When pleas fall on deaf ears, you take action. That is what the residents of Montes de Oca (San Pedro) did, erecting a makeshift stop sign at a very dangerous intersection.
Residents say they were forced to take the drastic action in the face of the lack of action by the municipality of Montes de Oca and the Traffic Engineering office of the MOPT.
Using sticks, stopes and red paint were used to make the impromptu stop sign to help reduce accidents.
The MOPT has a process for this. Its information center describes the process and touts seven offices dedicated to sign installation and maintenance. What the info does not say is the time it takes to get something done.
Former president Laura Chinchilla (right) and mom Elmice Miranda
A white dress with black with a ruffle at the neckline and a gala dress in fuchsia were the outfits that the former President Laura Chinchilla, modeled during a charity catwalk that took place on Tuesday, July 24, at Boutique Valesky.
Former president Laura Chinchilla (right) and mom Emilce Miranda. Fotos: Arnoldo Robert y John Mullins
The former president was joined by her mother Emilce Miranda and several other national political and entertainment figures in the traditional Mother’s Day catwalk at Boutique Valesky, which this year was held to benefit the Fundación Anna Ross, an organization fighting against cancer.
Zarela Villanueva, along with her granddaughters Isabella and Jimena Castellanos. Fotos: Arnoldo Robert y John Mullins
Other famous names taking part in the catwalk was former magistrate and former president of the Supreme Court of Justice, Zarela Villanueva, along with her granddaughters Isabella and Jimena Castellanos; journalist Mishelle Mitchell and her daughter Camile Young; as well Repretel tv host, Patricia Figueroa, next to her mother Olga de Figueroa and her daughter Estefanía Madrigal.
Mishelle Mitchell (left) and her daughter Camile Young. Fotos: Arnoldo Robert y John Mullins
Also modeling clothes from the Escazu boutique was political analyst Nuria Marín and her daughter Andrea Álvarez; businesswoman Iary Gómez with her daughter Alejandra Campos; the director of Corporate Relations of Florida Ice & Farm Co Gisela Sánchez with her mother Ana Maroto; and cancer survivor Ritzy Mora next to her daughter Sara Venegas.
Patricia Figueroa (right), her mother Olga de Figueroa (left) and her daughter Estefanía Madrigal (center). Fotos: Arnoldo Robert y John Mullins
Writer and Costa Rican chef Isabel Campabadal with her daughter María González, and the owners of Valesky Ileana Valverde and her daughter Priscilla Qualls also stood out in the parade.
The catwalk started at 6 pm with a presentation by Costa Rican singers Arnoldo Castillo and Priscilla Castro. Journalist Enrique Rodríguez was the master of ceremonies.
Speeding is believed to be the cause of the multiple collision on the Ruta 27 overnight, that claimed the lives of two young men and a woman.
Three vehicles and a motorcycle were involved in the collision minutes after 11 pm Wednesday, in the area known as Alto Palomas (the hill between Santa Ana and Guachipelin), near the entrance to the Villa Real development.
According to transito (traffic official), Omer Alfaro an Audi was traveling from San Jose to Santa Ana when, allegedly, due to excessive speed, the driver lost control. The vehicle crossed the median and hit two cars and a motorcycle traveling in the opposite direction, from Santa Ana to San José.
At this section of the road, there is a turn in the road, and despite a warning indicating the speed of vehicles, in the night hours and with little traffic it is easy to reach very high speeds without even accelerating.
Witnesses said the impact was such that one of the vehicles lost its engine..
The two men died at the scene, the woman hours later at the San Juan de Dios Hospital, in San Jose. One of the men was identified as José Pablo Muñoz Peralta, 24, and the woman, Ana Cristina Rojas Peraza, 23. The identity of the third fatality was not released.
Overnight several other fatal accidents claimed the lives even more people. The traffic police reported fatalities in Puntarenas and Tibas, among others.
If you are having a hard time paying for your basic expenses, it can be depressing and frightening. This can happen, especially if you have overextended yourself with debt. First, you need to find ways to reduce your expenses. There is almost always at least one more area that you can cut back in.
Remember Your Priorities. It is important that you cover your basic needs before you pay your creditors. This means that you have enough food to eat, a roof over your head and your utilities are on, then you pay your bills, and then you have fun.
Here is a short list to help you get through those tough times. In no way is it meant to be complete or the solution.
The rent gets paid before everything else, including food. No matter how bad it is, no matter how difficult it seems, it is going to be much worse if you do not have a roof over your head.
Anything you don’t have to have, get rid of it. This includes cable TV, Netflix, Hulu anything else that is a monthly suck. In Costa Rica, air TV is alive and well. You can even get channels not offered on cable.
Always a large bulk item that you could buy when you were low on food before payday (in Costa Rica, for most it’s the 15th and 30th of each month) and you might have to live a few days with nothing else.
YOU MUST HAVE MONEY COMING IN!!!. If your salary isn’t enough to cover your minimum expenses, you can ask for a raise, get another job that pays better or find an extra part-time job. Though the first rarely works. and the second difficult when the job market is low and your skill set is limited.
As to job skill set, you need to concentrate on getting some job training, certification, education or something else that can get you a better job and more money. Don’t wait till you’re in a better situation, you have to do it now.
Charity, Take whatever anyone is willing to give you. You LITERALLY cannot afford pride. If someone offers you money, put it in your pocket, smile and say “thank you”. Nothing wrong with keeping a mental inventory to later pay back or, better yet, pay it forward.
Have you had such an experience in Costa Rica? If so, how did you get through it? What advice do you have? Please use the comment section below or post to the Q’s official Facebook page.
I would have preferred not to hear that telephone conversation between a debtor and, I suppose, a call center employee, but I suspect that each time they will be – unfortunately – more frequent, relates José David Guevara in his article in the El Financiero
The feeling of the journalist and the experience of the fellow bus passenger, according to experts, will be more common as more and more Costa Ricans burdened by debt face the inevitable when they cannot pay.
Guevara writes, “I mean it: for the sake of avoiding a few minutes of anguish on the bus that I traveled this morning, I would have preferred not to hear the telephone conversation of one of the passengers, however, that lady was in the seat behind me and spoke loudly. I suspect that they will be – unfortunately – increasingly frequent. I hope I am wrong.”
I got off the bus and walked a few blocks remembering some of the information published in recent months. The first three in El Financiero; the others in La Nación: “Delinquency increases in more than half of banks”, “What do you do when you cannot pay your debts?”, “Debt with credit cards doubled in eight years” and “Homes double debts for consumption in six years “.
Following is Guevara’s account of the overheard conversation:
– Yes, sir, I know I’m behind with the payments, but understand me, please …
She shuts up to listen to her caller.
– No, I’m not denying anything. I already told you that I have clear that I owe several installments (quotas in Spanish) …
New silence
– It is that you are not listening to me. Can you listen to me, please?
Another pause
– If you do not let me talk, I will hang up. I will hang up. I am going to hang up.
The voice of the speaker on the other side of the phone is barely heard.
– I just can not give you a date because I do not know when I’ll have the money…
– I’ve just told you: I do not know when I can pay! I have no idea.
Silence.
– It’s not that I do not want to pay. But I have no money. That’s why I do not give you a date because I do not know if I’ll be able to comply and I do not want to let you down.
Silence.
– It is that I earn by commission and the sales have been so bad that I have not received almost any salary.
