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There have been several stories written, and lots of blog action about the recent riots in Puerto Cabezas on Nicaragua’s Atlantic coast. The question of the motive for the government to cancel the election is valid and suggests that Ortega and Sandinista allies would lose the elections if they went forward.
Postponing elections due to hurricane damage seems random and could be an excuse to hold on to power in the region. But for what reason? How valuable is the northern Atlantic coast to the Ortega administration? Considering the recent go-ahead for oil exploration penned by the administration and MKJ Xploration, Puerto Cabeza could literally be the future well-head of revenue for the entire country. And that, makes it very valuable indeed.
Nicaragua’s right-wing opposition has “started to organize against what it claims is President Daniel Ortega’s similar [to Venezuela] intentions to consolidate power in this country” according to a recent Tim Roger’s article “Nicaraguan opposition resists Chavez’s expanding ‘revolution…’”
Rogers writes, “Mr. Ortega, an ally of Venezuela’s president, has promised to implement his own version of ‘direct democracy’…” Ortega’s direct democracy is defined as, the “sharing of power” through the implementation of “Councils of Citizen Power.” The opposition fears that these councils would subvert their local authority through a chain that starts at the neighborhood and progresses to municipal, regional and national institutions.
The term “Direct Democracy” brings to mind the Chicago political machine of the early 20th century that traded favors at the local level, for party loyalty at all levels. Comparing the disenfranchised immigrant population of turn-of-the-century Chicago and Nicaragua’s poorest populations’ struggle to survive, it seems an effective way of consolidating power. Nicaragua’s “Direct Democracy” is an experiment for Ortega’s battle to secure power. The question is will it work. Certainly, Chicago’s machine worked in the burgeoning neighborhoods of Chicago, and it ended up to be the dark side of democracy in the city’s proud legacy.
Nicaragua could start drilling for oil off its Atlantic coast within four years, according to Prensa Latina. “Nicaragua legalized oil exploration in its Caribbean waters Wednesday and it will start exploiting a resource that might turn Nicaragua into a Central American exporter…”
Two concessions contracts were signed with MKJ Xploration, a U.S. company based in New Orleans. “U.S. enterprise MKJ president Eric Conrad said 48 precent of the extracted crude will remain in Nicaragua.” Which might suggest that Nicaragua could build a refinery?
“Signed by General Prosecutor Hernan Estrada, the agreement opens doors to a project that may produce incomes up to 20 billion dollars” according to the article.
This is good news for Nicaragua’s economy, its citizens and for international investors. Currently, Nicaragua imports a costly 80 to 100 percent of its oil and gas to meet the country’s energy demands. The signing of this agreement clears the way for creating desperately needed revenue for the struggling nation as well as energy independence from Venezuela and the Chavez administration.
Read this for some background on, Oil in Nicaragua.
