotega to Wiwilí. The Nicaraguan government did not even attempt to keep the lines repaired because the prowling bands of Contras would easily destroy them again.

Perhaps it was just luck that we were not killed. During the first three days, we heard five firefights and mortars exploding ahead of or behind us. The Miami Herald (March 25, 1987) reported that the road we were on had “been the site of rebel ambushes and land mine explosions”.

My partner Holley and I temporarily left the walk when President Ortega sent word asking me to speak at the national coffee harvest festival in San Ramón, a municipality in the department of Matagalpa. This required reversing directions and driving south by Jeep with an armed escort over the road we had walked the day before. Soon after our departure, while driving over the Pantasma Mountain pass, we encountered a bloody ambush of an army kitchen truck that had occurred minutes earlier. Six soldiers had been killed and nine others injured by U.S.-made M-79 grenades and small arms. Shells littered the road. I found six US-made 40mm grenade shells on the left side and dozens of expended rifle shells on the right. I also picked up the charred remains of one soldier’s uniform that included a still intact, readable letter in one of the pockets. Fabricio, one of the wounded, said it was from his best friend who had been killed in the ambush. The letter was addressed to the soldier’s two daughters in the event he was killed. The soldier’s throat had been slit by the Contras as he lay wounded on the ground after having been thrown out of the truck by the explosion of the grenades. It said, “Your children and their children will not have to have mothers who suffer any more. We will have succeeded and you will be the givers of education, health, agriculture, and production…. This is my dream.” We transported the injured driver and two other soldiers to the hospital in Apanás on our way to San Ramón.

Upon arrival at San Ramón, I shared the podium with President Ortega and Sam Nujoma, then president of SWAPO (Southwest Africa People’s Organization), who three years later became the first president of liberated Namibia. I personally reported the ambush to President Ortega and my report on the ambush was covered by wire stories that appeared around the United States.

On our drive back north to rejoin the walk as it approached Wiwilí, our route took us up, over, and down the treacherous, curvy Pantasma Mountain road and past the ambush site of the previous day. Eager to join our other comrades walking to Wiwilí, we kept driving after dark, turning out the Jeep lights to reduce our visibility and reduce our chances of becoming an ambush target. The driver carried an AK-47 under his seat and another Nicaraguan soldier rode shotgun with an AK-47 at the ready. Holley and I, anxious and fearful in the back seat, closed our eyes and held our breath as we slowly rounded each hairpin curve. Anticipating instant death, we wondered if we would hear the crack of the rifles or feel the bullets as they entered our bodies. We realized that this is what Nicaraguans experienced every day throughout the rural areas of the country.

We made it back just in time to join our group for a grand entrance into Wiwilí. As we entered the small city, we were greeted by several hundred campesinos, who walked the last couple of miles with us. We had a grand celebration with many of the town’s residents at a makeshift stage. Since the town had no electricity, there was no refrigeration. Undaunted, the people had arranged for beer and soft drinks on ice to be flown in by helicopter for the occasion. Those cold drinks sure hit the spot.

Sending a Message

All of us survived the walk unscathed. Although I personally was relieved to be alive, and felt deepened by the experience, what was most important was that our outreach effort had sent a powerful message of support to the Nicaraguan people and the Sandinista revolution, and equally to the Contras, who were worried that U.S. citizens, especially veterans, could so boldly obstruct their attempt to destroy the Nicaraguan Revolution.

Nicaraguan newspapers, radio, and television covered our walk every day. And the Contras warned us every day via their radio station that we were at risk if we chose to walk into areas ironically made dangerous only by them.

The CIA had recently funded a powerful fifty-thousand-watt AM Contra radio station broadcasting from nearby El Salvador with regular programming and news. On March 27, a news item in the Miami Herald reported that “Contra rebels warned ten U.S. war veterans on a peace march in a northern war zone Thursday that the Sandinista government will be held responsible for ‘whatever happens’ to them.” Though learning that was disquieting, it was not enough to stop our walk. Besides, the U.S. Embassy had already given us the same warning.