A sigh.
– Believe me, please, if I had the money today I will pay, but I do not have it.
– Let me see what I can do. Precisely yesterday I spoke with my boss to see if I could do something to improve my income and well, the walls near talk more! That says everything.
Silence.
– Do what you have to do.
Suspense.
– Whatever.
Silence.
– Whatever.
Truce.
– I only ask you to give me a chance from here to Friday to see what I can do. You know it’s the first time I’m late.
Pause.
– Well get it together, because yesterday a colleague (of yours) called me to offer me other products and I said no because I owe money. Why, if I’m in debt, they call me to offer me more things.
Silence
– Yes, please, call me on Friday and we’ll talk. I will see what I can do.
What to do if your salary isn’t sufficient to fulfill your bills.
The rent gets paid before everything else, including food. No matter how bad it is, no matter how difficult it seems, it is going to be much worse if you do not have a roof over your head.
Anything you don’t have to have, get rid of it. This includes cable TV, Netflix, Hulu anything else that is a monthly suck. In Costa Rica, air TV is alive and well. You can even get channels not offered on cable.
Always a large bulk item that you could buy when you were low on food before payday (in Costa Rica, for most it’s the 15th and 30th of each month) and you might have to live a few days with nothing else.
YOU MUST HAVE MONEY COMING IN!!!. If your salary isn’t enough to cover your minimum expenses, you can ask for a raise, get another job that pays better or find an extra part-time job. Though the first rarely works. and the second difficult when the job market is low and your skill set is limited.
As to job skill set, you need to concentrate on getting some job training, certification, education or something else that can get you a better job and more money. Don’t wait till you’re in a better situation, you have to do it now.
Charity, Take whatever anyone is willing to give you. You LITERALLY cannot afford pride. If someone offers you money, put it in your pocket, smile and say “thank you”. Nothing wrong with keeping a mental inventory to later pay back or, better yet, pay it forward.
Have you had such an experience in Costa Rica? If so, how did you get through it? What advice do you have? Please use the comment section below or post to the Q’s official Facebook page.
Coca-Cola FEMSA is the anchor bottler of Coca-Cola and its related soft drink products in much of Latin America. The company is the bottler of Coca-Cola in half of Mexico (including Mexico City, Oaxaca, Tabasco, Guanajuato, Querétaro, Veracruz, Puebla and Michoacan) the Buenos Aires region of Argentina, São Paulo and other areas of Brazil, greater Guatemala City, Guatemala, most of Colombia, and all of Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Panama, Venezuela and the Philippines.
Construction of the Coca-Cola concentrate plant, in Liberia, Guanacaste, began last Saturday (July 21) and is expected go into operation on January 1, 2020.
Coca-Cola FEMSA is the anchor bottler of Coca-Cola and its related soft drink products in much of Latin America. The company is the bottler of Coca-Cola in half of Mexico, the Buenos Aires region of Argentina, São Paulo and other areas of Brazil, greater Guatemala City, Guatemala, most of Colombia, and all of Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Panama, Venezuela and the Philippines.
This US$50 million plant will replace the operation located in La Uruca, San José.
The plant located in front of the Daniel Oduber Airport (LIR), inside the Zona Franca Solarium, when finished will be 34,000 square meters (366,000 square feet), almost double the 18,500 m² of the Uruca plant.
Dyalá Jiménez, the Minister of Foreign Trade stressed that this investment “will be a great contribution to the promotion of one of the priority objectives of this government: to increase development opportunities for the inhabitants of our areas located outside the large metropolitan area with high quality formal jobs”.
The new plant will produce concentrate of the well-known Coca-Cola drink and 89 more beverages that are exported to Central America, the Caribbean, Chile, Mexico, Brazil and Argentina.
How important is Coca-Cola for the Costa Rican export sector?
Currently, Coca-Cola ranks first in exports in the food sector. Also, it is the third largest exporter of the Costa Rican goods industry.
In 2017, Costa Rica exported US$10.665 billion of goods, 7% more than in 2016.
Tigo Costa Rica (Millicom) has applied for regulatory permission to acquire local cable communications providers Cable Television Doble R (Cable Max) and Cable Zarcero, reports business daily El Financiero.
Tigo requested approval for the acquisitions from regulator Sutel at the end of June, with anti-trust clearance from Costa Rica’s competition commission also required, said the report.
The operator launched its Tigo One TV platform combining linear pay-TV and over-the-top (OTT) services in April, having last year revealed that it was seeking to acquire assets to grow its local footprint and compete with rivals Claro (America Movil) and Cabletica (Liberty Latin America).
In an exclusive interview with TeleSUR TV’s Patricia Villegas, in Managua, Nicaragua President Daniel Ortega said that the “coup was defeated” and that the country has experienced extreme violence over the past several months at the hands of the “extreme right” of Nicaragua and U.S. elected officials who have always opposed the Sandinista revolution since it emerged in the 1980s.
Nicaraguan president Daniel Ortega in an interview with TeleSUR TV
Ortega went on to say that the violence is the fruit of U.S. officials who are working with poor paramilitaries within the country who want to knock down the Sandinistas.
Since protests broke out in mid-April to contest social security reforms, the country has been thrust into unprecedented socio-political turmoil that has left some 350 people killed, according to the NGO Nicaraguan Association for Human Rights (ANPDH). At least 2,100 have been injured, says the ANPDH.
The president tells Villegas that the government is “building strength and wants to resume peace.” He reiterated several times during the interview that he is willing to sit down with big industry and the church in order to resolve this conflict that continues to kill people.
Just two weeks ago a policeman was tortured and killed allegedly by opposition forces, and vandals set fire to classrooms and burnt education equipment at the National Autonomous University of Nicaragua (UNAN).
Ortega says that the internal fractures in his country “come from U.S. congressional members and groups in Miami who are envious of Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaraguan” revolutions. “They are the same (people) who interfered in Nicaragua in the 1980s.”
Following is the interview translated to English. Below is the original in Spanish.
The Nicaraguan president said that Nicaraguan businesses negotiate with U.S. officials to create U.S. laws that damage his country, especially the NICA Act, which aims to cut the government of Nicaragua off from loans by international financial institutions.
“This is the root of the problem. … The U.S. should respect Nicaragua’s sovereignty.”
Ortega said it would be “ideal” to sit down and talk with U.S. president Donald Trump, but that the “political right now are being manipulated by the extreme right who negotiate with U.S. officials” to hurt Nicaragua.
When asked if he’d sit down with Catholic church leaders, who have denounced him as the president said unequivocally he would, adding, “we have to fight for peace.”
Ortega has criticized bishops of the Episcopal Conference of Nicaragua as being “coup leaders” for collaborating with the opposition during the previous attempts at national dialogue since violence broke out three months ago.
Nicaragua’s president said that those who came out when the protests started April 19 “were from the right.”
“Armed groups started attacking the Sandinistas, police, and burning municipal buildings. … This is the work of the militarized right,” says Ortega. They are attacking politicians who support the Sandinista Front, asserts the president.
Ortega pointed out that there are similarities between the right wing protesters in Nicaragua and those that attempted to topple the Venezuelan government in 2017. In both cases violinists played amidst the presence of police and young women screamed similar phrases in violent protests in both countries.
“U.S. agencies,” points out Ortega, “are financing these youth.” The president says that young Venezuelans are being paid by the United States to come to Nicaragua to protest. The president says that the U.S. has a strong presence within the country, funneling some $US30 million in USAID financing into Nicaragua.
