Meeting with Productive Sector and Entrepreneurs
during the Consultation Process of the Constitutional Reforms
Friday, July 31st 2026
Introduction by Compañero Ovidio Reyes,
President of the Central Bank of Nicaragua
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In addition to those present, there are also people connected through a Webex link to participate in this event, especially people who live outside Managua. This call was made with the aim of presenting you with issues of national interest that you have already been hearing about through the media and that have to do with Electoral and Constitutional Reforms.
Accompanying us at the moment, we are being visited at the Central Bank by Dr. Gustavo Porras, President of the National Assembly, and the Commission which is in charge of carrying out this Consultation and explanation Process, and which this afternoon is going to carry out the work with this group, which is composed of representatives of businesses, also of cooperatives and groups working in the production sector, in the industrial sector and in the fishing sector.
So welcome one and all, and we hope that this will be an afternoon of inspiration and of national interest, which it is after all. So, we give the floor to Dr. Gustavo Porras, who will make the presentation. Go ahead, please, Doctor.
Presentation by Dr. Gustavo Porras Cortés
President of the National Assembly
Thank you.
Good afternoon everyone. I'm going to allow myself to stand up so that I can make this presentation more calmly..., some of us are more used to walking as we talk.
First of all, I would like to thank everyone for their presence, to thank the presence of the different sectors. I see that there are sectors of diverse economic realities and different sectors. There is a sugar sector, there is a poultry sector, there are large business sectors, there are medium and small sectors; all of them. Because what unites us, in general, is production and the fact that we are Nicaraguans. And this is about a consultation with the People of Nicaragua, to Nicaragua’s citizens.
We, after July 19th when Co-President Daniel Ortega expressed that he was going to work with the National Assembly and that he was giving a mandate to the National Assembly to work on laws that would guarantee that our elections would be tranquil, secure and stable, we took on that task. Because you will remember that one thing is what is said and actually another thing is what the media with certain interests report.
You will remember that Comandante Daniel said clearly: There will be no elections that allow those who are hiding to return and destroy what we have built, that allow them to enter to take over the Government, to take power and to disrupt the entire reality we have all been building. And he said; We are going to discuss with the National Assembly; we are telling the National Assembly to prepare laws to put a wall, a barrier, against those sectors that are crouching in wait.
Obviously, the interpretation is clear. As in any country, there has to be a defense of the legal, juridical and constitutional order in that country, whatever the country and we all know that. It is another thing that we have different political thoughts. One person thinks one way and someone another. But the reality of the country is the same, regardless of what we think.
The reality of the country and the history of the country are the same, regardless of what we want or would like and that is simply the case. So, we gave ourselves over to that task and the Compañeros and Compañeras of the Special Constitutional Commission, whom you can see and whom I am going to introduce.
There is Compañera Arling Alonso, who is the First Vice President. We also have Compañera Amada Pineda, who is the Second Vice President. We have our friend Maria Haydee Osuna, who is the Third Vice President. Over there we have Loria Dixon, who is the First Secretary of the Assembly. There is Dr. Wilfredo Navarro, who is the Second Secretary. And our friend Alejandro Medina Ferretti, who is the Third Secretary.
We have two Commission presidents: Dr. María Auxiliadora Martínez, who is the president of the Justice Commission, and Dr. Wálmaro Gutiérrez, who is the president of the Economic Commission.
Here we have the three heads of the three political groupings in the National Assembly: Dr. Edwin Castro, who leads the Sandinista Front grouping; our friend Lester Flores, who leads the Constitutionalist Liberal grouping; and our friend Mario Asensio, who leads the Democratic Independent grouping.
On the part of the Government, we have Compañero Laureano Ortega, Adviser to the Presidency. We have our host, the President of the Central Bank. We have Erwin Ramírez, who is the Minister of Development, Industry and Trade, and Frania Peralta, who is the Minister for Entrepreneurship, those are the ones who are with us here.
I was telling you that we took it upon ourselves, as a Commission, to first review the history related to the present and related to what the Comandante said. And, after that, to identify any points that could serve as political bases for preparing a Constitutional Reform Law and fulfilling the mandate.
So, as you can see here, I'm going to read what appears on the slide. The Reform Law is based on three fundamental pillars that should unite us all: Stability, Security and Peace; these are the three pillars.
Now, those three pillars, articulated and implemented by all of us, have a central objective. A central objective which Comandante Ortega, Compañera Rosario, the Government, the Sandinista Front and all of us on this vessel, all Nicaraguans, must seek and the central objective is to defeat Poverty.
