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Nicaragua joins "CARICOM" family | Antigua Observer Newspaper - 0 views

antiguaobserver.com/nicaragua-joins-caricom-family nicaragua CARICOM diplomacy
shared by rachelramirez on 04 Jul 16 - No Cached
  • Nicaragua joins “CARICOM” family
  • has formally welcomed Nicaragua into its “family” urging it to work with the region in order to make a difference on the global stage.
  • CARICOM Secretary General Irwin LaRocque, accepting the credentials of Valdrack L. Jaentschke as Nicaragua’s Ambassador to CARICOM, said that small states working together could make a difference.
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  • He told the diplomat Friday that there was a need to work together in regional, hemispheric and international fora to ensure that the impediments to the development of small states would be addressed.
  • Ambassador Jaentschke said that Nicaragua, which is chair of SICA for the next six months, had declared itself a Caribbean country through a constitutional amendment last September.
  • rachelramirez on 04 Jul 16
     
    CARICOM seems to be a big step forward for Nicaragua being recognized on a larger stage than just the Caribbean, in addition with the planned canal. In the article they point out that CARICOM had previously been associated with Nicaragua through numerous organizations such as Association of Caribbean States, therefore showing that Nicaragua has demonstrated the desire to be recognized as a powerhouse rather than just another country.
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Nicaragua's first lady the face of government - POLITICO - 0 views

www.politico.com/...sario-murillo-nicaragua-109508 nicaragua government politics
shared by rachelramirez on 02 Jul 16 - No Cached
  • Nicaragua's first lady the face of government
  • Her husband, Daniel Ortega, is president, but as chief of communications, Murillo is the voice and the other face of the government. At border crossings and on roadside billboards throughout the country, "Daniel and Rosario" are pictured side-by-side.
  • She speaks on behalf of her husband's government in a stream of rhetoric that blends socialism, New Age spirituality and Catholicism, but brooks no criticism.
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  • Given that, the political partnership of Ortega and Murillo leads many here to speculate that she aspires to succeed Ortega as president one day.
  • Barring illness or death, the 67-year-old Ortega is not likely to leave office soon, thanks to his backers in Congress and on the Supreme Court who approved a constitutional change allowing for unlimited re-election
  • rachelramirez on 02 Jul 16
     
    It was interesting to read this article, after hearing no mention of the First Lady previously. Nicaraguans see Rosario Murillo as their 'mother', who many are able to look up to in a time of crisis while their president is worrying about his own family (such as during the earthquake in April 2014). We are able to learn from this by seeing the dominance of one couple over this entire country, and their need for power. If they are not reigned in, what will they do to ensure their dominance in Nicaragua?
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Indigenous groups pressured to give up lands for doubtful Nicaragua Canal - 0 views

news.mongabay.com/...s-for-doubtful-nicaragua-canal nicaragua canal economy
shared by rachelramirez on 29 Jun 16 - No Cached
  • Indigenous groups pressured to give up lands for doubtful Nicaragua Canal
  • The meetings, which the Nicaraguan government sprang on surprised community leaders several times over the past few months, are aimed at securing consent to use indigenous territory
  • Community leaders say that the government has not allowed them legal council in the meetings, violating international regulations.
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  • Officials estimate that between 30,000 and 120,000 people will be displaced in total by the canal.
  • They say that the planned route will displace the entire communities of Bangkukuk Taik, Monkey Point and Wiringay, while most other local communities will be indirectly affected by canal support projects.
  • “They keep saying that we don’t need a legal advisor,” Allen Claire-Duncan, the leader of the Monkey Point Kriol community, told Mongabay. “Many people do not know how to read or write, and if the [government negotiators] come to the community they will speak in terms that the people don’t understand.
  • the Nicaraguan government must obtain consent from the nine community leaders as well as the 18 members of the Rama-Kriol Territorial Government (GTR-K) before construction can begin.
  • Community leaders are emphatic about their desire not to sign over their lands, but some leaders say they have been pressured into signing documents of an uncertain nature
  • But in May, government officials transferred 16 members of the GTR-K to Managua where they signed more papers. Shortly after the meeting, Nicaraguan state media reported that the indigenous territories had officially granted consent for the canal
  • Corporate and governmental secrecy have prompted concern from human rights organizations, environmental groups and the U.S. Embassy in Nicaragua.
  • rachelramirez on 29 Jun 16
     
