TIME magazine has recognized the environmental work of all of Costa Rica, including the President of Costa Rica Carlos Alvarado in the magazine’s launch of the 2019 TIME 100 Next, a new list that spotlights 100 rising stars who are shaping the future of business, entertainment, sports, politics, science, health and more.
In the spirit of the TIME 100, many of our TIME 100 Next profiles are written by more established influencers. According to Edward Felsenthal, Editor-in-Chief and CEO of TIME, the TIME 100 Next members all have grand ambitions, and they know they may face even greater setbacks.
“They are driven by hope,” says TIME executive editor Dan Macsai, who oversees the TIME 100 franchise. “They are eager to defy the odds—and fight for a better future.”
Former U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon writes of President Alvarado, the 39-year-old Alvarado has become a global leader in the fight against climate change, “His actions serve to remind the world that even small nations can take the lead.”
For his part, Alvarado wrote on his social media accounts, “I am honored to represent the legacy of many people who, throughout our history, have built in this small country an enormous conviction for our environment that speaks to the world today. We will continue to deepen that heritage for the future of all who come # TIME100Next.”
Democracy depends on the consent of the losers. For most of the 20th century, parties and candidates in the United States have competed in elections with the understanding that electoral defeats are neither permanent nor intolerable.
The losers could accept the result, adjust their ideas and coalitions, and move on to fight in the next election. Ideas and policies would be contested, sometimes viciously, but however heated the rhetoric got, defeat was not generally equated with political annihilation. The stakes could feel high, but rarely existential. In recent years, however, beginning before the election of Donald Trump and accelerating since, that has changed.
We all have them, worth almost nothing, but still can be useful. They are the little button-sized ¢5 coins that fill up your pockets or coin jar, that the Banco Central (Central Bank) will stop minting starting January 1, 2020.
The Central Bank estimates there are 715 million of the coins in circulation.
The decision to stop minting, though the coins will continue to function as a means of payment, was based on several factors, including the cost of manufacturing, its low use and low recirculation, and the operating costs that coins mean for the sectors of the economy.
The Central Bank says it costs ¢7.10 to mint one ¢5 coin. This, despite the fact that since 2004 the coin is produced in aluminum, the cheapest metal offered by the worldwide manufacturing industry.
Even if they were inexpensive, the Central Bank said that the operation and logistics associated with the ¢5 is very expensive for the country
Central Bank president Rodrigo Cubero, in a press conference Tuesday, argued that the Costa Rican economy shows signs of recovery in the last four months.
Costa Rica’s economic activity shows a rebound in the last three months, according to the last series of the Indice mensual de actividad económica (IMAE) – Monthly economic activity index – published, Monday (November 11) by the Banco Central (Central Bank).
Central Bank President Rodrigo Cubero, in a press conference on Tuesday, argued that the Costa Rican economy shows signs of recovery in the last four months.
The Central Bank says that in September 2019, the index increased by 2% compared to the same month of the previous year, according to the cycle trend series. This result is greater than 1.7% in August, 1.4% in July and 1.2% in June.
“The IMAE is a monthly indicator that attempts to monitor the evolution of the volume of production of goods and services in the economy, in the short term,” explained Henry Vargas, director of the Department of Macroeconomic Statistics of the Central Bank.
To calculate it, company surveys and administrative records from public institutions are used. The cycle trend means that seasonal and irregular factors that affect production are isolated.
In a press conference Tuesday (November 12) afternoon, Central Bank president Rodrigo Cubero, confirmed that the country’s economy began a recovery process
Cubero explained that the improvement in the IMAE occurred due to a combination of factors, highlighting the dynamism of the export sector, mainly from companies located in the free zone; and an increase in the importation of goods for production and final consumption.
According to the information published by the Central Bank, the companies of the definitive regime, which are those that do not have tax incentives and sell mainly for the local market, increased only 0.8% in September 2019 compared to the same month of 2018 (year-on-year variation ).
On the contrary, those of the special regime, which includes Free Zones and Active Improvement, which have tax incentives, increased 12% in that month.
By economic activity, agriculture, which had had year-on-year falls until July, showed a year-on-year increase of 0.2% and in September of 0.8%.
The manufacturing industry increased 3.3% year-on-year in September 2019, with an acceleration trend (each month it grows year-on-year more than the previous month).
However, there are still falling activities, such as construction and retail, but the reductions are smaller every month.
Construction fell in September 2019 by 12.9% compared to the same month of the previous year, but the fall was a little less than in previous months. In June, 17.3% had fallen; in July, 16.5% and in August, 14.5%.
Retail fell 0.5% in September of 2019 compared to the same month of 2018. The fall was slightly less than in August, which was 0.6%, and in July it reached 0.7%.
On the other hand, financial and insurance activities continue to show little growth, just 2.2% in September.
The second fastest-growing activity is teaching, with an increase of 4.6%; which could show a “rebound effect”, since the previous year said activity declined due to the teachers’ strike.
Since Monday (November 11), Air Panama resumed flights between San Jose, Costa Rica ( SJO) and David, Panamá (DAV), located in the province of Chiriqui.
Photo from La Estrella de Panama
The flights are on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, with a ‘promotional’ fare ofUS$199 return, a rate responding to a commercial strategy of the airline to attract passengers in both directions over the next few weeks.
The new connection will be operated by a Fokker 50 aircraft, which is a 50-passenger turboprop aircraft. Departure times will be: David – San José 11:50 a.m. and from San José – David 12:40 p.m, the airline reported.
Eduardo Stagg, executive president of Air Panama, told Prensa.com that the route has been reopened “… for which they have invested half a million dollars. The first flight will be on Monday, November 11 from David’s Enrique Malek Airport to the city of San Jose.”
Luis Eleta, Commercial Director of Air Panama, said: “With this new flight we strengthen our network of routes and reaffirm our positioning as a leading airline nationwide.We also confirm our commitment to help the development of the province of Chiriquí.This flight will attract more tourists, more investments, and more opportunities.We as a company believe in the potential that Chiriquí offers and will continue to invest in it. ”
For his part, Jorge Tovar, President of Discover Chiriquí, said: “We are very happy to open this new route because it allows us to complete our tourist offer. We have been working for more than two years in Costa Rica to attract tourists interested in the multi-destination and with this route, we open the door to that in their itineraries they can add Boquete, Volcano or the beaches that the province has ”.
Standard & Poor’s has given a B+ rating to the US$1.5 billion debt issue that Costa Rica expects to place in the international market this month (November).
“Global Ratings today assigned a “B+” rating to the prospective reopening of Costa Rica’s notes which have a 7.158% rate maturing in 2045 and a “B+” rating in its planned issuance of notes maturing in 2031, the latter issue still does not have a defined trading rate,” the rating agency said on November 8.
The statement adds that “… The expected combined amount of the reopening and the new notes is US$1.5 billion, consistent with the authorization of the Costa Rican legislature to issue up to this amount in Eurobonds to cover the government’s financial needs in 2019.”
Regarding the details of the issuance, at the end of September Costa Rican authorities informed that Citi Global Markets and HSBC Global Banking, will be the banks and financial advisors that will accompany the country in the process of issuing securities and managing liabilities in the international market.
The Inter-American Highway is a crucial transport link for the whole of Central America. In the photo, the Cañas - Liberia section in Costa Rica
In the first half of the year, 48 environmental impact studies were presented for projects of street rehabilitation, construction, and expansion of highways in Central American countries.
The Inter-American Highway is a crucial transport link for the whole of Central America. In the photo, the Cañas – Liberia section in Costa Rica
The interactive platform “Construction in Central America”, compiled by the Business Intelligence Unit at CentralAmericaData, includes an up to date list of public and private construction projects for which environmental impact studies (EIA) were submitted to the respective institutions of each country.
