NICARAGUA: CONSOLIDATING DEMOCRACY, PEACE AND PROSPERITY
10th May 2021
ON THE PATH TOWARD THE 2021 GENERAL ELECTIONS
The overarching goal of the Nicaraguan Government has been to create the conditions for a greater degree of participation of all sectors of society, including women and youth, indigenous and afro Caribbean peoples, small farmers in rural areas, the elderly, peoples with disabilities, as an expression of protagonism in decision-making and the exercise of citizen rights.
In Nicaragua, fundamental electoral reforms have been approved, which establishes the constitution of a new, robust, inclusive and representative Supreme Electoral Council.
Since 1984, our country, has historically had high citizen participation in elections, achieving a voter turnout of 70% during national elections, which is above the average for the countries of Central America.
During this period, over 20 national, regional and municipal elections have been celebrated peacefully. Likewise, with the approval of the Law for the Demarcation and Titling of Indigenous and Afro descendant Communal Land (Law 445), 23 Territorial Governments, representing more than 37,252 square kilometers, and more than 305 Communal Governments have been established, all of which are elected by their own laws and traditions, ensuring respect for the principles of self-determination and nondiscrimination.
The following are a few of Nicaragua’s best practices related to citizens’ participation:
1. Ongoing citizens’ education campaign in Spanish, English, Miskito and Mayagna, prioritizing voters’ registration and actively promoting voting as a right and a civic responsibility.
2. Continuous expansion of the network of voting stations in order to include the most remote communities.
3. Strengthening of the communal voting system, in which voting stations do not exceed 400 citizens, allowing for a greater familiarity among voters.
4. Representation of all political parties among the members of each voting station.
5. Training and certification of Political Party Monitors that are located within the voting stations during the voting process and while ballots are being counted.
6. Legal reforms and policies aimed at ensuring a 50% participation of women in all publicly elected spaces.
7. Technical improvement to voters´ identification card to ensure a “one person one vote system”, including detailed biometric photography, registration number, bar codes, watermarks, among others.
8. Continuous updating of the general voters´ list in order to integrate new citizens and remove those who have changed address or have died.
Nicaragua continues to strengthen its democracy and additional electoral reforms have recently been enacted by the National Assembly in order to guarantee the peaceful celebration of the upcoming 2021 national elections. 19 political parties contributed to the reform bill, which was approved by 85 favorable votes out of a total of 90. Likewise, on 4th May 2021 a historical election of Magistrates to the Supreme Electoral Council was celebrated, allowing for a greater and more inclusive representation of women, who currently hold 4 out of 7 permanent seats. Indigenous and Afro Caribbean people are represented by 3 magistrates, and people with disabilities by 1.
Electoral reforms have been aimed at deepening gender equality, facilitating the process of constituting political parties and alliances, ensuring transparency, regulating national and international electoral accompaniment, promoting the participation of indigenous and afro Caribbean peoples, among other important advances.
ECONOMIC REACTIVATION:
The Nicaraguan economy has withstood the impact of the Failed Coup (IFGE) of 2018, which caused GDP growth to plummet to -3.8% in 2018 and -5.7% in 2019, with tourism, construction and the retail sectors being the most affected. Fiscal and social security reforms approved in early 2019, have prevented a further deterioration of the economy, along with assistance to commercial banks in order to protect deposits and control capital flight.
It is until September 2019 that the economy and employment began to show signs of improvement, as a result of successful macroeconomic policies, fiscal reforms and reforms to the social security system, protection of social spending in the national budget and a systematic support for rural production, the family economy and micro, small and medium enterprises.
Economic reactivation, however, was slowed down in the second quarter of 2020, due to the onslaught of the pandemic and the impact of the “lockdowns” implemented by some countries that represent Nicaragua´s main markets for tourism and exports of goods and services.
The closure of the economy and confinements were not considered as viable alternatives for Nicaragua, based on a clear understanding of the national reality and the fact that 40% of the population lives in the rural areas and 80% of urban workers are within the informal sector, both of which have to perform multiple tasks outdoors in order to ensure income and sustenance for their families.
Nevertheless, the impact of the pandemic has been significant, causing a decrease of -2% of GDP in 2020, aggravated by the impact of two hurricanes, Eta Category 4 and Iota Category 5, both causing more than USD990 million, broken down into USD869.6 million in damages and USD120.5 million in economic losses. In relation to the GDP estimated for 2020, the effects represent 8.3%. 21 valuable lives were lost as a result of Hurricane Iota.
