By Ángel de la Peña

Nicaragua will eliminate the tax on products coming from Colombia and which remained in effect since 1999, according to a agreement reached by both nations in Managua between the government s and private entrepreneurs. President of the Superior Council of Private Enterprise (COSEP) Joseph Adam Aguerri said that tariffs will be suspended through a reform initiative passed in Parliament in the coming days of April.

  Joseph said the COSEP Aguerri asked the president of Nicaragua, Daniel Ortega to suspend the tax for the purpose of what he called "Protecting the competitiveness of domestic industry and jobs it offers." He said that since the application started this tax in Colombia, Nicaragua industries have had to raise their costs by the need to use raw materials from Colombia than in some other Central American countries is marketed at lower cost.

By Eliane Portillo

The defense of equal rights for men and women and the fight against all forms of violence towards women are the focus in the discussions of the National Assembly of Nicaragua.

While the Parliament discusses the comprehensive law to combat violence against women, hundreds of females outside the building demand the speedy adoption of the law, created after wide public consultation, which seeks to prevent violence and protect women from attacks.

The president of the Committee of Justice and Legal Affairs, Irma Davila, highlighted the government's willingness to pass the bill, because if Nicaragua eradicates such violence it will be a more developed country in all areas.

In keeping with this position, deputy Gladys de los Angeles Baez praised the policies promoted by the executive nowadays so that women take part in the social transformations of the country.

Other members stressed the integral nature of the decree, which also protects the rights of children and families in general.

By Eliane Portillo

The Costa Rican public sector unions will demonstrate again against the minimum wage, set without negotiating with them, in protest at the refusal of Minister of Labour and Social Security, Sandra Piszk, to talk with the unions.

During the protest against the government agency on Wednesday, union leaders called on their delegates to support a general strike in the coming days, because they failed to repeal the decree by which the authorities limited the pay raise to five thousand colones (10 dollars).

Piszk listened carefully to each of the formulations raised by the union leaders and answered that salaries are a closed issue before the repeated questions on wages, according to the news.

The union members demanded that government rescind or freeze the decree, which sets the salary increase for the first half of the year and that it analyze the proposal for the creation of the National Wages Commission and the establishment of the rectory of employment and wages, a role that now falls within the budget authority.

According to public sector unions, the second project affects the powers and range of action of the National Wages Commission, and thus it requires an evaluation before being approved. Against the position of Piszk, union leaders agreed to meet on Thursday to establish the plan of action.

By Eliane Portillo

The President of Guatemala Otto Perez Molina, called on the police leadership to improve levels of safety and security of citizens.

Meeting with the new leadership of the National Civil Police (PNC) on Thursday, Perez Molina recalled that the primary objective is to bring peace to the people and dignify the work of the agents of that force.

By Eliane Portillo

High levels of corruption increased poverty in Honduras, denounced Cardinal Oscar Andres Rodriguez, who urged politicians to walk in truth, seek the common good and refrain from creating more divisions.

I wonder where the money of the Strategy of Poverty Reduction is, Why some people do not want to live in transparency and clarity? Why we have to hide things?, because sometimes latent corruption is there, said Rodriguez.

By Eliane Portllo

Leaders of the National Board of Guatemalan Emigrants are preparing to promote in Congress the approval of a bill that has been pending for several years.

MENAMIG is planning to approach Congress in January in order to achieve progress in the discussion of the bill, which aims to guarantee the rights of Guatemalan emigrants including those who are passing through Mexico bound for the USA.

During 2011, U.S. authorities deported 30,855 illegal Guatemalans, while Mexico deported 32,297, according to data from MENAMIG.

Both figures are higher than those reported in 2010, when more than 58,000 Guatemalans were deported from the USA and Mexico.

By Eliane Portillo

Panamanian Agricultural Development Minister Emilio Kieswetter presented his irrevocable resignation to Ricardo Martinelli, President of the Republic of Panama, as reported by the Ministry of Communication here Thursday.

Kieswetter presented his resignation Thursday, and the Panamanian Office of the Presidency wrote a short note saying the resignation will be considered effective starting Thursday, December 29.

By Eliane Portillo

The Panamanian government will approve the new minimum wage adjustment on Tuesday, during their last Cabinet Council in 2011, without an agreement between a special committee and negotiators from various sectors.

President Ricardo Martinelli said in a very ambiguous way that the wage increase will be in harmony with the reality of the country, without harming businesses, giving workers little hope that the Executive will share their interests.

The Cabinet is supposed to set the new salary between the workers' proposal, 540 USD, and that from entrepreneurs, 457 USD.

The employers say they could not approve an increase larger than 10 percent, but, according to the unions, they did not convincingly sustaine that.

At the same time, the workers say they only claim the recovery of purchasing power that wages lost due to the high cost of living.

By Eliane Portillo

Guatemalan President Alvaro Colom on Wednesday denied recent reports about his absence from transfer of power ceremony on January 14.

I have to hand over the reins to Congress and the way to do it is still debated, but there is no attitude of not attending or something like that, Colom said on Wednesday on his radio program Despacho Presidencial.

President-elect Otto Perez Molina had announced that the ceremony would take place at the Sports Dome, as it is bigger than the Gran Teatro at the Miguel Angel Asturias Cultural Center.

Colom said the new government is responsible for defining the way the transfer of power will take place, but representatives from the Foreign Ministry putting the finishing touches on that place to guarantee order.

