Press Availability With Nicaraguan President Enrique Bolanos

MODERATOR: Good afternoon to you all. We have with us today the Deputy Secretary of State of the United States, the number two person in foreign relations, Robert B. Zoellick.

PRESIDENT BOLANOS: [translation][inaudible]…We negotiated with [inaudible] the Central American Free Trade Agreement, and we came up with a very good arrangement for Nicaragua and for the United States. We all know in Nicaragua about the need for new jobs, we know about the need to increase our exports, the need to have a better standard of living for our people. CAFTA could provide a lot of help in that sense. Moreover, we discussed that with Mr. Zoellick because we have worked for three years in designing CAFTA. Another thing that we need, since the United States is a model country in the area of democratic development, is a process of good governance in the country, to have democratic stability and a climate in which we can work for the well being of our people and our citizens. And the United States has been the country which has truly wanted to help us. They tried to help us with CAFTA and they also want to help us through the Millennium Challenge Account. We’re talking here about 175 million dollars of which over 80 million dollars will be used for highways to be built in Leon and Chinandega and which would transform those areas of the country. We cannot throw those 175 million dollars overboard, as if we were not interested in that help. Those Millennium Challenge monies are also tied to good governance. If we do not have a democratic process in place in the country we will not be able to enjoy the 175 million dollars, which are an unconditional gift to Nicaragua. This is money that doesn’t need to be paid back or returned, but we need to demonstrate that ours is a country in which democracy and freedom are respected and where we have a free, democratic process.

These are the conditions imposed by democratic countries, such as the United States. This is one of the things we discussed with our friend Bob Zoellick, principally. I’m sure that he, in his statement, is going to give us in Nicaragua, even more of his viewpoint, and I will leave it to him, suffice it for me to present these two items, we will wait to hear what Mr. Zoellick has to say during his visit and on this occasion.

Along with him today we have old friends like Tom Shannon. We have here today also Chris Padilla, as well as the Ambassador to Nicaragua, the U.S. Ambassador, and we also have our own Ambassador to Washington, …and also, Salvador Stadthagen who has come to be part of this distinguished visit from the Deputy Secretary of State for the United States. So I leave you with Mr. Zoellick and then I will leave the Foreign Minister, Norman Caldera, to also help us with the responses to any questions you may have. Good afternoon and thank you very much.

DEPUTY SECRETARY ZOELLICK: It’s always an honor to have a chance to come back to meet the President and be with a number of friends from the Cabinet, the Foreign Minister, obviously the Finance Minister, Minister Arana, who has been close partners, we worked together on CAFTA, and I appreciate his promotion to the Finance Ministry where the job even gets tougher I am sure.

I’m very pleased that I have this opportunity to come to Nicaragua at this point in time because I think the people, but equally important, the leaders of Nicaragua, face a critical choice. On one path there is the opportunity to deepen democracy, to empower the powerless, to fight poverty, and to move arm and arm with democratic neighbors in the region. And Nicaragua is now poised to move ahead with a set of very important new tools. There’s been about 4 billion dollars in debt forgiveness. There’s the Central American Free Trade Agreement, which most of Nicaragua’s neighbors have already passed, the United States has passed, and which will go into effect on January 1 of next year.

As the President mentioned, we’ve worked very closely with his government to make it one of the first recipients of the Millennium Challenge Account grant of 175 million dollars designed to help with the infrastructure, the rural development, helping to make sure that some of the people who have been left out of Nicaragua’s economy in the past can take advantage of CAFTA. And then there’s the opportunities of regional cooperation which I see grow stronger every day through CAFTA and the efforts of the democracies in this region.

But there’s another path. This promising future is threatened. It’s threatened by a creeping coup. It’s threatened by corruption, it’s threatened by a clique of caudillos. This is the way of the corrupt "Pacto." The people of Nicaragua seem to recognize the choice. The "Movimiento" has put tens of thousands of people in the streets. The polls show that the people of Nicaragua want democracy, want opportunity, want development.

