Daniel Ortega’s regime was awarded the Nicaraguan Council of Science and Technology (Conicyt), through the initiative to reform Law 582 or General Law of Education, presented with urgent procedure on November 3and approved this Wednesday with 80 votes from the Ortega steamroller, which dominates the National Assembly.
The reform introduced by the president of the Assembly, the Ortega deputy, Gustavo Porras, modifies article 80 of Law 582, which established that Conicyt “will be attached to the presidency of the National Education Council (CNE)”; with the reform it will be controlled by the Presidency of the Republic.
The Conicyt was born in 1995 as a decentralized entity, with administrative and functional autonomy, “of a scientific-technical nature and of indefinite duration” and attached to the Ministry of Development, Industry and Commerce (Mific); later he was assigned to the vice presidency of the Republic, under Rosario Murillo. Retired General Moisés Omar Halleslevens is currently the head of Conicyt.
The reform does not explain what is the objective of passing the instance of the vice-presidency to the Presidency. In this sense, Ernesto Medina, an expert in Education, interprets the move as a “lawsuit” between Murillo and Ortega, who are “shuffling the cranks of power”.
“In the end, it is the country that loses, because this It does not mean that there will be more investment, that there will be more concern, much less that there will be more freedom, which is the first thing that the scientific community needs in order to develop”, emphasizes the expert, who months before also questioned the reform of the General Law of Education and the Law of Autonomy of Higher Education Institutions (IES), which excluded the Central American University (UCA) from the 6% granted to universities and disrupted autonomy.
According to the statement of reasons, the reform seeks to strengthen the state organic structure “that contributes to the promotion, support and growth of science and technology, seeking efficient coordination between the different instances of the State of Nicaragua.” Nevertheless, In practice, it is not expected to have an effect on the situation of science and technology in Nicaragua, according to Medina.
The expert considers that the “Conicyt has done nothing in the face of the collapse of science and technology in Nicaragua,” although he does not believe that moving the institution under Ortega’s command will change the situation, considering “what his style of governing is like.”
The text approved this Wednesday without any type of debate indicates how “It is the duty of the State to ensure that science and technology are at the service of Nicaraguans, through the promulgation of legal instruments that allow the promotion of policies, programs and activities required in this area.”.
Reform after creation of atomic energy commission
The retired general, Halleslevens, also chairs the Nicaraguan Atomic Energy Commission for Peaceful Purposes, which was approved by presidential agreement 16-2022 published in the Gazetteofficial newspaper, on Monday August 29 and works at the Conicyt facilities.
The decree establishes that the Commission will have a direct allocation of funds for its operation, coming from the General Budget of the Republic.
In February 2021, Parliament also approved the creation of the National Secretariat for Matters of Outer Space, the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies, as a decentralized entity, attached to the Presidency of the Republic and under the stewardship of the Nicaraguan Army, with technical and administrative autonomy, its own assets and legal personality; without involving the Conicyt.
Various specialists have questioned these initiatives by Ortega because scientific promotion has never been among the Government’s priorities and rather, it maintains a strong control over the country’s public universities to avoid a social explosion similar to the April 2018 Rebellion.