We also understood the walk amplified our message back home. Though press coverage in the United States was less than we would have liked, we discovered a number of news items in newspapers such as the San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco Examiner, the Boston Globe, the Springfield, Massachusetts, Morning Union, the Miami Herald, the Oakland Tribune, and several wire stories that appeared in local papers around the country, including in my various hometown newspapers. A Dutch TV crew filmed our walk for European audiences. (The Dutch cameraman, Cornell LaGrouw, was killed two years later covering a firefight in El Salvador.)

I believed our style of active grassroots expression might be making a difference. Instead of talking the talk, I was walking the walk. I was validating my ideas with actions, experiencing life in Nicaragua as the campesinos do. What I discovered was that walking the walk was personally liberating and empowering for people I met. When we returned to the United States, I made public presentations and found many people receptive to the message. In 1985, a new version of an earlier, nearly defunct Veterans for Peace organization emerged and as we talked about our work in Nicaragua other vets seemed inspired to become active in their hometowns, and some considered participating in a new Veterans Peace Action Team.

I had found this physical action to be profoundly meaningful, partly because it allowed me to directly associate with the victims of U.S. foreign policy as I placed myself directly in front of that policy. It was much more real than being a lobbyist in the system. I felt more on track.

Note: If you have memories of your involvement with Nicaragua from years ago, write them down and send them to us! Even better if you have photos! Many of us are getting old and some of us have died! Leave a legacy! Write katherinechoyt@gmail.com.

* * * * *

Briefs
By Nan McCurdy
US Tariffs Hit Latin America and the Caribbean
On April 2, US President Donald Trump announced sweeping “reciprocal” tariffs affecting 180 countries and territories. Most of the countries in Latin America were slapped with Trump’s “baseline tariff” of 10%. However, Nicaragua was hit with 18%, Guyana with 38%, Venezuela with 15%, and the Malvinas Islands with 41%. (Latin American Daily Briefing, 3 April 2025)

CT Scanner Installed in Bluefields Hospital
The Ministry of Health completed the installation of the computerized tomography scanner that will be operating at the Doctor Ernesto Sequeira Bluefields Regional Teaching Hospital, on the Southern Caribbean Coast. The CT scanner was donated by the Government of Japan. La Primerisima, (26 March 2025)

Nicaragua a Safe Choice for Tourists in 2025
Nicaragua is among the safest countries in Latin America to travel to in 2025, making it a reliable option for visitors, according to a study recently published by the Numbeo platform. Safety is a key aspect for travelers when choosing a destination. The survey shows which are the countries with the lowest crime rates in Latin America in 2025, taking into account factors such as homicides, robberies and the perception of safety of both residents and tourists. According to the study data, Cuba tops the list of the safest countries in Latin America, with a security index of 65.6, indicating a low incidence of crime compared to other Latin American nations. It is followed by Panama, with 57.3. Both countries are ranked higher than Canada (54.3) and the United States (50.8).

Nicaragua is positioned as one of the countries with the lowest crime rates in the region, with an index of 49.2, followed by Uruguay, with 48.0. Stability and the lower presence of violent crime compared to other Latin American countries make both nations a reliable option for visitors. This difference may influence tourists’ decisions when planning their trips. (La Primerisima, 27 March 2025)

More than 232,000 People to Benefit from New Wind Farm
The direct beneficiaries from the construction of the El Barrio Wind Power Plant are 232,220 people in the Department of Estelí, according to National Assembly Deputy Wálmaro Gutiérrez. The loan of US$69.1 million to build the plant, granted by the government of the People’s Republic of China, is for a 10-year term with a 30-month grace period and an interest rate of 4.5 percent, Gutierrez added. He explained that the total cost of the project is US$81.3 million. “In other words, Nicaragua is going to put up a counterpart of approximately US$12.2 million,” he explained. The installed base power of the plant is 55.2 megawatts and an approximate generation of 157,416 megawatt hours of clean energy, which is extremely important, according to Gutierrez, who is the chair of the Economy Committee. The National Assembly unanimously approved the decree approving the loan and establishing the details for the construction of the power plant. (La Primerisima, 27 March 2025)