Panama is the country that from January to June concentrated the largest investment in new projects, with about US$1.625 million for the development of works focused on the rehabilitation of road infrastructure and the construction of new highways.
In Nicaragua, projects were announced that together add up to an investment of approximately US$769 million. The platform details that 47 road sections will be rehabilitated and 5 overpasses will be built.
Among the documents presented in Costa Rica are 12 EIAs for the construction of streets and bridges, which add up to an investment of close to US$644 million. In the case of El Salvador, from January to June three projects were processed for the expansion of road sections, which require a US$281 million investment.
One year after the start-up of operations of the maritime terminal in Costa Rica, businessmen recognize that efficiency has improved, but insist that there should be a reduction in tariffs.
APM Terminals Moín was inaugurated in February 2019. The opening of the terminal is expected to raise commerce in Costa Rica by 23%
At the end of October 2018, the Moín Container Terminal was definitively received and immediately the seaport began to receive the first commercial ships.
Although in some phases the terminal has registered delays, such as those reported in June 2019, businessmen recognize that the times of operations have improved.
Juan Rafael Lizano, president of the Chamber of Agriculture and Agroindustry, explained to Elobservador.cr that “… there are improvements in the times of operations but the discontent remains in the tariffs. Our problem is still the price, it’s double what we paid. We’ve had meetings with government people and we expect to have a response next week on this issue.”
Laura Bonilla, president of the Chamber of Exporters (Cadexco), said that “… The tariffs that we are charging exporters at the moment in that port are much higher than those of other ports in Latin America. They are much higher than Japdeva’s, so we are very uncompetitive. This translates into losses, as these costs are borne by exporters.”
In Guatemala, Congress is discussing a bill that seeks to increase the arrival of flights to the country through tax incentives for airlines, which would be coupled with the elimination of improper tax charges.
On August 14, 2019, the President of the Legislative Branch, Álvaro Arzú Escobar, presented to Congress initiative 5585, which has the support of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the Latin American and Caribbean Air Transport Association (ALTA) and the Guatemalan Association of Air Lines (AGLA).
In the opinion of the entities that support the bill, with the application of the proposed changes, it will be possible to adapt the international methods for calculating the amount of rent and thus not tax the sector with taxes, fines and interest that are considered inappropriate.
Peter Cerdá, IATA regional vice-president for the Americas, explained to Prensalibre.com that “… while initiative 5585 is being discussed in Congress, administrative processes have been initiated whose conclusions contradict the aforementioned criteria and resolve the payment of taxes, fines and interest in amounts that make the operations of our members in Guatemala unsustainable. Because of the impact on our members, we have, as an industry, approached several instances of the Guatemalan government in order to expose the issue in question. These have achieved, among other things, the generation of bill 5585 that is currently in Congress to convert it into law.”
If the double taxation referred to by aviation authorities is eliminated, Guatemala would have the opportunity to sign 22 air transport agreements.
Official figures detail that in the first half of 2019 in the country registered the entry of 1.29 million visitors, a figure that exceeds 7% reported in the same period of 2018.
Mexico's foreign minister has asked Bolivia to grant safe passage to former President Evo Morales. The recently deposed leader, accused of rigging recent election results, was forced to quit on Sunday.
Evo Morales will be granted asylum in Mexico after the former Bolivian president made a request to live in the country, a top official confirmed Monday.
Evo Morales, accused of rigging recent election results, was forced to quit on Sunday.
Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard told reporters: “Several minutes ago I received a phone call from Evo Morales in which he responded to our offer and verbally and formally requested political asylum in our country.”
“The Mexican Foreign Ministry, after consulting Interior Minister Olga Sanchez Cordero, made the decision to grant him asylum… for humanitarian reasons.”
Morales’s “life and physical integrity are at risk in Bolivia,” added Ebrard, confirming Mexico had asked the Bolivian Foreign Ministry to give guarantees over his safe passage to the Central American country.
“We will immediately proceed to inform Bolivia’s Foreign Ministry that under international law, it should offer safe conduct,” he said.
Later Monday, Morales confirmed via Twitter that he was en route to Mexico and took solace at being offered asylum. He said: “Sisters and brothers, I leave for Mexico. It hurts to leave the country for political reasons, but I will always be watching. Soon I will return with more strength and energy.”
Hermanas y hermanos, parto rumbo a México, agradecido por el desprendimiento del gobierno de ese pueblo hermano que nos brindó asilo para cuidar nuestra vida. Me duele abandonar el país por razones políticas, pero siempre estaré pendiente. Pronto volveré con más fuerza y energía.
Morales, who quit his post Sunday following a disputed reelection on October 20 that resulted in civil unrest, was the South American country’s first indigenous president.
“It’s so hard to see Bolivians clashing, no matter which side they’re on,” said opposition lawmaker Jeanine Anez, commenting on the deadly protests. “They are being mistreated, and I’m asking you to cease the violence.”
Jeanine Anez, constitutionally in line to become interim president, will likely oversee the transition to a future government
The 52-year-old deputy Senate speaker is constitutionally in line to become interim president until a new leader is elected.
She is likely to be entrusted by Congress with overseeing a new election, as well as a transition to a future government. Politicians are set to convene Tuesday to begin the process.
“Please excuse me if my voice breaks,” Anez said between tears after arriving in Congress under heavy guard. “I hope that we now give some certainty in this country that needs it so much.”
Mixed response
The world has reacted with a variety of perspectives on the developments of the last 24 hours, with the Organization of American States calling an emergency meeting Tuesday afternoon to discuss the situation.
On Twitter, US Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders said he was “very concerned about what appears to be a coup in Bolivia, where the military, after weeks of political unrest, intervened to remove President Evo Morales.”
Mexico, Uruguay, Cuba, Venezuela and Argentina President-elect Alberto Fernandez have also said Morales was deposed illegally.
The Trump administration had a different take on proceedings, however. Senior US State Department officials said the situation in Bolivia was not a coup, and President Donald Trump said the events in Bolivia sent a strong signal to other Latin American countries, such as Venezuela and Nicaragua, and “that democracy and the will of the people will always prevail.”
He added: “We are now one step closer to a completely democratic, prosperous, and free Western Hemisphere.”
Army aims to ‘avoid bloodshed’
Concern continues of possible further outbreaks of unrest, particularly as Morales’ supporters took to the streets on Monday, brandishing indigenous flags.
Indeed, the head of Bolivia’s military said that due to reports indicating that police have been stretched beyond their means by weeks of unrest, the armed forces will now provide help in restoring order.
General Williams Kaliman said the joint police-military force will do what it can to “avoid bloodshed” as he called on Bolivians to assist in restoring peace.
In the end, an attempt to hold on to power by calling for new elections proved fruitless. Bolivia's president reacted far too late after mass protests — and recognized the signs of the times, writes DW's Johan Ramirez
Bolivian President Evo Morales has failed to understand the political crisis that his country is going through — which is somewhat surprising for a person who has been in power since 2006. Not only has he not understood that his image throughout these almost 14 years of government has eroded, but he has shown no ability to see the signs of the times — an error not easily excused in politics.
In the end, an attempt to hold on to power by calling for new elections proved fruitless. Bolivia’s president reacted far too late after mass protests — and recognized the signs of the times, writes DW’s Johan Ramirez
Morales ignored the result of the 2016 referendum, in which Bolivians said ‘no’ to his attempt for a fourth consecutive term. This result was the first message that the president did not understand: more than half of the country wanted a transition, and that, in democracy, is sacred. He could not read the writing on the wall, and instead of promoting a new candidacy within his own Movement for Socialism (MAS) party, with which the MAS would very likely have held on to the presidency, he found a way to run again legally.
