(QCOSTARICA) Despite constant complaints from the export sector, the Central Bank (Banco Central de Costa Rica – BCCR) has been clear that a devaluation of the colon against the U.S. dollar would mean a reversal of its exchange rate policy.
“A programmed of devaluation of the national currency represents a contradiction with the current exchange rate regime. For practical purposes, it would mean returning to a situation of a predetermined exchange rate” Eduardo Prado, general manager of the BCCR told Elfinancierocr.com.
The insistence with which exporters and tourism entrepreneurs have raised the need to depreciate the Costa Rican currency to recover some of the lost competitiveness in the external field was not enough to change the opinion of the monetary authority.
Last month, in a press conference, several chambers that bring together exporters and the tourism sector, explicitly called for the BCCR to set a policy of gradual increase in the dollar over three years.
The request was supported in a study by former BCCR manager Gerardo Corrales, which detailed the value of the dollar could rise as much as 20%.
Padro also said “that a devaluation would have a number of consequences for the rest of the economy. Increased transfer of exchange rate variations on domestic prices of goods and services linked to the international market, generating inertia in price growth; higher prices will generate pressure for increases in wages, which represent an increase in the cost of production and does not contribute to reducing unemployment.”
Other consequences of making a forced devaluation is increases in interest rates, which would have a negative effect on investment and economic growth.”
The Central Bank executive acknowledged that in the last 16 months, the BCCR has participated in forums and has addressed concerns of exporting groups.
“We found differences, (…) and the relevance, costs and benefits of some proposals expressed by these organizations (…),” said Prado.
The dollar exchange has maintained an upward trend since May 2016. The exchange rate this morning is ¢547.23 to US$1 for the buy, and ¢559.78 to US$1 for the sell.
Every Thursday, the BCCR also publishes the prime interest rate for the coming week, both in colones and dollars. The rate this morning is 4.65% for colones and 2.05% for dollars.
The Q publishes daily (on the front page) the exchange rate set by the BCCR. The interest at banks may vary slightly. Before exchanging currency a good practice is check the rates offered at banks. Surprisingly it can vary up to a few percentage points at any given time between the different financial institutions.
The building that houses the CCSS or Caja opened its doors in 1967, will be getting a retrofit
(QCOSTARICA) What do you do if the building you own is out of date, in need of a serious overhaul including structural repairs? Move. Albeit temporarily. That is the decision by the Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social (CCSS) or the Caja, which needs to vacate its 12 storey building in downtown San Jose, where daily 1.040 people work.
The headquarters building of the CCSS or Caja in downtown San Jose opened its doors in 1967.
The CCSS said it plans to spend almost US$12.5 million dollars (¢6.850 billion colones) on renting buildings, of which nearly US$2 million (¢1 billion) has been earmarked for document storage and about US$200,000 (¢100 million) to move the furniture.
That is in addition to the US$31 million (¢17 billion colones) to retrofit the building that opened its doors in 1967. The primary work on the structure is to meet today’s seismic standards, that includes structural reinforcement and updating the building’s electrical and mechanical systems.
Gustavo Picado, financial manager at the CCSS, explained that retrofitted Laureano Echandi building will have an estimate 50 year useful life.
According to the report by Nacion.com report, Picado said that “… next year the terms of the tender rules and the administrative process of hiring a company to do the works will be defined.”
Meanwhile, during for the three years estimated to complete the retrofitting, the CCSS will be renting several buildings in the downtown area, to house its employees and attend to the needs of users.
Farms in the mountainous Costa Rican region of Llano Bonito use plantain trees to provide shade for growing coffee plants, to adapt to climate change, while experts call for the diversification of coffee varieties in Costa Rica. Credit: Diego Arguedas Ortiz/IPS
Farms in the mountainous Costa Rican region of Llano Bonito use plantain trees to provide shade for growing coffee plants, to adapt to climate change, while experts call for the diversification of coffee varieties in Costa Rica. Credit: Diego Arguedas Ortiz/IPS
Q24N (IPS) LLANO BONITO, Costa Rica – “Our coffee production per hectare has dropped due to early ripening of the fruit and diseases,” Maritza Cal coffee farmer in the mountains in southern Costa Rica, told IPS.
This story repeats itself all over the world. The report “A Brewing Storm”, released on Aug. 29 by the Climate Institute of Australia, warned that the main coffee producing countries will face difficulties such as the proliferation of plant diseases and the loss of arable land.
In the last few years, these kinds of warnings have given rise to a loose network of experts, government agencies, cooperatives and associations of producers that have the shared mission of saving local coffee production with the best available technology.
Producers are incorporating new resistant varieties and better fertilisation practices, and using fruit trees to generate shade and prevent soil erosion.
In the town of Llano Bonito in León Cortés, a chilly mountainous region 175 km south-east of San José, Calderón and13 other producers who are taking part in a training workshop spoke to IPS about the changes that their farms are undergoing.
“The ‘coffee rust’ fungus no longer has a specific time of year, but changes each year, coming earlier or later depending on the weather,” farmer Bienvenido Abarca told IPS, although what he learned in the workshop gave him some cause for optimism.
