Politicians and economists coincide in their criticism of the opaque and inefficient management of resources originating from privatization of Venezuelan aid money over the last decade in Nicaragua.
The auditing of the use of Venezuelan aid, channeled through private mechanisms as a parallel budget, has been an insistent popular demand since the first oil industry cooperation agreement between the two countries was signed by Presidents Hugo Chavez and Daniel Ortega in 2007.
The secretary’s office of the National Assembly has rejected the citizens’ initiative to repeal Law #840, which ratifies the Canal concession and the related land expropriations. It declared itself “legally incapable” of processing the request presented on April 7 by the rural movement known as the National Council for the Defense of our Land, Lake and National Sovereignty.
Francisca Ramirez, a farmer from La Fonseca, Nueva Guinea, said that the rural residents would exhaust all national legal channels to demand the repeal of law 840. “We’re going to continue to insist, and we’ll issue an ultimatum, because we’re prepared to hold work stoppages if they don’t listen.
The Queiroz Galvão construction firm is leaving the country, its funding sources affected by the Brazilian political crisis. The firm, together with the Brazilian state company Eletrobras owns 90% of the Nicaraguan Hydroelectric Center (CHN), the company behind the Tumarín hydroelectric project.
In the last days of March, Roger Boniche attended an extraordinary event in Cuba. The Rolling Stones, one of the most influential bands in the history of Rock, offered a concert in Havana on the heels of President Barack Obama’s visit. The 40-year-old orthodontist didn’t want to miss this event, so he flew to the island to witness it first-hand. While he was enjoying the music of the British rockers, he earned money by renting out his house through AirBnB. He posted an ad on the site, and the company did the rest for him.
Nicaraguan writer Sergio Ramirez sent out an official invitation today to participate in the 4th Centroamerica Cuenta (“Central American Stories”) Literary Gathering, to be held in Nicaragua this coming May.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) announced on Thursday that it will be closing its offices in Nicaragua as its economic programs have not been renewed this year owing to the country’s improved performance.
The National Council for the Defense of the Land, Lake and Sovereignty, made up mainly of rural residents from the central and south Caribbean areas of Nicaragua, finalized the collection of 6,000 notarized signatures needed to bring the Council’s proposed initiative to repeal Law #840 to the National Assembly.
The favorable ruling at the International Court of Justice in The Hague in the matter of Nicaragua’s dispute with Colombia reveals both a flagrant contradiction and holds a lesson for us.