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DE RUEHMU #1953/01 2491700
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FM AMEMBASSY MANAGUA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7471
INFO RUEHZA/WHA CENTRAL AMERICAN COLLECTIVE
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS MANAGUA 001953 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR WHA/CEN 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV KDEM SOCI NU
SUBJECT: FSLN GOVERNMENT PLAN, PART I 
 
 
¶1.  SUMMARY: The Sandinista Front for National Liberation's 
(FSLN) government plan for the upcoming election promises a 
world of social programs and "quick fixes" to real problems 
while ignoring past statements and actions.  FSLN 
presidential candidate Daniel Ortega expanded the plan and 
made his intentions clearer during his 19th of July speech. 
Other party candidates have been critical of the plan and 
Ortega's behavior.  This cable is the first of four, and 
covers summaries of the content of the plan, as outlined in 
the formal announcement and subsequent public announcements. 
Subsequent cables will include notable FSLN party members who 
contribute to policy, an assessment of the plan, and the 
strategy behind it.  END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2.  The FSLN traces its roots to the guerrilla group founded 
in 1961, and came to power during the overthrow of Anastasio 
Somozo Debayle's dictatorship in March 1979.  The FSLN, under 
the leadership of a nine man National Directorate, ran the 
Nicaraguan government as a socialist collective dictatorship 
until the democratic reforms of 1990 when Violeta Chamorro 
was elected.  Since then, the FSLN has functioned as a 
political party unsuccessfully running Daniel Ortega as its 
presidential candidate in three elections, but nonetheless 
winning the majority of municipal government positions. 
During Arnoldo Aleman's administration, when the FSLN held 
the majority of seats in the National Assembly, Ortega and 
Aleman signed a power sharing pact that has enabled the two 
parties to control the political sphere and change electoral 
law in favor of the FSLN.  As he prepares for the November 
election, Ortega functions as a caudillo, intimidating party 
members and voters.  The FSLN continues to reflect the 
popular socialism that dominated party thinking during the 
1980's. 
 
Summary of the Published FSLN Government Plan 
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
 
¶3.  Presented before the National Assembly on May 28, the 
FSLN government plan was proclaimed "a cultural, ethical, and 
socio-economic plan" rather than a political plan.  It 
comprises six promises to the people, as well as additional 
policy proclamations, as outlined below: 
 
--Promise I: Employment, Credit, and Business: To ensure 
employment and foster business, a Development Bank for 
Production will be created that will offer accessible 
interest rates according to production costs and provide the 
economy a jump start.  A Community Bank, at the municipal 
level will also be created which will feature a Rotating 
Production Fund for special programs.  A Law of Agriculture 
and Nutritional Security, the details of which are not given, 
will be written and passed in order to assure that every 
citizen has the necessary food.  The Government of 
Reconstruction and National Unity (GRUN) is seeking 
co-investment where the state will share with the national 
and international private sector, including controlling a 
percentage of key services, such as energy and 
communications.  The GRUN will focus on an energy 
transformation that will move the country away from oil and 
towards alternative energy including biomass, ethanol, and 
hydroelectric power.  Energy adaptation is considered one of 
the first steps toward integration with ALBA, as demonstrated 
in the fertilizer agreement that rural mayors signed with 
Venezuela.  The plan also reasserts Nicaragua's claim over 
the San Juan river. 
 
--Promise II: Universal Health Care and Free Primary and 
Secondary Education: The GRUN considers preventative health 
care a national priority and plans to ensure that access to 
vaccinations, health education, industrial security, and 
worker healthcare plans are universal.  They will increase 
the number of hospitals and healthcare centers, which they 
plan to finance with the sale of imported petroleum from 
Venezuela.  Doctors from Cuba will help train Nicaraguan 
medical staff.  Education at all levels has consistently been 
part of the FSLN platform and this plan is consistent with 
that.  The GRUN will guarantee that the 6 percent of the 
National Budget, constitutionally required to be allotted to 
state universities, will be delivered every year in a timely 
manner.  They will also guarantee scholarships for 
outstanding students.  Asserting that primary and secondary 
education are a central element of dignity and human 
development they will guarantee free education for all 
school-age children.  They also plan on elevating the 
scientific and technical level of education. 
 
--Promise III: Decentralization, Autonomy, and Governability: 
The GRUN promises to honor the 10 percent budget allotment to 
the Municipalities that is required by constitutional law. 
The plan claims that they will give the departments the 
support that they need without infringing on their 
sovereignty and that stronger relationships with the 
departments and citizens will improve governability.  They 
also claim to support the autonomy of the Atlantic regions 
more than past governments have done.  Their alliance with 
Yatama, the indigenous party of the region, is championed as 
representative of their connection and preeminence in the 
region. 
 
--Promise IV: Citizen Security: The FSLN government will work 
with communities and the National Police to take back the 
streets.  According to the plan, Nicaragua's gang problem can 
only be solved by addressing the problems created through 
social exclusion.  The newly elected government will 
strengthen the Police in order to fight organized crime and 
narcotrafficking.  They will also work cooperatively with the 
people to root out corruption and to root out extreme poverty. 
 
