Nicaragua Network Hotline--November 6, 2007
 
Date: Sat, 10 Nov 2007 12:58:48 -0600 (CST)

------------------------------------------------------------ Nicaragua
Network Hotline www.nicanet.org November 6, 2007 Topics covered in
this Hotline include:

1. California jury awards US3.3 million to Nicaraguan banana workers

2. 80,000 health workers take part in national brigade against
epidemics

3. Violent protests in Puerto Cabezas but authorities say situation
is under control

4. National Assembly approves Ortega's proposal to suspend 2008
CENIS payments

5. Civil society organizations say cost of living increase is
"unbearable"

Topic 1: California jury awards US3.3 million to Nicaraguan banana
workers

On Nov. 5 a jury in Los Angeles awarded US$3.3 million to six
Nicaraguan workers who had said they were sterile as a result of
pesticide used on a banana plantation operated by Dole Fresh Fruit
Co.  The suit accused Dole and Standard Fruit Co., now part of Dole,
of acting negligently and of attempting to hide its use of the
pesticide DBCP (known as Nemagon or Fumazone) and of hiding the
consequences of its use during the 1970s.  The pesticide was used
to kill a microscopic worm which can damage the roots of the banana
trees.

Dow Chemical and Amvac Chemical Corp., producers of the pesticide
were also accused of "actively withholding information about the
toxicity of DBCP to the reproductive system."  Amvac arrived at an
agreement before the case went to court to pay the workers US$300,000,
according to spokesperson Kelly Kozuma.  The six workers, who will
receive between US$311,200 and US$834,000, were part of a group of
12 workers who had sued Dole and Dow.

The jury found that both companies contributed to the damage caused
to the workers.

Topic 2: 80,000 health workers take part in national brigade against
epidemics

A national brigade of 80,600 professionals, including public sector
and military health workers, final year medical students and members
of the National Police, fanned out in areas affected by Hurricane
Felix and flooding on Nov. 3 and 4 with the aim of combating the
current outbreak of leptospirosis and to prevent further outbreaks
of this and other diseases.

The brigade educated 120,000 families, community leaders and community
health representatives about the necessary measures to take in order
to avoid infection as well as what to do in the event of suspected
infection. The members of the brigade also distributed 150,000
liters of chlorine to ensure the quality of drinking water, fumigated
homes in an attempt to significantly reduce the mosquito and rat
populations, and collected 7,000 cubic meters of solid waste. The
efforts of the brigade were concentrated in the areas most affected
by the rains of the last two months.  The government response is a
qualitative improvement over the responses to natural disasters and
health crises of the right-wing governments of the preceding 16
years.

Topic 3: Violent protests in Puerto Cabezas but authorities say
situation is under control

Despite the government and international response to the destruction
of Hurricane Felix on the Caribbean Coast, there continue to be
unmet needs and some Coasteqos are angry. There were a number of
violent outbursts in the city of Bilwi/Puerto Cabezas, capital of
the North Atlantic Autonomous Region (RAAN), between Oct. 30 and
Nov. 1 caused by a group of inhabitants led by alternate deputy for
the Nicaraguan Liberal Alliance (ALN) Jaime Chow. Chow has organized
a group of over 1,000 families called "Christmas without a Roof"
to demand that central government give them US$2.1 million to buy
100,000 sheets of corrugated iron. The group also demands more food
and more medicines from the authorities in charge of distributing
aid to those affected by the passing of Hurricane Felix on Sept.

4.

Hundreds of protesters belonging to the Christmas without a Roof
movement forced their way into the local government building in
Bilwi on Oct. 31 and, according to Mayor Elizabeth Enriquez, caused
extensive damage to furniture, windows and computers. The protesters
then broke into a warehouse where food and other aid materials are
stored. A number of supporters of the indigenous political party
YATAMA (to which Enriquez belongs) confronted the protesters and
violence broke out. As a result at least eight people were injured.
After thirty minutes members of the National Police were able to
control the situation and two people were arrested.

Protesters also forced their way onto the runway at Puerto Cabezas
airport disrupting commercial and official flights to and from
Managua on Oct. 30 and 31.

A number of other minor incidents were reported to have taken place
in other locations of the city. Mayor Enriquez accused ALN president
Eduardo Montealegre of funding and coordinating this civil unrest
through Chow. Chow denied this to be true saying that the protests
were not of a political nature but reflect the legitimate demands
of the population.