It is the fight against Poverty that unites us all: large, medium and small; green, red, red and black, blue or any color; whatever our thinking or our religious belief. What unites us, essentially, is that we are Nicaraguans.
Secondly, another objective uniting us all is indeed to defeat Poverty. So, when we discussed that, we saw what was essential. We are going to look at how, if we want to achieve the goal of defeating Poverty, we need to make a Reform Law that preserves Stability, Security and Peace, that is the center of this.
So, we felt the need to start identifying everything that was being reported. Because, in some cases, among so many networks, so much information and everything that was being said: that there would be no elections, that the OAS had to be convoked and that Democracy was going to be lost... We began looking at what the history of our country has been. Because, regardless of what any of us think, there is the evidence, it is in the documents, there is the history of our country.
And the first thing we identify is our country’s reality. All of us who are here know, even if some of us look at it one way and others look at it another way, that in 1856, long before these times, well over a hundred years before, William Walker came along and became President of Nicaragua. There can be no greater expression of interference. Now, it may be that I don't like to hear that or it may be that I am glad to know it, but it is a reality that we cannot allow to be repeated.
That provoked a war and led to the emergence of figures whom all of us have studied, such as Andrés Castro. In the independence holidays in the afternoons, some of us wanted to be Andrés Castro and others wanted to be the filibusters, that's a reality.
But the most important thing is that we are clear that Nicaraguans reacted, around150 or 200 years ago, in the way they did. Even that we united and managed to unite the Central Americans so as to defeat Walker's expansionist idea, that is a reality.
Then came more history and there came the history of the Liberal Revolution, which I think was very important in Nicaragua’s history and which, moreover, collided with the natural expansion of US imperialism such that in 1909 Zelaya was removed via the Knox Note. We also know this, because there is the history; there is the Knox Note, which is kept in a library there in the corridors of US Institutions, and it really existed.
There was also a person who stood up as a defender against the US intervention, which is General Benjamin Zeledón, these are realities. But, within these realities, there is one aspect which is related to the issue that concerns us and that is the one we have to look at: what about the elections?
There is one reality, namely that in 1928 some people asked for US intervention. So they came and put marines at the head of each electoral district and Brigadier General Frank Ross McCoy was appointed as President of the National Electoral Council of Nicaragua. He was a US citizen, a general who was made the head of the Electoral Council.
As I have noted to you, it may be that someone says, "Yes, that's okay, because that was the only way to impose order,” or it may be that someone might say, “I don't like that idea.” But, well, it's a reality. And, five years earlier, a law called Dodds’ Law had been passed, which laid out how to develop a bipartisan system in Nicaragua. Dodds’ Act is a 1923 law and there it is in the Gazette, because this is about establishing proven facts, not looking for false arguments.
So, there is the Gazette of the Electoral Law prepared by this US academic, Mr. Dodds, who was sent by the United States Government, by the US President and by the US State Department, and hired by the President of Nicaragua at that time, Adolfo Díaz, to work on the formulation of this Electoral Law.
Now, those were different times. Indeed, those were different times, a hundred years ago. A hundred years ago women did not have the right to vote. There it says in the second Article, it clearly states: ”The right to vote belongs only to Nicaraguan men 21 years of age or older."
That is to say, on that basis democracy determined that the voting population was 50% or less of the adult population, because half of Nicaraguan citizens were women and the other half were men. But it was not only about men, but about those over the age of 21.
And, up until twenty years ago, our population pyramid was that 60% of Nicaraguans were under the age of 20. What does that mean? That, of the half of the population that existed, you took away 60% and only 40% remained. But, in addition, there were other conditions for exercising the right to vote. And they said, "Well, you can vote if you're under 21, but you have to be able to read and write and, besides, you have to be married.” That way the possibilities were being reduced, that was the democracy of that time.
Thank God, women are now Nicaraguan citizens with the right to vote. However, you can see what was established, you had a very small voting population because, you can imagine the illiteracy rate at that time, it would have been huge. If we have reduced it now and, if I remember correctly, in 1979 we found it close to 60%, then, at that earlier time, the illiteracy rate would have been even higher.