For more than two centuries, coffee has been deeply rooted within the history, culture and traditions of this Central American country of 3.8 million people. The National Theatre located in the country’s capital, for example, was built in the late 1800s with the funds from an export duty on coffee.
However, faced with fierce international price competition and the expansion of cities, the country’s coffee farms shrank from 34,000 in 1984 to 26,000 in 2014, according to figures from the “The State of the Nation 2015” report.
Farmers listen to Elías de Melo’s presentation, at the Llano Bonito Community Centre in León Cortés, Costa Rica, in a workshop aimed at training them in the adaptation of their coffee plantations to the raise in temperatures. Credit: Diego Arguedas Ortiz/IPS
Some 40,000 families depend on coffee for a living, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, growing Arabica, the variety of coffee that is grown in the country, on a total of just over 85,000 hectares of land. This makes it the third agricultural export and the eighth largest export overall, although it only represents two per cent of the coffee in the global market.
The remaining farms have adapted; in order to survive they have tried to position themselves as producers of premium quality coffee. The 673 coffee farmers in Llano Bonito, a third of whom are women, have formed a cooperative called Coopellanobonito, which exports to the United States.
Now they have to find a way to deal with climate change and the rise in temperatures.
“Costa Rica is considered internationally a top coffee producer. So we have to look for ways to remain positioned in the market,” Elías de Melo, a Brazilian expert on coffee and agroforestry systems at the Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Centre (CATIE), based in Brazil, told IPS.
Farmers listen to Elías de Melo’s presentation, at the Llano Bonito Community Centre in León Cortés, Costa Rica, in a workshop aimed at training them in the adaptation of their coffee plantations to the raise in temperatures. Credit: Diego Arguedas Ortiz/IPS
Farmers listen to Elías de Melo’s presentation, at the Llano Bonito Community Centre in León Cortés, Costa Rica, in a workshop aimed at training them in the adaptation of their coffee plantations to the raise in temperatures. Credit: Diego Arguedas Ortiz/IPS
Holding a mug of local coffee (“the best in Costa Rica,” he said), De Melo said that the coffee-growing areas act as biological corridors, preventing erosion, and are the livelihood of thousands of families.
“Coffee is socially and environmentally key for Costa Rica and if it were to disappear it would be devastating,” he said.
One of the proposed solutions is a project that De Melo brought to Llano Bonito. Along with the local Café Forestal Foundation, De Melo is visiting six coffee farming communities in the country to understand their problems and devise solutions together.
“We want to set up four pilot farms in this community, to function as outdoor classrooms,” Carlos Jones, the Foundation’s executive director told the producers.
The idea is to create four of these model farms in each of the six communities.
This project received 100,000 dollars from the international Adaptation Fund, which finances projects and programmes aimed at reducing the effects of climate change in developing countries. Through this mechanism Costa Rica obtained 10 million dollars to use in 30 projects to be implemented by the non-governmental Fundecooperación.
Costa Rica has gradually taken on a leading role in coffee production. In 2013 the country presented a voluntary initiative to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions in the coffee sector: NAMA (Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions) Café – the first agricultural NAMA in the world.
NAMA Café is also committed to climate change adaptation, said the head of the coffee division in the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, Luis Zamora.
“Coffee can withstand adverse conditions, but only up to a certain extent,” Zamora, one of the proponents of NAMA, told IPS.
How to avoid reaching that point referred to by Zamora? With adaptation measures, said the expert, such as planting trees in the coffee plantation to regulate the temperature through agroforestry systems, harvesting rainwater or using more resistant new varieties.
A common practice on coffee farms is to use fruit trees such as plantain trees in order to provide shade for the coffee plants and a number of additional advantages for producers.
“There can be no mitigation and adaptation to climate change without putting trees in the productive systems,” said De Melo.
Trees create a microclimate preventing problems related to high temperatures and soil erosion, while improving water filtration. A careful selection of trees can even diversify crops, while serving as a climate change adaptation measure.
“Now we come home with plantain, cassava, and taro (Colocasia esculenta, a tuber widely consumed locally), jocotes (Spondias purpurea, Spanish plum). All these are trees that give shade,” said Abarca.
However, solutions to continue producing coffee with rising temperatures must be found quickly, said Zamora, because “there is not much time to think,” given the advance of climate change.
Coffee farmers went through difficult times in 2013, when high levels of moisture and high temperatures allowed the coffee fungus or roya to spread through Central America.
These episodes force farmers to use new coffee varieties more resistant to diseases, like the so-called H1 hybrids, the Costa Rica 95 variety or the Brazilian Obata.
The farms need financial support, noted Zamora and De Melo, because to change plant varieties has a cost of about 8,000 dollars per hectare. Trees can take up to three years to produce their first harvest.
These solutions that are encouraged by experts and producers should come from the grassroots, even if they are scientifically proven.
This is demonstrated by a poll carried out by economist Milagro Saborío, who surveyed 300 coffee producing families about climate change for a joint project between CATIE and Conservation International.
The two regions studied showed different cultural conditions which made it necessary to come up with specifically tailored actions. “It’s not possible to devise a single national model,” Saborío told IPS.
