LADBAC@UNMB.BITNET (Dr. Barbara A. Kohl) (10/14/89)
October 13, 1989
CENTRAL AMERICA UPDATE
Copyright 1989
(Latin America Data Base, Latin American Institute, University
of New Mexico. Project Director: Dr. Nelson Valdes. Managing
Editor: Dr. Barbara A. Kohl)
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GENERAL
*********************
U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES APPROVES $9
MILLION FOR NICARAGUAN ELECTION PROCESS
On the evening of Oct. 4, the House of Representatives
voted 263 to 156 in favor of the Bush administration's $9
million to support "fair" elections in Nicaragua.
An amendment was offered by Rep. Richard Durbin
(D-Ill.) to drop out all funding, with the exception of
$400,000 for election monitoring activities by former
President Jimmy Carter's organization, the Council of Freely
Elected Heads of Government. The amendment was defeated by
a vote of 142-278.
The approved legislation includes $400,000 for the
Center for Registration and Elections Promotion, $250,000
for the Center for Democracy, and $400,000 for the Council
of Freely Elected Heads of Government. These funds are
included in a total of $4 million to be distributed by the
US Agency for International Development toward the
realization of "free, honest and fair elections." The
remaining $5 million are earmarked for the National
Endowment for Democracy (NED).
There are no restrictions on sending cash.
On Oct. 12, the Senate allocated two hours for debate
on the $9 million request. Further debate and voting were
postponed until late Oct. 14, or Oct. 16. [Basic data
from 10/04/89, 10/05/89, 10/12/89 reports by Nicaragua
Network (Washington, DC); Prensa Latina, 10/05/89]
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COSTA RICA
*********************
COSTA RICA: PRESIDENTIAL TICKET CANDIDATES OF
TWO MAIN PARTIES FOR FEBRUARY 1990 ELECTIONS
Costa Ricans will go to polls on Feb. 4, 1990 to elect
President Oscar Arias' successor, two vice presidents, 57
deputies and over 525 municipal representatives.
The ruling National Liberation Party's presidential
candidate is lawyer Carlos Manuel Castillo. Candidates for
vice president are former education minister Eugenio
Rodriguez Vega and Muni Figueres, daughter of Jose Figueres,
who dissolved the army in 1948.
The opposition Social Christian Unity Party (PUSC) has
nominated Rafael Angel Calderon Fournier as its presidential
candidate. Vice presidential candidates are German Serrano
Pinto, party general secretary, and Arnoldo Lopez Echandi,
president of the National Coffeegrowers Chamber.
Opinion polls indicate that Calderon is leading by a
margin of about 8%. (Basic data from Notimex, 10/02/89)
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EL SALVADOR
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EL SALVADOR: 46 REBEL WOUNDED EVACUATED TO CUBA
On Oct. 7, a group of 46 former combatants of the
Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN) who had
lost legs, arms or their sight left the Mexican embassy in
San Salvador for Cuba via Mexico. The group was transferred
to the embassy Oct. 3 after occupying the Roman Catholic
Cathedral since Aug. 20 to demand government authorization
for their evacuation to foreign countries to seek medical
treatment. According to the FMLN, the wounded rebels
decided to move to the Mexican embassy as a result of
threats from death squads. They were accompanied by three
US citizens, embassy personnel and members of the Salvadoran
Red Cross during the transfer from the Cathedral to the
embassy grounds.
Upon arrival at the embassy, the former rebels
requested political asylum. On the following day, the
Mexican Foreign Ministry issued a communique stating that
the wounded were under the protection of the Mexican embassy
and had been provided with lodging and medical treatment.
Two days after the 46 Salvadorans were moved to the
embassy, the Salvadoran National Assembly approved amnesty
legislation for 167 severely injured former rebel
combatants. The law stipulates that others whose names were
not listed could request amnesty within 30 days after the
decree goes into effect. The FMLN rejected the government's
amnesty, in part because its language describes former rebel
combatants as "criminals." According to the FMLN, the
government is obligated to authorize evacuation of severely
wounded rebels to other countries, as stipulated by the
Geneva conventions. The accords apply to treatment of enemy
fighters in a context of war.