So now the leaders in Nicaragua face some fateful choices. As our recent actions have shown, the United States will not welcome corrupt people in our country. We will take actions to block them, and you can expect more such actions. And we won’t stop with the United States. The G8 countries, the group of developed countries that have annual summits in 2003 agreed on a "No Safe Haven" policy, and many countries in Latin America joined with that policy in 2004 to deny refuge to corrupt leaders and to encourage investigations of money laundering and corrupt financing. Part of the messages that I’ll have today when I meet with the Archbishop, the business community, different people, and the political parties, is that the United States stands strongly with the Organization of American States, and together we strongly support the legitimate, democratic government in Nicaragua with President Bolanos as its’ legitimate, democratically elected leader.

But I want to be frank, there’s a corrupt pact by Aleman and Ortega, and that is Nicaragua’s past, it’s not its’ future. That’s a path that will lead Nicaragua to lose the Millennium Challenge Account assistance, to lose the opportunity of CAFTA, to lose the opportunities of investment, to lose the opportunities of integration with your neighbors, and of course, as a result, those that are most poor, most hurt, will be the poor of Nicaragua who desperately need an opportunity to get a leg up and to have a future of hope.

I’m going to have a chance to meet some members of the PLC later today, and those members in particular need to make a decision about whether they want to stand with the people of Nicaragua, or whether they want to go the way of the corrupt and selfish interests of one man. That way is a dead end. It’s a dead end for those leaders and is a dead end for Nicaragua. Now Nicaragua is looking to elections in November 2006, and those elections are for the people of Nicaragua to decide their future. Relations with the United States will depend on the commitment to democracy and constructive links with the United States along the development and democracy agenda that I’ve outlined.

I am heartened to see that there’s a Third Way movement in Nicaragua, and I’m going to meet some of the leaders of that movement later today, because it is vital that my country and others support fair and free elections in Nicaragua. And as part of our effort, I’m announcing today a grant of 4.5 million dollars to support the National Democratic Institute, the International Republican Institute, to work with the OAS and other organizations to make sure that these elections are free and fair. I’ll meet with Dante Caputo, Secretary General Insulza’s representative, and I had a chance to talk with the Secretary General last week on Friday before leaving for Latin America. You’ve seen the statement in the letter of the Secretary General on the importance of preserving constitutional democracy in Nicaragua. There’s an opportunity for the people of Nicaragua to finally take a step up this ladder of development, to have a chance to create a better life for their families. But to seize that opportunity it will be up to the leaders of Nicaragua, and the leaders of Nicaragua are going to have to make a choice. And I hope that they take the choice of the people and the Movimiento so that they can consolidate democracy, counter the dangers of poverty, and create opportunity and hope. Thank you.

[Applause]

MODERATOR: And now for the period of questions and answers, first, Esteban Solis, El Nuevo Diario.

ESTEBAN SOLIS: [translation] Mr. Deputy Secretary, if Ortega and former President Aleman, the ex-presidents, represent the past, how does the United States explain that recently, 10 months ago, in municipal elections the majority of citizens who voted gave a majority of their votes to both parties, that is, the parties that Ortega and Aleman represent. And in second place I would like to know, here the opposition, precisely the leaders of these parties or their heads, have given low credibility to what the President has said when he has said that the United States and international cooperation could be paralyzed, could be stopped by halting aid, like the Millennium Challenge Account and other multilateral institutions. I would like to know how far the United States, could, within the frames of measures they could take, cut aid and what consequences this could bring to Nicaragua. Thanks.

DEPUTY SECRETARY ZOELLICK: Well, as for your first question, I want to distinguish between leaders and parties. When I say that Aleman and Ortega represent the past, it’s because Aleman has been a convicted political official who stole tens of millions, if not more, from his country, a country that drastically needed those funds, and I certainly hope that’s the way of the past for Nicaragua as well as for Central America and Latin America. And Daniel Ortega has never accepted democracy. He’s following a shrewd game of trying to undermine democracy, what I call a creeping coup, what the OAS and others have recognized, and people can see what’s happening, they can see with their own eyes. When I was in Guatemala yesterday you heard this statement of President Berger, that I hope, is the way of the past. Now in terms of the parties, members of the Liberal party are going to have to make their choice. Do they want to go that path, and frankly, cut off their relations with the United States, or do they want to go a path of the Third Way. I’m going to be seeing some individuals, Mr. Montealegre, Mr. Alvarado, who are setting a different course. Some of them have been associated with the Liberal Party in the past. That’s the choice of people in the Liberal Party that they’ll be making over the course of the next months. Similar I’m going to see Mr. Lewites, who has broken with some of the old leaders of the Sandinistas about the "Pacto," because he recognizes that it’s corrupt. If you look at Latin America, there are parties of the left-center, even parties that have been part of guerrilla movements in the past that have taken the course of democracy. There was part of the FMLN in El Salvador that made that choice. President Lula never took up arms, but he represented the course of the left in democracy. You’ve had a very successful President Lagos in Chile who comes from the social democratic left. So there are choices to be made here about the course of democracy and development. There’s a range of views that in the course of a democratic process it’s up to the people of Nicaragua to decide.

