ConflictBarometer_2016

THE AMERICAS
NICARAGUA (OPPOSITION)
Intensity: 3 | Change: | Start: 2008
Conflict parties:
Conflict items:
opposition groups vs. government
system/ideology, national power
The violent crisis over the orientation of the political system,
national power, and resources between various opposition
groups and the government of President Daniel Ortega's Sandinista
National Liberation Front (FSLN) continued.
On November 6, Ortega was reelected in the general elections
for a 3rd consecutive term. Opposition parties, such as
the coalition Broad Front for Democracy (FAD) as well as election
observers, civil society organizations, and international
organizations deemed the elections to be neither free nor
fair. However, most opposition parties accepted the results.
The same day, three civilians were killed by FSLN supporters
in Ciudad Antigua, Nueva Segovia department. The following
day, clashes between supporters of the FSLN and of the
oppositional, pro-indigenous YATAMA party occurred in Bilwi,
Autonomous Region of Northern Atlantic. YATAMA supporters
were celebrating the election of their leader Brooklyn Rivera
into the national parliament, but also protested against the
election process. When encountering celebrating FSLN supporters,
clashes began [→ Nicaragua (indigenous groups)]. At
least 20 people were injured. Government buildings, cars,
and shops were also demolished and ransacked.
Throughout the year, protests against the planned construction
of the interoceanic canal, which would connect the Atlantic
and the Pacific Ocean, continued. Opposition groups
and organizations perceived the construction of the Chinesefunded
canal project and the dredging in the Lake Nicaragua
as a threat to the country's main reserve for freshwater and
biodiversity. On November 30, clashes between the police
and demonstrators occurred after thousands of people
took to the streets in several departments to march against
the planned canal. In Nueva Guinea, Autonomous Region of
Southern Atlantic, six policemen and five protesters were injured.
In the capital Managua, in the eponymous department,
several protesters were injured, twelve arrested and 20 disappeared.
In early December, several anti-government groups
held marches in the capital, demanding the government to
repeal the canal construction plans and calling for fair and
transparent elections. hzi
PARAGUAY (EPP, AGRARIAN MOVEMENTS)
Intensity: 3 | Change: | Start: 1989
Conflict parties:
Conflict items:
EPP, ACA, agrarian movements vs.
government
system/ideology, resources
The violent crisis over land reform between the left-leaning
People's Army of Paraguay (EPP), their splinter cell Armed
Peasant Association (ACA), several farmer organizations, indigenous
groups, and landless people, on the one hand, and
123
the government, on the other, continued for the 28th consecutive
year. These groups continued to demand integral agrarian,
social, and political reform.
On January 28, the Joint Task Force (FTC), a military unit
deployed to counter EPP's activities, arrested six people in
Agüerito, San Pedro department. Two out of those six individuals
were found to be members of the EPP, and to be allegedly
involved in the July 2015 killing of five police officers.
On May 17, the FTC killed ACA leader Idilio Morínigo during
a shootout in Azotey, Concepción department. Lacking substantial
leadership after the incident, ACA did not undertake
any further activities for the rest of the year. On July 27, the
EPP kidnapped the son of a landowner in Río Verde, San Pedro,
demanding a ransom of 700,000 USD. One day later, alleged
EPP members detonated an IED targeting a police patrol
near Río Verde, causing only material damage.
Tensions escalated on August 27 when several members of
the EPP ambushed and killed eight military personnel of the
FTC in Horqueta, Concepción. This was the most fatal attack
of the group since the conflict had started. Subsequently, in
November, amid the perceived rise of insecurity over the past
few months, President Horacio Cartes replaced for the second
time this year the head of the FTC, now led by Julio Brugada.
Furthermore, in the same month, interior minister Francisco
de Vargas was ousted during an impeachment request and
replaced by Miguel Tadeo Rojas.
Several farmers' and workers' organizations staged protests
throughout the year, demanding a fair distribution of land
and furthermore criticizing the usage of chemical products by
companies such as Monsanto. For instance, in March and April
various cooperative, farmer and activist groups led by the
Federación Nacional Campesina and the Partido Paraguayo
Pyahura marched towards the government district in the capital
Asunción. Participants demanded a fair taxation of cooperative
groups, a sustainable development model, and the retirement
of Cartes. After an informal agreement between the
protestors and the government was not implemented, farmers'
organizations carried out peaceful protests with about
5,000 participants in at least 13 departments and in Asunción
on September 20. mah
PERU (OPPOSITION)
Intensity: 3 | Change: | Start: 2008
Conflict parties: opposition movements vs. government
Conflict items:
system/ideology, resources
The conflict over the orientation of the political system and
resources between various opposition groups and the government
remained violent. At the centre of contention were
socio-environmental issues such as water pollution, water
shortages, land rights, and the lack of consultation with local
communities, predominantly in the mining sector.
On March 6, the Wampis community in the Amazon province
of Maranon, Loreto region, seized a grounded military helicopter
and took the crew members and several other officials
hostage to force the government to withdraw the national oil