The former rebels were transported to the international
airport by the International Red Cross, accompanied by
representatives of the Catholic Church, a Mexican embassy
official, and the Salvadoran Foreign Ministry. At the
airport they boarded a private plane bound for Chetumal,
Mexico, enroute to Havana. On Oct. 8, government news
agency in Havana, AIN, reported that the former rebels had
arrived late Saturday. After initial treatment in Cuba,
many of the wounded are to receive sophisticated long-term
care in other countries.
In his Sunday homily, Archbishop Arturo Rivera y Damas
described the evacuation as a humanitarian victory that will
facilitate the departure of war wounded elsewhere in El
Salvador. Rivera said legal scholars will have to decide
whether the former rebels' departure occurred under terms of
a government amnesty program or the right of asylum. He
added, "The important issue is that humanitarian motives
prevailed."
According to Rivera, the departure of 120 former rebel
war wounded had been discussed for several months. "Due to
party and power problems," arrangements for their evacuation
bogged down in March.
The archbishop commented that the amnesty legislation
approved by the National Assembly in the past week was
sui generis, different in content and intent from such laws
elsewhere.
An unidentified source close to the embassy told
Notimex that the evacuation was not connected to President
Alfredo Cristiani's amnesty bill, nor to the right of
asylum. The source said the Mexican government arranged the
evacuation in terms of "fulfilling humanitarian duties in
the strictest sense."
Since both the Mexican embassy and the Salvadoran
government have refused comment, the precise terms of the
evacuation remain unclear.
The first evacuation of severely injured or maimed
rebel war wounded took place on Sept. 21, 1984. Sixty
former combatants were transported to West Germany, Sweden,
France, Costa Rica and Cuba for medical treatment.
The second occurred on Oct. 24, 1985, in the context of
an exchange. President Jose Napoleon Duarte's daughter and
a friend, and 23 mayors held by the rebels were turned over
to the government. In turn, the government released 26
political prisoners, and permitted the evacuation of 101
former rebel combatants.
On Feb. 2, 1987, the FMLN released Col. Omar Napoleon
Avalos in exchange for the freedom of 72 persons affiliated
with labor unions from government custody, and the
evacuation of 39 rebel war wounded.
In March 1987, the Salvadoran government, the FMLN
diplomatic policy commission, and the Revolutionary
Democratic Front (FDR) entered into an agreement to evacuate
an unspecified number of rebel war wounded.
A similar agreement in June 1987 resulted in the
departure of 57 wounded with the assistance of the
International Red Cross.
The last evacuation occurred on May 4, 1988, when 29
former rebel combatants were flown to Mexico after occupying
a church in San Salvador to call attention to their demands.
(Basic data from AP, 10/07/89; AFP, Notimex, 10/07/89,
10/08/89; 10/10/89 weekly summary by FMLN's Centro de
Documentacion e Investigacion)
NOTES ON SALVADORAN PRESIDENT CRISTIANI'S
FISCAL 1990 BUDGET REQUEST
Last week, President Alfredo Cristiani's submitted his
budget request for fiscal year 1990 to the National Assembly
for approval. Of the total 4.256 billion colones ($851.4
million), 26% or 1.118 billion colones ($223.5 million) are
earmarked for the Defense and Public Security Ministries.
Spending approved for the current fiscal year allocated
to the two ministers totaled 987 million colones. Funds
shifted from other budget lines during the year increased de
facto spending for defense and public security to 1.146
billion colones ($229 million).
Cristiani's budget request includes 84.5 million
colones ($17 million) for the Interior Ministry. Interior,
defense and public security together account for 28% of the
fiscal 1990 budget.
The budget request includes 707 million colones ($141.4
million) for the Education Ministry, and 377 million colones
($75.4 million) for the Public Health Ministry. Next, 13.5%
of the total is earmarked for payments on the government's
debt; and only 7.4% for capital investments.
