Nica News Updates: OrMu-Alianza Negotiations Started Today

February 27, 2019

Nicaragua

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In this edition

 

The much anticipated negotiations between the OrMu Administration and the Alianza begin today at the INCAE, where a total of 19 people will discuss Nicaragua’s future, after 315 days of socio-political crisis. Though the media was not allowed to broadcast the proceedings live, each side brought a two-person press team. According to the Alianza, their press team will produce photographs and short videos, to be shared with local independent media outlets and the international press.

Images from this morning’s meeting show the conspicuous absence of Mons. Rolando Alvarez. Mons. Alvarez was originally named as one of the witnesses attending the negotiation on behalf of the Catholic Church. Several Nicaraguan journalists and outlets, including Cindy Regidor, report that the Ortega administration “objected at the last moment” to Bishop Alvarez.

Here is a summary of what we know so far…

 

 

…And the OrMu negotiators are…

The OrMu administration has kept a tight lid on every aspect of the negotiation, starting with the names of their negotiators. Today, those names finally became public knowledge. Six men will be representing OrMu at the all male negotiation. All of the men are well known political operatives, loyal to OrMu.

First came an article in Confidencial, citing anonymous sources with knowledge of the administration’s strategy. These sources revealed that assemblymen Wilfredo Navarro, Edwin Castro, and Jose Figueroa, Supreme Court Magistrate Francisco “Chicon” Rosales, and UNEN President Luis Andino would be part of the delegation headed by OrMu’s Foreign Minister Denis Moncada. Most of these names have been confirmed by La Prensa, who has journalists stationed at the INCAE, where the negotiations are set to start this morning. With the exception of Luis Andino and Denis Moncada, everyone else in the government’s delegation had arrived by 10:30 am, Managua time.

What you should know about the OrMu team

Wilfredo Navarro is an old political hand in Nicaragua. He started his political career in the 1980s, as a member of the Partido Liberal Independiente (PLI). In the mid- 1990’s, Navarro switched his party allegiance to the Partido Liberal Constitucionalista (PLC), which was then led by Arnoldo Aleman. As Aleman’s fortunes fell, and Ortega regained power, Navarro shifted allegiances again. He went from fierce Ortega detractor to loyal FSLN Assemblyman, when he formally switched parties, again, to the FSLN in the National Assembly.

Edwin Castro has been a Sandinista militant since 1979. He is the son of Edwin Castro Rodriguez. The elder Mr. Castro was part of the plot that led to the assassination of Anastasio Somoza Garcia in 1956. For his part, the elder Castro was imprisoned. While in jail, he wrote a famous poem, “Tomorrow, my son, everything will be different,” in which he expressed his hopes for a new Nicaragua, without fears and oppression. Unfortunately, Edwin Castro Rodriguez never got to see that. He died, shot down after allegedly trying to escape.

The younger Mr. Castro is the son in the poem. He was instrumental in passing the constitutional reforms that allowed Daniel Ortega to run for reelection, in spite of the constitutional mandate against it. Castro heads the FSLN parliamentary group in the Assembly. Since the beginning of the crisis, Castro has been unwavering in his support for OrMu. For example, in December of last year, Castro denied that there were any political prisoners in Nicaragua:

“I don’t think anyone’s rights have been violated. What we have here are trials for common crimes. If I kill you or rob you, even if there’s a political motive, it is a common crime”

In December, there were an estimated 600 political prisoners in the country.

Jose Figueroa is another Sandinista Assemblyman, who is second in hierarchy to Edwin Castro. Unlike Castro, Mr. Figueroa keeps a relatively low profile, though he is also unquestioning in his support of OrMu. In January of 2018, Mr Figueroa stated that Nicaragua was a democracy, “where everyone can express an opinion […]. Most [Nicaraguans] recognize the good work that the government of President Daniel Ortega is doing.”

Francisco “Chicon” Rosales is a Supreme Court Magistrate and Sandinista party member. He presides over constitutional law cases in the Court. In violation of statutes that prohibit serving magistrates to represent political parties,  Rosales attended XXV Congress of the Socialist International (2017), where he spoke on the subject of “solidarity within and between nations.” In 2019, Rosales went back to the SI Congress, this time to persuade other members to keep the FSLN in the ranks of the organization. Mr. Rosales failed, and the FSLN was expelled “as a result of gross violations of human rights and democratic values committed by the government of Nicaragua.”

Luis Andino is the current president of the Union Nacional de Estudiantes de Nicaragua (UNEN), the only nation-wide student union in the country. UNEN has been under Sandinista control for decades. Andino has been enrolled at the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Nicaragua, in Managua (UNAN-Managua) since 2006. He graduated with a degree in Diplomacy and Political Sciences, and then re-enrolled as a law student. Andino became UNEN president in 2016. Recently, he advocated for denying the Universidad Centroamericana (UCA) from its share of the 6%, which is the portion of the national budget that  supports the ten universities that are members of the National University Council (CNU, by its Spanish Acronym).

