Nicaragua, Taiwan Open Trade
Talks
Nicaragua and Taiwan
opened talks aimed at drafting a
free-trade deal by the end of
2005, officials said.
They said the accord was
expected to increase Asian
textile investment in the
Central American country.
Nicaraguan Minister of Industry
and Commerce Mario Arana and
Taiwanese Economy Minister Ho
Mei Yueh officiated at the
opening of negotiations at a
Managua hotel in the presence of
Taiwan's Prime Minister Yu Shyi
Kun.
"The goal of the treaty is to
seek better opportunities to
cooperate in the future and we
hope that the signing of the
pact will expand economic, trade
and investment relations"
between the countires, Shyi Kun
said.
The talks will be held over four
rounds ending in the first
quarter of 2005.
Ruling PLC Leads All In
Nicaragua’s Capital
The governing Constitutionalist
Liberal Party (PLC) is the most
popular political organization
in Managua’s mayoral race,
according to a poll by
CID-Gallup.
30 per cent of respondents would
vote for Pedro Joaquín Chamorro
in the upcoming ballot to elect
the head of government in
Nicaragua’s capital.
Dionisio Marenco of the
Sandinista National Liberation
Front (FSLN) is second with 25
per cent, followed by Alejandro
Fiallos of the Alliance for the
Republic (APRE)—a party formed
by PLC dissidents who support
current president Enrique
Bolaños - and Edén Pastora of
the Independent Liberal Party (PLI).
The PLC candidate is the son of
former head of state Violeta
Barrios de Chamorro, who
administered the government from
1990 to 1996. Electoral results
in Nicaragua’s capital are
regarded as early indicators of
how a presidential election
might unfold.
Managua’s mayoral election is
scheduled for Nov. 7. The next
presidential ballot will take
place in November 2006.
Polling Data
What candidate would you vote
for in Managua’s mayoral
election?
Pedro Joaquín Chamorro (PLC)
- 30%
Dionisio Marenco (FSLN) -25%
Alejandro Fiallos (APRE) - 11%
Edén Pastora (PLI) - 8%
Source: CID-Gallup Methodology:
Interviews to 1,248 Managua
voters, conducted from Jul. 24
to Jul. 31, 2004. Margin of
error is 2.8 per cent.
Family Deaths Front-Page News in
Nicaragua
The deaths of the Meza family in
York County, South Carolina this
week have caused a stir in their
native Nicaragua, where the
mothers of Denis Meza and
Marbely Meza have argued about
who was responsible, according
to newspaper accounts.
The Friday edition of
Managua's"El Nuevo Diario," had
front-page photos of Denis'
mother, Dona Teodolinda Meza,
and of Marbely's mother, Orfa
Molinares Munguia. The headline
above Dona Teodolinda Meza's
picture says "Mi hijo no fue"
("It wasn't my son.")
Besides Denis and Marbely,
children Denia, 14; Denise, 8;
and Jairo, 5, were found dead in
the charred house. York County
authorities said the three
youngsters had their throats
slashed before the fire was
deliberately set. Their parents
died from smoke inhalation and
burns.
York County Coroner Doug McKown
says investigators are still
awaiting some toxicology
reports, including one on DNA
evidence that might determine
who raped Denia within five days
of her death. Sheriff's deputies
had arrested Denis Meza, 39, on
July 16 on charges of sexually
molesting Denia.
He had been scheduled for a
court appearance Monday.
McKown also said while the
bodies of Marbely Meza and the
children had been turned over to
Greene Funeral Home in Rock
Hill, Denis Meza's body was
still waiting to be claimed.
Marbley's mother had said
earlier that she wanted to bring
the family home to Matagalpa to
be buried.
A reporter with El Nuevo Diario,
Joaquin Trrez, says the story
has been one of the most talked
about in Nicaragua, a Central
American country of 5.3 million
people between Costa Rica and
Honduras. Trrez said there are
some 500,000 Nicaraguans living
in the United States, most who
come to America to earn a better
living.
"The truth is that it has been a
tremendous drama," Trrez said of
the Meza family deaths.
Denis Meza's mother told the
newspaper her son couldn't have
killed his family because he was
a member of the Jehovah's
Witnesses church. She has asked
the Nicaraguan government to
bring back her son's body
because she doesn't have the
$1,500 necessary for expenses.
Members of Marbley's family in
Nicaragua said her mother, Orfa
Molinares Munguia, had left for
the United States on Friday and
expected to stay in Rock Hill
for about a month.
According to newspaper accounts,
Marbley's mother approached
Teodolinda Meza after the deaths
and said, "Do you realize what
your son did? He killed my
daughter and my grandchildren!"
But Marbley Meza's father,
Rosenberg Castillo Raiytes, said
that he called Teodolinda Meza
and found her "stricken and very
sad. We didn't talk much because
she was very traumatized."
Raiytes said Denis Meza was a
good person.
"Well-mannered, hard worker and
very honest," he said. "I don't
have anything against Denis or
Teodolinda (his mother)."
Colomer Aids in Nicaragua’s
Operation Smile
Colomer USA hair stylist Phillip
Ottley answered the volunteer
call for Operation Smile
Nicaragua (OSN) 2004 and
traveled to the country to offer
his hair styling services in
exchange for monetary donations
to OSN.
OSN offers reconstructive
plastic surgery to poor children
and young adults with facial
deformities such as cleft lips
and palates.
Although this is the first year
of Ottley’s participation, he
has already been to Nicaragua
twice this year and will return
every five weeks to donate his
time and services to the cause.
“As a hairstylist, I believe
that people feel as good as they
look and this is a valuable
investment into the life of an
underprivileged child,” noted
Ottley. If I can help bring out
a child’s beauty, then I know I
am helping to complete the final
puzzle of the entire operation."
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