So, what does that mean? Those were the conditions of the time. We are just showing what existed. After this law, which served to carry out the 1928 elections, because this is the law of 1923, they made, as we popularly say, a rejigging and a Law came out that was called the McCoy Law, whose content indicates how things were and, perhaps, we could expand a little more to see the complete paragraph:
The President of the Republic, in view of the fact that the Supreme Court of Justice, by agreement of the 17th of this month, has appointed, in place of Mr. Dr. Joaquín Gómez, who submitted his resignation, Mr. General Frank Ross McCoy, President of the National Elections Council, and that this high official, appointed in that capacity by the President of the United States, has been chosen to direct the 1928 electoral act of Supreme Authorities, as agreed to put an end to the civil war in Nicaragua.
There's the reality.
But a hundred years have passed and, after that, a great deal has happened. Many years and many generations of Nicaraguans have passed. There came the elections of 1930 and 1932, all the intervention and everything related to that period. We are talking about 1928 and everything that happened after 1927, the Espino Negro Pact, Stimson and there's Sandino, which is also another reality that, whether we like it or not, no Nicaraguan can forget, because his anti-imperialist position, Dignity and Defense of Sovereignty, is a reality.
So, when we study all this, we ask ourselves, where are we now? After so many changes, after the war and everything we have been through, as you all know, we moved on to our current times.
And we come to Article 1 of our Constitution. All these years, these 47 years that have elapsed since the Sandinista Revolution, all those years of war against the instrument of US policy that were the Contras, and all that stage of neoliberalism, lead us to this Article 1 of the Constitution.
I love it, maybe someone might not like it, but that's the way it is. This is Article 1 of the Constitution. Because that's the way the laws are and that's the legal order. Maybe I like running the red light because I'm going fast; the law says that if I pass it, I get stopped and get a ticket.
So, Article 1 says:
Independence, Sovereignty, National Self-determination, Security and Peace are inalienable rights of the People and foundations of the Nicaraguan nation. Any foreign interference in the internal affairs of Nicaragua or any attempt to undermine those rights threatens the life of the People. It is the duty of all Nicaraguans to preserve and defend these rights.
Consequently, all those who act against or have attempted to act against these sacred rights of the Nicaraguan People will be considered traitors to the Nation
This Article, which has already been written like this in our Constitution, I think is one of the last to incorporate this concept. I started to review the constitutions of other countries and, in all of them, even in those countries that are considered examples of democracy, reference is made to those who are considered traitors to the Nation only we had not incorporated it.
All the central elements that we must respect were incorporated in Article 1. It is with regard to this reality that we say that our guide is to comply with this Article 1, to comply with the three concepts of Stability, Security and Peace, and that this will allow us to continue, successfully, the fight against Poverty.
So, six concepts emerged from there, which are the concepts guiding us to formulate the Reform Law. The first concept is: "They won't be prevail." It is similar to the phrase “They could not prevail and will not be able to”, but here we are saying that they will not be able to participate in the elections. In other words, the concept should make clear to everyone that there are going to be elections.
But, as the Comandante said, these are not to be elections for them to set about destroying what we have been building. They are going to be Free, Fair and Transparent elections, of the Nicaraguan People for the Nicaraguan people, without foreign interference.
And the coup plotters won't be able to take part, because that just doesn't make sense. Traitors to the Nation will not be able to take part, because that makes no sense and has no logic. Those who have committed or who do commit acts that undermine the Independence, Sovereignty and Self-determination of Nicaragua may not take part. That is, those who have violated Article 1 of our Constitution, the first principle. And those who have violated or violate any other Fundamental Principle of the Constitution will not be able to take part. That is the concept that refers to the “They will not prevail”.
I was reading that a South American president, recently, dictated a law, and there you have it, in Argentina. Those who speak badly about Argentina will not be able to enter Argentina, and they have their right to do so; but, in addition, those who speak badly about Argentina will be removed from Argentina. They have that right too.
What we are saying is that in our elections those who fall within the offenses contemplated in the full paragraph that is being proposed will not be able to take part. The text reads:
Those who commit or have committed acts that undermine the Independence, Sovereignty and Self-determination of Nicaragua, incite or promote foreign interference, call for military intervention, organize with foreign financing, propose, manage or support economic, commercial or financial blockades and sanctions against the State of Nicaragua, its institutions and its citizens may not take part.
That's very clear. It cannot be that someone participating in an election raises a banner saying that they are calling for a military intervention. It makes no sense in Nicaragua. Even less so in Nicaragua; but neither does it make sense nor is it allowed anywhere in the world. Just so we're clear. That's the first point: “They won't be prevail,” so then let's go to the second.