--Promise V: The Environment and Natural Disasters: The plan 
focuses on the need to strengthen the emergency reaction 
capabilities of the country in order to prevent unnecessary 
loses of life.  They will also prioritize the protection of 
the environment as one of the country's most important 
natural resources. 
 
--Promise VI:  From External Dependence to National 
Sovereignty: While Nicaragua needs and appreciates the 
support given by foreign nations, the plan outlines moving 
away from external aid dependence as a priority.  Combating 
poverty, creating employment, and developing Nicaragua will 
require a different kind of support from the international 
community, principally, focusing on increasing the quality of 
life for citizens.  According to the plan, a newly elected 
FSLN government will keep CAFTA under review in order to 
determine if it is the best economic program to protect 
Nicaraguan producers.  ALBA is considered a viable option as 
a market that will better meet the needs of the country. 
 
¶4.  Additional key points in the plan: 
 
-- placement of 50 percent women in all government 
organizations and all positions as part of expanded respect, 
dignity and equality for all women 
-- support for farmers (campesinos) is a "national priority," 
including financial and technical support, employment 
opportunities, legal security of property, and quality roads 
for product transportation 
-- support for small businesses and medium level production 
-- equality of salaries in the civil services and more job 
security for public servants 
-- opposition to war of any kind which it does not see as a 
viable means of communication between nations.  Therefore, 
the war in Afghanistan and Iraq should be stopped and 
Guantanamo Bay should be closed. 
-- establishment of positive relationships with world 
governments, including the United States, with whom they seek 
to set up political, cultural, social, and commercial 
exchanges. 
-- an international economic policy that consists of a 
unified Latin America, under an open, diversified and 
technologically advanced domestic model 
-- respect for private property, no confiscations or 
expropriations 
-- more equitable taxation system and reduction in tax evasion 
 
Government Plan Reflected in 19 de Julio Speeches 
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
 
¶5.  Although the FSLN's plan was formally announced and 
outlined on May 28th, Daniel Ortega's and Jaime Morales' 19 
July speeches -- the day Nicaraguans celebrate the Sandinista 
victory over the Somoza dictatorship -- served as important 
policy signposts.  More of the stereotypical and troublesome 
aspects of the FSLN platform were fully voiced during the 
celebration.  Wearing a Nicaraguan flag as a cape and dressed 
in a white shirt and blue jeans, Ortega declared the FSLN 
against the "savage capitalism" under which Nicaragua 
suffers, while paradoxically vowing to help foster 
development and growth through a free market economy. 
 
¶6.  Ortega made a point to emphasize his alliances with Fidel 
Castro and Hugo Chavez as the main avenue forward and 
promised to bring cheap energy from Venezuela and doctors 
from Cuba.  While reiterating his past apologies for actions 
taken in the 1980's he vowed to reinstate the successful 
policies of that period such as a close working relationship 
with Cuba and a mixed economy.  He vowed to reinstitute 
entirely free education.  He also appealed to Nicaraguans 
living abroad, promising his government will help Nicaraguan 
expats gain legal status and the right to send back the full 
value of their remittances. 
 
¶7.  PLC candidate Jose Rizo, as well as members of the 
current government, criticized Ortega for his lack of decorum 
when he wore the Nicaraguan flag as a cape to give his 19 de 
Julio speech.  He claimed that Ortega "parading around like 
Zorro" showed a lack of respect for the flag and its 
significance and that Nicaraguans should be offended.  He 
felt that this is no time for games and that Ortega should be 
taking the process seriously.  Also, he told local press that 
Ortega was trying to liken himself to Bolivian leader Evo 
Morales.  ALN candidate Eduardo Montealegre also criticized 
Ortega's action.  MRS candidate Edmundo Jarquin questioned 
Ortega for riding into the celebration on a luxurious horse 
saying that his behavior was reminiscent of the Somoza era. 
(Note:  Jarquin and his vice presidential candidate, Carlos 
Mejia Godoy, rode into the plaza in Masaya on donkeys. END 
NOTE) 
 
Modifications to the Plan 
- - - - - - - - - - - - - 
¶8.  Before his speech on 19 July, Ortega reportedly convened 
regional and international economic experts to refine his 
economic plan, which has been criticized as not viable.  One 
recent modification is the construction of a pan-Nicaraguan 
canal that he claims will enhance Nicaragua's production 
capacity.  Abortion has also been brought to the table and 
added to the FSLN plan after MRS candidate Edmundo Jarquin 
declared himself in favor of limited therapeutic abortion -- 
resulting in an onslaught of criticism and declarations from 
rival parties.  Each of the other four parties in November's 
race, including the FSLN, has come out strongly against 
abortions of any kind.  Led by Ortega's wife, Rosario 
Murillo, the pro-life campaign came as a surprise considering 
the FSLN's consistent support for therapeutic abortion. 
During Daniel Ortega's government in the 1980's, therapeutic 
abortion was practiced in the state women's hospital as has 
been allowed by the Nicaraguan penal code, which has been in 
force since 1974.  The FSLN's platform transformation is seen 
as an attempt to sway the support of the Catholic church in 
favor of Ortega. 
TRIVELLI