But, and this leads to your second question, it’s also up to my government to decide how we will engage with people, and as I’ve said, if you have what in effect is a coup that goes on that tries to remove the duly elected President from power, then Nicaragua will not be part of CAFTA because we have to certify. And as for the Millennium Challenge Account, its’ most critical variable is corruption, and so if you have a corrupt process, trying to remove and remove a democratically elected President from power, well then you’re not going to get the 175 million dollars. And, many of the other benefits that flow in terms of regional integration will be lost, so frankly, I’m not really concerned about what I’ve seen of the people of Nicaragua because the polls and the Movimiento shows me that there’s a strong support for a Nicaraguan future that I hope can come about. The key choices here will be made by some of the leaders in Nicaragua, and that’s what I mean about sticking with the past or turning to the future. I’ll have a chance to talk with some of them today, and I’m going to make the choice very stark. There’s going to be no deal here with Aleman on the part of the United States. He’s the corrupt past, he’s a convicted criminal, his family is not welcome in the United States and he is not welcome in the United States. And we’re going to do everything we can to make sure that he’s not welcome anywhere else either.

MODERATOR: We continue with Carol Giacomo of Reuters.

CAROL GIACOMO: [inaudible]…that President Bolanos is going to stick out this political crisis until the election takes place, and can you explain a little bit about why the United States feels that it has a right or why it’s appropriate to enter into Nicaraguan politics in such a strong way.

DEPUTY SECRETARY ZOELLICK: Well, as for your first question Carol, the answer is yes, and the President is a person, of obviously very strong conviction and courage, and I’ll tell you from the meetings I’ve had with him in Washington and in my prior visits to Nicaragua, my visit today, what strikes me most about him is his very strong feeling about what needs to be accomplished for the people of Nicaragua, particularly the poor people. We started our meeting with an economic presentation, talking about the past and some of the transformation that’s occurred in terms of employment, and some of the debt issues and exports. That’s where President Bolanos’ heart is. He wants to try to help the people of Nicaragua. Now he’s facing a constitutional crisis, and he recognizes that, and as I think the hardest thing for him to see is how it makes it extremely difficult or impossible to proceed on the development course that he wants to have for the people of Nicaragua.

Now in a sense, his efforts have set up what I was describing today. Because of his efforts, Nicaragua is one of the first that qualified for 175 million dollars from the Millennium Challenge Account, which is a large sum of money that it’s going to be devoted to helping the powerless have a stake at empowerment in society. It’s because of his efforts that we have a Central American Free Trade Agreement with Nicaragua being part of it. Because of his efforts you have the debt reduction. So, the pieces are in place and now it’s going to be a challenge, frankly, for other leaders in Nicaragua to decide what course they want to take, and ultimately they will also pay the price with the public here.

Now as for your second question about the U.S. role. The U.S. is comfortable anywhere around the world standing for democracy and constitutional principles. In this case we’re doing it with the OAS, we’re doing it with others in Central America and, I’m pleased to say and I’ll have a chance to talk with some of the other groups, we seem to be associated with the people of Nicaragua and with what they want. Now, also as a sovereign country we get to determine how we interact with people. Nobody has a right to get a 175 million dollar grant from the United States. And to get money from the United States under the Millennium Challenge Account one needs to meet the criteria, and the whole concept of the Millennium Challenge Account is that in the past many aid funds were not effective because people didn’t connect them to good policies, and the most basic policy is one that fights corruption. There are other objective criteria, in terms of good macroeconomic policy, open trade markets, social investment in the people, and because of the efforts of the President and his team, Nicaragua was one of the first to qualify, but if others try to remove that, well then they don’t get the money. So, I think what the United States is trying to do here is stand with the forces of a constitutional democracy in accordance with the OAS Charter and Principles, and try to make sure that the voices that are beyond the caudillos and the corruption and some who still want to try to retrieve a communist past, that those voices are set aside and there’s a chance for the people of Nicaragua to be heard. And they’ll be heard in democratic elections, we just want them to be free and fair, and we want them to take place under a constitutional system.