A series of mistakes
But demonstrations against him did not let up during the campaign. Morales was not only determined to win, but to win in the first round. The preliminary report that the Organization of American States (OAS) issued early Sunday revealed a series of serious irregularities — manipulations of the system that would have shaken the confidence of the popular vote. In such a deeply conservative country, even his own base, including indigenous people, could hardly forgive the leader for this.
After the first round that declared Morales the “winner,” the opposition took to the streets to demand a recount. Again, the president was not able to hear or heed that message. A few days later their request escalated, and the opposition began to demand that the results be annulled entirely and a new election be held. Yet again, the president did not listen. Calls for Morales’ resignation, meanwhile, grew louder and louder.
Fatal speech
On Saturday, the president sent a message to the nation in which he showed once again that he was not understanding anything: He denounced “a coup d’etat,” spoke of racism, and called on his supporters to mobilize and defend his government.
Though he called for dialogue, he did not include civic committees that currently lead the opposition. Not recognizing them, not recognizing their enormous power to bring people together, not recognizing their authority — which is legitimized by popular support — and the strength they now exhibit as a social movement, proved to be Morales’ last political mistake.
Too late!
On Sunday, Evo Morales woke the country with his call for new elections— but his announcement came at least 10 days late. At this point, those in the streets were not demanding new elections, but rather his exit from power. The crisis reached a point of no return: Evo Morales’ time had expired irrevocably — and he had to resign.
Morales did not understand it until the end. And in doing so, Bolivia has just experienced a historic moment.
While Costa Rica is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the Americas, Vietnam is one of the most exciting places to visit, especially for those living in the West.
The country is an introduction into a part of the world you may have never experienced, with a culture very different from anything you know. There is beauty all around, and a vibrancy difficult to find anywhere else.
However, you should not limit yourself to the cities of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh. While these are good starting points, there is so much more of Vietnam to be seen. One of the best places to visit is Hoi An on Vietnam’s central coast. You will have no trouble getting there, with trips from anywhere, including Da Nang to Hoi An, easy to find.
Here’s why you should visit Hoi An.
An Ancient Town
Hoi An is best-known for its well-preserved ancient town. While many cities around the world boast “old towns”, Hoi An’s old town is perhaps more deserving of the name than any other. Unlike other parts of Vietnam, it was never bombed during the Vietnam War, and it still retains hundreds of historical buildings, which have garnered it its status as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Walk around the old town and feel as if you’ve stepped into ancient times. You’ll find lovely spots to eat, stunning locations to have a photo shoot, and many places to buy handicrafts and gifts for family and friends.
Gorgeous Beaches
Hoi An is most famous for its ancient town, but it is also on a beautiful coast and hosts some gorgeous beaches. These are idyllic spots, with crystal clear waters and pristine stretches of sand. With rice paddies all around, you’ll experience all sorts of sites on the way to spending the day swimming and tanning.
The Countryside
Those rice paddies will provide you with the countryside experience you’ve come to expect from Vietnam. On the days you’re not walking around the old town or sunning on the beach, you can get acquainted with Vietnam’s famous greenery. You will see plenty of buffalo under the clear blue skies, with local hawkers taking advantage of tourists who hope for photos with the majestic creatures.
You can see the countryside on your own, but there are also organized tours that will take you to the best spots and provide a comprehensive experience.
The Japanese Bridge
The Japanese Bridge is another one of Hoi An’s famous features. Its history is poignant. The Japanese community in the 1590s wanted to better connect with the Chinese parts of Hoi An. They built this covered bridge to help achieve that goal. It is beautiful and well-preserved, and deserving of its fame.
My Son Ruins
Finally, you can catch a day trip to the My Son ruins. This complex of abandoned Hindu temples from the fourth century is one of the most spectacular sites you’ll ever see. It’s close to Hoi An and well worth the trip. Join an organized tour to get there. It will save you precious time and effort, and make the most of your opportunity.
When the International Monetary Fund (IMF) ran the rule over Latin America last month, it decided it needed to be far less bullish about growth forecasts for all of the region’s biggest economies — except one.
Colombia, the IMF said, was still on track to grow 3.4% in 2019 — easily the highest for the region’s big six economies. And while the IMF made big cuts to forecasts from Brazil to Mexico for 2020, it only shaved its estimate for Colombia by one-tenth of a percentage point to 3.6%, which would still be the country’s best growth rate since 2014, the Financial Times reports.
Tourists are flocking to Colombia in greater numbers, and foreign investors appear willing to bet on the country, even though peace remains fragile
The relatively sanguine prognosis emphasizes that while other Latin American economies have succumbed to popular protests, the fallout from the US-China trade war and political turbulence, Colombia has remained remarkably resilient, driven mostly by domestic demand.
The FT report continues…
Retail sales and consumer loans have grown at double-digit rates in recent months. Inflation is at a manageable 4%, and foreign direct investment is booming — though exactly what is fuelling this consumer and business confidence is open to debate. “It’s a unique puzzle in Latin America but it’s a good puzzle to have,” said Ernesto Revilla, head of Latin American economics at Citibank. “Growth looks good — and exceptional compared to the rest of the region — inflation is fine, interest rates are fine, and even last year’s tax reform, while it wasn’t as successful as we might have liked, was a step in the right direction.”
Some economists say Colombia is finally yielding a peace dividend following the 2016 signing of the historic deal between the government and Marxist guerrillas from the FARC. Tourists are flocking to the country in greater numbers, and foreign investors appear willing to bet on the country, even though peace remains fragile. Just last week President Iván Duque deployed 2,500 troops to the south-west of the country to combat an alarming increase in violence, blamed on former Farc members who refused to sign up to the peace accords. Others point to the results of last year’s election as a catalyst for optimism.
“In the months before the election there was a real fear that the far-left might win. People put their investment plans on ice,” one local businessman told the Financial Times. “Once that fear disappeared, companies started to reactivate their plans, and that’s still being felt in the economy.” Juan Pablo Espinosa, an economist at Bancolombia in Bogotá, said Colombians were also benefiting from higher remittances, which he said were at an all-time record in peso terms, and from easier access to credit as banks reach out to a growing middle class.
“That’s allowing families to buy durable goods that beforehand were beyond their reach,” he said, adding that Bancolombia expected the spending spree to last throughout 2020. Optimism was apparent at an investment summit in Bogotá last week, where the government announced new foreign ventures worth more thanUS$1 billion.
British construction company John Laing Group unveiled its first foray into Latin America, buying a 30% stake in a road-building project in the north-east of the country, while Peru’s Camposol said it would put $150m into avocado production. On the eve of the summit, a Chinese consortium clinched a $4.3bn contract to build the first line of Bogotá’s long-overdue metro system. The economic performance is all the more remarkable given Colombia is bearing the brunt of the Venezuelan migrant crisis. Some 1.4m Venezuelans have poured over the border in recent years, putting a strain on public services. Nor is the fragile peace process the only political problem. Mr Duque’s government suffered setbacks in last month’s local elections, and the president’s approval rating is stuck below 40%. Last month, the constitutional court ruled that his tax reform, hastily pushed through congress a year ago, is invalid and will have to be resubmitted before the end of the year. On Wednesday, his defence minister resigned after it emerged the armed forces killed at least eight children in a bombing raid on a guerrilla camp and then covered the incident up. Economists have some concerns.
The first is the weakness of the peso, which depreciated 8% against the dollar in the third quarter and has been on a downward trajectory all year. The second is the current account deficit which, at more than 4%, is higher than that of every other major Latin American economy. The government insists the deficit is fully financed by robust foreign direct investment, which jumped 24% in the first half of this year, but not everyone is convinced.