Octavio Ramírez, United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) representative in Costa Rica, agrees with her, and said the Adaptation Fund’s project should take local conditions into account.
“Suits have to be tailor-made, but there are things in common,” Ramírez told IPS.
FAO is working with coffee farmers throughout Central America, said the expert, to expressly help them to prevent and cope with the coffee fungus.
Controls are in place to avoid someone from leaving the country owing family support or involved in a criminal proceeding. But mistakes happen.
(QCOSTARICA) On numerous occasion we’ve written about it here, heck, you may even know one or more persons who have been stopped from leaving the country, at the airport, maybe even boarded their flight and minutes before takeoff, told to get off.
Controls are in place to avoid someone from leaving the country owing family support or involved in a criminal proceeding. But mistakes can happen. And they do.
This is the “impedimento de salida” (exit restriction) in action, which allows the Judiciary from barring anyone from leaving the country that is involved in criminal proceedings or the more common, issues with family support payments or Sistema de Obligados al Pago de Pensión Alimentaria (SOAP) in Spanish.
Restrictions on leaving the country, by air or land are enforced the immigration service.
At land crossings, a person leaving the country interacts directly with an immigration official. At the airport that is not the case, as it once was: the airlines submit their passenger list to the immigration service, who behind the scenes to cross check their database and take action if necessary. Hence the 1 hour prior to departure rule at the international airports.
The restriction applies equally to nationals, foreigner residents (legal or not) with a child in Costa Rica and a support order and in cases of a criminal proceedings, especially where there is an order by the court barring the leaving the country.
In the case of criminal proceedings you pretty much know that you will have problems leaving the country. But in the case of a SOPA order you really don’t until you are pulled off that flight.
So how do you know if your name is on the list? You really don’t unless you take the time, before leaving the country, to verify with the Judiciary.
The solution is coming. After multiple complaints the Superior Council of the Judiciary has ordered a series of actions to prevent problems when leaving the country.Among the actions is the creation of a website where one can check to see if there is an impedimento (restriction).
The Judiciary has ordered the Directorate of Information Technology department to implement the system within the coming three months.
The website would also have a mobile app (application) so that the information can be accessed from a smartphone. Be entering their identification (cedula or passport number for foreigners), a person can learn beforehand of any problems they may encounter once at the airport.
In the event there is a restriction, the user will be able to learn where and when the order was placed, the information used to deal with the issue. The Judiciary has also ordered security measures from massive downloads of the database.
The waters off Malpelo Island, a World Heritage Site in the Eastern Pacific west of Colombia, contain a colorful confluence of marine life, including this green moray. (Photo by: Banfi Franco/AGF/UIG via Getty Images)
Morning light shines on the volcanic landscape of Bartolome Island in the Galápagos. The Presidents of Ecuador, Costa Rica, and Colombia convened on the islands to announce new protection of marine waters on Friday. Photograph by Ralph Lee Hopkins, National Geographic Creative
(Q24N) from National Geographic | Concern over a worldwide decline in marine life prompted the presidents of Ecuador, Colombia, and Costa Rica to announce agreements Friday to increase protection of some of the most biodiverse ocean waters.
The agreements bring the marine reserves off the three nations to 83,600 square miles. Ecuador and Costa Rica also agreed to delineate the boundaries of their national waters, exchanging nautical charts in a step toward protecting the underwater “highways” used by sharks, sea turtles, and other migrating marine life.
“These three countries share marine resources and thus have responsibility for managing them sustainably…We have the unique and urgent opportunity to allow future generations to enjoy an ocean as rich as the Pacific,” said Ecuador President Rafael Correa as he and the two other presidents gathered in the Galápagos, which inspired Charles Darwin’s revolutionary ideas about biology and evolution.
The actions expand protections in three UNESCO World Heritage Sites: Cocos, Malpelo, and Galápagos.
A young sea lion chases salema, which are known for forming dense schools, in the waters off the Galápagos Islands. Photograph by Ralph Lee Hopkins, National Geographic Creative
Colombia President Juan Manuel Santos pledged to more than double the size of the Malpelo Flora and Fauna Sanctuary 300 miles from the mainland’s coast. Already one of the largest no-fishing zones in the region, the sanctuary, now more than 10,000 square miles, hosts one of the world’s largest aggregations of sharks.
“This is important to protect our jewels. If there is something that Colombia has, it’s a richness in flora, fauna, and biodiversity. An important part of that richness is in Malpelo,” Santos said.
Costa Rica President Luis Guillermo Solís committed to expanding Cocos Island National Park by nearly 4,000 square miles. That will nearly quadruple the area where fishing is restricted in an effort to safeguard white-tip sharks, whale sharks, and hammerhead sharks.
“This is an historic moment – the first time that three presidents got together to expand protections in their neighboring waters,” said Enric Sala, a National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence who has led scientists and filmmakers investigating the waters around the Galápagos.
The waters off Malpelo Island, a World Heritage Site in the Eastern Pacific west of Colombia, contain a colorful confluence of marine life, including this green moray. (Photo by: Banfi Franco/AGF/UIG via Getty Images)
Currently around three percent of ocean waters worldwide are protected in marine reserves; fishing is banned in about half of these waters. Ecuador, Colombia, and Costa Rica have pledged to meet a United Nations target of protecting 10 percent of the world’s oceans by 2020.