Finally, Denis Moncada is OrMu’s Foreign Minister. Prior to entering the foreign service, Moncada retired from the Nicaraguan Army with the rank of brigadier general. While in the army, Moncada presided over the military trial in the Jean Paul Genie case. Genie was a teenager when he was gunned down, while trying to overtake General Humberto Ortega’s security caravan. The military tribunal absolved all eight members of General Ortega’s security detail.

Moncada was the first high level official to argue that Daniel Ortega had been the victim of a “failed coup”. He has repeated this line of reasoning at every international forum he has attended.

The popular blogger, Manuel Diaz, (a.k.a bacanalnica), described the members of the OrMu negotiating team as “Navarro, the parasite; that dumb-ass guy from UNEN; Edwin Castro’s phone [because he’s said to be always on the phone with OrMu]; Petit-pois Moncada [in reference to his diminutive statute, and to the fact that Mons. Silvio Baez called him that]; Payo Solis 2 [Chicon Rosales], and the guy who is just taking up space [Figeroa].

In other words, it’s the A team.

 

One Hundred Political Prisoners Sent Home; Now Under House Arrest

This morning, many Nicaraguans rejoiced watching images and videos that documented the release of several political prisoners, who will now be awaiting their fate under house arrest, as the OrMu judiciary did not vacate charges against them. In fact, we should expect that the fate of these men and women will be a major bargaining chip that the OrMu administration will use to secure a blanket amnesty for everyone, including police officers, chiefs, paramilitaries, government officials, and Ortega and Murillo themselves.

Ortega tried a blanket amnesty in 1990, by passing Law 81, which included amnesty for “government officials that allegedly committed crimes contemplated in Book II, Title VIII of the Penal Code […].” This section of the penal code dealt with crimes by public servants, including abuse of authority, negligence, fraud, and misappropriation of funds. The Chamorro administration struck down Ortega’s amnesty law, though no high ranking Sandinista official ever suffered any consequences.

What will happen now remains to be seen. In the meantime, though, we can still rejoice at some of the images shared via social media, starting with Alex Vanegas.

Mr. Vanegas, aka, the marathoner, was grabbed at a cemetery in Managua, on Day of the Dead. He was held illegally, even after charges against him were dropped. Mr. Vanegas is well known in Nicaragua for his unique form of protest, running.

In an impromptu press conference, Mr. Vanegas said “jail was another barricade where we fought. Even though I was in prison, my mind was free. I wasn’t going to let anyone get me down. I am out now, and I’m not down. I have no fear. I don’t fear Daniel. Why should I fear him? he’s just another person, like anyone else. The problem is that he creates fear. He is a terrorist, and I can understand why people are afraid. It isn’t easy being there [in prison], but it is a trench where we fight. If they want to send me there again, let them do it. It doesn’t matter because if the country is small, we still dream it big.”

Mr. Vanegas kept himself busy while on the inside. This image shows several bracelets he made. Each of them bears the name of a political prisoner.

Another prisoner released today is Carlos Silva, who was accused of destruction of public property, for toppling “Chayo Palos”, the metal structures resembling a tree that line some of the main roads in Managua.

Ruth Matute and her husband, Danny Garcia, were both taken home to Masaya. Matute, who suffers from a heart condition and uses a pacemaker, has been in prison since October. In January, she was hospitalized and had her pacemaker replaced.

As of 10 AM, Managua time, the Comité Pro Liberación de Presos Políticos had confirmed the names of 23 prisoners who were taken home, without much fanfare.

This afternoon, the Ministerio de Gobernación  — the Nicaraguan equivalent of the Justice Department in the United States –, released the list of all 100 political prisoners, complete with Government ID number and place of residence. In other words, as journalist Tim Rogers points out, the OrMu administration has effectively doxxed one hundred Nicaraguan citizens (not that any interested parties, seeking to harass these people, don’t already know that information anyway).

Here is the redacted list.

Miguel Mora, Lucia Pineda, and other high profile inmates are not among those scheduled for release.

 

OrMu Legislature Approves Tax Reform

The controversial tax reform bill passed this morning, by the overwhelming margin of Sandinista votes in favor. Even though OrMu surrogates, like Assemblyman Walmaro Gutiérrez insist that the reforms will only impose greater taxes on those who earn more, the reality is different.

The tax reform imposes new sin taxes, increases the Value Added Tax on several manufactured goods, including items like matches, toothbrushes, and sanitary napkins. In addition, tax increases aimed at big business and industry will undoubtedly force producers to shift the additional economic costs to the consumers, which will result in price hikes for basic products that everyone needs (read a summary of the changes here).

 

 

 

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