Will there be justice for those killed, inquires Villegas, even if it turns out some people died at the hands of government authorities? “Yes,” says Ortega. Justice is “for the family of the victims, and I’ll bring justice,” to these deaths, asserts the president.
The president denied any support or financing to paramilitaries during these months of protests.
If the proposed tax plan is approved as it is written, consumers would be able to use cash to buy even an aspirin, for example.
If the government’s tax reform (plan fiscal) proposal becomes a reality and comes into force, 1.2 million people in the country would not be able to buy even an aspirin at their local pharmacy.
If the proposed tax plan is approved as it is written, consumers would be able to use cash to buy even an aspirin, for example.
The current text of the initiative, and on which there is an agreement of the majority of legislators to keep it that way, establishes that consumers can only purchase drugs using plastic – a credit or debit card, thus establishing a prohibition in the use of cash.
This automatically leaves out a large sector of the population who do not have a bank account, in turn, access to plastic, according to the latest World Bank Global Index report.
The study (with 2017 figures) details that the percentage of the population with a bank account in Costa Rica is 68%, the only sector that would be able to buy their drugs at the pharmacy.
Included in the proposals is the mandate to 100% of ‘bankarization’ of the country. However, the premise of the government and legislators is to apply the change and force the consumer to migrate.
According to the Estado de la Nación (State of the Nation), 69% of the payments made in the country at a general level are with cash and only 15% with plastic.
But, it is legal? The eventual application of this measure has already begun to unleash controversy surrounding its legality.
The starting point is the Ley Orgánica del Banco Central (Law of the Central Bank), which establishes notes and coins as a universal and legal means of payment in the country.
Erick Ulate, lawyer and president of Consumidores de Costa Rica (Consumers of Costa Rica) affirms that articles 43 and 46 of the Central Bank law makes it illegal any attempt to limit the use of cash in the country. Additionally, doing so in the case of health services would violate the Constitution.
“At the moment that (aw) comes into force, at 7:30 in the morning of the next day I am in the Constitutional Court presenting an action… It is illegal to limit the use of cash in the country… It (cash) is the means of payment accepted in the country, so any way to limit its use is not only illegal but also removes more than 30% of the population over 15 years of age that does not use banks,” Ulate said.
The pharmaceutical sector also opposes the measure. The president of the College of Pharmacists (Colegio de Farmacéuticos), José Alberto Gatgens said that in addition to the limitation to a sector of the population, the use of a plastic implies an additional cost for the retailer pharmacy, since the card issuer charges a commission, typically between 5% and 7% to retailers.
“That many people do not have access to a plastic is an important point and they could not be forced to obtain one to buy a drug,” he said.
The intention behind the proposed law is to establish a mechanism that allows traceability in a market that for several years is under scrutiny in the face of complaints of high prices and market concentration.
For the Ministry of Finance (Ministerio de Hacienda) this is important as it will allow, through the sales tax, to actually know how much product is sold and at what prices.
At present, traceability is broken when payment is in cash. Hacienda argues the cashless purchases also reduces tax evasion, such as the common practice of giving the consumer a discount if paying in cash.
Wednesday, July 25th is a national holiday in Costa Rica. Government offices, banks, and most businesses will be closed.
The holiday also means no vehicular restrictions of San Jose for the day. The restrictions resume on Thursday for vehicles with plates ending in 7 & 8.
July 25, 2018, is the 194th anniversary of the” Anexión del Partido de Nicoya (Guanacaste) a Costa Rica” – the annexation of Guanacaste – also known as “Guanacaste Day”.
In 1824, the Central American Federal Republic passed the law and signed it on July 25, allowing the Guanacaste province to become part of Costa Rican territory. Nicoyans decided to part of Costa Rica instead of Nicaragua.
The land had three major cities: Nicoya, Santa Cruz, and Liberia. After a few negotiations in open meetings, the three cities decided to call a referendum, which took place in Nicoya.
It was a divided decision, with Nicoya and Santa Cruz voting yes and Liberia voting no. So the annexation won.
I bet there isn’t a regret there given what has been and is currently happening the other side of the border, even the divided Liberia would have voted in favor if they had had a crystal ball.
Two armed men assaulted the Holiday Inn hotel in downtown San Jose this Tuesday morning. The hotel is located across from the Morazán Park.
According to police sources, two armed men with black helmets reportedly entered the hotel and threatened the employees. “The individuals, supposedly, stole a sum of money from the cash register and fled on a black motorcycle,” official sources said.
The investigation of the case is in charge of the Judicial Investigation Agency (OIJ).
(CONFIDENTIAL) Margot Robbie, star of films like “Suicide Squad”, “I, Tonya” and the “Wolf of Wall Street”, posted on her Instagram account, followed by almost 15 million people, an image of her recent visit to Costa Rica with husband Tom Ackerley.
It is a photograph taken in front of the sea accompanied by the iconic phrase “Pura Vida”, which has dozens of comments from fans excited about their visit.
In case you were wondering, the setting is Santa Teresa beach in the Nicoya Peninsula, the favorite of other celebrities such as Gisele Bundchen, who also visited Cost Rica earlier this month.
In rare interview, Nicaragua president Danile Ortega, uses TV appearance to blame crisis on ‘terrible lies’, dodging responsibility for a wave of bloodshed that is widely blamed on his government and reconfirmed his refusal to bow to protesters’ demands that he step down.
“Our electoral period ends with the elections of 2021, when we will have our next elections,” Ortega told Fox News.
The one-time Sandinista revolutionary hero and Nicaragua’s president since 2007, has been facing a nationwide revolt from protesters demanding an end to what they call his increasingly dictatorial 11-year rule that, according to human rights groups is responsible for more than 350 people have been killed since those protests erupted mid-April.
Ortega’s security forces or by masked gangs of paramilitaries with ties to his government are being held responsible for the bloodshed.
Last week 13 Latin American countries – Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay – called for an immediate end to the “acts of violence, intimidation and the threats directed towards Nicaraguan society”.
In the Monday night interview apparently designed to reduce international pressure on him, Ortega attempted to wash his hands of responsibility for the killings and to play down the scale of the uprising, claiming the situation in Nicaragua was returning to normal.
“It has been a week since the disturbances have stopped,” the 72-year-old said in a pre-recorded interview with Fox News.
During the interview Ortega distanced himself from the paramilitaries behind many of the attacks on demonstrators, claiming, improbably, that they were bankrolled by drug traffickers or political enemies rather than his own administration.
Ortega also denied, contrary to well-documented fact, that peaceful demonstrations had been targeted. “Not a single one of the peaceful protests was attacked.”
A comment on the YouTube post by Foxnews.com interviewer Bret Baier include, “He (Ortega) lives in a parallel universe. He doesn’t care anybody else but himself. Liarrrrr!!!!”; “Asesino narcotraficante tenés que pagar asesino …. Fuera de Nicaragua asesino”.
Ortega rejected calls for him to step down and said bringing elections forward to 2019 as proposed by the Episcopal Conference of Nicaragua and adoped by the Organization of American States (OAS) last week.
Asked about opposition claims he hoped to cling to power and build an Ortega dynasty akin to the Somoza dictatorship he famously helped topple in 1979, he said: “It never even occurred to me.”