    Nicaragua is on a dangerous pathway in the pursuit of a canal that may not ever be made; there are human rights violations, environmental violations, and the economy on the line if the deal goes through. Although I am unsure of how significant the indigenous population is in Nicaragua, the canal would require a great deal of land, and the movement of between 30 thousand and 120 thousand people.
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The fiasco that is the Nicaragua Canal, explained - Vox - 0 views

www.vox.com/...nicaragua-canal canal du Nicaragua Nicaragua economy
shared by rachelramirez on 27 Jun 16 - No Cached
  • The fiasco that is the Nicaragua Canal, explained
  • The idea, at least, is that a bigger Nicaragua canal could accommodate the next generation of super-sized container ships that can’t squeeze through Panama’s locks. Nicaragua’s leaders have also promised the project could double GDP in one of Central America’s poorest countries.
  • The consortium in charge — the Hong Kong Nicaragua Canal Development Group (HKND), led by Beijing-based telecom billionaire Wang Jing — has little experience with these sorts of projects and was awarded the contract in a secret deal with Nicaragua's Sandinista government.
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  • In its description, HKND says it will need more than 2,000 pieces of major construction equipment, four billion liters of diesel fuel, one billion liters of bunker fuel for the dredgers, 400,000 tons of explosives, and untold millions of tons of cement and steel. The company would have to import all of this stuff into Nicaragua and build entirely new ports and roads wide enough to fit the big equipment.
  • On that, Miranda was much more skeptical the canal could be built in five years for a cost of $50 billion.
  • The section of the proposed canal that stretches through Lake Nicaragua would pass by Ometepe Island, home to an active volcano, Concepción, that spews out ash every now and again.
  • Right now, ships that want to pass between the Pacific and the Atlantic use the Panama Canal, which is currently undergoing a major $5.25 billion expansion
  • The rationale behind the Nicaragua Canal, HKND insists, is that it will be able to accommodate the next generation of super-sized container ships that can hold nearly 23,000 containers at a time.
  •  One company that operates super-sized ships, Maersk, told CNBC that the canal was "not something we have a demand for, and we're not able, at this point, to tell whether we will use it."*
  • Jorge Huete-Pérez, a vice president of Nicaragua’s academy of sciences, told me that Lake Nicaragua is a national icon — a source of fisheries and tourism, but also a key freshwater reservoir for much of the nation.
  • Other biologists have pointed out that the canal’s route will slice through a variety of nature reserves that are homes to some 22 species vulnerable to extinction, from tapirs to jaguars to turtles.
  • One internal assessment obtained by Scientific American said that HKND’s process for acquiring land for preliminary access roads "did not meet international standards."
  •  The Sandinista government still promises that the project will create thousands of jobs and promote billions in investment, but skepticism is growing.
  • rachelramirez on 27 Jun 16
     
    Nicaragua's economy appears to be desperate for growth, so desperate that the government is taking the canal into serious consideration. Although the canal seems as though it would be beneficial, in the long run there would be serious environmental consequences. The issue that seems to be subtly highlighted in this article about Nicaragua is their need for more jobs, international recognition and relevance. Although the canal seems to be the solution to the issues of job creation, and international recognition, the canal is a far cry from the most effective solution for this country at this time.
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Political Crisis Looms in Nicaragua in Run-Up to Elections | Inter Press Service - 0 views