Nicaragua in 2020, however, was the country in Latin America and the Caribbean with the highest export growth, reaching +8%, when exports from the region as a whole decreased by -13%. According to ECLAC, only two additional countries registered positive growth in their exports, these being Honduras and Costa Rica, with +1% respectively.
The greatest weight in the value of Nicaraguan exports was held by gold, representing around 25% of exports outside of the free zones, followed by beef, coffee, sugar cane, beans and 15 other agricultural products that represent the majority of the exportable supply of Nicaragua.
The good performance of agricultural exports, even in these times of pandemic, demonstrates the strength of the production, consumption and trade model, led by tens of thousands of small producers, agricultural cooperatives and entrepreneurial families in rural areas, that make use of an extensive network of transport infrastructure projects, telecommunications, electricity, health, education, drinking water and sanitation, to produce more efficiently, taking their production to national markets and beginning to compete internationally.
In 2021, following the health protocols dictated by the Ministry of Health and as the national vaccination program against COVID19 expands, Nicaragua is expected to achieve a GDP growth of between 1.5% and 3.5%, according to estimates from the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit and different international sources.
COVID-19 RESPONSE
As of 4th May, Nicaragua has registered 5,575 confirmed cases of COVID-19, all of whom have received adequate and responsible care. 5,301 people have recovered from the disease, since the onset of the pandemic and unfortunately, 182 sisters and brothers have died.
Nicaragua maintains the lowest rate of contagion of COVID-19 in the Central American region, with a stable trend. Likewise, it registers 2.6 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants compared to a range of between 27.8 and 133.1 in other countries of the isthmus.
Nicaragua has spared no effort to obtain the COVID-19 vaccine for its entire population, however, it is aware of the limited production capacity of pharmaceutical companies, that are having difficulty meeting global demand. Since 2nd March, the national vaccination campaign against COVID-19 began with 6,000 doses of Sputnik V vaccine, donated by the Russian Fund for Direct Investment and the Russian Federation. In addition, 200,000 doses of Covishield vaccine were received as a gift from the People and Government of India. Through the COVAX mechanism 432,000 doses of AztraZeneca vaccine have been received to date. It is estimated that, as of 30 April, the first dose of the vaccine has been administered to 167 thousand people.
Considering the above, Nicaragua has joined the call of many developing countries that are denouncing the intentions of some powerful countries to monopolize the available doses of different vaccines, to the detriment of impoverished and vulnerable nations.
Nicaragua has been ranked 9 out of 10 safest countries to visit in 2021, in a recently published study that refers to WHO and Oxford University data related to COVID19 vaccination, confirmed cases, population density and overall health system performance based on the WHO Regulations. Nicaragua is the only country in the Americas represented in this list.
ENSURING PEACE
Nicaragua continues to respect and abide by the principles of the Interamerican Democratic Charter and will remain an active partner of the OAS as it fulfills its mandate.
In this regard, the Government of Reconciliation and National Unity of the Republic of Nicaragua has expressed its concern over the numerous attacks against Sovereign States, denouncing that these aggressions constitute a flagrant violation of the Charter of the United Nations, the Principles of International Law and the Interamerican Democratic Charter. In times of pandemic, the illegality of these attacks raises them to the level of crimes against humanity.
In Latin America and the Caribbean there have been eight coups or attempted coups since the begging of the 21st century: Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (2002), Republic of Haiti (2004), Republic of Honduras (2009), Republic of Ecuador (2010), Republic of Paraguay (2012), Federative Republic of Brazil (2016), Republic of Nicaragua (2018) and Plurinational State of Bolivia (2019).
In addition to the above, Nicaragua has denounced the practice of some developed countries of imposing unilateral and coercive measures on developing countries, attacking institutions, government officials and private individuals, all of which are baseless and are applied arbitrarily and illegally. As aggravating factors, these developed countries, acting in contempt of International Law, claim extraterritoriality in their laws and administrative measures, while rejecting the application of International Law in their own countries.
Nicaragua has also denounced the threat and practice of “black listing,” (the enumeration of non-cooperative tax jurisdictions or the practice of risk reduction), which results in the decline of correspondent banking relationships, causing disastrous effects on the economies of developing countries and hampering their efforts to meet the goals of the 2030 Agenda.
The Government of Reconciliation and National Unity remains steadfast and committed toward preserving peace, stability and security, in order to guarantee prosperity for all the Peoples of Nicaragua, without distinction.
In the international sphere, this aspiration is reflected in our efforts to continue building relations based on respect, equality, solidarity and mutual cooperation, all in accordance with the multilateral and multipolar spirit of the Charter of the United Nations.