Nicaragua Minister of Finance Ivan Acosta: Effects of Sanctions on the Nicaraguan people (in interview by John Perry and Camila Escalante)
We have followed the principles of these development banks [International Monetary Fund, World Bank, Inter-American Development Bank, Central American Bank for Economic Integration] to mobilize resources to fight poverty and extreme poverty, and to mobilize and invest resources in economic infrastructure, in productive infrastructure and for social investment.
During the years of President Ortega’s government, Nicaragua has been recognized as one of the countries with the best performance in the use of international funds. As a result, we had probably gone from mobilizing $70-$80 million in funds annually to $300-$400 million. That is why you can see the great changes in infrastructure that have taken place.
This has fundamentally been a result of our high technical ability in the formulation of projects, in the design of programs and policies, so that we have been able to present high-quality projects to the boards of these institutions.
We emphasized that there can be no financial adjustment, there can be no reforms that do not consider the impact on citizens, the impact on the population.
It is clear after the attempted coup in 2018 that the United States and some European and other governments were blocking measures to guarantee the stability of Nicaragua’s economy, the stability of its public finances, which were measures available via the IMF. They were fully committed to the coup. Therefore, they had no wish to support the people of Nicaragua, let alone its government.
The World Bank said in a meeting that already-approved projects would continue, but any new ones could not go ahead. It is very embarrassing for its administration to handle a situation where the US representatives are ignoring their responsibility to the Bank’s charter, which is to mobilize resources for projects that directly impact the poorest people, that is, education, health, drinking water and sanitation.
The US, which is a big player in [IMF and World Bank], they say that they will never vote against projects that are for basic needs. This is a very important promise, but they seek to avoid this responsibility and instead, in the legislation they passed long before 2018, probably starting originally in 2015, such as the Nica Act and other initiatives such as the Renacer Act [Reinforcing Nicaragua’s Adherence to Conditions for Electoral Reform Act of 2021], they have always striven to make the maximum effort to prevent resources from reaching Nicaragua.
In 2020, with Covid, we were facing the risk of death among a population and they [US and EU] did their utmost not to deliver the resources, failing to comply with the promises of the global leaders to support all countries in the face of the global pandemic that was approaching.
The European countries act with the US to prevent the approval of new projects. Between the Inter-American Development Bank and the World Bank, back in 2016 to 2017 we had projects that could add up, between the two entities, to about $500 million per year. Over the five years from 2018 to 2023 we should have been promised resources of between $2,500 and $3,000 million.
Yet Nicaragua received only $300-$320 million versus a possible total of $3 billion. The resources have been just 10% of what they should have been over this period. We have made great efforts, but we could have done much more if the banks had remained loyal to their charters. That is to say, the banks’ charters have been violated.
The absence of these resources delays programs of high value in the fight against poverty and in creating food security. These financial organizations have these projects, we formulate them jointly. They are convinced of the quality of the projects, but they do not finance them.
Nevertheless, we have managed to overcome the impact of the unilateral coercive measures [sanctions] in terms of the country’s management and in terms of growth. I believe that we are the country with the highest growth [in Latin America] since the pandemic, 15.8%.
The United States does not have shares in the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI, or BCIE in Spanish (Banco Centroamericano de Integración Económica) The majority owners of BCIE are the Central American countries. We own 52% of the bank, that is, the majority of the bank. It is a much smaller bank, but it is fundamentally under the administration of the Central American states, accompanied by Asian countries, by other countries in the region, and this gives it strength because there is no impact of the aggressive policy of unilateral coercive measures. Of course, they get visits from the State Department, from the US embassy, they do so constantly, but this does not have any effect. Therefore, the Bank for Central American Economic Integration has played a key role and has fulfilled it.
With all the financial institutions we are regarded as the best in Central America. The country is undoubtedly one of the best globally in terms of accountability. The government of President Daniel Ortega has tripled electricity generation in eight years, with the support of the national community and these international organizations.
In 16-17 years, the neoliberal governments built only two hospitals and started one more. In contrast we have built 17 hospitals, among them three much more advanced ones, and we are finishing the construction of four more. So that is a huge difference [between the neo-liberal and Sandinista governments] in the same period of 17 years.
When we look at the quality of the highways in 2006, only 30% were in good condition. Out of 2,000 km, there were only 600 kilometers in good condition. Today we are already close to 4,500 kilometers of highways with 85% in good or excellent condition. We are talking about 4,300 kilometers of highways in good condition versus 600.
We are now the safest country in Central America, one of the safest in Latin America, despite people saying that this is a small, poor country. In homicides, we are falling below seven per 100,000 people, when the Central American average is about 30 per 100,000. And kidnappings have been practically zero since 2007 [apart from the period of the attempted coup].
All this is only possible because of the success that President Daniel Ortega has had in public policies: achieving greater social cohesion, achieving income redistribution for the population through health, education, rural programs, financing programs, and definitely putting the citizen, the ordinary person, at the center of public policy.
There are the constant efforts of Nicaraguan workers, peasants, for example the efforts of the 150,000 meat and milk producers, those of the 50,000 coffee producers, of the more than 350,000 agricultural producers, producing coffee, meat and milk. We are in the hands of these entrepreneurs, the vitality of the economy depends on them.
NicaNotes: Good Infrastructure Makes People’s Lives Better On Dec. 7, 2022, the President of the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI), Dante Mossi, stated that “Nicaragua is the country [in Central America] with the best execution rate for projects. It is the country with the best highway infrastructure. The Nicaragua Government and CABEI are currently carrying out 28-projects totaling more than US$1.89 billion for infrastructure, environmental protection, and the fight against poverty.
From 2007 to date, the Sandinista government has built more than 130,000 homes. National electricity coverage was 99.34% at the end of July 2023, with 70% generation based on renewable sources. Nicaragua Water and Sewage Company (ENACAL) announced that 92% of the population has drinking water service, while in 2006 only 65% of homes had potable water.
November Edition, NSCAG Update (Nicaragua Solidarity Campaign Action Group) Nicaraguan government statement on Palestine, progress in education, Caribbean Coast Autonomy Law celebrates 36 years, Nicaraguan budget 2024, and other news.
Events
December 3: Nicaraguan Migration: Myths and Reality Join us for a webinar where we’ll address misinformation about Nicaraguan migration and shed light on the reality of the life of a migrant to the United States. John Perry, author/ journalist, will discuss Nicaraguan migration to Costa Rica and the US, analyzing trends over time and examining the factors that may be contributing to the current increase in Nicaraguan migration to the US. Lenin Munguía will share his firsthand experience of migrating three months ago from Managua, Nicaragua, to the state of Maryland and his life in the United States. Spanish-English interpretation provided.
January 27, 2024: Latin America conference in London18th annual conference in solidarity with Latin American progressive movements.
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Upcoming Delegations to Nicaragua
Casa Ben Linder 2024 delegations:
January 20-February 1: Advances & Autonomy Brigade: Rights of Indigenous & Afro-Descendant Peoples on Nicaragua’s Caribbean Coast
February 10-19: The Bird Brigade: Birding in Solentiname Arquipelago
March 2-10: Sindicatos & Solidaridad: Labor Movements in Nicaragua
9-21 July 9-21: Solidarity in Action: Celebrating 45 Years of Revolution in Nicaragua
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