The second concept is "Stability". In other words, we need Stability. I know how the economic and productive sectors, in general, used to worry a lot, before more so than now, about the instability that each electoral process, each electoral year or each pre-election period brought with it. Why? Because they caused ups and downs in many things: in stability, in the markets and in many other aspects, you know as well as anyone.
But it's true, we need Stability. We need to maintain it over time and in political moments. You yourselves have always stated that we need to take care of the taxation aspects, we need to take care of the exchange rate aspects and in each of the areas related to the development of the country. We also need to take care over electoral periods and over political moments.
What did we review? There are countries that have ten-year electoral periods and others that have seven-year periods. Quite a few countries have seven-year terms. In Latin America, most countries establish periods of six years or five years. We have been modifying these periods ourselves. We had five years, we moved to six years and now the proposal is to establish seven-year periods.
There are countries that have four-year periods and they think in terms of four years plus four years. And, lately, I've even heard people say "four times four." So, we believe that, in Nicaragua, seven years is a good period. And when I say that we believe this, I mean that this is the proposal we are presenting and making clear to the whole country and to all Nicaraguans.
With you here, this is now the fourth meeting and we have to complete about thirty meetings. Many of these meetings will be face-to-face and some will be virtual. But, in short, the approach is that the period established in the Political Constitution of the Republic of Nicaragua for the positions of popular election and for the positions of election or ratification to posts by the National Assembly is seven years.
That would give us stability for the fight against Poverty, but we also need Cohesion and Security.
That's why we say along with Stability, Security and Peace, "Cohesion and Security”.
So, we put it in the following way: not only the popularly elected positions or those appointed by the President would have seven-year terms, but, by simple Constitutional Right, the laws corresponding to the Army and the Police would also be reformed, to clearly establish that the terms of appointment for the Commander-in-Chief of the Military Forces of the Nicaraguan Army and the Chiefs of the Police Forces of the Republic of Nicaragua will be seven years.
So, we bring all the different components together. That is to say, we have the popularly elected positions, those appointed by the President and those which are elected or ratified by the Assembly, we are talking about between 16 and 20 official positions with seven-year terms. Both the military organization and the police organization laws would also be reformed., in such a way that the concept is coherent.
After that, comes a concept we call "Guarantee of our Electoral Democracy." We use the term Electoral Democracy because the idea of Democracy that we manage, which we have and which I think is accepted by the majority of the Nicaraguan people: Is that Democracy goes well beyond elections; Democracy is to have opportunities, not simply elections.
That's why we're talking about electoral democracy here. But, for us, it is also to have a Democracy to manage the fight against Poverty, to have good quality roads to reach Bilwi and Bluefields. That is part of democracy, because there cannot be a democracy for the Pacific and the Caribbean that they cannot see.
Democracy goes far beyond the concept of elections. Democracy is having the security that I can go to a hospital, like Velez Paiz, some of you may not know it, but it is a first-class hospital where the Nicaraguan people are treated without being charged a penny. That's part of Democracy.
It's also Democracy that they don't take children out of school because they cannot pay. It is also Democracy to have expanded electricity coverage to 99.5%, of course there are people who do not recognize this, but this is all part of Democracy. It is also Democracy to be able to move with just C$2.50 for a bus ticket across Managua or doing so on a bus in good condition, that is part of Democracy, that is a reality.
Of course, there is still a lot to be done, but that is precisely the objective: the fight against Poverty.
So who guarantees that? That Electoral Democracy? The body in charge of doing so is the Supreme Electoral Council.
Here one is dealing with those Articles that would be appropriate to include in the Reform Law so as to reinforce the Supreme Electoral Council and allow it to implement the reforms I have already mentioned; that they apply Stability, that they apply Security and Peace. So, there are three paragraphs that are amended in Article 152.
To organize and direct the General, Municipal and Regional Elections every seven years, in the corresponding election year.
That is to say, if we say there that the terms of the elected positions are for seven years, the Council has the obligation to organize and direct elections every seven years. That is when there are going to be elections. But, furthermore, there are going to be, as has been the case over all these years: three Elections. One year the national ones are held; the following year, the municipal elections; and, the third year, the regional ones. There are three elections and the Council has an obligation to guarantee them all.
Then, in paragraph 12 of that Article, the power granted to the Council to guarantee what we have already talked about, Independence and Self-determination, is established. To it is added: “Not to grant legal personality to political parties constituted with foreign financing or when one of their directors has violated the fundamental principles of the Political Constitution.”