Today’s announcements add to a series of recent actions designed to safeguard whales, sharks, sea turtles, tuna, and other creatures off the coasts of Central and South America. A new marine sanctuary created in March around Wolf and Darwin islands protects roughly one-third of the waters of the Galápagos from fishing and other extractive industries. Scientific studies conducted last year found that these waters host the world’s highest known abundance of sharks, from migratory hammerheads to reef sharks.
While technology today should allow monitoring by remote surveillance, the key to success of the reserves is the political will to arrest and prosecute poachers. Sala says he was encouraged by the three heads of state’s “concrete actions,” which demonstrate “a real commitment to work together to protect their biological corridors.”
Fish biomass around Wolf and Darwin averages 17.5 tons per hectare – twice as high as the second highest known area worldwide, Costa Rica’s Cocos Island National Park, says Sala, who conducted the Pristine Seas expedition with Pelayo Salinas of the Charles Darwin Research Station. (Read more about Pristine Seas.)
Protections already are in place at the Galápagos Marine Reserve, 51,000 square miles of water surrounding the archipelago, which was listed in 1998 as a World Heritage Site.
A whitetip reef shark swims near the sea floor in a cove off the Galápagos Islands. New marine reserves announced Friday are designed to protect sharks and other marine life in the region. Photograph by Tim Laman, National Geographic
Under the new boundary maps, Ecuador’s marine territory now is more than five times larger than its continental territory, Correa says.
In 2003 the three nations and Panama joined with the UNESCO World Heritage Centre and other international organizations to form the Eastern Tropical Pacific Seascape, covering 750,000 square miles of ocean.The Seascape, which helps link marine protected areas in Panama and Colombia, safeguards an important migratory route for the endangered blue whale and protects one of the last remaining nesting grounds in the Eastern Pacific of the critically endangered leatherback turtle. Scientists have found that sharks navigate along a ridge from Cocos in the north to Galápagos in the south. Once they leave the protected areas, they are vulnerable to intense fishing along this ridge.
The announcements followed Thursday night’s premier of Wild Galápagos: Pristine Seas, a National Geographic documentary, which was shown at an event attended by the three presidents that included time aboard the ship National Geographic Endeavour.
Original article was posted on National Geographic.
(Q24N) There’s no doubt that renewable energy is the future. But, how much of the world’s energy consumption can it cover? How soon will this future arrive? And, most importantly, can a world without any fossil fuel be possible?
Right now, renewable energy accounts for 23.7% of global electricity production. An increase in that share would reduce pollution and the effects of climate change significantly. The prospect of securing clean alternatives to fossil fuels is becoming a reality as more and more countries are taking a step towards a more sustainable lifestyle.
Case in point: Costa Rica
The Central American country has been running solely on green energy for 76 consecutive days, between June and August 2016. This achievement marks the second time in the last two years Costa Rica has run on clean energy, bringing the total number of fossil-fuel days to 150. While it might not seem much, it’s an impressive number considering that most countries struggle to run on renewable energy for just a day. Costa Rica demonstrated that life without fossil fuels is not just a fantasy, but a reality.
According to Costa Rica’s National Centre for Energy Control, June 16, 2016, was the last day the country used fossil fuel to generate electricity. Costa Rica has been running since on 100% clean energy, using a mix of hydro, geothermal, solar, and wind power. In fact, hydroelectric plants accounted for 80.27% of the total energy in August while geothermal plants provided about 12.62%. Wind turbines generated 7.1% while solar provided an estimated of 0.01% of the total energy generation in August.
Costa Rica has made it its primary objective to reduce its carbon footprint and focus on sustainable policies. The nation hopes to become carbon-free by 2021.
Can Bigger Countries Make the Shift Toward 100% Renewable Energy?
While Costa Rica’s achievement is impressive, we mustn’t forget that the Central American nation is a rather small country. It’s small population of 4.9 million residents generated 10,713 GWh of electricity in 2015. The United States, by comparison, generated around four million GWh in 2015, more than 373 times more energy than Costa Rica.
Another advantage that Costa Rica has is that its main industries are agriculture and tourism, as opposed to energy-related sectors like manufacturing and mining. More than that, the small Central American nation has an abundance of natural resources, such as numerous volcanoes and rivers.
Taking these factors into consideration, one can only assume that more populous countries looking to lower their carbon footprint would have a harder time. But, that’s not necessarily true.
On August 7, 2016, Scotland managed to produce enough energy from wind turbines to power the country for an entire day. Remember, we are talking about a country that has the largest oil reserves in the European Union but which chooses to focus on clean energy instead. While it might not seem much, when you consider that Scotland is about one-third larger than Costa Rica and that wind power produces less energy than hydropower, then you will understand that this achievement is important.
Meanwhile, Portugal managed to keep its lights on with 100% renewable energy for four consecutive days in May 2016. The entire electricity needs of the country were fully covered by solar panels, wind turbines, and hydropower. The same month, Germany announced that green energy had powered almost all of its electricity consumption on May 15, 2016. In fact, Germany is known as a solar superpower, more than 78% of the country’s electricity demands being met by photovoltaic panels in 2015.