“The one thing that is flashing yellow is the current account deficit,” Mr Revilla at Citibank said. “If a country has a growing deficit it suggests there’s a lack of domestic savings.” Others question how long the consumer spending boom can last, particularly as unemployment is creeping upwards and wage growth is sluggish. “We think it will probably slow in the coming quarters,” said Quinn Markwith, a Latin American economist at Capital Economics.
“This is one reason why our 2020 growth forecast [2.3%] sits at the bottom of the consensus range.” For now, though, Colombia keeps churning out growth rates of 3# or more each quarter. “Even though Latin America is still lagging behind in many areas, there are some bright spots,” José Manuel Restrepo, the minister for trade, industry, and tourism, told the investment summit last week. “One of those bright spots is Colombia.”
Latin American bond market participants said they thought Costa Rica’s proposed US$1.5 billion dollar cross-border issue would find strong demand as the country announced a roadshow amid friendly market conditions on Tuesday.
Global Capital reports Citi and HSBC will take B1/B+/B+ rated Costa Rica to meet bond investors from through Monday as it looks to raise US$1.5 billion of bonds in “one or more transactions” of “intermediate and/or long” maturities.
Rodrigo Cubero, president of the Banco Central de Costa Rica (Central Bank), interim finance minister Rodolfo Cordero, and public credit director Melvin Quirós, represented Costa Rica in Los Angeles on Wednesday, New York on Thursday, Boston on Friday and in London, today, Monday, November 11.
Cordero, is temporarily leading the finance ministry, filling in for Rodrigo Chaves, the World Bank’s director for Indonesia, who will assume the post on a permanent basis at the end of November, replacing former finance minister Rocío Aguilar who resigned in October.
According to MarketAxess, yields on Costa Rica’s March 2045 bonds slipped from around 7% to above 7.3% in the wake of Aguilar’s resignation, though have since recovered ground and were trading at just above 7.1%.
EM syndicate bankers away from the deal said that they thought that Costa Rica should have no trouble attracting a good reception.
“It goes into the EMBI and yields are relatively high,” said one EM syndicate banker. “With approvals to do US$1.5bn, which is quite a significant amount, there is going to be an important natural bid for the paper. “That said, the index doesn’t trump everything and this is one of the more nuanced stories out there.”
Beyond December 2018 and January 2019, all three major rating agencies downgraded Costa Rica and kept it on negative outlook on the back of persistently wide fiscal deficits and high financing needs.
The passing of the tax reform back in December 2018 was still viewed locally as a “monumental achievement”, wrote Oppenheimer analyst Thomas Jackson in late September after a trip to the country, and an “ambitious reform agenda” remains on the table.
Oppenheimer analyst Thomas Jackson, in late September after a trip to the country, says fiscal results showed a cumulative fiscal deficit for the year of 4.7% of GDP, though the cumulative primary deficit has improved for two consecutive months on a year-on-year basis — at 1.4% of GDP this year compared to 1.9% this time last year.
“The key concern remains the rising interest expense, which is up 33% year-on-year through September,” said Oppenheimer in an October update.
The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) signed a US$350 million dollar 20-year loan to Costa Rica on October 24 to replace internal sources of funding and, according to the finance ministry, “generating lower pressure on local financing and domestic interest rates”.
For the first time in its history, Guatemala received $1 billion (7.7 billion Quetzales) from its emigrants in remittances in a single month.
The record was set last month. And from January through October remittances totaled $8.7 billion, a year-on-year increase of 13.8%.
The trend in October has continued since May when a high of US$974 million dollars was recorded, attributed at that time to the effect of Mother’s Day;in July for US$947 million and in August for US$980 million, according to official figures.
Costa Rica, situated in Central America, is a wonderfully natural with coastlines that touch both the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean. Consisting of diverse flora and fauna along with landscapes that include rainforests and volcanoes, it is easy to fall in love with the majestic views that are an essential part of the country.
The people of Costa Rica are friendly and welcoming, and the country is secular in its beliefs with no recognized religion. Within its 51,000 square kilometers, visitors can find some truly spectacular sights and stay in luxury resorts or backpack safely, immersing themselves in the local culture. It is no surprise then that Costa Rica tops the happiest country in the world list for being sustainable and having higher than average life expectancy. There are, however, facts about Costa Rica that aren’t known to the typical visitor. Interesting tidbits about the nation that add further charm to it and makes it the remarkable country that it is.
Gambling Haven
Costa Rica is a haven for gambling, especially online gambling. While they have some strict rules about land-based gambling centres, players can indulge in sports betting or casinos online with ease. That is why many foreign online casinos have their headquarters in the country and are responsible for a significant amount of taxes collected by the government. Since Costa Rica has a very hands-off approach to gambling, and people can bet through overseas online betting sites, it is crucial to pick organizations by examining their sportsbook review. This allows the bettor to check for all the various sports options available at any website along with their payment methods, welcome bonuses, and even get information on advanced odds and tips from pundits.
Love Life, Live Long
An important measure of a country’s overall well-being is the life expectancy of its people. Although locals throughout the country live long and healthy lives, the region of Nicoya, along the western coast of Costa Rica, comes under the “blue zone.” There are five blue zones in the world, places where people go on to live past 100 years. The secret behind long life in Nicoya is a positive and active lifestyle in addition to health care and a stable economy of Costa Rica.
Renewable Energy
While most developed countries are working hard towards shifting to renewable sources of energy, Costa Rica is already years ahead. An incredible 99% of its energy is from sources such as wind, hydro, and solar power. Although the majority of this electricity is through hydropower, the country is also investing in biomass and geothermal energy resources.
Tourism
Tourism is an enormous industry in Costa Rica, responsible for the maximum amount of foreign exchange earned annually. Among the many sites that attract tourists from all around the world to this country are four UNESCO World Heritage Sites including two national parks.
No Army
In a world that seems to be at the brink of war at all times, it is astounding to find out that Costa Rica has no standing army. This is not a new measure, as the country took this step back in 1948, shortly after the end of World War II. They do have an agreement with a few countries, such as the USA, where in Costa Rica will receive military support from them if ever required.
Editor’s note: The article was corrected. Costa Rica is not an “exotic island” as stated in the original text.
The inflationary rhythm slowed for the third consecutive month, as in October the CPI reported a 2.07% year-on-year variation, below the 2.53% reported in September.
The groups with the greatest contribution to the variation of the CPI in October are: Transport, and Food and non-alcoholic beverages. Of the 315 goods and services that make up the consumption basket, 49% increase in price, 40% decreased in price and 11% showed no variation, informed the National Institute of Statistics and Censuses (INEC).
The official report explains that “… During October, the goods and services that showed the greatest negative effect were: gasoline, electricity and potatoes. On the other hand, tomatoes, dental services and tourist packages were among the main ones with the greatest positive effect.
In October of the last ten years, the highest year-on-year variation was presented in 2014 with 5.70%, while in 2015 the only negative year-on-year variation was registered (-0.86%).”
The changes in the Manual of Procedures for the Inspection of Vehicles in force as of November 6, used vehicles that are imported into Costa Rica and that have been declared a total loss or taken out of circulation in their country of origin, will not be able to enter.
The importation is prohibited for registration of used vehicles established in Article 5 of the Ley de Tránsito (Transit Law) such as: total loss, removed from circulation or have been declared a total loss in their country of origin, have unauthorized structural joints, altered odometers, right-hand drive, or that do not comply with certain parameters that protect the final beneficiary as purchaser of the same in our country, explained the Ministerio de Hacienda (Ministry of Finance).
The statement from Hacienda establishes clear functions for the entities in charge of inspection for the nationalization and registration of used vehicles: Servicio Nacional de Aduanas (Customs), Ministerio de Hacienda (Finance), Consejo de Seguridad Vial (COSEVI) – the Road Safety Council (COSEVI) and the Viceministerio de Transportes del Ministerio de Obras Públicas y Transportes (Vice-Ministry of Transport of the Ministry of Public Works and Transport).