That is a faculty of guidance, but it was not defined, now it is defined: "The Council has the faculty not to grant it...”. Because before it only said: "To grant or deny legal personality to political parties." That was all the article said. Now it is a matter of an express mandate: to grant Legal Personality to those who comply with the law and not to grant it to political parties constituted with foreign money.
It's clear. No one bets to lose, if someone comes to finance the constitution of a party or to contribute with money from abroad, then they are betting on something that we cannot allow, it's as simple as that.
Then, it is established to cancel the legal personality of a political party when any of its directors or candidates receives foreign financing or has violated these principles.
I wonder: can there be a country anywhere that does not have these concepts in its laws? I think not, you don't get to pass “Go” you don't even get past the initial beginnings. You go to any of those countries that are presented as models of the perfect Western democracy and tell them: “I'm going to create a political party of migrants, here we are going to get together.” It's not true, it’s never going to happen.
We say that what’s good for the goose is good for the gander. Also, we have to define our criteria for Nicaraguans. So, there can be nothing allowed related to foreign financing.
In addition, the Council is given the power, contained in paragraph 14, to verify and impose the corresponding sanctions on any candidate, official of the Electoral Body or members of the Executive Boards of political parties who commit or have committed acts that undermine the Independence, Sovereignty and Self-determination of Nicaragua.
And there we return to the paragraph that I have already read to you. Naturally, they include those that promote military invasions, sanctions or economic, commercial and financial blockades. The Council verifies the facts and makes the corresponding decisions.
And it's not just that someone did so and thus incurred the penalty. That is, let's imagine the case of a candidate who says: “Well, I think it's good that they have all been sanctioned, but, when you vote for me, I'm going to ask for those sanctions to be removed.” But hold on a moment, there are rules, so how can you go and say that.
It's simple. I am clearly setting an extreme example. It would already be very stupid for whoever might come out with that, however since there are such stupid people in the world, we cannot allow that kind of situation to come about. That is why we eliminate them legally. It is better, if you think that way, for you not to participate.
The fifth concept, we named it so as to commemorate Darío's poem “PAX”, which is very beautiful.
The Constitution states that the inauguration is on January 10th now, here the date of the inauguration of the Co-Presidents of the Republic is going to be January 18th Why? Because that is the date of birth of our National Hero and Universal Poet Rubén Darío. If there are two Nicaraguan figures known worldwide, one is Rubén Darío and the other is General Sandino. That is a reality, so we decided to make up for this historical injustice that we had and to let January 18th be a tribute to the birth of Dario.
There are two Articles there, Article 132, which establishes this, and Article 130, which refers to Deputies, who always take office one day before the inauguration, because the Assembly is installed and the Deputies take office, and the inauguration takes place in the first session of the Assembly. So, Article 130 is the one that will establish that the National Assembly is installed on January 17th so that the inauguration will take place on the 18th.
And finally, there are six concepts. The last concept is "Coherence". What does this mean? That, once the consultations have been concluded and assuming that there is a consensus on these constitutional changes, the following question would arise: And are those who are currently elected going to be left in suspense for a year not knowing their status? Is the President of the Central Bank going to stay for a year for which he is not ratified?
Nicaraguans are not like that. If someone observes such a situation, they will immediately wonder what’s going on. So, we do not want to leave any room for doubt and we want it to be clear that the terms of the authorities elected by popular vote in the last general, municipal and regional elections, as appropriate, are extended to seven years, so as to make things consistent.
Secondly, the term of the positions appointed by the Presidency of the Republic or subject to election or ratification by the Assembly is extended to seven years. And, thirdly, in order to avoid leaving any vacuum, it is established that, in all current national legislation in which a period of functions is stipulated or regulated, it will be understood as fully reformed and it will be interpreted that this period will be seven years. So, it will in fact be seven years.
Now it has become clear that there will be elections and everyone is clear on that now. This is a principle that exists in many parts of the world: that a coup plotter or someone who violates the Constitution or betrays the Nation cannot participate. So, some comment now that the “seventy times seven” is being promoted. Really, that was the most recent thing I have heard... well, this must be from the Kaballah. But the truth is that this is a stability-oriented period.
So what are the official posts whose terms are being extended?