In the 2016 elections, his wife Rosario Murillo was on the presidential ticket for vice-president, giving her a legitimate position to take over from her ailing husband. Prior to that and since 2007 Murillo held the post of government spokesperson.
To many Nicaraguans, Murillo is the real power behind the Ortega administration.
“It never occurred to me to set up a dynasty,” Ortega said. “My wife, it’s the first time ever she’s been vice president.”
José Miguel Vivanco, the Human Rights Watch Americas director, dismissed Ortega’s appearance as an attempt by “a pathological liar” to manipulate global public opinion.
“It is a way for him to confuse people outside Nicaragua about what is going on,” Vivanco said, pointing to the “groundless and absurd theories” being peddled by Ortega’s government about who was to blame for the violence.
Ortega hoped to discredit protesters as foreign-backed coup mongers supported by the Catholic Church, Vivanco said. In reality Nicaragua’s president was trying to crush peaceful protests using “cruel and blatant brutality … It’s as simple as that.”
Yader Luna, a Nicaraguan journalist from Confidencial, said Ortega’s interviewer had “basically” asked the right questions. “But Ortega lied in every single one of his answers … He claimed they haven’t attacked priests when I have seen his turbas [paramilitaries] beating them before my very eyes … He denied attacks in which dozens of people were killed in broad daylight.
“His speech was the same as always,” Luna added, “albeit in a less confrontational tone because he didn’t want to come across as a villain on Fox.”
In the interview, Ortega denied that he controls paramilitary groups blamed for most of the killings. They are supported by his political opponents and foreign interests, though he did not specify the U.S. directly, as he has done in the past.
“To move up the elections would create instability, insecurity and make things worse… None of the peaceful demonstrations have been attacked. No Nicaraguan has died in any church. Not a single Nicaraguan has died in any church. That’s false,” Ortega said.
Ortega said he was speaking to Fox News after years of refusing interviews with foreign media because he wanted the United States to show Nicaragua “respect.”
“The history of our relations with the United States has been painful. I don’t want to repeat it,” he said, criticizing a resolution against Nicaragua that US lawmakers were reported to be preparing.
He also hit out at what he called “a campaign of lies, terrible lies to try to hurt the image of Nicaragua and of its government.”
The owner of charter jet company Red Wing Aeroplane converted one of his planes into an ad-hoc ambulance to help fly home a Minnesota boy who’d been injured during a family vacation in Costa Rica.
From GoFundMe.com
Wes Converse, the president of Red Wing Aeroplane said, “I looked at my wife and said I think we can help this family.”
“I just felt because it was someone right in our community, we had our resources to help them. It felt like the right thing to do,” Converse added.
Last week we reported about the Lopez family being stranded in Costa Rica, after their 3-year-old son was injured and had a cast that prevented them from taking a commercial flight.
A special air ambulance would have cost them $40,000.
A Minnesota family is finally home from Costa Rica after a generous WCCO viewer saw their story and stepped into help a 3-year-old boy with a broken leg who couldn’t fly. | https://t.co/NQToZCkgqLpic.twitter.com/17sMEZfDie
The family was able to raise $26,272 of $42,000 goal in the first six days of their odeal through a GoFundMe campaign.
Thanks to Wes Converse and his Red Wing company, and the generority of the 455 donators, Emmee Lopez posted on Sunday, “We are back home and relaxing, and Axel is feeling much better to be back in his own bed. We have gotten the news we will be seeing the specialists team at St Mary’s Hospital in Tuesday morning at 7am! Thank you for all your generous donations, love, prayers and support.”
Red Wing reconfigured one of their airplanes to accommodate Axel’s needs and flown out to Costa Rica on Friday for the six-and-a-half hours flgiht… at no charge.
A vehicle transporting a US embassy employee came under fire in southern Guatemala Sunday evening but there were no injuries, a spokesman for the country’s national police said.
A spokesman for the embassy confirmed the incident and said U.S. officials were working with police to investigate. “It seems the incident did not have a political motivation, nor was it directed at the embassy,” he said.
The incident took place in the San Vicente Pacaya municipality, Guatemala’s El Periodico reported.
According to El Periodico, spokesman for the National Police, Pablo Castillo, said that a woman was killed in the municipality on Sunday, which resulted in a massive search operation. As part of the operation, police officers checked all the vehicles in the area. According to Castillo, when the vehicle with the US diplomat refused to stop, one of the officers opened fire at the car.
Income inequality does not imply poverty (World Bank).
Over the years I have published a number of columns on inequality. Among these are “Fleeing Equality,” “Redistributive Injustice,” “The Rich Do Not Exist,” and others reproduced in my book “Reflections on Freedom.” Invariably, this topic brings me the most hateful correspondence. Undeterred, I will try again motivated, this time, by the excellent analysis presented by Steven Pinker in his latest book, “Enlightenment Now.”
Favela (slum) on the outskirts of Salvador de Bahia, Brazil. (World Bank).
Let’s begin by defining the terms as Voltaire demanded. I am defending only the inequality that results from legitimate creation of value in goods and services. The way in which inequality comes about matters. Those who get ahead as a result of government-granted privileges, unfair business practices, dishonesty, corruption, cronyism, etc., are engaging in illicit activities and must be prosecuted vigorously. What offends me is not inequality as such, but that inequality that results from illicit gains.
Let me borrow an example offered by Dr. Pinker. J. K. Rowling is the British novelist who created the Harry Potter series that sold more than 400 million copies. In her “rags to riches” life story, Rowling went from living on state benefits to being the world’s first billionaire author. She is one of the richest persons in the world, and has given away much of her fortune to charity.
We have voluntarily handed over to Ms. Rowling a portion of our capital for the pleasure of reading her books, or watching the Harry Potter films. We made her very rich, thus increasing inequality, and this has not made anyone worse off. The same can be said of the products produced by Bill Gates’ Microsoft, Steve Jobs’ Apple, and so many others who have enhanced our lives, and we in turn rewarded them financially.
Wealth is not, in the overused analogy, a fixed size pie that needs to be forcibly distributed to achieve some artificial equality. Global wealth, as measured by economic growth, is a pie that is ever increasing, and providing larger slices for everyone. Although granted, the slices may not be of the same size for all.
And here is the paradox. As Pinker notes, life “must have begun in a state of original equality, because when there is no wealth, everyone has equal shares of nothing.” It is only when wealth begins to be created that some will end up with more than others. When a society starts to create meaningful opportunities for wealth, some people are likely to take greater advantages of those opportunities.
“Whether by luck, skill, or effort,” gains will be disproportionate. Absent some artificial income redistribution scheme, “absolute” inequality is a mathematical necessity. I placed “absolute” in quotations to distinguish it from “relative” inequality. Absolute inequality is the difference between the richest and the poorest. As countries get richer, some individual will get richer than others, but everyone will be relatively better off. What is relevant is how much we earn or consume, not how high or low we rank in relation to others.
Income inequality is notoriously difficult to measure. One of our best inequality measuring tools is the Gini coefficient in several versions. The Gini ratio works something like this. A Gini coefficient of zero means perfect equality, for example, if everyone has the same income. A Gini coefficient of one means that one person gets all the income – perfect inequality. In practice, Gini values range from 0.25 for the most egalitarian countries, to 0.70 for those with a highly unequal distribution. Poor African nations show high inequality, whereas wealthy Scandinavian nations are the most egalitarian.