Military Hospital Receives Award for Quality Patient Care
The Dr. Alejandro Dávila Bolaños Military and Teaching Hospital received the People Centered Care Commitment Award, Level Il-Advanced, for its high commitment to patients’ wellbeing and the humanization of medical care. The award was presented by Accreditation Canada during the inauguration of the 1st International Congress on Person-Centered Care, held in Managua. Heidi Elmoazzen, director of international operations of Accreditation Canada, said that the award “demonstrates the great quality they have in the care of people and person-centered care.” “Indeed, the Military Hospital has a great recognition for being the first Central American and Latin American hospital to obtain this award. I invite public, private and military hospitals in the region and in Central America to continue working with us,” she said. See photos: https://radiolaprimerisima.com/galardon ... pacientes/ (La Primerisima, 28 March 2025)

Medical Shifts to Be Reinforced During Holy Week
The Ministry of Health (MINSA) reported that medical shifts will be reinforced 24 hours a day in hospitals and health centers to guarantee the response to any emergency, during Holy Week vacations under the “Health Care Plan, Verano 2025.” Likewise, 274 temporary medical posts, 61 aid stations, 128 White Cross rescue teams and 52 mobile clinics will be set up, MINSA announced in a press release. The objective of the plan is to guarantee the health care of families and their enjoyment during the week-long vacation that includes both religious and recreational activities in all the country’s municipalities. For this purpose, 483 land ambulances and 14 water ambulances from MINSA and Cruz Blanca will be available. (La Primerisima, 30 March 2025)

3,000 Patients Attended at Mega Internal Medicine Fair
More than 3,500 patients received attention on March 28 at the Mega Internal Medicine Fair held at the Luis Felipe Moncada Departmental Hospital in the municipality of San Carlos, Department of Rio San Juan. People of all ages received medical attention from 73 specialists in Internal Medicine, Cardiology, Neurology and Gastroenterology. Among the specialized services provided to the patients were echo cardiology, spirometry (lung test), Endoscopy, ultrasounds, EKG’s and more. (La Primerisima, 30 March 2025)

National Health Map Presented
On April 1 the Ministry of Health presented the National Health Map to members of the diplomatic corps, multilateral and international organizations, non-profit organizations and medical service providers. The map is an online portal, which contains information on the health status of Nicaraguans, broken down at the national level, municipalities and health sectors. Statistics for the last five years are detailed, showing the main causes of hospitalization, morbidity, mortality, reduction of maternal and infant deaths, advances in vaccination, control of epidemic diseases, among other health indicators.

It also contains information on the family and community health model and the network of existing health units. (La Primerisima, 1 April 2025)

Nicaragua Demands Respect from Panama
On March 31, the Nicaraguan Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement questioning Panama’s handling of the planned travel by former Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli to Nicaragua. Martinelli had been given political asylum at the Nicaraguan Embassy in Panama and was expecting to travel to Nicaragua on March 31 after Panama’s current President José Raul Mulino gave him a safe conduct for the trip. The Nicaraguan statement protested, however, that within hours of granting the safe conduct for Martinelli to travel, the Panamanian government requested from INTERPOL a Red Notice (a request to law enforcement worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a person wanted for prosecution or to serve a sentence) against him. The Nicaraguan Foreign Ministry said it had recently learned “of actions in violation of diplomatic privileges and asylum status by authorities in different countries that have invaded embassies, even physically assaulting ambassadors, and kidnapping asylum seekers.” The statement added that the contradictory conduct of the Panamanian government “seems to be a legal trap.”

The statement said, “Therefore, we have communicated to the Panamanian Authorities that as long as they do not resolve this inconsistency, we cannot accept what we consider an ambush, both to the former President of Panama, in condition of asylum and refuge in our diplomatic headquarters, who would be exposed to aggressive actions in Panama, and to the government of Nicaragua itself, with whom it is intended to generate an international conflict.”

