QCOSTARICA – Ruling by ‘decree’ may not allow President Rodrigo Chaves to keep a series of promises he made to the country on Tuesday as part of his first 100 days in office speech.
At least 13 of those promises or proposals must pass through the Legislative Assembly, which by nature, makes path not so simple.
Some of the bills mentioned in his speech were: the sale of assets such as the State banks BCR and BICSA, a bill to establish a cap on the price of fuel, Eurobonds and the merger of the Ministry of Housing, the Housing Mortgage Bank and the National Institute of Housing and Urban Planning (INVU) and the legalization of recreational use of marijuana.
Legislative analyst, Daniel Calvo, affirms that the Government will now have to face Congress and many of the initiatives require a ‘qualified’ majority or a minimum of 39 of the 57 legislative votes.
On the other hand, political scientist Eugenia Aguirre considers that it would have been better if she promoted these proposals during ‘extraordinary sessions” when the government had control of the legislative agenda.
Other proposals announced by the president that must receive the endorsement of Congress are: FONATEL reform, reform of the Administrative Contracting Law, reform of MOPT and MINAE, among others.