We had mentioned the Military Forces, the Police Forces, the Supreme Court, the Supreme Electoral Council, the Attorney General of Justice, the Members of the Comptroller's Council, the President of the Central Bank, the Members of the Monetary and Financial Council, the Superintendent and the Vice-superintendent of Banks and other Financial Institutions, the President and Members of the Board of Directors of the Production Development Bank, the Members of the Board of Directors of the National Microfinance Commission, the Members of the Customs and Administrative Tax Tribunal, the Members of the National Council of Administration and Judicial Career, the Board of Directors of the INE, the Executive Director of the National Water Authority and the Members of the Civil Service Appeal Commission.
We explain this so that there is no doubt and to make it clear what we are talking about. In essence that's it, the good thing is that the People of Nicaragua understand, the initial hype has fallen away. And here the idea is very simple: Those who do not comply with these provisions will not be able to participate.
We need Stability, through periods of at least seven years. We need Security, so that there is an articulation between these periods and those of the Army and the Police. We need to strengthen the powers of the Supreme Electoral Council so that it can implement this Reform. And, finally, we look for Consistency and we pay tribute to Darío.
We are looking for consistency with reality. That is, this reform and reality go hand in hand. That is, in essence, the Reform and that is what we wanted to convey to you so that everything is clear. This is a task in which you are participating in the fourth session.
But the most important thing is to remember what unites us all: the goal of achieving Stability, Security and Peace. And, from this base, to make successful progress in the fight against Poverty.
Thank you very much.
Space for questions and answers
Compañero Ovidio Reyes:
We now have a space for questions, answers, comments or to know your opinion. We have an intervention there.
Participant:
It’s just a question of form. Elections, let's say, the terms are extended to seven years. But, when we get to the elections, we are going to arrive to January 17th and 18th and, at that time, the terms of the Judges of the Supreme Court, of the Deputies, of the Comptrollers and of the members of the Supreme Electoral Council will coincide. Wouldn't it be better to alternate that and modify the expirations of the periods in order to have stability in the processes that we are living through?
Because, when we get to that time, everyone's term will be extended to seven years and everyone will be due on the same day. So, we are going to have a moment when no one is going to be elected and the Assembly is going to hold its first session on January 17th and, at that time, it will have to appoint Comptrollers, Magistrates and the other officials.
Deputy Wálmaro Gutiérrez:
Good afternoon. The President of the National Assembly has allowed me to make a brief clarification on this legitimate concern that has just been put. I think it is important to understand that all the positions currently in office have been appointed at different times. Therefore, this means that the vast majority of these charges do not end on the same date and this will allow, by extending the periods to seven years, the charges will be adjusted once the corresponding period expires.
In such a way that there will be no possibility of a legal vacuum or that a given institution does not have a legitimate head, a legal head to carry out the exercise of their position.
Dr. Gustavo Porras:
Maybe that void or that doubt remains because what we read was a summary presentation, but what we have prepared does explain it clearly. In the case, we only put here the case of elections, the positions of popular election. It is said: seven years from their popular election.
In the articles related to the positions of appointment, ratification of the Assembly or election of the Assembly, Supreme Electoral Council, Supreme Court, Procurators, etc., a period of seven years is established from their appointment or their ratification. This allows for an overlap. However, let's be clear that this does not take away the power of whoever it may concern to ask for a resignation, or to make some other change or whatever it may be.
What is clear is that, if one of the positions mentioned was appointed recently, there are recent examples, such as the case of the Superintendent of Banks, she will be granted seven years from her election in the National Assembly. This goes beyond the approach of elections in the fulfillment of any first period. According to the approach taken, if things stand as they are, we are talking about the year 2028 and that appointment would go seven years after 2026, that is, until 2033.
So, when we talk about Consistency, it's not that suddenly everything becomes equal and then seven years are established for everyone. No. We are talking about Consistency, about all the concepts that form the basis of those seven years being applied to each case as appropriate, but you are right and that will allow us to improve that part in the presentation for Dr. Aniuska Abea, who is the person who heads the Secretariat of the Commission, she will be able to incorporate, as in the drafting proposal, the expression “seven years from their appointment”. I do not know if there is any other intervention...
Compañero Ovidio Reyes:
Another comment, intervention or consultation?
Representative of the Dairy Sector
Good afternoon. I am a representative of the dairy sector and the producers of the north, central and Caribbean areas, NICACENTRO we represent five municipalities and more than a thousand producers. The laws are to improve, but here we are talking about all the governing bodies of the country. I would like to know if there will be any Reform related to cooperatives, whose Presidents serve terms of one to three years, it is not because I want to be in the cooperative longer, but it should be related to the General Law of the Republic.