In addition, the statement said that “The government of Panama has been, since President José Raúl Mulino Quintero took office, ignoring, defaming and acting against the government of Nicaragua in undeserved offensive declarations. And it has blocked, in complicity with other countries, the right of Nicaragua to the seat that legitimately corresponds to us in the General Secretariat of the Central America Integration System (SICA).”

And, finally, the Foreign Ministry stated, “In coherence with our vocation of good neighborliness and the correct interpretation and application of the conventions of international law, we demand that the authorities of Panama act accordingly, and promote relations of respect, understanding and brotherhood between our countries.” (La Primerisima, 31 March 2025)

https://afgj.org/nicanotes-my-early-day ... -part-four

[blindpig]

NicaNotes: Film maker Alex Cox reflects on his film “Walker”
April 17, 2025

An interview by Tortilla con Sal

[Alex Cox is a British filmmaker, now based in North America. For the general public, he may well be best known for two films Repo Man (1984) and Sid and Nancy (1986) produced within the North American studio system as well as a whole series of independently produced films and his very popular and influential British television series “Moviedrome”. In fact, Alex Cox considers his film about the filibuster William Walker (“Walker” 1987) his best film. It was a unique film for its time, highly accomplished and innovative with outstanding actors and a great soundtrack by the rock musician Joe Strummer. The big studios of the American film industry boycotted Alex Cox after the film about William Walker because of his obvious sympathy with the Sandinista Popular Revolution.]


Scene from Cox’s 1987 film “Walker” which is based on the US filibuster William Walker’s invasion of Nicaragua in the 1850s where he made himself president and legalized slavery.

Tortilla con Sal: For us in Nicaragua, the figure of William Walker represents the very essence and embodiment of Yankee imperialism – how do you see William Walker and has your sense of him changed since you made your film about him?

Alex Cox: What I find most interesting and astonishing and alarming is that in the West, nothing changes. William Walker represented a stern Calvinist crusader operating on behalf of big business. In the 1920s Smedley Butler played the same role in Nicaragua, but came to his senses and rebelled against his paymasters.

When we made our film in the 1980s, Oliver North fit the bill (though, being more of a weekend warrior, he never set foot in Nicaragua). Today one of the people playing that role is US Secretary of ‘Defense’ Pete Hegseth, a stern Calvinist teetotaler with crusader tattoos. So, my sense of Walker hasn’t changed at all. He was simply part of a pattern.

Ed Harris, the actor who played Walker so brilliantly, pointed this out in his improvised speech in the Managua Cathedral, at the end of the film.

Tortilla con Sal: Has your sense of Nicaragua changed?

Alex Cox: What do I know of Nicaragua? I haven’t visited your country since we finished editing the film. My memories are of amazing people, verdure, beauty, heat, endurance. The lands of mainstream media are the lands of forgetting, and one can only have a true sense of a place or a person by being there, or being with them. So, I look forward to returning.

Tortilla con Sal: What did making the film about William Walker, which I understand you have considered to be your best film, come to mean for you in terms of both your professional career and your own personal and political development?

Alex Cox: Looking back on the production, it was an amazing thing. Two young guys – me and Lorenzo O’Brien, the producer – managed to spend five million dollars of an American studio’s money in Nicaragua, in a time of war, and tell the story of William Walker – not only to the Nicaraguans who already knew it, but to the Americans, and the world.

We did this in collaboration with hundreds of people: Nicaraguans, Mexicans, Americans, English, government officials, church officials, actors, cinematographers, designers, builders, sound recordists, drivers, extras, workers… and a uniquely talented composer.

And all that work was done in Nicaragua. It was a unique experience. Looking back on it now, Lorenzo and I are more than a little surprised we pulled it off. Successfully making Walker in Nicaragua set his career back twenty years, and got me blacklisted by the American studios for life. But you know what? Like the guy in the Peckinpah movie said, I wouldn’t have it any other way.

If I had stayed in Los Angeles, I would have been miserable. I might have become a Hollywood director, making Schwarzenegger films and Marvel comix. I would be rich, and probably dead of a heart attack. Instead, I was cut loose by the “industry” and wandered around the world, looking for money for films, and places to make them.