 

By Eliane Portillo

On Wednesday, at the headquarters of the Organization of American States (OAS), delegations from Belize and Guatemala, headed by their respective foreign ministers, Wilfred Elrington and Haroldo Rodas Melgar, met with OAS secretary general, José Miguel Insulza, in what was described as a highly cordial and cooperative atmosphere.

The foreign ministers expressed their appreciation to the Organization of American States and its secretary general, and underscored the work of the OAS Office in the Adjacency Zone between Belize and Guatemala, which has been working since 2003 to maintain peace and stability between the two countries.

By Eliane Portillo

The violation of labor rights in three banana plantations in the southern border of the country, maintained on Tuesday the strike of hundreds of workers in the Del Monte Agricultural Corporation S.A.

According to Jose Maria Villalta, a member of the left-wing Broad Front, the situation of indigenous Costa Ricans and Panamanians is critical.

The company reduced their wages, did not recognize their overtime, blocked their credit in the company store, and applied wage deductions for days on strike, Villalta told the news on wednesday.

The conflict, which began more than a month ago, affects plantations in the Caribbean area of Sixaola, close to the Panamanian border.

For the moment, the Banana Development Corporation of Costa Rica (Bandeco), a subsidiary of the Del Monte Corporation of the United States, refuses to grant a dialogue requested by the workers.

The Del Monte Company operates in nearly a dozen Latin American countries including Costa Rica and Guatemala, while trading bananas, melons and pineapples for the U.S. retail market.

 

By Eliane Portillo

The Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN) invited Salvadoran society on Wednesday to work together to fight delinquency and organized crime.

The FMLN repeated its commitment to continue fostering a comprehensive public security policy to fight delinquency, organized crime, corruption and impunity, it said in an official statement.

By Eliane Portillo

Guatemalan President-elect Otto Perez Molina completed his Cabinet when he announced the appointment of Colonel Ulysses Noe Anzueto as Minister of National Defence.

The appointed Minister and the former General elected President on November 6 will integrate the new Army General Staff to lead a process of modernization.

By Eliane Portillo

Honduras will have a new naval base to reinforce the struggle against drug trafficking and organized crime, the local website reported on Wednesday.

The military base, built at a cost of two million dollars financed by the United States, will be installed in Guanaja, Bahia Islands, this month.

By Eliane Portillo

The approach roads to the seat of the Congress of the Republic were occupied on Wednesday by demonstrators that have been camping in front of the building for months.

The protesters demand the approval of a housing law and have closed the street in front of the Congress, a downtown area in the old part of the city.

President of the legislative body Roberto Alejos requested the police to intervene to vacate the demonstrators.

Alejos warned that this action can hinder the full session of Congress, scheduled for Thursday, when the third reading of the nation´s 2012 budget is due to take place, according to the news.

 

By Eliane Portillo

Two people were arrested in the Guatemalan department of Zacapa on Monday due to alleged links with the Mexican cartel of the Zetas, official sources confirmed here on Monday.

Minister of Interior Carlos Menocal and Attorney General Claudia Paz said that those arrested on Sunday night supplied the gang with arms, ammunition and vehicles, and recruited local criminals.

 

By Eliane Portillo

Ministers and experts from Ibero-America called for integrated and sustainable policies on infrastructure, logistic and mobility in the transportation sector.

Summoned by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), the specialists examined here on Wednesday the effects of the infrastructure policies on the economic and social development of the countries of the region, and outlined the main challenges in this field.

By Eliane Portillo

Nicaragua's current challenges transcend a group or an alliance, they need the united efforts of all, said deputy Agustin Jarquin today, referring to the work to be undertaken to integrate the newly elected National Assembly.

According to the deputy, an economic growth of four percent a year is not enough because the country needs to double that growth to eliminate poverty.

 

By Eliane Portillo

The Central American Parliament (PARLACEN) decorated on Tuesday in these capital 10 outstanding Nicaraguan personalities who have had an outstanding career in the political, economic and social development of their country, during the twentieth anniversary of this sub regional organization.

According to the organizers of the event, which took place at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the XX Anniversary Medal of PARLACEN will be awarded to the president of the Supreme Court, Alba Luz Ramos, and also to the judge of that institution, Iván Escobar.

By Fernando Alvarez: Ex IMF Economist

On Sunday, November 6, 72 hours ago, there was a general election in which Nicaragua’s Daniel Ortega and the FSLN won an overwhelming victory. Perhaps by chance, the following day was the 94th anniversary of the glorious Soviet Socialist Revolution. Indelible pages of history were written by Russian workers, peasants and soldiers, and the name of Lenin will forever shine among men and women who dream of a just destiny for humanity. These issues are constantly more complex and efforts invested in educating new generations will never be sufficient. For that reason, today I am dedicating a space to comment on this event, in the midst of so many taking place every day on the planet and of which news arrives in a growing number of ways barely imaginable a few decades ago.

I must say that the elections in Nicaragua were in the traditional and bourgeois style, which has nothing just or equitable about it, given that the oligarchical sectors, anti-nationalist and pro-imperialist in nature, as a rule have a monopoly on the economic and publicity resources which – in general and particularly so in our hemisphere – are in the service of the empire’s political and military interests. This precisely highlights the magnitude of the Sandinista victory.