The process of naturalizing a used vehicle imported into the requires submission to the RITEVE (vehicle inspection) process, for which the importer must present the original property title or its equivalent and the affidavit certified by means of which it indicates that the vehicle does not have any of the assumptions established in Article 5 of the Traffic Law which would prevent nationalization of the same.
The document must be presented impeccably to avoid doubting its authenticity. Any defects in the documentation, it will be REJECTED immediately without the need to perform the physical inspection of the vehicle.
The low-cost airline Sun Country announced that between June and August 2020 it will operate a weekly flight between the Dallas, Texas and Liberia, Costa Rica.
The operation will begin on Saturday June 13 and end on Saturday August 15, with flights departing the Dallas Fort Worth airport (DFW) at 8 am and arriving at the Daniel Oduber international airport (LIR) in Liberia a 11:05 a.m.; An hour later, the flight heads back to Dallas.
Currently, the airline is offering flights for US$187 one-way per traveler, that includes all applicable taxes, fees, and charges (bag fees may apply). More details here.
“We are excited to add this new route to Daniel Oduber Quiros International Airport and to serve Dallas-Fort Worth,” said Grant Whitney, chief revenue officer for Sun Country. “We are also committed to connecting guests affordably to their favorite people, places and memories, and we look forward to bringing that commitment to Costa Rica. We believe guests will enjoy our low rates, excellent customer service and a comfortable onboard experience”.
The Basic Passive Rate decreased from 5.65% to 5.50%, while the Effective Rate in Dollars also decreased, from 2.52% to 2.33%.
The Banco Central de Costa Rica (Central Bank) published on Thursday the rates that will be in effect for the coming week.
The Basic Passive Rate is an average of the collection rates in colones of financial institutions with terms of 150 to 210 days.
The Central Bank also reported that after the 0.03% increase in the Effective Rate in Dollars (TED), recorded last week, the present rate dropped and will stand at 2.33% over the next 7 days.
According to Uber Eats, in Costa Rica, the orders through their service are mostly chicken (60.1%),
The growing tendency to order food through apps for delivery is causing a decrease in profits, as restaurants must assume the cost of delivery commissions and sometimes those of additional promotions offered by the digital platforms, such as Uber Eats, Hugo App, Go Pato, Glovo and Rappi.
Uber Eats Costa Rica says the orders through their service are mostly chicken (60.1%)
In Costa Rica, the home delivery of food and other items, has gained popularity among consumers, so restaurants have had to adapt their internal processes to this new trend that are having an impact on profits and cash flow.
Gabriel Gutierrez, Sushi To Go’s marketing manager, told La Nacion that “… We went from being a daily liquidity business to an accounts receivable company. In some cases, the amount billed (less commission) is recovered between 10 and 12 days, and in other cases (in the app that is currently generating more orders) we are liquidated only twice a month.”
Gutiérrez added that “… Apart from the fact that the commission is high, a number of additional promotions are implemented internally (by the app) that are attractive to the user but that the business must assume, so that the usefulness of the product will always be altered.”
Commission percentages charged by apps range from 20% to 35% of the final price, depending on provider of the service.
According to Uber Eats Costa Rica the orders through their service are mostly chicken (60.1%), followed by beef hamburgers (34.2%), fisth (2.8%), pork (1.07%) and egg (1.07%). The company reports it has more than 800 associated restaurants in the country, and more than 700,000 downloads in less than one year.
The trend of ordering in instead of going to a restaurant is growing, forcing businesses to have to adapt, understanding that it would be worse to resist digitalization, but resent consequences such as reducing jobs and the commissions for delivery.
Another threat faced by restaurants is unfair competition, that is, the emergence of clandestine kitchens for the dispatch of orders, where, due to the nature of their business, they do not assume costs such as rental of space, costs of social security for employees, and supply with safety standards, among others.
To make the point, a problem that is not only faced in Costa Rica, but worldwide, last June, BBC news opened a fake restaurant in Uber Eats and delivered a meal without any real supervision.
Carolina Coto, communication manager Uber Central America, assured that in Costa Rica this is not possible. Coto said that they require restaurants a health (Salud) certificate, licenses, and identificaiton of the legal representative(s) of the business, a liquor patent (in case the business sells alcohol by way of the app), a signed contract accepting the terms and conditions and tax information.
“For Uber Eats, the safety of users is a priority. In order for a restaurant to be enabled on the platform, it must meet the requirements,” Coto said.
For its part, the Ministry of Health (Ministerio de Salud) had rules that delivery apps must comply with along with the provisions that already exist for the delivery (express is the Spanish term) services of restaurants
Use of disposable first-use containers containing food and beverages.
Properly packaged dressings and sauces.
The containers of the vehicle must be hermetically sealed and kept closed with a safety system that does not allow manipulation by unauthorized persons.
“Food for delivery is properly packaged by our partners (restaurants) and our Hugos comply with the strict handling of them to ensure that they are delivered to final consumers as they were packed by restaurants,” sAlejandro Argumedo, CEO and co-founder from Hugo App told La Nacion.
The newspaper said it tried to obtain comments, but did not receive replies, from other digital platforms such as Go Pato, Glovo and Rappi.
Bullet-riddled vehicles that members of the LeBaron family were traveling in sit parked on a dirt road near Bavispe, at the Sonora-Chihuahua border, Mexico, Nov 6, 2019.
AP Photo/Christian Chavez
Nine members of a prominent Mormon family in northern Mexico, all women and children, were gunned down on Nov. 4 in territory whose control is disputed by the Sinaloa Cartel and the
Bullet-riddled vehicles that members of the LeBaron family were traveling in sit parked on a dirt road near Bavispe, at the Sonora-Chihuahua border, Mexico, Nov 6, 2019. AP Photo/Christian Chavez
Mexico, which has experienced high crime for over a decade, has seen violence surge in recent weeks. On Oct. 17, a shootout in the city of Culiacan involving the Sinaloa Cartel led officials to release from custody Ovidio Guzman, the son of jailed drug kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman.
In the context of so much bloodshed, the LeBaron killings are both highly unusual and tragically quotidian.
Unlike most murder victims in Mexico, the LeBarons are U.S. citizens and Mormons – part of a religious community that broke away from Utah’s Church of Latter-Day Saints years ago. But, as many Mexican journalists have written, the peace activism of family member Julián LeBaron could also have made his community a target. And the LeBarons have a history of violent encounters with organized crime.
Mormons in Mexican history
In my 2018 book on American- and Canadian-based religious enclaves in Mexico, I researched the Latter-Day Saints community and the LeBaron Mormons of Chihuahua state, near the U.S. border. Typically, these communities’ members are somewhat reluctant to talk to outsiders, beyond proselytizing.
But as a person of Mennonite background with relatives in Mennonite colonies in Mexico, I was able to interview members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints – the official name of the mainstream Mormon church – in northern Mexico.
Along with the Romneys – relatives of Sen. Mitt Romney, whose father was born in Mexico – the LeBarons are among the most storied families in Mormon history.
Members of Utah’s Latter-Day Saints community emigrated to Mexico in the 1880s to follow their religious beliefs by living in polygamous families, which was illegal in the United States. Polygamy was illegal in Mexico, too, but the government there offered a flexible definition of family and did not enforce its anti-polygamy laws.
Alma “Dayer” LeBaron, the patriarch, was born in 1886 and grew up as a Latter-Day Saint in Colonia Dublán, Chihuahua. In 1904, he married a women from nearby Colonia Juárez. She left him when he sought a polygamous marriage.
LeBaron fled the Mexican Revolution for Utah in 1912, where he married two women – Maude McDonald and Onie Jones – and had what’s been described as “a large family of sons.”