Larger countries, such as the United Stated, Canada, and Mexico are already taking lessons from Costa Rica and have pledged to have half of their electricity needs covered by renewable energy by 2025.
The Downside to Costa Rica’s Plan
Cost Rica deserves a round of applause for its clean energy production. But, it’s model is not without fault. The Central American country gets most of its energy from hydroelectric plants, and a severe drought can seriously affect the country’s capacity to meet its electricity demands. For this reason, Costa Rica should invest more in wind turbines and solar panels and offer more diversity regarding clean energy.
Small Changes, Big Impact
Can something as small as Costa Rica being fossil fuel-free for two months reduce the impact of climate change? After all, the Central American country only produces 8.6 million tons of carbon emissions per year while its neighbor Brazil produces 65 times that, and the United States produce 713 times more. China is by far the most polluting country in the world, generating around 1,241 more carbon emissions than Costa Rica.
When you put it into a global perspective, Costa Rica’s achievement seems small. But, rather than being disappointed by the little progress that it’s being made, think about it this way. Costa Rica, Scotland, Portugal, Germany, and all the other nations who are proving that running on renewable energy is possible are setting a good example for the rest of the world. Larger nations should look at them and learn from them where their priorities should be.
In the last 50 years, fossil fuel energy consumption has dropped from 94% to 84%. It’s not much, but at least we are heading in the right direction. The only question that remains is – are we moving fast enough to secure a clean environment for future generations?
Conclusion
While Costa Rica’s renewable energy model may seem impossible for larger countries, such as the United States, India, or China, their efforts and commitment are inspiring nonetheless. For renewable energy to really make an impact and reduce the dramatic effects of climate change, there’s still a lot that needs to be done.
(QCOSTARICA) Imagine the surprise a young woman who thought she had won ¢140 million colones in the National Lottery actually went home with ¢210 million.
The woman, a 29 year-old Nicaragua national and whose identity is being protected, a resident of Puntarenas played the number 2 in series 131 for ¢8.000 colones, according to the Junta de Protección Social (JPS) – the state lottery corporation.
The young woman did not know about the “accumulated” part of the prizes that since August of this year and running until November the JPS is offering in addition to the jackpot.
The “accumulated” for this Sunday’s draw is ¢10 million colones. The accumulated is a separate draw following the draw for the jackpot prize.
(QCOSTARICA) Soon, spotting a Maserati in San Jose’s growing traffic congestion may be a normal thing. At least that is the goal of Viensa Motors, with the addition of the Maserati to its lineup of Mitsubishi, Ssang Yong, Citroen, Geely, Fuso and JMC brands.
Previously, the “ultra-luxury performance automobile with timeless Italian style” was sold in the country by other companies, including the Grupo Q (who currently handles the Hyundai, Chevrolet and Isuzu brands).
“Maserati is undoubtedly one of the most prestigious brands in the world, which combines luxury and sportiness and perfectly complements our product portfolio,” noted Roberto Alvarez, marketing director of Veinsa Motors.
Alvarez said it took five months the process of incorporating the brand, that included product training and customer service, both in the United States and Italy.
The company makes available five models: Levante (the first Maserati SUV), Ghibli, Quattroporte, Gran Turismo and Gran Turismo Convertible at its only Maserati store located in Terrazas de Lindora, in Lindora, Santa Ana.
Maserati customers in Costa Rica can count with a four-year warranty, specialized service, original spare parts, individualized attention and 24 hours a day, seven days a week mechanic’s service.
Maserati moves with the times, the new Levante SUV
Viensa Motors is betting attracting customers to the brand and a growing trend towards luxury vehicles. According to Asociación de Importadores de Vehículos y Maquinaria (Aivema) – associatin of importers of vehicles – some 2.350 of the high end vehicles were sold in Costa Rica in 2015; in 2014 the number was 2.098 and 1.889 in 2013.
“There is a market for the brand and mainly for the SUV that we will be presenting on Thursday (October 6). It differs from traditional sports cars,” said Alvarez.
Among the high-end brands currently available in Costa Rica are: Acura, Alfa Romeo, Audi, BMW, Jaguar, Land Rover, Lexus, Mercedez Benz, Mini, Porsche and Volvo.
Charter companies are betting on personalized service in Costa Rica
(QCOSTARICA) In a growing market, 16 commercial air companies operate in Costa Rica an average of four to five corporate flights a day. Having a wide range of routes and destinations is no longer enough for charter airlines to fill their flights in Costa Rica.
Providing a flight with value added services, such as alliances with hotels and transport services in the areas surrounding airports is one of the elements with which airlines that offer charter flights to businesses and tourists are aiming to differentiate themselves.
ElFinancieriocr.com says, today, the charter market is not only for international tourists, but also has seen an increase of Costa Ricans users, according to the companies.
