Nicaragua

NEW LAWS AND SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC MEASURES

Envío team

HOUSING LAW: Still under study are amendments and changes to the draft of the Housing Law presented by the Housing Ministry on January 27. In principle, the law will affect all houses used as homes where the owners or relatives of same are not living. At the end of a 20-year period, retroactive to the date renters moved in, the renters will be the owners. What is currently paid out in rent will be a mortgage payment once the law goes into effect.

RURAL LIGHTING: On February 3, a project of rural lighting was announced which will benefit 45,000 families.

NEW HOUSING PROJECTS: The Housing Ministry announced that in the next few months, 5,170 lots of land will be given out for 32 new housing projects in the city which will benefit around 34,000 families.

POLITICAL PARTIES LAW: Still under discussion. After the special seminar at the end of January, where all the parties were able to expound their points of view if they so chose, a Council of State special commission is now studying the results.

The opposition parties which make up the Ramiro Sacasa Coordinating Committee withdrew from this discussion. On February 24, Guillermo Mejia, a member of that commission and a leader of the Social Popular Party, said that the commission had already approved the first three articles and it was thought that by the second week of March, the new draft would be ready to present to the full Council of State for final considerations.

NEW ECONOMIC INCENTIVES: On February 1, new incentives for private meat producers were announced. Four days later new incentives were announced for the cotton, coffee and sesame producers.

COFFEE AND COTTON HARVESTS: February 6 was the last day of the gigantic mobilization of the volunteer coffee pickers. By that day, over 140 million pounds of coffee beans had been picked which will bring around $160 million into the country. On February 14, a report was issued that announced that 65% of the cotton harvest was already collected. State-owned fields showed a marked improvement in production. But even though the harvest of these two products was so good, the fall of prices on the international market has had a negative effect on the country.

HEALTH: The first massive polio vaccination campaign of 1983 was carried out on February 13. More than 500,000 children under age 5 were vaccinated.

EDUCATION The school year began on March 1. Enrollment was up by 129,199 students in comparison to last year, and it is estimated that over one million Nicaraguans are studying at one level or another. The pre school enrollment is seven times the 1978 figure. Adult Education was up by 10,000, with a total enrollment of 183,000 students. Primary school enrollment went from 369,000 to 579,000 students for the same period.

On March 1, the Government Junta published a document to open the school year called GOALS, OBJECTIVES AND PRINCIPLES OF THE NEW EDUCATION.

COURT SYSTEM: On February 25, the first Formation Course for Local Judges was initiated.

Print text

Send text