MODERATOR: Rudy Contreras, Channel 23.

RUDY CONTRERAS: [translation][inaudible]…is going to make sure that Arnoldo Aleman is not well received in any other country, because you said that he is corrupt and he has robbed a lot of money in Nicaragua. Specifically, what are you referring to when you are talking about Arnoldo Aleman and making sure that he’s not welcome in any other country, and if there’s a scenario where the constitutional order is interrupted, I’m talking about any possible impeachment of President Bolanos, according to the deputies that is imminent, how could the United States stop that and would you be willing to support a Third Way as it has been termed in Nicaragua, the "Anti-Pact" with Lewites or Montealegre.

DEPUTY SECRETARY ZOELLICK: The answer to your first question, what I referred to in my opening comments was that the United States has agreed with the G8 countries, the major developed economies, as well as with Latin American countries, about a "No Safe-Havens" policy because other countries recognize the dangers of corrupt political leadership and certainly people that have engaged in money laundering and various financial crimes. So we will need to work with the other countries to be able to effectuate that policy and there may be other countries, at least there are reports that for their own reasons are undertaking various investigations of Aleman, so that’s the process that we will be following.

As for your second one about a "Third Way", you started out with something very important that I want to emphasize. You said, I don’t remember the exact words, you said ‘what would the United States do?’ -- well, it’s very important for the people of Nicaragua to recognize that this is a decision in their hands, and this is why I am heartened to see that tens of thousands of people go to the streets to demonstrate against the "Pacto." The United States is a very big country, Nicaragua is a very small country, we’ve got different stages of development, but ultimately the future of Nicaragua is in the hands of the people of Nicaragua.

What the United States can do, and what we’ve tried to do through CAFTA, through the Millennium Challenge Account, through other programs, is to try to support opportunity for the people of Nicaragua. But the future, and this is very important, the future of the people of Nicaragua, the future of Nicaragua is in the hands of the people of Nicaragua, and many leaders are going to be faced to make a decision, and the business community is going to be forced to make a decision. They can’t play it both ways, they’ve got to decide whether they really stand for democracy or whether they stand for people who are trying to undertake a coup.

Now as part of that you asked about a "Third Way." These are people that have said that they want to try to advance democracy, I’m going to be seeing a number of them in the process. I’m going to be seeing Mr. Montealegre, who from what I’ve seen has taken a very courageous position in breaking from the Liberal Party and trying to create a home for people who stand for the issues of democracy and development. I’m going to see Mr. Alvarado as well, and I’m going to see Mr. Lewites. Now, Mr. Lewites is someone who broke with the Sandinista party in terms of the "Pacto", and I’m going to try to learn more about what he sees for the future. And if he stands for democracy and he stands for development and he stands for constitutional principles, then he’s a person who has a legitimate place in the debate in Nicaragua.

MODERATOR: We finish with Joel Brinkley of the New York Times.

JOEL BRINKLEY: Mr. Foreign Minister, your political opponents, Mr. Ortega and Mr. Aleman, seem to have been impervious to international criticism or threat. Do you believe that revoking visas, withholding American money, and the various steps that the Deputy Secretary has outlined, is going to have any effect on them?

FOREIGN MINISTER CALDERON: [translation][inaudible]…the Deputy Secretary just mentioned the most important point here, which is that the Nicaraguan people are the ones who are going to make that decision. This morning we were talking to a colleague of yours from Nicaragua, from a TV channel. I was telling him that the main problem of reforms is that they have not been submitted to the sovereign will, and the sovereign will is the people of Nicaragua. So, what international organizations may do to help, what our international friends may do to help is to provide the proper focus for the problem and to make it possible to understand the problem as it should be understood. But it is the decision of the people that will in the end be expressed. As we have already begun to see with the Movimiento for Nicaragua on the streets, or and also, through free and fair elections which must be open and transparent.

Thank you very much for being with us here today. Thank you.

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