On the other hand, we, as a primary sector, producer of basic foods for Nicaraguan families, as NICACENTRO we have some tax problems. Although it is not the central issue, I would like to take this moment to raise it, because we are being treated as private companies and not as cooperatives. In the case of NICACENTRO, we are more than a thousand associated producers, mostly small and medium-sized producers. Many produce between twenty and forty liters, maximum five churns and only a small percentage reach twenty to thirty churns. As a society and a private company, we should consider this tax matter, I don't want to amplify further because it's not the point, but I would like to be given space at some point and support to present this situation.
Thank you.
Dr. Gustavo Porras Cortés:
The Compañeras and Compañeros point out, and I share their point, that we must remember this is a Constitutional Reform aimed at aspects of the public service. We are talking about State organs, election processes, popularly elected positions and positions appointed by the Presidency or by the Assembly, those are the ones that are to be affected.
Therefore, this Reform does not affect private aspects. Each relevant statute establishes whether an Executive Board will serve for two, three or five years, that's the logic. So, with regard to the first concept, as to why one can move on to the first question of the seven years but not elsewhere; this is exclusively for the government civil service positions.
As for the other, indeed, as you said yourself, it is off topic, however it is true that here are Compañeros who have to do with economic aspects. It would be useful if they could look at it since it was raised, but it seems to me that, as for the question related to the topic, we made it clear that this is for the public service.
Compañero Ovidio Reyes:
Thank you very much. We take note of your comment related to the production issue and can attend to it separately.
Another question or comment?
Participant Inés Espinoza:
Good afternoon. My name is Inés Espinoza and I work with the Ministry for the Promotion of Entrepreneurs. I am not a civil servant, but an entrepreneur. I want to congratulate all the Compañeros and Compañeras who have elaborated this proposal so clearly, so explicitly because it allows us to explain it to other people who are mistaken or who want to confuse us. The only suggestion I have for the Compañero is, in the order of presenting the pillars, it would be very important to have Peace as the first pillar, which is what has led us to these 20 years which we are about to fulfill in this second stage of the Revolution: Peace, Security and Stability.
Why do I see things this way? Because with Peace we can have the Security of being able to work, of being able to live, of being able to enjoy so many benefits that we now have and, in addition, Stability, which is what has allowed us to be here, the Stability that we are enjoying today. I feel very proud to be a Sandinista, very proud, and seeing all this progress is great for me and I am very clear now so as to be able to explain it anywhere. Thank you very much, compañeros and compañeras, for allowing us to be present here.
Participant David Narváez:
Good afternoon, Compañeros and Compañeras, Deputies of the National Assembly, Compañeros and Compañeras who make up the Commission. David Narváez, National President of the Nicaraguan Recycling Entrepreneurs Network (RENIC).
More than a question, we support all this effort our good Government is making, by consolidating all the programs that are being developed in this country, where the poorest population of Nicaragua is truly being reached and given a response to their needs.
We are sure that this Reform to the Political Constitution will help us consolidate the fight against Poverty in Nicaragua, within the National Plan to Combat Poverty 2025-2026, which are programs that have been developed for the support and for the benefit of our population. And, as the Compañera, the teacher, just said, for us to be able to give this message to all sectors, to our communities.
In our case, we transmitted this positive message to more than 13,500 grassroots recycling workers throughout the country, organized into 50 grassroots recycling cooperatives in Nicaragua.
Thank you very much.
Compañero Ovidio Reyes:
Another question or comment?
Participant Merlin:
Good afternoon, friends and colleagues. My name is Merlin. I am the manager of a cooperative of small coffee producers, PRODECOOP, and also a member of the National Council for the Transformation and Development of Coffee Cultivation, representing cooperatives.
It is very important for us to be able to see the law in a simple way, as you explained it now and as the Compañera said, in such a way that enables us to defend, nationally and internationally, this Reform, since there have been many negative comments that affect all of us in our sector.
This space, where we can understand the Reform in a clear and simple way and which allows us to transmit it correctly is very important. I thank everyone for having invited us, the Compañeras and Compañeros of the National Assembly, all the Compañeros and Compañeras present, and this is what sets our Government apart. It is a government that works together with our sector, with all the different sectors, such that we continue our support.
Thank you very much.
Participant Gonzalo Castillo
Good afternoon, everyone. First, thank God that we are all here today. And thanks to our Good Government and our Authorities, we have a modern Democracy. There are many countries that accuse us of many things, among them democracies from the time of Princes and Kings.