LeBaron and his big family returned to Mexico in 1924 to find that their Latter-Day Saint neighbors did not welcome their polygamy. So LeBaron established his own colony, called LeBaron, in Chihuahua, Mexico. Today it stretches approximately six miles along a municipal highway and is four miles wide, surrounded by fields. LeBaron also began his own Mormon church.
Poverty and conflicts
For 50 years, the LeBarons migrated back and forth across the Mexico-U.S. border, with Alma’s sons serving as missionaries evangelizing on behalf of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
But the community struggled with poverty and, starting in the 1970s, ran into land conflicts with a nearby farming community that had been granted land by the government after the Mexican Revolution.
The LeBaron colony’s land may have been illegally purchased from this neighboring land grant. Area peasants called the LeBarons “American invaders” and destroyed their fences. This allowed cattle into the LeBaron’s fields, damaging their crops.
Judges in Mexico, however, sided with the LeBarons, whom they saw as productive members of the local economy. The land clashes between Mormon and Mexican ranchers have largely dissipated, though a flare-up occurred just last year.
After Alma Dayer LeBaron died in 1951, his sons – Joel, Ross, Ervil and Verlan – disagreed over the future of the church Alma had established, leading to violence within the family and the formation of new fundamentalist groups.
Ervil LeBaron was arrested and convicted for the 1972 murder of his brother Joel. That verdict was later overturned, but in 1981, a Utah court convicted Ervil of a different murder. He died in prison in 1981.
Members of this community report enduring beatings, underage marriage and other abuse, as the escapee Anna LeBaron recounts in her 2017 memoir “The Polygamist’s Daughter.”
The entrance to Colonia LeBaron, a religious enclave in Chihuahua state in northern Mexico, Nov. 6, 2019. AP Photo/Marco Ugarte
The LeBarons have also been victims of violence. In 2009, 16-year-old Eric LeBaron was kidnapped by drug traffickers. His family successfully lobbied the government for help and secured his release. In retaliation, a cartel killed Eric LeBaron’s brother Benjamín LeBaron and brother-in-law Luis Widmar in 2011.
Frustrated by violence, another brother, Julián LeBaron, that year joined a high-profile peace movement founded by the poet Javier Sicilia.
LeBaron and Sicilia reportedly fell out in 2012. But after the murder of Julián’s cousin and other family members on Nov. 4, Sicilia wrote a condolence letter encouraging Julián to “uncover the barbaric reality.”
Integration in Mexico
As their peace activism shows, the LeBarons are more integrated in Mexican society than other religious minority groups I’ve studied.
An American relative of some of the Latter-Day Saints killed in Chihuahua is comforted by a neighbor in Queen Creek, Ariz., Nov. 5, 2019. AP Photo/Matt York
The LeBarons have long sought connections with fellow Mexicans to proselytize about their beliefs. And 39-year-old Alex LeBaron, from this community, has worked for the government of Chihuahua. From 2015 to 2018, he was even an elected official. Alex LeBaron also married a Mexican woman, Brenda Ríos, in a Catholic ceremony.
Like other northern Mexicans, the LeBarons are a thoroughly cross-border community. Much of their purchasing power in Mexico comes from remittances sent by male relatives who work in the U.S.
Like their neighbors, too, the LeBarons are vulnerable to the violence that surrounds them. Mexico’s death toll in 2019 is on pace to exceed the 33,341 murders seen in 2018. In spite of a new National Guard established to fight crime, last year was Mexico’s deadliest year since modern record-keeping began.
Violence in Chihuahua state, where homicides had dropped markedly in recent years is rebounding.
So the LeBarons may have an uncommon backstory. But from kidnappings to gruesome murders, they share a familiarity with tragedy that far too many Mexicans know far too well.
This article Rebecca Janzen, Assistant Professor of Spanish and Comparative Literature, University of South Carolina, is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Thirty years after protesters pulled down the Berlin Wall, the city has knitted itself back together. It has emerged not only as the new capital of reunified Germany (during the split, West Germany’s capital was Bonn), but also as the political and cultural center of Europe.
Old eastern suburbs like Prenzlauer Berg have become some of the hottest addresses in Germany. Icecream-eating crowds flock to the stirring monument to the Soviet war dead in Treptower Park, while tourists patiently wait in line to pose for photos with giant statues of Marx and Engels in the shadow of the old East German TV tower.
Even the east’s iconic hat-wearing Ampelmännchen (traffic light figure) has managed to colonise the west. Thirty years after mass protests led to the capitulation of East German officialdom and the opening of the Berlin Wall, parts of the old east have not only persisted, they have thrived.
Nevertheless, the old east hasn’t had everything its own way. Symbolically, the East German parliament building, the “People’s Palace” (which also housed theatres, restaurants and a disco, all for public use), was dramatically torn down between 2006 and 2008. This was heartbreaking for many who had fond memories of times spent there.
Somewhat strangely, it has been replaced with a replica of the palace of the German kaisers that once stood there. This colossal monument to Germany’s pre-Communist and pre-Nazi royal past will host a museum filled with colonial-era artifacts (many of a dubious provenance).
Understandably, some East Germans feel that important parts of their past have disappeared down a memory hole. Familiar landscapes and fond reminiscences have been airbrushed out by others eager to view the “two dictatorships” – the genocidal Nazi empire and the Communist East German state – as equal halves of a history of 20th-century German totalitarianism.
More broadly, the effects of change (that is, westernization) on the old East Germany have been unevenly felt. Material standards of living have clearly risen. Parts of the east have done very well out of the billions of euros that flowed eastward as part of the reunification “solidarity tax”. But structural redevelopment has been a rocky road.
The way in which economic gurus from the west either sold off or shut down East Germany’s heavy industries left many in the “new German states” protesting against what they saw as a form of western colonization that conspired to keep Germany’s industrial muscle concentrated in the west at the expense of eastern jobs.
The sentiment is understandable, given unemployment has remained stubbornly high in the east ever since reunification. As a result, outside of hipster hubs like Berlin and Leipzig, many young people continue to head west in search of better career and life prospects.
Politically, there are some noticeable differences between east and west. Unarguably, the less multicultural east has played host to an unnerving rise in increasingly brazen far-right extremist activity.
For example, Chemnitz (the old “Karl Marx City”) was the scene of far-right rallies (but also anti-racist counter-rallies) in 2018. Dresden recently declared a “Nazi emergency” as it tries to combat anti-democratic racists who have gravitated to the city. And in recent local elections in Thuringia in the old east, the far-right Alternative for Germany Party (AfD) came in second to the Left Party.
Counter demonstrators form a sit-in blockade against a neo-Nazi demonstration in Dresden in 2015. Oliver Killig/AAP/EPA
The Left Party, seen as unelectable in the west due to perceived links to the old East German Communist Party, has been a popular government in this eastern state for several years. The old centrist parties of the west, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the Social Democratic Party (SPD), whose governing grand coalition creaks along at the federal level, floundered into third and fourth places respectively at the last election. Elsewhere, in this year’s elections in Saxony the AfD surged to take almost a third of the seats in the state parliament.
This rise of the AfD in the east is noteworthy, but it is not contained to the east. In some ways, looking to the legacy of communism to explain it doesn’t really make too much sense either, given that similar far-right, anti-immigration parties have risen in Austria, Switzerland, Italy, France, the Netherlands, Hungary and Poland.
Notably, the AfD’s most incendiary leader, Björn Höcke, is from the industrial heartland of the west, the Ruhr region.
In terms of recent neo-Nazi violence, although the murderous October attack on a synagogue occurred in the old East German city of Halle, its inspiration seems to have been other racist mass murders such as the Christchurch attack. A believer in the international far-right white genocide delusion allegedly carried out the Halle attack.