I’ve directed a film about the Mexican Highway Patrol, a Jacobean Revenge Drama, a re-imagining of the Birth of Jesus, three Westerns, a science fiction film, a road movie… My experience in Nicaragua set me on this path, and my work has been enriched by it, I think – by the way every film was its own struggle, in its own time and place, for its own reasons.

Tortilla con Sal: It’s hard for us in Nicaragua to appreciate the difficulties facing people of revolutionary anti-imperialist convictions in the US and Canada – how important for you are the revolutionary processes in Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela?

Alex Cox: They are super-important, to me, and to you, and to millions of people all over the world. These three nations represent a vibrant, viable alternative to the dominant neoliberal/neoconservative nightmare. Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela are testaments to the importance of the nation state, as the only guarantor of its citizens’ interests. Sanctioned and terrorized, they remain beacons of independent politics and thought whose influence extends far beyond their borders. Their revolutions all point towards autarky [self-sufficiency] – something to which free nations must inevitably aspire.

Tortilla con Sal: Intellectual and cultural production over the last century has become increasingly weaponized to the point where now all information production seems to have been subsumed into psychological warfare of one kind or another – in your interview last year with Michael Fox you recalled how you saw initial US media sympathy for the Sandinista Revolution reverse completely in a matter of weeks or even days – how has witnessing that, together with your own subsequent experience, changed the way you think about your own intellectual and cultural production?

Alex Cox: I learned pretty quickly that one can only operate in the circumstances in which one finds oneself. Wishing things were different, or pretending they are different, will inevitably lead to inaction and failure. Once you recognise the situation for what it is, you are able to respond to it, and if it impedes progress, to resist and work around it.

You and I grew up in England in the 60s and 70s, I think. What a different country it was then! We had a genuine Labour Party, part of the Socialist International. Britain had socialist policies, with free health care, free education. Water, power generation, the post office and the telephone lines were owned by the state – that is, by us, the people. The airlines and railways had failed as businesses, and been nationalized by the state. We owned them, too.

Since the 1970s we have seen the destruction of socialism in England and across Europe, and the imposition of a neo-liberal/neo-conservative monolith, where everything is for sale, and we are endlessly at war. In the US two parties vie for the approval of the oligarchs.

Yet never and nowhere in my life have I seen such homelessness and destitution. Tomas Borge talked about a prolonged popular war. I think we are in a prolonged popular struggle to defend and advance the rights of people who are not oligarchs, or their managerial supporters.

Socialism has never been destroyed, it has only been pushed back and delayed in certain countries. One of the freedoms offered by socialism is the opportunity to change professions, to quit your job and not starve.

Austerity and scarcity are not natural; they are imposed. Bad movies and media are not natural; they too are imposed.

There is much to rebel against! And even more to build.

* * * * *

Briefs
By Nan McCurdy
Lack of Consensus in CELAC Explained
The presidential summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) concluded April 9 in Tegucigalpa and for the first time, there was no official closing declaration. A statement released by the Nicaraguan government explained that Nicaragua had supported “without hesitation” the draft declaration prepared by CELAC’s outgoing President Pro Tem Xiomara Castro, President of Honduras, but that declaration was “vetoed” by several countries. The Nicaraguan statement said, “We have identified those who have drawn red lines to our integration efforts. Nicaragua rejects any attempt to undermine not only the founding ideals of our community, but also to exclude and neglect the serious problems afflicting the peoples of our region.” The statement went on to say, that “They proposed a minimalist, diluted document that does not speak to the major issues confronting our peoples in this region and throughout the world.” Nicaragua vetoed that declaration. After expressing deep gratitude to Xiomara Castro and her team “for their successful work at the head of CELAC,” the statement listed what should have been included in a final CELAC declaration, including solidarity with migrants and support for their dignified treatment, a proposed session to analyze US tariffs newly imposed on the world, support for the return of kidnapped Venezuelans, support for the fight against poverty and for a dignified existence for our peoples. The statement concluded, “The Government of Reconciliation and National Unity of the Republic of Nicaragua will continue to actively participate in these spaces, promoting the unity of our peoples and governments engaged in the fundamental task of fighting poverty in order to achieve a better world.” (La Primerisima, 9 April 2025)