Head of the Nicaraguan Army Omar Halleslevens said he was not worried
that the recent violence in Bilwi would spiral out of control.
According to Halleslevens there has been generalized dissatisfaction
among the population since the distribution of food aid began because
people are not used to losing their ability to provide their own
food.

Meanwhile international aid continues to arrive for the RAAN where
over 200,000 people have been directly affected by the devastation
and the World Food Program (WFP) has warned of imminent famine. On
Nov. 1 the US government donated US$2.9 million worth of food
including 2,800 tons or rice and 600 tons of grain. Also on Nov. 1
a shipment of 1,000 tons of food as well as water, medicine, clothing,
blankets, diesel and construction materials arrived from Venezuela.
This shipment is the first of three which the Venezuelan government
plans to send this year as part of its collaboration with the
emergency relief effort led by the Nicaraguan government.

On Nov. 2 the French government made a donation of US$425,000 to
the World Food Program (WFP), which is working together with the
Nicaraguan Ministry of Agriculture to distribute food to 88,000
people in the municipalities of Bilwi, Waspam, Rosita and Bonanza.

The WFP said in a statement that the money will be used to buy 356
tons of rice on the Nicaragua market.

Topic 4: National Assembly approves Ortega's proposal to suspend
2008 CENIS payments

After an intense five hour session in the National Assembly, 71 of
the 91 deputies voted in favor of President Daniel Ortega's proposal
to amend the 2007 and 2008 budgets to provide funds for the immediate
reconstruction of 371 kilometers of over 3,000 kilometers of roads
destroyed by Hurricane Felix and the 55 days of intense rains that
followed.

Last week Ortega proposed the budget amendments in order to liberate
US$2.8 million for urgent repairs.

He also proposed that US$48 million payment allocated in the 2008
budget to service the internal debt created by the Negotiated
Investment Certificates (CENIS) be suspended to allow for further
repairs to the national road network.  The CENIS were sold to cover
losses several years ago when several banks closed due to fraud.
Members of the Ortega administration have been negotiating a long
term restructuring of the CENIS debt with the private bankers,
although so far no concrete agreement has been reached.

Ortega was accompanied by Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure
Fernando Martinez who explained the urgency with which these roads
must be repaired. Among other things it is essential the roads are
ready to carry the coffee and other harvests to market, to reestablish
access to the numerous communities which have been cut off as a
result of the recent natural disasters, and to ensure an end to the
leptospirosis outbreak.

Topic 5: Civil society organizations say cost of living increase
is "unbearable"

The leaders of the Nicaraguan Community Movement, Enrique Picado,
and the National Consumer Defense Network, Gonzalo Salgado, announced
a series of grassroots actions protesting the government's inability
to resolve the spiraling cost of basic products and services.
According to Salgado the cost of many basic products has increased
by as much as 100% during 2007 while each month workers salaries
are worth less. Salgado said that the Sandinista government "is not
fulfilling its promise to protect the poor" and must "implement
public policies which stabilize the cost of living index."

"Gas is expensive, food is expensive, transportation is expensive
and, to make things worse, the Nicaraguan Energy Institute (INE)
has authorized further increases in the price of cooking gas and
the electricity rate." At the beginning of October a 100 pound tank
of cooking (propane) gas cost US$52.88, by Nov. 3 the price had
risen to US$58.40, more than a 10% increase.

Meanwhile on Oct. 30 the INE authorized a 9.06% increase in the
electricity rate over the next three months for the top 30% of
users.

Salgado said the National Consumer Defense Network is preparing a
proposal which will be presented to President Daniel Ortega of
policies which should be implemented in order to stop the increases
in the price of basic products and services.

Salgado said the government looks "ridiculous favoring big companies
over consumers." Leader of the Nicaraguan Community Movement Enrique
Picado said that in neighborhoods across the country his organization
has been forming groups to analyze the problem of the "unbearable"
increases in the cost of living and the incapacity of the government
to resolve the problem.

Meanwhile a group of 100 bakers from Managua met on Oct. 29 to
discuss the government's pressure on bakeries to maintain the price
of bread at US$0.54 a pound despite the constant rises in the price
of ingredients, gas and electricity. (Two weeks ago a 50% increase
in the price of bread had been announced, a decision the government
tried to block by putting pressure on the national bakeries.) After
the meeting a statement was issued suggesting that, instead of
putting pressure on bakeries to lower the cost of their produce,
the government should pressure Union Fenosa to charge less to their
customers, or Agricorp (the biggest distributor of flour in Nicaragua)
to lower the price of its product.

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