Another shocking political murder this year, of pro-immigration CDU politician Walter Lübcke, was carried out in the western city of Kassel, allegedly by a long-time member of the West German neo-Nazi scene.
With infrastructure renewed and the standard of living approaching that of the west, the AfD and its extremist fellow travelers represent a real threat to the political life and social cohesion of the old East German states, indeed to all Germans. Pretending that its rise somehow stems from a deep East German nostalgia for authoritarian rule won’t help, particularly given the enormous number of AfD voters who hadn’t been born when the wall came down.
The assumption that the AfD is a legacy of East Germany’s communist past is an example of the patronising attitude of “west knows best” that has irked Germans in the east ever since reunification.
The USS Cincinnati will be in the port of Golfito from today (Wednesday, November 7) until Sunday, November 10, as part of its trip from Alabama to its new base port in California.
USS Cincinnati (LCS-20)
The visit of the Naval Force vessel is for logistical purposes only, to replenish fuel and food. In addition, the approximately 80 crew of the ship will use hotel, food and tourist services during their stay in Costa Rica, contributing to the economy of the country.
USS Cincinnati (LCS-20) is an Independence-class littoral combat ship of the United States Navy. Commissioned on 5 October 2019. She has been assigned to Littoral Combat Ship Squadron One, supports maritime security operations and security cooperation activities developed by the Fourth Fleet of the United States Southern Command in the region, with the aim of improving interoperability and building a lasting alliancebetween nations.
The arrival and visit of the USS CINCINNATI to Costa Rica is approved by Costa Rica’s Legislature.
Uber drivers in San José, Liberia, and San Carlos will now know the passenger’s destination before agreeing to take the trip.
The change, the company says, seeks to reduce cancellations due to uncertainty of the destination and improve the security of both the user and the partner (driver).
Also, drivers will also know if the user they will pick up has made only a few trips through the app.
Taking advantage of GPS technology and other sensors in smartphones, Uber will be able to detect other anomalies during a trip such as a prolonged stop that could indicate a risk situation.
"Costa Rica has a great opportunity in clinical research for us to sell or develop them sponsored by pharmaceutical houses or with medical equipment producers, taking advantage of the presence in the country of multinationals," said Massimo Manzi, executive director of the Costa Rican Chamber of Health .Shutterstock / The Republic.
What is known as the Fourth Industrial Revolution will bring about the disappearance and transformation of thousands of jobs; At the same time, it will give great emphasis to information and communication technologies.
Massimo Manzi, executive director of the Costa Rican Chamber of Health. “Costa Rica has a great opportunity in clinical research for us to sell or develop them sponsored by pharmaceutical houses or with medical equipment producers, taking advantage of the presence in the country of multinationals”. / La Republica
However, there will be other areas with great potentials, such as biotechnology and medical research, where Costa Rica could become a hub in the future if it seizes the opportunity.
Costa Rica has the human talent to carry it out and to initiate a “bioreactivation of the economy”; However, decision-makers have not yet seen the opportunity, says Miguel Rojas, a researcher at the Biotechnology Research Center of the Instituto Tecnológico de Costa Rica(Technological Institute of Costa Rica).
And in this area of science, innovative technologies such as precision and regenerative medicine will be applied, as well as tissue engineering and RNA and stem cell-based therapies.
Immunotherapy and advanced diagnoses would also have a place in this wave of job creation and economic recovery.
“The engineers and biotechnology engineers (IBio) of the TEC have the appropriate training and ability to work with these methodologies. The paradox, in this case, is that the country has the human talent for these new processes, but the decision-makers at the political, business or financial level have not realized this enormous possibility for the country,” said Rojas.
Currently, there are 608 TEC graduates, which represent one in 40 applicants who wanted to study it, so the system itself guarantees the excellence of human talent.
On the other hand, it is estimated that about 20 million medical tourism patients every year, according to the specialized guide of “Patients Beyond Borders”.
One of the biggest demand for this business is from Americans, with some 1.9 million traveling outside their borders to receive medical care.
Costa Rica’s proximity to the United States, cost and human talent make it competitive; In 2018, more than 15,000 people identified health care as their main reason for travel, to the country according to the Instituto Costarricense de Turismo (ICT) – Costa Rican Tourism Board – so there is plenty of room to grow.
As for medical research, biotechnology would have multiple applications in the future, says the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
The Biotechnology career has high expectations
“Costa Rica has a great opportunity in clinical research for us to sell or develop sponsored by pharmaceutical houses or with medical equipment producers, taking advantage of the presence in the country of multinationals,” said Massimo Manzi, executive director of the Cámara Costarricense de la Salud (Promed) – Costa Rican Chamber of Health.
In this way, the country would not only receive designs and produce them, but it would also be fully involved in all the stages of research, development and pre-commercialization of clinical studies.
The Biotechnology career has high expectations, according to the TEC that receives 1,664 applications per year (2016-2018), but only 40 per year are accepted. As of March 2018, the school reports 556 graduates, of which 60% are women, which have potential work in 20 countries on four continents.
Survivors of the revolution
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said that the robotization of sectors of the economy would displace more than 7 million jobs in the 17 most important economies in the world by 2020.
However, several careers will have a high demand and are the following:
James Dean, the era-defining actor who has been dead for more than 60 years, will be resurrected thanks to the magic of CGI to star in a new film, Finding Jack.
James Dean, the cool, unruly rebel
Best known for his roles in Rebel Without a Cause and East of Eden, Dean died in 1955 in a car crash at the age of 24. Now he’s been posthumously cast in his fourth film, a Vietnam-era action drama.
Directors Anton Ernst and Tati Golykh obtained the rights to use Dean’s image from his family in an adaptation of Gareth Crocker’s novel. The book tells the story of how more than 10,000 military dogs were abandoned at the end of the Vietnam War.
Dean will play a supporting character named Rogan in a secondary lead role. Dean will be reanimated on the big screen by a “full body” CGI using actual footage and photos.
The director Anton Ernst told the Hollywood Reporter: “We searched high and low for the perfect character to portray the role of Rogan, which has some extreme complex character arcs, and after months of research, we decided on James Dean.”
“We feel very honored that his family supports us and will take every precaution to ensure that his legacy as one of the most epic film stars to date is kept firmly intact. The family views this as his fourth movie, a movie he never got to make. We do not intend to let his fans down.”
Pre-production on Finding Jack begins later this month with a tentative release date of November 11, 2020, which is Veterans Day in the US.
A student was killed as civil unrest continued on the streets of Bolivia on Wednesday. Pressure on President Evo Morales to resign over opposition accusations of corruption related to his recent reelection is increasing.
The 20-year-old student died following violent clashes between pro- and anti-government protesters in the city of Cochabamba, a doctor at the local hospital told news agency AFP. Roughly 20 more people were injured in the clashes, according to Ombudsman Nadia Cruz.
President Morales reacted on Twitter to the developments. “I express my deep regret for the death of young Limbert Guzman, an innocent victim of violence promoted by political groups that encourage racial hatred among Bolivian brothers. I reiterate my call for social peace.”
Expreso mi profundo pesar por el fallecimiento del joven Limbert Guzmán, víctima inocente de la violencia promovida por grupos políticos que alientan el odio racial entre hermanos bolivianos. Reitero mi llamado a la paz social para devolverle la tranquilidad a nuestro pueblo.
In the meantime, protest leader Luis Fernando Camacho arrived in the Bolivian capital, La Paz, demanding Morales’ resignation over the rigging accusations.
Camacho, a civic leader from the eastern city of Santa Cruz, plans to head for the presidential palace to give an already written resignation letter for Morales to merely sign.