Measurements get more complicated when we consider social transfers such as food stamps, and other assistance for needy families. In the late 2000s, the United States Gini coefficient before social transfers was 0.486; after transfers inequality decreases to 0.378. Even more interesting, if we measure the Gini coefficient on what we consume, rather than on income, the recently reported increase in inequality disappears.
The Gini coefficients shows that inequality worldwide is declining, but we make an analytical and moral mistake when we focus narrowly on income inequality. What is really important is how well-off people are, not how they rank in relation to others.
The shocking student massacre of July 23, 1959 in León, was according to the survivor Vilma Núñez de Escorcia, one of the “most serious events committed by the Somoza dictatorship (Luis Somoza Debayle, son of Anastasio Somoza García) against a town, disarmed as now. ”
Oscar Navarrete / La Prensa
The president of the Nicaraguan Center for Human Rights (Cenidh) recalled that at that time a group of students made use of their right to protest the events of El Chaparral (Honduras). In this failed incursion, several guerrillas died, while Carlos Fonseca Amador was wounded and imprisoned.
And it happened that during the traditional “desfile de los pelones” (parade of the bald-headed) – relates a chronicle of La Prensa of July 25 – students of the Autonomous University of Nicaragua who asked for freedom for the detainees were attacked by the National Guard (GN) commanded by the Major J. Anastasio Ortiz.
That tragic day between 4:30 and 5:00 in the afternoon, when the demonstrators were heading to the Departmental Barracks of the National Guard.
Four dead and more than 100 injured in 1957
La Prensaa on July 25, 1959.
“Comparing the brutality of that July 23, where four of our comrades were murdered (Erick Ramírez, Mauricio Martínez, José Rubí and Sergio Saldaña) and approximately 100 people were injured, with the barbarism that exists today, I think this now it is much worse, much more serious, it is much more criminal”, reflected Núñez de Escorcia.
The Porras Commission recorded (as of today) 16 students – ten university students and six secondary – have died as a result of the violence of the last three months.
According to human rights organizations, at least 57 students have been murdered under the Ortega repression.
In this regard, she added that “Daniel Ortega, instead of reconsidering what he has done, about the deaths he has caused, is rather determined to keep repressing, to continue killing people.”
Somoza sent blood and was rejected
Vilma Núñez de Escorcia recalled that that July 23 was terrible, painful and marked a fateful date in the Somoza dictatorship. They could mourn their dead in the UNAN Auditorium without the National Guard intervening, and hold a funeral attended by more than 15,000 people.
La Prensa on July 26, 1959.
“We were able to take the injured students to the San Vicente Hospital in León; and something that maybe people do not remember – in contrast to the attitude of Daniel Ortega – compare how Luis Somoza Debayle (president between 1957 and 1963) behaved at that moment, sent, in response to the hospital’s demand for blood, a caravan of vehicles with blood that came from the Military Hospital pretending to look for the cure of the wounded”, remembers Núñez de Escorcia.
Then all León and its doctors turned in favor of the injured students, and rejected the blood sent by Somoza as a sign of repudiation.
Now “Ortega has ordered the closing of hospitals and many people have died,” said Núñez de Escorcia.
Álvaro Conrado, a 15-year-old student at the Loyola Institute, was the first case to be denied assistance in the beginning of the protests against INSS reforms.
On April 20, he and his classmates went to the Managua Cathedral to leave food when he was shot in the throat. At midday, he arrived wounded at the Cruz Azul hospital, but he was denied care, said Conrado’s parents. Then he was taken to the Hospital Bautista (Baptist Hospital) and at about two in the afternoon he died in the operating room.
“This brutality has no name, it has no comparison, it has nothing we can remember of the barbarism that Somoza did,” added Núñez.
Friends and relatives grieve next to Alvaro Conrado’s (15) coffin, a high school student killed during a protest against government’s reforms in the Institute of Social Security (INSS) in Managua on April 21, 2018. / AFP PHOTO / INTI OCON
Student massacre: “symbol in the history of Nicaragua”
For the philosopher, jurist and writer Alejandro Serrano Caldera, the massacre of July 23, 1959 and the current three months, “the number (of dead) has been greater and more terrible”. Human rights organizations have registered so far in the protests more than 350 deaths, more than 2000 injured, and a number of prisoners not specified.
This tragic and bloody episode in the history of León is seen by Serrano Caldera – who is part of the so-called Generation of “23 de julio” (July 23) – as a “symbol in the history of Nicaragua”, because they were university students who claimed their fundamental rights, in this then Joaquin Solis Piura was president of the University Center of the National University (CUUN).
“There was a struggle and a whole movement had been formed to demand freedom, democracy, the rule of law and human rights”, explains Serrano Caldera, the key ideas that moved the students in these protests.
But “the important thing now is to reject the massacre that is taking place in this time and to claim the fundamental rights of people, life, freedom,” the jurist said. He also urged continued dialogue as a way to achieve “democracy, justice and the rule of law.”
The remains of Orlando Córdoba are veiled. The 15-year-old was one of the victims of the repression of May 30, Mothers’ Say in Nicaragua. La Prensa / Y. Reyes
“Impacting” and “Orwellian”
On the other hand, Luis Sánchez Sancho, La Prensa editor, recalling the events of the student massacre in León, said that this was “impacting”, and that the so-called “parade of the pelones” was a festive manifestation that welcomed new students, who had their hair cut.
He explained that days before this traditional activity, it had been known that a guerrilla camp was assaulted by the Honduran army, where they killed several people and that Carlos Fonseca Amador, a UNAN law student, was injured.
“Then the parade became a protest for El Chaparral and in solidarity with Carlos … And there were four dead … it was a tragedy,” Sánchez Sancho pointed out.
But now “seeing the reality where dozens of students have been killed by the police and paramilitary forces, the difference is amazing.”
“And one wonders: how is it possible that we considered that the Somoza dictatorship was the most ruthless and now there is another dictatorship that is ruthless? It really is amazing what is happening in Nicaragua,” says a surprised Sánchez.
“And the unusual,” Sanchez adds, “is that it’s done in the name of God. That is the justification given by the (Ortega) regime, it is a truly terrible thing that is happening. ”
Trying to find some reasonable explanation, Sánchez says that in no other country the “Orwellian” concept by calling peace to war, tranquility to violence, love to hatred, has been adopted. And that has caused astonishment among many analysts and international observers who “try to understand what is happening and what is the philosophical, ideological and political root of everything that is happening in Nicaragua”.
“Orwellian” is an adjective describing a situation, idea, or societal condition that George Orwell identified as being destructive to the welfare of a free and open society. It denotes an attitude and a brutal policy of draconian control by propaganda, surveillance, misinformation, denial of truth (doublethink), and manipulation of the past, including the “unperson”—a person whose past existence is expunged from the public record and memory, practised by modern repressive governments.
Arrested in Monimbó, he ends in the morgue. The father of the young man reported missing for three days after his arrest, he went looking for his son in hospitals, health centers, even in the city of Diriamba, where they supposedly had him, but this proved to be false information.
The Face of Anguish. Edgardo Antonio Hernández’s wife, with their 18 month old daughter, holds a photo of her slain husband. El Nuevo Diario
In fact, Edgardo Antonio Hernández, 30, was detained on July 17 in Monimbó neighborhood, in the city of Masaya, a block from his house by hooded armed civilians who operated with the police, and three days later his relatives found him dead in the morgue in Managua.