For example, Elfinancierocr.com explains, “… some of the services that make airlines be better positioned in the market are access to wi-fi in the hangar, greater luggage capacity, allowing pets on board, international insurance and accessibility when boarding the plane. ”
“The profile of national users is an executive or entrepreneur for whom time is valuable. So much so that if you compare the cost-benefit ratio, it is more convenient to move air than to do so by land, allowing to attend meetings or to follow-up on their projects outside the Greater Metropolitan Area (GAM) of San Jose, ” said Mario Villatoro, director of operations of Aero Caribe.
Villatoro added the “taboo” about high prices and instability of services is in the past.
“… In the case of tourists, airlines say favorite destinations are Santa Teresa, Playa Hermosa and Conchal, while Liberia and Tamarindo remain a favourite for executives and professionals.” These routes are growing a lot because of the real estate development in the area'”, said Everardo Carmona, general manager of Carmonair to Elfinancierocr.com.
Other airlines, such as Sansa and Nature Air, also offer charter flights, although less frequently.
In the San Jose area, charter flights operate out of the Juan Santamaria international and Tobias Bolaños (Pavas) airports.
Riding between vehicles is a common practice of motorcyclists in the greater metropolitan area of San Jose
Every day during the first six months of this year, the national registry records on average 215 new motorcycle registrations. Photo José Francisco Cordero/La Nacion
(QCOSTARICA) Between January and June 2016 almost 39,000 new motorcycles were registered in the Costa Rica, which is 9% more than in the same period in 2015.
That translates into 215 new motorcycles every day or nine every hour, according to the national property registry, the Registro Nacional.
Congestion, lower prices and access to credit, are the contributing to the rapid growth in the number of motorcycles in the country, which translates into more revenue for the economy, but also a growing public health problem for the deaths and accidents associated with the motorcycle.
China is still the main market for most motorcycles imported into the country. In the first half of 2016 38.818 motorcycles were registered, mostly from China, the leading supplier of motorcycles in the country. Industry estimates released by the association of motorcycle importers (Importadores de Motocicletas y Afines – AIMA) projected the registration of more than 75,000 units by the end of 2016.
In 2015, the daily average was 153; in total, 55.962 units were registered in the year.
Competition. The motorcycle market is dominated by four brands, making up 54% (20,600 units) of registrations in 2015. Freedom was the brand with the most registrations last year, however, for the first half of 2016, the Serpento (by Grupo Monge) moved it to second place. In third and fourth place are Honda and Formula for the latter period.
According to the Ministerio de Hacienda (Finance Ministry), 80% of all motorcycles arriving in Costa Rica in 2015 came from China. Five years ago it was 73%.
Carlos Federico Monge, director of Grupo Monge, told La Nacion , “motorcycles manufactured in China allow for sales of a good quality product at a better (lower) price, which has been key to competition in the sector.”
Motorcycles A Deadly. In the first quarter of 2016, 4.946 motorcyclists injured were treated at the Trauma Hospital. That figure is 738 more than in the same period in 2015.
During the first nine months of the year, more than 150 people died in a motorcycle accident, making it the deadliest vehicle.
Riding between vehicles is a common practice of motorcyclists in the greater metropolitan area of San Jose. Photo Jorge Navarro/La Nacion
In total, during this period, 326 people have died in traffic accidents, which means the motorcycle is involved in 46% of the accidents.
There are several factors contributing to the high incidents of injuries and fatalities, inexperience and compounded by the informality of the use the motorcycle.
In 2015, 3 out of 10 motorcycles failed the vehicular inspection on first rest, according to data from Riteve. In the same year, the INS listed 217,856 motorcycles for the circulation permit (Marchamo), but only 51.7% were inspected by Riteve. (The vehicular inspection is a pre-requisite for the Marchamo for all vehicles in the country).
And precisely because of lack of such permits is the reason for the accumulation of thousands of motorcycles in the patios (impound lots) of the Cosevi and the Ministry of Public Works and Transport (MOPT).
Photos of the Volcán Turrialba Tuesday morning, winds blowing ash and gas northeast and east towards Pocora, Siquirres and the Caribbean. The photos, taken in Grecia de Alajuela, were posted on Facebook by Wayne Harrison.
The referendum in Colombia came as a surprise to authorities and international observers. (Youtube)
(TODAY COLOMBIA) Uncertainty is sweeping Colombia following the narrow rejection of the government’s peace deal with the FARC guerrilla in Sunday’s referendum, against all odds.
Colombians were left wondering whether there would be a new agreement and negotiation process or whether the rebels would unleash violence, among many possible scenarios.
The possibility of the “no” side winning in the referendum was never contemplated by Colombian authorities; President Juan Manuel Santos confidently boasted in June that he had “no plan B.”
The only certainty is that this FARC deal, the result of years of negotations with top guerrilla leaders in Cuba, now cannot be legalized, according to a ruling issued by Colombia’s Constitutional Court.
The Opposition Wants a New Deal
The first to speak publicly on Sunday was the conservative Democratic Centre, the party founded by former President Álvaro Uribe and the main opponent of the Santos-FARC agreement.
The “no” camp said the referendum’s result opened up the possibility that the agreement can be redrafted and put to a vote a second time.
Francisco Santos, former vice president of Colombia and Uribe’s right hand during his administration, made the announcement.
