Nicaragua Network Hotline - May 7 2002 Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit Nicaragua Network Hotline May 7, 2002 NOTE: If you have collected signatures on the petition to General Carrion, asking him to stop training officers at the SOA, please send them in to the Nicaragua Network now! You can sign hte petition on our website at http://www.nicanet.org. Topics covered in this hotline: 1. Former Government Officials Involved in Corruption Scandals Sent to Jail 2. Workers protest over minimum salary 3. Nicaragua sells hydroelectric plants to Enron, then to other company. 1. Former Government Officials Involved in Corruption Scandals Sent to Jail Justice has won at last! Judge Juana Mendez sentenced Byron Jerez, (the powerful former Director of the Nicaraguan equivalent to U.S. IRS), Harvey Mayorga, (Jerez's right hand in the IRS), and three of his former employees to prison. The charges against them include fraud against the State, diverting State funds, embezzlement, and association for criminal actions. Jerez and the others were convicted of defrauding the state of almost one million dollars by issuing illegal credit notes to buy cars for individuals instead of the state. Among the recipients of the cars were Liberal Party deputies, Jerez's relatives and friends, one high ranking member of the Catholic Church, Monsenor Bosco Vivas, and the Liberal Party itself. This imprisonment was not the only one in Nicaragua this week. Six high rank officials of the Aleman administration were found guilty of fraud and association to commit criminal actions by Judge Ileana Perez. Other people have been found implicated in this investigation, such as former President of the Republic and current President of the National Assembly Arnoldo Aleman, but they have not been taken to court due to their parliamentary immunity. Also on the corruption front, a document drafted by high representatives of the Liberal Party confesses the use of public funds to finance their electoral campaign. "The liberal party rejects corruption and is willing to collaborate so that there be zero tolerance towards corruption in our nation, but you need to remember that much of what is perceived as corruption were actions that were meant to mobilize financial resources to cover the costly political expenses that took you to power," states the document. This document was directed to President Bolanos and had the intention of intimidating him into not disclosing more of the previous administration's acts of corruption. 2. Workers protest over minimum salary Thousands of workers, in celebration of their day, marched on the first of May to the National Assembly to demand more jobs, higher salaries and to continue the fight against corruption. Luis Barboza, general secretary of the Jose Benito Escobar Workers Union stated that "the workers will continue their struggle to obtain better salaries, because the Minimum Salary scale that was recently approved by the Ministry of Labor was a joke to all the sectors of economy." He affirmed that they would begin a series of national protests to obtain a decent salary, not the miserable amount that the private sector proposed. The National Minimum Salary Commission approved a raise of only 5 to 10% in the minimum wage, while the government had proposed that there would be a 20% raise. The increases still do not cover the price of the basic basket of goods, which is valued at over 2000 c=F3rdobas (US$ 143). Daniel Ortega, secretary of the Frente Sandinista, attended the march of the workers and commented that the recent salaries that were approved were insufficient and could provoke social outbursts. "To deny a decent salary is to plant instability, because those workers will not carry out their work, and then strikes and protests will come," said Ortega. 3. Nicaragua sells hydroelectric plants to Enron, then to other company Last week the Nicaraguan energy company ENEL announced that an Enron affiliate had won the bidding to acquire 2 of Nicaragua's hydroelectric plants that are being privatized. This announcement met with immediate opposition from Nicaraguan civil society and was denounced on the May first Workers' Day protests. On May 2nd, ENEL reversed their decision and awarded the plants to Costal Power, a U.S. company. ENEL officials deny that the reversal was a result of popular pressure. Instead, they cite irregularities in Enron's proposal. For example, they found that the warranty that Enron had presented was only of US$ 2 million, when it was previously agreed by the government that it should not be less than US$ 240 million. The privatization process is part of the result of Nicaragua's structural adjustment program under the International Monetary Fund. Under this program, Nicaragua must sell off many of its State-owned assets such as telecommunications, energy, and water industries. Energy privatization continues even in the face of expert advice that the assets should not be sold because the plants are profitable, their sale would threaten Nicaragua's environment and water supply, and privatization leaves public services in the hands of a few transnational companies while threatening consumers with higher prices. This hotline is prepared from the Nicaragua News Service and other sources. To receive a more extensive weekly summary of the news from Nicaragua by e-mail or postal service, send a check for $60.00 to Nicaragua Network, 1247 E St., SE, Washington, DC 20003. We can be reached by phone at 202-544-9355. 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