His relatives say that Edgard’s body showed signs of torture, for which they blame the pro-government forces and demand justice.
Agustín Hernández, Edgardo‘s father, recalled that “those days were very tense in Monimbó, the riot police and the paramilitaries were taking the ‘muchachos’ (young men); My son was about to arrive home when he was arrested, I saw how they began to beat him mercilessly, they put him in the truck and then knew nothing of him”.
“My son was not found anywhere, we exhausted our hope because he was not in the police delegation either. We traveled to Managua, looking for him in El Chipote (prison), but he was not there either until finally we went to Medicina Legal (morgue) and there was the body of my dead son,” said the dad crying.
Relatives of Edgard Hernández ask international institutions and agencies to investigate the murder of the young man, whom they describe as an honest and hardworking person, who did not deserve to die in such a cruel way.
Edgardo Hernández left behind his young wife and a year and a half old daughter.
Julio Montenegro, from the CPDH, shows the uniforms and implements delivered by the police.
Pistols, bullets, uniforms, and two medals of merit for their service during 13 years of police work, were among the items delivered to the Comisión Permanente de Derechos Humanos (CPDH) – Permanent Commission of Human Rights – by two police officials, because they no longer mean anything to them, preferring to defect from the ranks of the National Police.
Julio Montenegro, from the CPDH, shows the uniforms and implements delivered by the police.
The implements that belonged to the now ex-officers Maycol Alejandro Delgado Vargas and Juan José Blandón Gómez, were deposited in the hands of the CPDH because if they were handed over to their superiors, they feared to be victims of strong reprisals.
Julio Montenegro, legal advisor of CPDH, said that the human rights organization was approached by the ex-officials today separately, who said that they were leaving National Police because, in the context of the protests, the commanders forced them to perform acts that were against their moral values and institutional principles.
“These did not specify the acts because they were cautious. The truth is that they reasoned that they preferred to leave the ranks of the police because they fear for their personal security,” said Montenegro.
“They told us that they do not stay in their homes because they are aware of the punishments applied by their superiors against those who refuse to act outside the framework of their mission,” added Montenegro.
Montenegro added that they know of other officers who are in the same situation
The CPPH legal adviser said another officer, with the rank of captain, came in to learn about protection measures, as there are threats against him and harassment from other police members because they believe he is conspiring against the government.
“I can tell you many things that happen inside, but I can not give you my identity. That is very dangerous for me and my family,” the captain claimed.
Montenegro commented that there are other cases of complaints from members of the National Police. Among the cases that have been followed up is the one of María Teófila Arauz, ex-lieutenant of the National Police, dismissed and threatened for listening on her cell phone the song “Que vivan estudiantes”.
Arauz feared that crimes were invented for making the complaint public, however, after a few weeks his son died in a strange road accident, for which the CPDH was also present.
Then there is also ex-captain Engel Antonio Aguilar Ney, an architect in the General Administration Division of the National Police, who handled infrastructure projects, until the institution imposed on him a dishonorable discharge, saying that he spoke badly on social networks against the institution.
Aguilar left the country and his family can no longer live in his home because of police harassment and threats.
One of the most dramatic cases was the accusation of Fátima Vivas, the mother of Officer Faber Antonio López Vivas.
The National Police had informed the mother that her son had been killed by a bullet to the forehead, but after an examination that was performed by a doctor at the request of the woman, there was no bullet wound, only blows to different parts of the body.
Vivas said his son tried to request his discharge, but he and his family were threatened with death.
The Permanent Commission of Human Rights (CPDH) is a Nicaraguan non-governmental organization dedicated to the defense of human rights. It was founded during the Somoza dictatorship, on April 20, 1977 in Managua. The CPDH is funded by the National Foundation for Democracy of the United States.
Repression and other human rights violations motivated the withdrawal of cooperation.
The Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, the first two governments that officially suspend cooperation projects in Nicaragua, after last Wednesday the Organization of American States (OAS) issued a resolution condemning the repression of the Nicaraguan population.
Repression and other human rights violations motivated the withdrawal of cooperation.
The two countries announced Friday the suspension of cooperation projects with the Government of Nicaragua, due to what they point out as the serious human rights violations that have been committed in the country since April, when the anti-government protests began.
In the case of the Netherlands (often referred to as Holland), the government announced the suspension for two months of cooperation for the construction of a hospital in Bilwi, Autonomous Region of the North Caribbean Coast (RACCN), for “serious human rights violations committed by officials of the government and vigilante groups. ” The provision freezes 18.4 million euros.
The hospital would be regional and would have a capacity of 207 beds and the second hospital funded by the Netherlands, that contributed 20 million euros for the construction of the Fernando Velez Paiz Hospital in Managua.
The decision of the Netherlands is also due to “complaints about the obstruction and the serious delay in access to medical care for protesters in Nicaragua.”
In the case of Luxembourg, it has signed three indicative cooperation programs, each with a duration of four years and with an average cooperation amount of 30 million euros each. Only for the period 2015-2017, Luxembourg donated 28.66 million euros to the Nicaraguan government, invested in professional training, health and tourism.
Luxembourg revealed that it froze the disbursements directed to the Government and suspended the process of signing a new cooperation program, because its contribution “has always been based on respect for human rights and democratic values.”
Romain Schneider, Minister of Cooperation and Humanitarian Action of Luxembourg, announced that his country is financially supporting the Special Follow-up Mechanism for Nicaragua (Meseni) and the Interdisciplinary Group of Independent Experts (GIEI).
ne of the most emblematic projects of this cooperation was the construction and equipping of the School Hotel “Casa Luxemburgo”, inaugurated in January of this year. It is a center for the training of young people of the National Technological Institute (Inatec) that had an investment of US5.1 million dollars.
The two countries called on the Nicaraguan authorities to fully implement the recommendations made by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), including the investigation of the allegations of obstruction of medical assistance and the immediate stop of the violence and the dismantling of paramilitary groups.
The Netherlands and Luxembourg also called for the Nicaraguan government’s respect human of rights.
Thursday was a big day for Juan José Chacón-Quirós, also known as “JJ.” His company, Establishment Labs, became the first company headquartered in Costa Rica, to go public on an American stock exchange.
Establishment Labs, the first Costa Rican company to go public on a U.S. exchangeEstablishment Labs
“Today’s listing on Nasdaq represents a significant milestone for Establishment Labs and our shareholders,” said the company statement. “It’s an honor to be the first company headquartered in Costa Rica to be listed on a major stock exchange in the United States.”
“We welcome Establishment Labs to the Nasdaq family, and look forward to supporting their continued success,” said Joe Brantuk, Vice President of Nasdaq. “Establishment Labs continuously works to improve patient safety and aesthetic outcomes while simultaneously working towards its entry into the U.S. market.”
Founded in 2004, Establishment Labs (NASDAQ:ESTA) is a global medical technology company focused on improving patient safety and aesthetic outcomes, initially in the breast aesthetics and reconstruction market by designing, developing, manufacturing and marketing an innovative portfolio of silicone gel-filled breast implants, branded as Motiva Implants®, the centerpiece of the MotivaImagine® platform. And the first breast aesthetics IPO in 3 years.