The proposed budget is the largest of El Salvador's
history. Cristiani and his party, the National Republican
Alliance, as well as a majority of private sector
spokespersons, asserted in the last year of former President
Jose Napoleon Duarte's tenure that "excessive" government
spending was the principal cause of the country's economic
crisis. (From 10/10/89 weekly summary by FMLN's Centro de
Documentacion e Investigacion)
EL SALVADOR: REPORT ON GOVERNMENT
TROOP CASUALTIES, SEPTEMBER
According to a report by the Farabundo Marti National
Liberation Front (FMLN), in September, government troop
casualties totaled 457. The rebels took 15 soldiers
prisoner during the month; by Oct. 10, all 15 had been
released. Next, the rebels claimed they had damaged five
helicopters during the month. (From 10/10/89 weekly summary
by FMLN's Centro de Documentacion e Investigacion)
EL SALVADOR: WIFE OF CONSERVATIVE
NEWSPAPER EDITOR KILLED
Government sources reported that on Oct. 10 in San
Salvador unidentified assailants ambushed the car of Luis
Fuentes, an editor with El Diario de Hoy. Elvira Sanchez de
Fuentes, the editor's wife, was killed, and their son, Oscar
Fuentes, 21, was seriously injured.
Luis Fuentes was not in the car. According to Notimex,
the newspaper is owned by extreme rightist entrepreneurs.
(Basic data from AP, Notimex, 10/10/89)
*********************
NICARAGUA
*********************
NICARAGUA: NOTES ON SECOND ROUND OF VOTER REGISTRATION
On Oct. 7, an unidentified Supreme Electoral Council
(SEC) source told Notimex that about 350,000 Nicaraguans
were expected to register to vote on Oct. 8, the second of
four consecutive Sundays this month scheduled for
registration of approximately 1.92 million eligible voters.
The SEC has set up 4,934 registration precincts throughout
the country.
The SEC source said that on Oct. 1, a total of 370,000
registered, or about 19% of the electorate. Earlier the
government reported that registration was hampered in some
areas due to contra activity.
On the first Sunday, 130,000 of an estimated 600,000
eligible voters in Managua registered. Another 200,000 were
expected to do so on Oct. 8.
Another SEC source told Notimex that because "leaving
everything until the last moment" is a Nicaraguan
idiosincracy, the Council expected to see larger numbers of
people attempting to register on the last two Sundays.
Prior to Oct. 1, radio stations began broadcasting
information about registration several times per day.
Included in the announcements are instructions regarding the
location of precincts, and instructions regarding the
procedure.
On Oct. 8, SEC officials told AP that the registration
proceeded without incident. In Leon, a representative of
the National Opposition Union (UNO) told AP by telephone
that the group will present complaints about alleged
irregularities committed by registration officials. There
were no details.
On Oct. 9, at a meeting with representatives of the
Center for Democracy and the European Parliament, Sandinista
National Liberation Front (FSLN) directorate member Bayardo
Arce said that some contras inside Nicaragua have
registered to vote, while others are attempting to disrupt
the electoral process by violence.
The Center for Democracy emerged after the US
"bipartisan" accord on contra aid between the Democrats and
Republicans in Congress. Delegates from the Center and the
European Parliament acted as observers of registration
activities on Sunday.
The European delegation was headed by Jannis Sak
Ellariou of West Germany's Social Democrat Party, and
Francisco Olivas, a member of Spain's Socialist Party.
Olivas said it was important for his delegation to make
clear that they have seen no evidence of fraud or other
wrongdoing in the Nicaraguan electoral process, not only
before the European Parliament and in other international
forums, but also in Nicaragua itself. (Basic data from
Notimex, 10/07/89, 10/09/89; AP, 10/08/89)
NICARAGUA: NOTE ON RECENT CONTRA ATTACKS
On Oct. 8, the Defense Ministry reported three contra
fighters and one government soldier were killed Oct. 7 when
contras attacked a military patrol in El Nisperal, 130 miles
southeast of Managua. Government sources reported Oct. 5
that six soldiers were killed in Puertas de Paris, near
Santo Tomas in Chontales department. (Basic data from
Prensa Latina, 10/05/89; AP, 10/08/89)
REPORT ON U.S. COVERT AID TO INFLUENCE NICARAGUAN ELECTIONS
In its Oct. 9 issue, Newsweek cited intelligence
sources who said that the CIA plans to spend $5 million on
covert activities to influence the elections in Nicaragua.