The first democracy in the United States, to be more clear. Their leaders have an electoral college; I think all the leaders of their Peoples are electoral colleges. Our democracy is modern. Congratulations to our National Assembly, congratulations to our Co-Presidents and to all the People of Nicaragua. I also congratulate you because we have a Government that has a modern Democracy, not from the time of colonialism, imperialism, but from the active Democracy.
My name is Gonzalo Castillo. I am also, like Merlin, on the Board of Directors of CONATRADEC, and, fortunately, I was also elected to modernize our coffee cultivation.
Thank you very much and congratulations to everyone.
Participant Eda Castellón:
Good afternoon. My name is Eda Castellón. I am an entrepreneur, my project is 18 months old and I represent the Macalli brand. We are producers of apple cider vinegar, together with my partner and we thank for the opportunity we were given.
I want to thank Compañera Frania, from the Ministry of Entrepreneurship, for supporting us young people, helping us to get ahead. I have my point of sale in Barrio Monseñor Lezcano and I am pleased to be able to continue training. I have improved my platform a lot thanks to the accompaniment of our Good Government.
Thank you also for sharing, because my son studies Architectural Engineering and I know he is interested in this, because we are always aware of what the Government shares on its social networks and in the media. And thank you also for the invitation to my compañeros and compañeras and for the opportunity to listen to me so you know that there are also young people who are entrepreneurs. Please don't forget about us; I know you don't, and will encourage us more so that we get inspired to get ahead. Thank you for the time and the opportunity for us to have been invited to this presentation.
Compañero Ovidio Reyes:
Well, if there are no more questions and comments, Doctor Porras, please close this meeting.
Dr. Gustavo Porras Cortés:
Thank you. Repeating our gratitude for her presence and referring a little to what the Compañera says, she is right. The idea is not to put Stability, Security and Peace in an order of priority, we do not doubt that what she says is true. The most precious asset of the Nicaraguan people is Peace, it comes out in all the opinion surveys. In everyone’s feelings it comes out. The most precious good is Peace.
The thing is, this is indissoluble. In other words, for there to be Peace, there needs to be Security. For there to be Peace and Security, there needs to be Stability. That is absolutely indissoluble, it is a bond that cannot be separated. But, in any order, or all in the same order, we have the ultimate goal which is the fight against Poverty. And that is in the interest of all of us.
The big producers are completely interested because, to the extent that Nicaragua gets out of poverty, their sales, production capacity and trade will increase. The small business too, no matter how small it is, for example how much joy it gives a person who lives by selling food that, suddenly, a construction project is installed, so then they will seek to set up their business there, because that's what they live by, and that will allow them the same joy that it gives them, as I was telling you, not to need to worry, if they have to buy medicine, that they will have to stop buying food, because what we want is to have that medicine guaranteed for them in the hospital.
That is the concept and, in that, I am sure that we are all united. So, we are united by the fact that we are Nicaraguans and we are united in the fight against Poverty, and that is the goal. It makes no sense for someone to come along wanting to take part in an electoral process under a banner of war and instability or under a banner of division.
Here you can see us, there is the President of the PLC, and I want to recognize her because she endures attacks day and night. However, the party has its departmental and municipal Executive Boards, they hold their activities and pay tribute to their heroes, who, in the case of Zelaya, is also a National Hero. We are building another Nicaragua, a Nicaragua where, little by little, disputes have to be over matters like the economy, or innovation, improvements to be made and other matters and in all sectors as necessary.
And so, almost incidentally, I can tell you that, three days ago, I was at the Central Bank, in a meeting with the financial and banking sector. I was saying, half in jest, but it's true: just look at how we're becoming convinced that all of us are needed, that I am here telling you that this country needs you, which no one would have believed, who knows how many years ago. Why? Because we are all coming to understand, little by little, that we cannot continue with instability or with external intervention.
But we must also understand that we cannot allow those distractions and those elements financed from outside, to come and to be introduced. If outside forces want to spend money here, then let them come and invest as others have done. I know this is what unites us and which is what I want to thank you all for, on behalf of the Presidency, the Members of the Commission, the Central Bank and all the Ministers who are with us, for your presence.
And remember, as we must always insist: Stability, Security and Peace. That is what is going to guarantee us victory against Poverty, which is the central axis of everything we do.
Thank you, Compañeros and Compañeras !