Demonstrators display a banner against Bolivia’s President Evo Morales
Carlos Mesa, who was Morales’ nearest rival in the election, met Camacho at the airport upon his arrival.
“I think this is a fundamental moment for the opposition that believes in a democratic response and a peaceful way out,” said Mesa, who has joined the chorus of disapproval over Morales’ electoral victory.
Morales, who has been in power since 2006, has defended his victory, claiming that the opposition is trying to lead a “coup” against him and that his rivals were to blame for the violent response.
Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele (above) announced the expulsion in a memo published on Twitter. In it, he said his government "recognized the legitimacy of the interim president, Juan Guaido, until free elections can be held, in accordance with the Venezuelan Constitution."
El Salvador announced late Saturday that Venezuelan diplomats serving under embattled President Nicolas Maduro had 48 hours to leave the country. He added that El Salvador would welcome a future diplomatic corps sent by opposition leader Juan Guaido.
Juan Guaido (L) continues fighting Nicolas Maduro (R) for control over Venezuela
Caracas responded in kind on Sunday when the foreign ministry expelled El Salvador diplomats, giving them 48 hours to leave Venezuela.
El Salvador’s move was the latest example of a country publicly designating Maduro’s presidency in Venezuela as illegitimate. Guaido is currently leading an opposition movement against him. Multiple countries, as well as international groupings, have backed Guaido.
Guaido has managed to secure control over several Venezuelan embassies abroad, including in the US. However, his opposition movement has been unable remove Maduro from power, and the country has found itself in a political stalemate while dealing with a humanitarian crisis.
Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele
Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele announced the expulsion in a memo published on Twitter. In it, he said his government “recognized the legitimacy of the interim president, Juan Guaido, until free elections can be held, in accordance with the Venezuelan Constitution.”
Bukele also said his government’s decision was in line with previous reports from a UN human rights commission that Maduro had systematically violated citizens’ rights.
Outspoken against ‘dictator’ Maduro
Bukele, a member of the conservative Grand Alliance for National Unity (GANA), has voiced his opposition to the socialist Maduro on prior occasions, such as during his inauguration this past June.
“Dictators like Maduro in Venezuela will never be legitimate because they maintain power by force and do not respect the will of their people,” he said at his swearing-in.
The US ambassador to El Salvador, Ronald Johnson, welcomed Bukele’s announcement. He tweeted in Spanish that the US applauded Bukele’s decision “to make sure that El Salvador is on the right side of history” and highlighted that more than 50 other nations “support the Venezuelan people at this moment of crisis.”
In January 2019, Guaido declared Maduro’s presidency to be illegitimate based in part on the previous elections in May 2018, which were marked by significant irregularities.
The opposition leader says Maduro violates the country’s constitutionally enshrined democratic principles, while Maduro accuses Guaido of staging a coup and of being a US puppet.
The political standoff has spurred mixed responses from the international community. Germany, among other countries, has expressed support for Guaido, and the European Union recently ratcheted up sanctions on officials close to Maduro.
However, the United Nations continues to recognize Maduro’s government, in part due to support for Maduro from Russia and China.
Various attempts at peace talks between Venezuela’s opposing political camps have failed.
If you have been following the dollar exchange rate, you will have noticed a sharp increase in the last couple of days. Eurobonds, government loan and the aguinaldo (annual bonus) would influence could make the exchange volatile at the end of the year, depending on the decisions of the Central Bank for 2020.
At the moment, there are no major arguments for devaluation
According to economists, the stability in the exchange rate will be the tonic in the remainder of 2019, unlike a year ago, when strikes, the decline in consumption and the fiscal plan led the exchange rate to close the year in the middle of uncertainty.
“The closing of 2019 is going to be very similar to 2017 and the years before this in foreign exchange. For this year, the economy is reactivating due to Eurobonds. In addition, foreign companies make significant payments in dollars to their employees, which affects the current exchange rate. However, at the moment there are no major arguments for the devaluation and rather there would be stability and appreciation of the colon,” economist Daniel Suchar told La Republica.
The fluctuations in the exchange rate would range between 1% and 1.2%, which would not bring greater contrasts with the current foreign exchange conditions, several specialists point out.
“In Costa Rica, there are no losers and winners regarding the exchange rate, because what we have is a reality based on a flexible exchange rate and we must be prepared for variations. However, there are no sustained trends to increase or decrease the exchange rate,” said José Luis Arce, director of Analysis and Strategy at FCS Capital.
Expectations about what will happen with the exchange rate for the beginning of next year revolve mostly around the decisions that the Banco Central de Costa Rica (BCCR) – Central Bank – makes regarding the “colonization” of income after the placement of debt securities
However, there are those who do not leave everything in the hands of the Central Bank and point to the behavior that other factors may have that are strong indicators of the exchange rate.
“Thinking about what can happen with respect to the exchange rate will depend on imports of raw materials, the behavior of the price of oil and the dynamism of exports. In addition, the interest rates of the Federal Reserve of the United States have come down. The same year, the Legislative Assembly will be pressured for a new placement of Eurobonds, so we must see how this can influence the exchange rate,” said Roxana Morales, an economist at the Universidad Nacional (National University).
Relatives of a family killed in an ambush looked through the burnt wreckage of one of the vehicles that had been carrying them in Bavispe, Mexico.Credit...Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
Three women and six children were killed in a drug cartel attack on a Mormon family, reported to have dual citizenship, in northern Mexico, Mexico’s security minister, Alfonso Durazo, said Tuesday.
At least three American mothers and six children from a Mormon community based in northern Mexico have been massacred in an attack blamed on drug cartel gunmen. Maria Rhonita Miller was killed along with her six-month-old twins, Titus and Tiana (left and right), her 10-year-old daughter Krystal (left) and 12-year-old son Howard (center)
Family members of the victims suspect the incident may have been a case of mistaken identity, confirmed by Mexico’s security minister, explaining that the gunmen may have mistakenly thought the group’s large SUVs belonged to rival gangs.
Durazo also said six minors were injured in the ambush, five of whom were subsequently transferred to hospitals across the border in Phoenix, Arizona.
Relatives of a family killed in an ambush looked through the burnt wreckage of one of the vehicles that had been carrying them in Bavispe, Mexico.Credit…Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
According to Mexican media, the victims were members of the LeBaron family, from a breakaway Mormon community that settled in the country from the United States several decades ago.
More victims possible
The governments of Chihuahua and Sonora states, both of which lie on the United States border, issued a joint statement affirming that an investigation into the episode had been launched.
Life in the LeBaron Mormon stronghold: Mexico community that lost three mothers and six children in cartel massacre was founded by U.S. citizens fleeing a polygamy ban and has been blighted by drug violence, murder and abuse for decades
A relative, Julian LeBaron, was quoted as describing the incident as a “massacre,” adding that some family members were burnt alive. He said on his Facebook page that the dead woman was named Rhonita Maria LeBaron. Four of the children who perished included twin 6-month-old babies and two other children aged 8 and 10.
Mexico’s President, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, rejected U.S. President Trump’s offer of support, saying he did not welcome foreign intervention to deal with such cases.
In a Tweet, Trump said, “If Mexico needs or requests help in cleaning out these monsters, the United States stands ready, willing & able to get involved and do the job quickly and effectively,” he wrote, before adding: The cartels have become so large and powerful that you sometimes need an army to defeat an army!”
The Mexican president has traditionally preferred a less aggressive approach as he believes confrontational policies by his predecessors only led to more violence.
In the spirit of the TIME 100, many of our TIME 100 Next profiles are written by more established influencers. According to Edward Felsenthal, Editor-in-Chief and CEO of TIME, the TIME 100 Next members all have grand ambitions, and they know they may face even greater setbacks.
The Central Bank estimates there are 715 million of the coins in circulation.