Chacón-Quirós didn’t happen upon medical innovation by accident. He is the son and brother of a plastic surgeon, his mother is an obstetric nurse and his wife is a doctor, who have been a tremendous influence on him. He says that “my father taught me everything that existed, and my mother taught me everything that was missing.”
Go ahead, try it for yourself, Google the word “idiot.”
U.S. President Donald Trump’s face is the first Google image search result for “idiot”. So is the second. And the third. I counted seven on my search. Even as you continue to scroll down the page, Trump’s face appears with regularity.
According to Vice.com, this started naturally when British protestors pushed Green Day’s hit song “American Idiot” to the top of U.K. charts during Trump’s visit. But then, Reddit users started purposely trying to manipulate Google’s algorithm by posting articles that contain pictures of Trump and the word “idiot.”
It’s a tactic called “Google bombing” that builds a false relationship in the search engine database. And Trump got ‘bombed”.
Here is a screenshot of my search on Friday, July 20, 2018 at 10:40pm in Costa Rica.
Interesting to know if you get the same results from where you are. Use the comments section below to let me know.
The balance of credit card debt doubled in the last eight years, going from US$1.005 billion in April 2010 to US$2.095 billion in April 2018, the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Commerce (MEIC) has revealed, by means of a report prepared by the Directorate of Economic and Market Research.
For their part, defaults of less than 90 days also showed an upward trend. Since January 2016 and up to April of this year, the default balance has doubled. Both indicators show that the amount of defaulted debt is growing, which is critical because card issues are growing exponentially (approximately 3% or 65,000 cards per quarter), especially in products with higher interest rates, adds the official statement issued by the MEIC.
Regarding the trends reported, Erick Jara, director of Economic and Market Research, explained that “… Quarterly card studies have shown sustained growth in terms of card issues, and 70% of card types have an interest rate that ranges between 40% and 50%. In addition to the above, the balance of defaults of greater than 90 days has doubled in the last four years, therefore, this situation is a reflection of a supply channel which in general terms, is issuing cards without analyzing customers properly and on the other hand, users are accepting plastic cards without contemplating the effect of getting into debt with a very high financial cost. Therefore, the level of risk that the issuing entities are assuming, due to the scarcity of discrimination in terms of issue of cards, is reflected in the high interest rates.”
Margot Robbie, the Australian actress and film producer, who in 2017, Time magazine named her as one of the 100 most influential people in the world and Forbes featured her in their 30 Under 30 list, let down her hair during a dreamy vacation in Costa Rica with her husband of two years, Tom Ackerley.
Robbie has a busy career which includes a starring role as slain Hollywood beauty Sharon Tate opposite Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio in the upcoming Quentin Tarantino film Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, the epic film – which the director has promised to be in the same vein as his blockbuster Pulp Fiction.
The 28-year-old bombshell was seen wearing a black one-piece swimsuit as she hit the beach with her love on Wednesday afternoon.
The Australian beauty looked to be in the best shape of her life with very slender legs and arms and an enviable waistline. Robbie seemed to have almost no makeup on except perhaps a dab of peach lipstick. And her nails were nicely manicure with light pink polish for the easy summer beach day.
The couple wed in 2016 in Byron Bay after meeting on the set of the film Suite Francaise in 2014. He had been working on the film as an assistant director and she had a smaller part opposite Michelle Williams and Kristin Scott Thomas.
Eleven men, long odds, one live rooster. Remembering Canada’s lone World Cup appearance
(Reuters) Canada have Costa Rica in their cross hairs as they begin their drive towards the 2022 World Cup but coach John Herdman says that with the right preparation they should eventually target regional heavy weights Mexico and the United States.
Eleven men, long odds, one live rooster. Remembering Canada’s lone World Cup appearance. More at Sportsnet.ca
With the buzz from the Russia World Cup still in the air, Canada was out of the starting blocks quickly by unveiling “The Road to 2022 Begins” campaign this week, which they hope will earn them a ticket to Qatar in four years’ time.
Having qualified only once for the World Cup, in 1986 when they lost all three group matches and failed to score, Herdman has been tasked with putting a plan in place that will end nearly four decades of failure.
Herdman knows that for 2022 Mexico and the United States are likely to vie for the top spots in the CONCACAF region but says Canada can be the best of the rest and hopes to overhaul Costa Rica, who have qualified five times for the World Cup, including the last two.
“The team we really need to go after in the next four years, and we can close the gap on, is Costa Rica,” said Herdman.
“In many areas we have higher quality players than them in the depth of our team, we maybe lack the tier one players but we are not far off two or three players.
“We’re right up there and then it comes down to things like sport science, proper management, relationship with clubs, a commitment from the guys to really buy into leaving the shirt in a better place.”
The CONCACAF region, which includes teams from North and Central America and the Caribbean, puts Canada up against sides with strong World Cup pedigrees in Mexico and the United States, while a host of smaller nations such as Honduras, El Salvador, Panama and Jamaica all regularly compete for berths.
In Russia, Mexico made it to the last 16 but was knocked by Brazil, while Panama and Costa Rica did not win a match and finished bottom of their groups.” –
People protest against corruption, following an influence-peddling scandal that has shaken the country's justice system, in Lima, Peru. | Photo: Reuters
Peruvians marched in the streets across the Andean country late Thursday, many carrying effigies of rats or vultures, to demand anti-corruption reforms clean up the country’s institutions following the resignation of the head of the judiciary.
People protest against corruption, following an influence-peddling scandal that has shaken the country’s justice system, in Lima, Peru. | Photo: Reuters
Thousands took to the historic district of the capital Lima carrying signs that read “Kick them all out!” and chanting “Stop Corruption! National Shame!”
“It’s not just about dismissing the magistrates. We need a change, a reform of the entire judicial and political system,” said Jorge Rodriguez, a 31-year-old university student.
Peruvians took part in protests in cities including Cusco, Arequipa, Tacna, Iquitos Thursday, media reported.
Peruvian President Martin Vizcarra fired his justice minister, Salvador Heresi, on Friday after a TV station released audio of a phone conversation between the minister and a judge under investigation for influence peddling.
The audio was part of several wiretapped phone conversations of judges and their associates that were recorded by police as part of a criminal probe before being leaked to Peruvian media, the judge who authorized the wiretapping has said.
In the recordings, judges appear to be discussing plans to trade favors, help convicted criminals and secure jobs for friends.
One judge has been arrested, and another has been barred from leaving Peru. All deny wrongdoing.
Duberli Rodriguez, who has not been accused of any wrongdoing, quit his posts as the head of the Supreme Court and the president of the judiciary “because of the institutional crisis that the judiciary is going through,” according to his resignation letter that the judiciary posted on Twitter.
Rodriguez did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
A corruption scandal dogged the previous administration of former president Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, who stepped down four months ago in a graft scandal involving Brazilian builder Odebrecht.
The judiciary crisis is an early political test for Vizcarra, who as Kuczynski’s former vice president vowed to fight corruption “at any cost” when he took office in March.
Vizcarra has promised to start a significant reform of Peru’s justice system later this month and summoned Congress to an emergency legislative session Friday to oust all members of the National Council of Magistrates, a 7-member panel that selects and oversees judges and prosecutors.
The crisis has battered trust in Peru’s institutions that had already been shaken by nearly two years of political intrigue surrounding Odebrecht, which admitted in late 2017 to having paid $29 million in bribes to secure lucrative construction contracts in Peru.
All four of Peru’s most recent presidents and the main opposition party are under investigation over Odebrecht. All deny wrongdoing.
