US Cuts Aid To
Nicaragua
By Matthew Lee
WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States on
Wednesday canceled more than $60 million in
assistance to Nicaragua, citing concerns
about democracy, rule of law and a free
market economy in the Latin American nation
now led by a former Marxist guerrilla
leader.
The board of the Millennium Challenge
Corporation, a U.S. taxpayer-funded
operation set up by former President George
W. Bush to fight poverty in developing
nations, said it had cut $62 million from a
$175 million program for Nicaragua because
of problems in recent elections.
"This decision is made with deep
disappointment, as our partnership with
Nicaragua has yielded tremendous progress
over the past years in reducing poverty
through innovative economic growth
projects," said Rodney Bent, the
corporation's chief executive.
The cut in aid follows a suspension in new
U.S. assistance announced last November
after municipal elections that the
opposition said were marred by fraud.
Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega, a leader
of the Sandinistas in the 1980s, declared
the protests were unconstitutional.
In March, Ortega accused the U.S. of
punishing the poor with the suspension and
defended the local elections, in which his
Sandinistas won a majority of mayorships, as
fair. The opposition said the vote was
fraudulent and complained that international
observers were not allowed.
Bent said the MCC would only back countries
whose "governments actively demonstrate a
commitment to democracy and the rule of law,
as well as economic freedom and social
investment."
"Given the lack of meaningful reforms or
progress in these areas by the government of
Nicaragua, the board has agreed to terminate
these projects," he said. The canceled
projects include a property regularization
project and improvement of a major road.
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton,
who chairs the MCC board and participated in
the Nicaragua decision, said U.S. assistance
had to be "as effective and transparent as
it is generous." |