The magazine also said that hundreds of thousands of dollars
have reportedly been channeled to the National Opposition
Union (UNO) from Venezuelan President Carlos Andres Perez
through former contra leader Alfredo Cesar. [Basic data
from 10/06/89 report by Nicaragua Network (Washington, DC);
Prensa Latina, 10/05/89)
NICARAGUA: SEPTEMBER INFLATION, 8.8%
Consumer price inflation for the month of September was
8.8%. The August rate, 6.6%, was the lowest monthly
inflation recorded in Nicaragua of the previous two years.
According to official statistics, the national
government's budget deficit between January and May this
year fell 50% compared to the same period in 1988. As a
result of austerity policies initiated in January, the
average monthly salary of public sector employees today is
the equivalent of US$20. (Basic data from Notimex,
10/08/89)
NOTES ON CONDITIONS OF NOVEMBER AID CUTOFF FOR NICARAGUAN
CONTRAS CONTAINED IN APRIL BIPARTISAN ACCORD
The April bipartisan accord among both parties in
Congress and the Bush administration states that US aid to
the Nicaraguan contras camped in Honduras will not be
distributed after Nov. 30, 1989, unless certain conditions
are met. Consent and letters expressing consent to continue
funding after Nov. 30 are required from the leadership of
both parties in the House and the Senate, and from
committees with jurisdiction over the funding in question:
House and Senate Appropriations, House Foreign Affairs and
Senate Foreign Relations.
The bipartisan accord specified support for "the goals
of the Central American Presidents embodied in the
Esquipulas Accord," and that Congress would terminate the
aid if recipients engaged in human rights abuses or
offensive military actions. [Basic data from 10/13/89
report by Nicaragua Network (Washington, DC)]
NICARAGUAN ELECTIONS: ON OPPOSITION
CANDIDATES, INCLUDING U.N.O.
[The following report is based in part on an essay
dated 10/03/89 by Lisa Haugaard, Election Watch Project,
Central American Historical Institute (CAHI). (CAHI is an
independent research group in Washington DC, affiliated with
the Instituto Historico Centroamericano, Managua. The
Institute can be contacted at the following address: Central
American Historical Institute, Intercultural Center,
Georgetown University, Washington, DC 20057.]
The National Opposition Unity (UNO) is often portrayed
by the US government and in the US media as "the" opposition
coalition running the gamut from right to left. However, as
of Oct. 3, eight of Nicaragua's 20 opposition parties with
legal status were running presidential candidates outside
the UNO coalition.
Until recently, UNO was comprised of 12 parties and two
political organizations without legal status. Although the
Nicaraguan Socialist Party and the Communist Party of
Nicaragua give UNO a rather broad-based appearance, the two
parties have reportedly moved away from traditional
political agendas and bases of support. Next, the four most
conservative parties of the coalition dominate UNO
activities and political pronouncements.
The centrist Popular Social Christian Party (PPSC),
headed by Mauricio Diaz, dropped out of UNO in late
September. The remaining 13 organizations of the coalition
consist largely of spinoffs from the Liberal and
Conservative parties.
As of Oct. 3, eight of Nicaragua's 20 opposition
parties with legal status were running candidates outside
the UNO coalition. On the center-right are the Social
Christian Party (PSC) led by Erick Ramirez; Democratic
Conservative Party (PCD); Social Conservative Party; Liberal
Party of National Unity; and the newly formed Central
America Unity Party. These parties have not joined UNO in
part because they wished to avoid being associated with
UNO's US-contra connections.
The PCD would have a lot to lose if it became one among
many in UNO, having won 14% of the national vote in the 1984
elections. The PSC has been distancing itself from UNO's
main parties since its association in the 1984 elections
with the alliance's previous incarnation, the Nicaraguan
Democratic Coordinator.
Economic austerity measures and the Nicaraguan
government's concessions within the context of the
Esquipulas peace process have irritated parties to the left
of the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN). The
Popular Action Movement (MAP), which has two seats in the
National Assembly, the Revolutionary Workers' Party (PRT)
and the Revolutionary Unity Movement (MUR) are all fielding
candidates in the February 1990 elections.
Results of polls conducted in August by the
left-of-center Itztani Institute and the PPSC-affiliated
Manolo Morales Foundation indicated that 37% to 38% of
voters support the FSLN, while 28% remain undecided. The
Manolo Morales poll showed UNO support running at 20.9%.
The Itztani survey tallied only 3% for UNO, and 4% for UNO's
vice presidential candidate, Virgilio Godoy.
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