He called for the peace process to continue, but seeking a deal that secures broader support from Colombian citizens. The former official argued that if the FARC rebels really want peace they must return to the negotiating table.
President of Congress Pledged to Continue Peace Process
Senator Mauricio Lizcano from the ruling Social Party of National Unity said he will continue to support President Santos and seek consensus among legislators.
In saying that he wants to reduce the differences between the ‘yes’ and ‘no’ camps he implicitly invited Uribe’s party to work together for a solution that brings peace to Colombia.
FARC Argues the Referendum Is Not Legally Binding
On Sunday, FARC announced that they would respect the results and the ceasefire would continue, for now, as they work out a solution with the government.
However, on Monday morning, the guerrilla’s top leader hinted that they could ignore the referendum altogether because, they argue, it is not legally binding. “The effect is [just] political,” reads a statement released by FARC.
Last Resort: A New Constitution
The National Constituent Assembly is a mechanism by which a new Constitution is written, the only point on which both the opposition and the FARC agree.
In addition, this process could bring together political sectors from across the spectrum, as many could enter negotiations and focus on a document of greater legitimacy.
A new Constitution could effectively settle many differences and allow with the demobilization of the armed group that has wreak havoc in Colombia for the past 52 years.
What the Future Holds for Colombia
FARC returning to violent tactics, at least for the commanders, is unlikely given the years of effort and how advanced negotiations are. Chances are that other ways will be found to continue the peace process and implement the agreement.
It is worth noting that one of the president’s roles in Colombia is “[to] agree and ratify peace treaties, of he shall give immediate notice to Congress.” Santos has therefore constitutional power to go ahead with the agreement as it stands, regardless of the results of Sunday’s referendum.
However, this would be unpopular and contrary to democratic principles. Moreover, the administration’s political capital even before the referendum was quite low, and Sunday’s outcome confirmed it.
The Daniel Oduber or Liberia International airport (LIR) in the province of Guanacaste
By Wilberth Villalobos Castrillo, Vozdeguanacaste.com – The municipality of Liberia has completed only two of 18 projects budgeted for the construction and development of tourism infrastructure in the canton, whose funds are generated by a tax on the use of Daniel Oduber International Airport.
The municipality has spent only 8 percent of the total it has received from 2014 to August 2016 – some ₡764 million, or $1.4 million. That’s only ₡63 million ($11,400).
The only two finished improvements are at the old government building, at a cost of ₡53.5 million ($97,000), and a repaired Rural Guard chapel at ₡9 million ($16,000).
To give you an idea of how much money is sitting in municipal coffers, it’s enough to pave approximately 7 kilometers of asphalted road in the canton (calculated by the average cost of a meter of asphalt).
What Are Exit Taxes Used For?
Revenue for these projects is generated by a tax on each passenger leaving national territory. Of the $29 that both nationals and foreigners must pay when they leave Daniel Oduber International Airport, the central government earmarks $3.50 for each province.
Of that $3.50, the Liberian municipality receives $1.33, or about 39 percent, as outlined by Law 9156.
That law also states that these resources can only be spent on the construction and development of tourism infrastructure and restoration of cultural patrimony. It cannot be used to pay salaries or other administrative costs.
In the Liberia municipality’s case, funds were earmarked for buildings that have been declared Costa Rican cultural heritage and for cantonal routes to sites of tourist interest, such as beaches and national parks. In other words, plans exist to spend the money, but those plans haven’t been executed.
Why Not?
Mayor Julio Viales, who is responsible for executing the funds, puts forth two arguments: One, the slow process for contracting projects for patrimonial buildings; the other is his opposition to spending the funds on what originally had been budgeted.
For example, from the outset discussions centered on investing in Calle Real or resurfacing several roads to hotels. But in an interview with The Voice of Guanacaste, the mayor said he blocked spending on the projects because he views them as a “diversion.”
“That’s roadway infrastructure, not tourism. We can’t repair roads with money that doesn’t belong to us,” Viales said.
Regarding projects that have been declared cultural heritage, the mayor said they should comply with technical guidelines established by rules governing restoration of the sites.
“For example, the Guardia bridge (built in the 1950s) must have the same type of paint and the original perlin,” the mayor said.
So while time passes, more than ₡700 million ($1.3 million) sits unused in a municipal account.
(QTRAVEL) by Ariana Crespo, Vozdeguanacaste.com – The province of Guanacaste has scores of archeological, pre-Columbian and folkloric cities that are admired throughout the country. Visiting them gives you a strong sense of pre-Columbian culture, and the architectural structures take you back in time.
The Voice of Guanacaste set out to feature five of these historical sites, but information on them is scarce. Fires, earthquakes and a lack of documentation have left the province with only a limited historical record. The few details we did find came mostly from the Office of Historical Patrimony, village legend and oral history.
Abangares Eco-Museum
The largest industrial gold mining operation in all of Costa Rica was once located in the canton of Abangares. Among the mountains, Minor Keith built the Abangares Gold Fields of Costa Rica, which operated from 1884-1931.