Pending approval from regulating authorities, Walmart announced Thursday the purchase Perimercados, Super Compro and Saretto stores from Grupo Empresarial de Supermercados (Gessa).
Once authorization is received from the Comisión para la Promoción de la Competencia (Coprocom) – Commission for the Promotion of Competition of the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Commerce (MEIC), the retail chain will begin an integration process so that the 52 points of sale (POS) acquired under its standards and brands in the country.
More than 1,300 employees of the acquired stores will join the Walmart team in Costa Rica.
“The combined operation of the Walmart and Gessa stores generates an excellent complementarity to serve increasingly the Costa Rican market. In this way, Walmart promotes its growth plans in the region, and the current stores and collaborators of Gessa will be able to offer increasing value to its customers,” said Cristian Barrientos, senior vice president and general manager of Walmart Centroamérica.
Barrientos added that the transaction will represent an opportunity for the suppliers of both companies to continue developing their commercial activity, and potentially, can extend it to more establishments countrywide.
“We are very optimistic about the social value that we will be able to share thanks to this business, because customers will have greater possibilities to save on their purchases, more associates will have the opportunity to develop in a growing organization and, especially, we will give greater possibilities for business to our suppliers,” added the senior vice president.
The purchase is part of Walmart’s announced plans in mid-2017 to double its operations in Costa Rica within five years.
In Costa Rica, Walmart of Mexico and Central America owns the Walmart, Masxmenos, Maxipalí and Palí stores. The new acquisitions adds Perimercados, Super Compro and Saretto to its retail outlets.
According to a report by Bloomberg last month, Walmart’s Killing It in Central America. Bloomberg reported Walmart’s business in Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Costa Rica is a growing part of the retailer’s publicly traded Mexican and Central American business, Wal-Mart de Mexico SAB, or Walmex. The region now accounts for almost one-fifth of Walmex’s revenue, up from 14% in 2014.
The retailer’s sales in Central America more than doubled to US$5.2 billion) in 2017.
In 2017, Walmart reported revenues of $5.7 billion in the Central American region. Internationally, the company suffered at the beginning of 2018, reporting a 27.7% fall in its net profit. The reduction was a consequence of the burdens linked to the US tax reform.
A Minnesota family stuck in Central America is trying to find a way home.
Not purchasing separate travel insurance, which could have covered medical expenses and evacuation, has the Lopez family staying with friends in Costa Rica Emmee Lopez met 10 years ago while studying abroad and turning to friends, family and strangers, little by little, working to get her family home.
From GoFundMe
Three-year-old Axel Lopez broke his leg last week and needed emergency surgery. His cast prevents him from taking a commercial flight back to Minnesota from Costa Rica. Now, his family is reaching out for help.
While vacationing in Costa Rica, on their second day, three-year-old Axel Lopez broke his leg and needed emergency surgery. His cast prevents him from taking a commercial flight back to Minnesota from Costa Rica. Now, his family is reaching out for help.
Axel spends all of his time laying down. His mom Emmee said Axel fell down and broke his femur. “He was holding his leg and he just said ‘mommy, mommy, mommy.’ He was screaming in pain,” Emmee Lopez said.
They rushed him to National Children’s Hospital (Hospital Nacional de Niños in San Jose), where hours later he had surgery. Axel’s cast goes from his waist down his right leg, and covers part of the left.
“As a mother that’s the most heartbreaking thing to see your child in pain,” Lopez said.
She thought they’d be able to travel home but instead learned he can’t take a commercial flight because he can’t sit up.
“’I just want to go home,’ and he says that constantly, ‘I just want to get my cast off. I just want to be in my own bed,’” Lopez said.
Lopez said the U.S. Embassy recommended booking an air ambulance. With that came another shock, a flight with a $42,000 price tag.
“Our insurance denied us because we’re out of the country. Unfortunately, because we were led to believe our insurance would cover it,” Lopez said.
She’s turned to friends, family and strangers. A team, little by little, working to get her family home.
“I am so grateful for everyone,” Lopez said.
Doctors said the cast may come off in mid-August, but the family hopes they can come up with enough money to fly home sooner.
Police horses are part of the security protection for the romeros. Archive photo
The “romeria”, the annual Pilgrimage to Cartago is around the corner and the Ministerio de Seguridad Publica (MSP) announced its plans to ensure a safe walk. According to the MSP, some 3,500 police will be in charge of the surveillance and protection before, during and after the Pilgrimage.
Police horses are part of the security protection for the romeros. Archive photo
In Cartago, the destination of the ‘romeros’, Erick Calderón, regional director of the Fuerza Publica in Cartago, said the operation will include police units on horses, motorcycles, quads, vans, bus, and regular patrols, in addition, there will be six Police Attention Center (CAP) units, two Community Preventives (UPC) and a police helicopter.
Although the big days for the romeria are August 1 and 2, the police operation is already underway and will continue until August 5.
If you will be taking part in the romeria, authorities recommend not to carry large amounts of cash, jewelry, and visible electronic devices; walk in groups and on official routes; wear proper clothing (it gets cold at night, especially in Cartago), rain gear and footwear; and liquids to stay hydrated.
If you take children, provide them with proper identification, like badges and with personal information of the child and parents, in case you get separated.
Do not take pets on the romeria. The fine for taking your dog is ¢250,000 colones.
Judge Doris Arias Madrigal said that she presented this Wednesday at 4 a. m. to the Contentious Court to present the judicial action. Photo by Francisco Rodríguez.
The President of the Sala Tercera of the Supreme Court, Doris Arias Madrigal, announced on Wednesday afternoon her retirement from the bench in November, when her eight year term is up.
Judge Doris Arias Madrigal. Photo by Francisco Rodríguez.
Arias is one of four Supreme Court justices to be sanctioned last Thursday, first with a written reprimand, overturned on Monday by the Corte Plena, sanctioning the justices to two months suspension without pay for dismissing in February 2017 a case against the then legislators Otto Guevara and Víctor Morales Zapata for alleged influence peddling, in relation to the Chinese cement businessman, Juan Carlos Bolaños.
The other three magistrates are María Elena Gómez Cortés, Jesús Ramírez Quirós and Carlos Chinchilla Sandí.
Speaking Wednesday morning on La Lupa radio show, Arias said her decision to step down, that is not opting to be reelected, was made in January.
“In January of this year I met with my work team and at that time we talked about a retirement plan (…) when the term of my appointment expires,” she explained.
Do you tip your Uber driver? Does your Uber driver deserve a tip? The company has enabled the option to encourage passengers to add a tip to the fare for the driver.
According to Uber, you can add a tip up to 30 days after the trip. “It is simply another way in which you can say “thank you” to the Collaborating Partners (driver) that offers you a great experience (…) The amount you add to your trips is exempt from service fees,” the company said. That means the full amount of the tip, without the company taking its cut, added to the earning of the driver.
The tip can be one of three predetermined options or a personalized amount.
According to Uber Costa Rica, it has some 22,000 drivers in the country of which for 66% or 14,250 is the main source of income.
Experts say you shouldn’t tip an Uber driver any less than any other taxi driver, which can be a problem in Costa Rica, since tipping a taxi driver is not customary or expected by taxi drivers.
On its website, Uber says as a rider, you are not obligated to tip your driver but if you decide you would like to tip, the driver is welcome to accept.