Nicaragua Resumes Participation in World Court Case on Genocide in Gaza
The Nicaraguan government had announced on April 1 that it had decided to discontinue its participation in the proceedings before the International Court of Justice at The Hague related to the grave violations of the rights of the Palestinian people and State. The decision was due to the high financial cost for a developing country, with the economic restrictions that Nicaragua suffers, to continue with those judicial processes.

A new government statement on April 10, however, announced a change. It noted that in the last week there has been a resurgence of violations against the Palestinian people and even against international humanitarian services, leaving in full evidence the violation of all norms of international law by Israel and the total complicity of some Western countries that have decided to continue their political, economic and military support to those responsible for these crimes. The new statement said that, in view of this, and making a great effort, Nicaragua has decided to notify the International Court of Justice that it wishes to continue with the judicial proceedings on the violations of the rights of the Palestinian people. The decision takes into account offers of assistance and collaboration the government has received in order to continue with this participation before the World Court. The statement summarized: “The Government of Reconciliation and National Unity reaffirms its commitment to the rule of law at the international level and the peaceful settlement of disputes between States.” (La Primerisima, 10 April 2025)

Holy Week Could Generate US$37 Million in Sales
The president of the Association of Markets of Managua, Jorge González, said that an increase in sales of up to 20% is expected in the various markets of Managua, during the Holy Week vacation. “I think we have all the conditions, but the most important thing is that the population is visiting the eight markets of Managua and I believe that this year we will exceed our goal by about 15% or 20%, because we will sell, according to projections, almost US$36 million.” González said that the merchants are prepared to satisfy the demand and for weeks sales have increased thanks to the discounts in all the articles typical of Holy Week, such as plastic swimming pools, hot weather clothes, and fruits for the elaboration of the traditional food of Lenten meals. He said, “We want to express and give thanks first to God and to Commander [Ortega] and Compañera [Murillo], for making possible this prosperity we have and this peace we have to take care of in this beautiful and always blessed Nicaragua,” he said. (La Primerisima, 11 April 2025)

Specialists and Sub-specialists Graduate at the Police Hospital
On April 11 the graduation as specialists and sub-specialists of 29 doctors took place at the Dr. Julio Briceño University of Medical Sciences and Nursing of the Carlos Huembes National Police Hospital. The chief of the police forces, First Commissioner Francisco Díaz Madriz, emphasized that these doctors have demonstrated their vocation of service and exemplary dedication to their education, which will allow them to provide a more human quality attention. He highlighted the memory of the heroic officers and heroines of the National Police who were killed during the failed coup d’état in April 2018. With this second graduation of surgical specialists dedicated to the fallen police officers, there are now 249 medical professionals graduated from that house of studies, according to the hospital’s director, Doctor and Commissioner General Julio Cesar Paladino. Among the graduates are three gynecologists, three orthopedists, two pediatricians, a dermatologist, a plastic surgeon, among other specialties and subspecialties. (La Primerisima, 11 April 2025)

Great Affluence of People from Masaya to Internal Medicine Fair
On April 12 the Sandinista Government held a mega internal medicine fair at the Comandante Hilario Sánchez Hospital of Masaya, where 8,676 attentions were provided to 3,301 patients. During the day, more than one hundred specialists provided care for early detection, care and timely treatment to patients with heart, lung, stomach and kidney diseases. Ultrasounds, endoscopies, heart and lung studies and laboratory tests were also performed. These actions reinforce the Family and Community Health Model, bringing specialized care closer to families throughout the country. (La Primerisima, 12 April 2025)

New Mental Health Center in Chiquilistagua District
Health authorities reported that the Dr. Jacobo Frech Mental Health Center located in Chiquilistagua, District Three of Managua, will be inaugurated in the first week of May. This space will provide emergency care, hospitalization, outpatient and assessments with specialized and comprehensive care to address mental health illnesses in dignified conditions, with dedication and affection. The government continues working for a world of affection, respect, dignity and well-being for the people of Nicaragua. (La Primerisima, 14 April 2025)