www.ipsnews.net/...caragua-in-run-up-to-elections Nicaragua elections
shared by rachelramirez on 26 Jun 16 - No Cached
  • Political Crisis Looms in Nicaragua in Run-Up to Elections
  • The seventh consecutive nomination of Daniel Ortega as the governing party’s candidate to the presidency in Nicaragua, and the withdrawal from the race of a large part of the opposition, alleging lack of guarantees for genuine elections, has brought about the country’s worst political crisis since the end of the civil war in 1990.
  • If he wins his term of office will be extended to 2021, by which time he will have served a record breaking 19 years, longer even than that of former dictator Anastasio Somoza García whoruled the country for over 16 years.
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  • The CSJ determined in 2011 that an article in the constitution banning indefinite reelection was a violation of Ortega’s right to be a candidate
  • Earlier the Supreme Electoral Council (CSE) cancelled the legal status of the leadership of the Independent Liberation Party (PLI), the largest member of the Coalition, and handed over PLI representation instead to a political faction supportive of the FSLN.
  • Social scientist Nicolás López Maltez, a member of Nicaragua’s Academy of Geography and History, said that the way Ortega has pursued his presidential aspirations is unparalleled in Central America in the past 150 years.
  • According to López Maltez and other analysts, Ortega has taken control of all government branches, and is therefore practically assured of victory at the ballot boxes in November.
  • Ortega has followed sound macroeconomic policies and this is recognised by both domestic and international organisations.
  • Opposition sectors claim the results of municipal elections in 2008 and of the 2011 general elections were fraudulent. Observers from the U.S. Carter Center and from the European Union observers/ said they lacked transparency.
  • But in May Ortega decided not to invite international or local electoral observers, whom he referred to as “shameless scoundrels.”
  • Humberto Meza, who holds a doctorate in social sciences, said that Ortega’s stratagems to perpetuate himself in power “will drastically affect the legitimacy of the elections,” no matter how high his popularity rating.The Supreme Court “is condemning a vast number of voters to non participation in the electoral process,” he told IPS.
  • Meza said the concern expressed by the OAS secretary general and any pressure exerted by the international community, led by the United States, were unlikely to have “much impact” on Nicaragua’s  domestic crisis
  • rachelramirez on 26 Jun 16
     
    This article sheds light on the chaotic nature of elections in Nicaragua, and shows the vast amount of control the current president, Daniel Ortega, holds. In the past the United States and the European Union have monitored elections in Nicaragua, but were left saying that the elections lacked transparency. The elections for president this year will not involve the US or EU as the current president, and one of the few candidates in the race, will not allow the two powers back to monitor elections. If Daniel Ortega wins this election, and it appears that he most likely will, then he will be longest serving president Nicaragua has ever had. It appears that there needs to be greater action taken to assure the transparency of elections in the future, and help for Nicaraguans so they can be sure they have a fair government.
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Russia To Build Spy Base in Nicaragua | Q Costa Rica - 0 views

qcostarica.com/to-build-spy-base-in-nicaragua Nicaraqua foreign policy diplomacy
shared by rachelramirez on 25 Jun 16 - No Cached
  • Russia To Build Spy Base in Nicaragua
  • The deal between Moscow and Managua, which will also involve the sale of 50 Russian T-72 tanks, comes as President Putin’s regime ramps up the pressure on Nato in eastern Europe.
  • Nicaragua’s leftist President Daniel Ortega was once the bete noire of the White House.
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  • Last week three Americans, working for the US Department of Homeland Security, were expelled from Nicaragua without explanation.
  • After more than a decade out of power Ortega was re-elected in 2006 and has tried to reintroduce socialist policies. He has also announced plans for a huge canal, to rival the Panama Canal, which would be funded by a Chinese consortium.
  • rachelramirez on 25 Jun 16
     
    Based off of this article, it seems as though the Nicaraguan president wants the country to be viewed as a player on the world stage, but is approaching the matter in a way that could be harmful in the future. As of now the current regime wants to place itself in the center of icy American-Russian diplomatic relations to be recognized and to annoy the White House. Additionally, the article briefly mentions plans for the country to create a rival to the Panama Canal that would be funded by Chinese businesses. The prospects for the new Panama Canal and the country's involvement in American-Russian relations seems to be a power play or an attempt for the country to be recognized by the United States or the world.
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Otto Pérez Molina of Guatemala Is Jailed Hours After Resigning Presidency - T... - 0 views

