Reduction in the electricity subsidy will affect 900,000 families in 2021

1. Reduction in the electricity subsidy will affect 900,000 families in 2021

The changes in the energy tariff schedule applied as of January 2021 will affect 900,000 families, or 72.6% of use

The subsidy will go from 53% to 22%, “which will represent a 25% increase for consumers who use up to 300 kWh per month, and 18% for those who bill more," Patricia Rodríguez, engineer and an expert in energy issues, explained.

The collection of VAT will also grow, which will go from 8% to 15% in some segments to which the 2% annual charge is added as an exchange rate slippage.

Rodríguez assured that the country requires a serious, complete tariff study, which has not taken place in more than a decade.

2. Two deaths due to Covid at Hospital Alemán

Two people died this thursday at the Alemán Nicaragüense Hospital in Managua, after being admitted for covid-19 with a group of five patients.

The deaths, which occurred in a single day, contradict the latest reports from the Ministry of Health, according to which deaths due to the pandemic have stagnated at one per week.

Doctors are concerned that the population has relaxed precautionary measures in the last month. One of the most notable examples was the massive celebration of La Purísima, in Managua and León, and the celebration of fairs and popular festivals in the neighborhoods.

3. Archdiocese of Managua advocates a Christmas without political prisoners

The Justice and Peace Commission of the Archdiocese of Managua demanded that the violation and disrespect for human rights cease, and advocated for Nicaraguans to be able to celebrate Christmas “without political prisoners, with freedom of expression, without repression.”

In a pastoral letter published on December 10, the religious hope that “the yearnings for peace, justice, freedom and joy that have been violated today with so much corruption, repression, violation and disrespect for human rights, will return”.

In their message they reject any type of violent solution and insist that the only path for the country is the democratic one.

4. Deputies commemorate Declaration of Human Rights while subjecting the country to a police state

The National Assembly controlled by deputies loyal to Ortega commemorated the Declaration of Human Rights on December 10. Meanwhile, a police state has prevailed in the country since 2018, when protests against the Ortega Murillo regime broke out.

Present at the ceremony were relatives of police and Sandinista sympathizers who died in the context of state repression in 2018, who are the only victims that the Government recognizes and refers to as "victims of terrorism."

The Ortega Murillo regime insists on its theory of an attempted coup d'état and is silent on the more than 300 deaths caused by police and paramilitaries in the context of the brutal repression against protesters who demanded President Daniel Ortega’s departure from power.

Last Friday night, at an event of the Nicaraguan Army, as part of his anti-imperialist rhetoric, Ortega once again attacked the United States, a country which he accuses of conspiring with the Nicaraguan opposition to impose a US-backed president.

5. "Commander El Flaco" Assassinated

Gerardo Gutiérrez Gutiérrez, alias “Commander El Flaco”, a former member of the Nicaraguan Resistance, was assassinated in Trojes, a municipality in the El Paraíso department, Honduras.

The police in Honduras confirmed that the government opponent was shot at least 12 times.

Gutiérrez had gone into exile and requested political asylum at the end of 2012, and for political reasons, was part of the self proclaimed “rearmed” groups.

At least four opponents from Jinotega have been murdered in the Honduran municipality bordering Nicaragua. One of the most recent cases was that of Edgar Montenegro, a member of the Montenegro family of Wiwilí, persecuted by the current government.

6. Thirteen indigenous people murdered by settlers in 2020, report says

13 indigenous people were killed by settlers during 2020, reported the Center for Legal Assistance to Indigenous Peoples (Calpi). The most recent case is that of Michael López Rivera, an 18-year-old man who was hacked to death over a property conflict on December 6 in Mayangna Sauni Bu territory, in Bosawas.

7. Almagro: "censoring information" about covid-19 "cost lives"

OAS Secretary General Luis Almagro denounced that the dictatorships of Nicaragua, Cuba, and Venezuela took advantage of the context of the pandemic to "increase repression" and "cling to power."

Almagro pointed out that the Daniel Ortega regime promoted "efforts to censor any information on the pandemic," which "cost lives" of the Nicaraguan people.

To date, the Government reports fewer than 6,000 infections and 162 deaths, while the excess mortality of other diseases associated with COVID-19, such as pneumonia and heart attacks, is projected at more than 7,000 deaths.

8. First person to receive the coronavirus vaccine, and the Vaccine Race

Margaret Keenan, 90, was the first person to receive the coronavirus vaccine made by Pfizer / BioNTech in the UK.
Meanwhile, the race begins between countries to ensure the doses of the different vaccine options for all their inhabitants.

The FDA, the regulatory body for pharmaceutical products in the United States, is very close to approving the one developed by Pfizer, so the immunization campaign could begin on Monday or Tuesday of next week.

Nicaragua is one of the countries under the WHO Covax mechanism to get access to a certain amount of doses, but it is not yet clear which vaccine it would be, how many doses would be available, or when they will arrive in the country.

9. Impact of elections in Venezuela

In an election with a 70% abstention and with only 20% support, Chavismo regained control of parliament, taking 91% of the seats in Venezuela, this Sunday, December 6.

More than 50 countries do not recognize the triumph of Chavismo in an election in which the opposition, represented by Juan Guaidó, recognized by those countries as the interim president of Venezuela, did not participate.

Despite allegations of illegitimacy, the government will now control parliament to validate agreements with its allies such as China, Russia, Turkey, and Iran, while the opposition fracture deepens.

10. More than 60 organizations protect themselves in the face of the Law of Foreign Agents

More than 60 non-governmental organizations and social movements appealed for unconstitutionality against the Law of Regulation of Foreign Agents, considering that it violates the human rights of Nicaraguans.

The law of foreign agents criminalizes the right of association and establishes fines, sanctions, and authorizes requesting the intervention of individual’s goods and assets, in addition to the cancellation of the legal personality of NGOs, if the Government considers that they are involved in "Activities or issues of internal policy."