2024 General Budget Shows Many Advances
The Nicaraguan Ministry of Finance and Public Credit presented its final report on the General Budget of the Republic 2024, highlighting significant advances for the year in energy, health, education, water and sanitation, and housing, benefiting thousands of families in the various departments of the country. In energy, 166.96 km of electricity distribution networks, connecting 3,338 homes and providing light to 17,358 people in the municipalities of Boaco, Carazo, Granada, Rivas, Chinandega, Chontales, Estelí, Jinotega, León, Madriz, Managua, Masaya, Matagalpa and Nueva Segovia. In addition, progress was made with 77 km in the project to expand the La Esperanza Substation and the La Esperanza-La Gateada transmission line. In health, the El Empalme Health Post in Rosita and the Ernesto Hodgson Health Center in Puerto Cabezas, Bilwi, were remodeled and equipped. The Wiwilí Primary Hospital was also replaced and equipped and the Regional Epidemiological Laboratory was built in Estelí, strengthening medical attention in that region. Potable water and sanitation systems were completed in Terencio Munguía (El Realejo, Chinandega), Los Jirones (Diriá, Granada) and Taswa (Boaco), improving the living conditions of these communities. And in housing, 1,127 subsidies were delivered to build homes for low-income families, 480 subsidies for home improvement; 2,786 homes were built for families in extreme poverty, 235 for incomes from 1 to 6 times the minimum wage and 312 for incomes from 6 to 10 times the minimum wage, increasing access to decent housing. These projects reflect the government’s commitment to improving the quality of life of the population, prioritizing key sectors for the sustainable development of the country. (Informe Pastran, 14 April 2025)

Millions for Small Producers and Entrepreneurs
The 2024 final report of the Adelante and Zero Usury credit programs, promoted by the Sandinista Government, reflects a significant impact on poverty reduction and the strengthening of the social fabric by providing economic opportunities to thousands of families through accessible financing and training. The Adelante Program granted 9,941 loans last year totaling US$14.2 million and benefiting 5,239 men (52.7%) and 4,702 women (47.3%) around the country. The majority of loans were for cattle raising and coffee cultivation. In the secondary sector, baking and garment manufacturing stood out, while in the tertiary sector, retail trade and tourism were the most dynamic. This program has enabled small producers and entrepreneurs to strengthen their economic activities, generating stable income and combating poverty in rural areas, while promoting gender equity by including almost half of women as beneficiaries.

The Zero Usury Program extended US$5.1 million in loans, serving 147,867 women organized in 48,675 solidarity groups, according to the Treasury report. In addition, in alliance with INATEC, 159,730 women (including participants in Zero Usury) were trained in business administration and customer service, providing them with tools to maximize the use of credit. This comprehensive approach has not only improved the economic conditions of the beneficiaries, but has also strengthened their self-esteem and leadership, consolidating support networks in vulnerable communities.

Both Adelante and Zero Usury programs have been pillars in the Sandinista government’s national strategy to reduce poverty by facilitating access to credit under fair conditions and promoting financial inclusion. Adelante has boosted local economies, especially in the agricultural sector, while Zero Usury has empowered women in vulnerable situations, transforming their realities through entrepreneurship and training. Together, they impacted more than 157,000 people in 2024, generating employment opportunities and improving family income.

The report further noted that the Ministry of Finance expended US$7.2 million in 2024 to subsidize the consumption of electric energy and drinking water of retirees. Of this amount, US$5.2 million was allocated to subsidize electric energy, supporting 67,687 pensioners, while US$2 million covered the subsidy for the consumption of drinking water for 56,102 pensioners. The report stated that this initiative reaffirms the government’s commitment to the welfare of the elderly, guaranteeing access to basic services through significant financial support. (La Primerisima, 15 April 2025)

https://afgj.org/nicanotes-film-maker-a ... ilm-walker