www.nytimes.com/...dent-resigns-amid-scandal.html guatemala latin america politics law
shared by Javier E on 04 Sep 15 - No Cached
  • The series of inquiries that ignited the public’s rage were the work of an uncommon alliance of local prosecutors and investigators backed by the United Nations, known as the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala or by its Spanish-language acronym, Cicig.
  • Established in 2007 to help expose the ties between criminal networks and politicians, the commission eventually emboldened the nation’s own prosecutors to hold the elite to account, and become a source of inspiration for many Guatemalans. For much of its history, Guatemalan society has been divided, its different constituencies fighting their battles alone. The nation’s indigenous population, which suffered the most under the civil war, which killed about 200,000 people, has long struggled for equal rights with little success.
  • Yet the movement that began in April forged an unprecedented alliance of different groups. Guatemala City’s middle class, long reluctant to speak out, began joining forces with peasant and indigenous groups. Eventually, the nation’s church and business leaders also took the side of the protesters to demand change.
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Mexico's Barbarous Tragedy - NYTimes.com - 0 views

www.nytimes.com/...mexicos-barbarous-tragedy.html
shared by Javier E on 16 Nov 14 - No Cached
  • The citizens of Mexico, feeling deceived by all political parties and all politicians, have been roused to fury by the events in Iguala. They demand not merely a few arrests, but the detention of all those responsible from top to bottom. Above all, they demand that every possible step be taken to refute those who would say that the country is spiraling out of control or has become a virtual narco-state.
  • It is no exaggeration to say that the viability of democracy in Mexico depends on the outcome.
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Drug Gang Killed Students, Mexican Law Official Says - NYTimes.com - 0 views

www.nytimes.com/...-mexico-law-official-says.html mexico drug gangs corruption politics civil rights
shared by Javier E on 14 Nov 14 - No Cached
  • Human rights workers have criticized the investigation from the start, faulting federal authorities for initially keeping a distance from the case and leaving much of the forensic work to ill-equipped state authorities. It took 10 days for federal authorities to take over the case and begin their investigation, precious time lost, in the view of independent observers.“He reacted late and poorly,” José Miguel Vivanco, director for the Americas for Human Rights Watch, said of Mr. Peña Nieto on Thursday after meeting prosecutors.“The rule of Mexico is impunity,” he said. “It is not a nation of laws.”
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Brazil Vote Highlights a Rift Linked to Economics - NYTimes.com - 0 views

www.nytimes.com/...-rift-linked-to-economics.html brazil politics economics latin america
shared by Javier E on 02 Nov 14 - No Cached
  • “We’re emerging from an election that has revealed a rift between economic classes,” said Murillo de Aragão, the president of Arko Advice, a political consulting firm in Brasília. “The level of tension is remarkably high, accentuating a loss of confidence in the president among big economic interests.”
  • few changes are expected in the popular antipoverty programs that have shielded poorer Brazilians from an economic slowdown, with the unemployment rate remaining low even as the economy went into recession this year.
  • But Ms. Rousseff has signaled other changes, including the appointment of a new finance minister. That could open the way for a shift away from policies that have created ire in Brazil’s business establishment, like price controls on fuel in a bid to keep inflation from accelerating.
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  • In addition to the class tension, the election also exposed geographic fissures, reflected by the strong showing of the centrist challenger Mr. Neves in São Paulo and states in southern Brazil, compared with Ms. Rousseff’s sweep of states in the north and northeast, where recipients of social welfare programs broadly backed the incumbent.
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As Brazil's Presidential Race Draws to Close, Voters Lament Its Ugliness - NYTimes.com - 0 views

www.nytimes.com/...o-neves-brazil-vote-nears.html brazil election
shared by Javier E on 26 Oct 14 - No Cached
  • Even as Mr. Neves and Ms. Rousseff have sparred about corruption and the tactics of each campaign, seeking to emphasize their differences, they retain remarkably similar positions on numerous issues.For instance, both express support for preserving subsidy payments for the poor, state control of giant companies like Petrobras and affirmative-action programs for Brazilians of African descent.But their differences on economic policy have accentuated certain rifts, with the challenger’s call to resist Ms. Rousseff’s efforts to assert greater state control over the economy resonating among many voters, especially in the middle and upper classes.
  • Whoever wins on Sunday will face the challenge of governing in a political system in which presidents must forge alliances with an array of different parties, including some with sharply different ideologies. The rising political tension in the country is not expected to make this process any easier.“The negative aspect of the presidential race sets the stage for the fractious political scene which will emerge on Monday,” said Fernando Rodrigues, a columnist for the newspaper Folha de S. Paulo. “The next president will have enormous difficulties in building some kind of consensus.”
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