The Abangares Mining Eco-Museum was founded in La Sierra in 1991 to preserve the memory of that period’s gold rush. The museum is located on the site of an old gold processing plant. Tours start with a nod to the past, with museum access through a tunnel meant to simulate what it was like in the mines of the previous century. The Eco-Museum preserves some of the buildings, artifacts, photographs and original machinery of that era. The two-hour tour winds over paths and past ruins hidden in a tropical forest, giving visitors a taste of what it was like to be a miner back then.
Hours: Tues.-Sun., 8 a.m.-4 p.m.
Tel: 2662-0004
Hacienda La Pacífica
This 2,000-hectare estate is located on one of the few private reserves of dry tropical forest in Guanacaste, between the Corobicí and Tenorio rivers, 5 kilometers from the center of Cañas.
It serves as a hotel, restaurant, events center and active ranch, and its architecture and environment help preserve a centuries-old legacy full of history.
The hacienda was named after Pacífica Fernández Guardia, born in San José in 1864 and the daughter of ex-President Próspero Fernández and wife of former President Bernardo Soto.
Visitors get a taste of the typical guanacasteca experience, with folkloric fare and a chance to relax in the pool while visited by uncommonly seen birds and deer.
Tel: 2669-9393
Price: $76 (standard room for two w/ breakfast)
Schedule: 6:30am – 9:30pm.
Iglesia San Blas de Nicoya
This structure is a true gem for lovers of colonial architecture. Details from the Office of Historical Patrimony indicate that the first church in Nicoya was built in 1644 and was later destroyed by an earthquake in 1822. Around 1827, a new structure was built, and on Nov. 6, 1995, the Iglesia San Blas was declared a national historical and architectural interest site.
The church is the Colonial City’s most iconic attraction, and a must-see for visitors to the area. A powerful earthquake in September 2012 caused severe damage, rendering the building closed to the public. Nevertheless, inside the church are relics from the colonial era, including clock components brought here from Germany in 1824, bronze bells and a large painting of San Francisco de Asís. During structural repairs in 2015, human skeletons of late Christians were found buried under the temple.
El Cuartel de Liberia
The building housing the former Comandancia de Plaza de Liberia is one of the first military installations in Costa Rica. Construction of the barracks was started during the administration of Ricardo Jiménez Oreamuno (1932-1936) and finished during the government of León Cortés Castro (1936-1940). Built as a fortified square structure that was unique to military architecture, it also has art deco ornamental elements on its façade.
On Dec. 17, 1998, it was declared Architectural and Historical Patrimony. In 2006, it housed the Museum of Guanacaste, with the restoration of two of its halls. There, the National System of Musical Studies offers workshops, training and music classes to children. Entrance is free, and currently there are no permanent exhibitions. On Sept. 29, a temporary exhibition will be inaugurated by the Jade Museum.
Tel: 8857-7581.
Schedule: 8am – 6pm
Santo Cristo de Esquipulas Tower Sanctuary
Photo by Panoramio
This antique tower is located in front of the Bernabela Ramos park in the heart of the folkloric city of Santa Cruz. Religious lore states that a woman named Bernabela Ramos, daughter of a wealthy landowner, was a devout believer in the Black Christ of Esquipulas and donated land to build the church, sanctuary and park.
According to the Office of Historic Patrimony, the tower’s exact construction date is unknown, but estimates place it around 1822. Informal sources say that in 1900 a series of temblors damaged the temple. On July 29, 2005, the tower was declared Architectural and Historical Patrimony.
For security reasons, the tower is closed to visitors, so you can only admire it from outside.
In October 2016, two individuals shot indiscriminately at two men who were out of this car, in Cieneguita beach, Limón. In the incident four innocent people died. | LN ARCHIVE
The minister of security, Gustavo Mata, explained the incident could have been avoided had he had more financial resources to hire and recruit more police to combat crime, funding coming from the tax on corporations which is before legislators. Photo: Rodolfo Martín/La Nacion
(QCOSTARICA) The Ministro de Seguridad (Minister of Security), Gustavo Mata has threatened to resign his post if legislators don’t approve the return of the Corporations Tax, that is used primarily to finance his portfolio.
Gustava’s statement Monday morning of his eventual resignation came after providing details of the shooting in Cieneguita de Limon that left five innocent people dead (two ladies and a teenager had died at the scene of shooting, overnight an adult man and 11 year old boy died in hospital from their wounds), on Sunday afternoon.
Mata said the incident could have been avoided if he had more police in the area. He added that the lack of financial resources does not allow his ministry with a sufficient police presence.
The minister said, if the tax on corporations is approved, there would be sufficient financial resources to hire and recruit the necessary human resources to combat such incidents.
“This country should have 18,000 police officials to deal with the current crime. For every 100,000 inhabitants we should have 300 policemen,” said the minister, adding that he has begged the Legislature to give him more resources, which they have not.
“I have decided that if in 30 days the budget is not approved, I will submit my resignation to President Luis Guillermo Solis (…) Ladies and gentlemen of the legislature, I beg you to approve the budget. We must support the OIJ (Organismo de Investigación Judicial) in creating a specialized unit to combat organized crime,” said Mata.
The minister estimates he needs some 3,000 more police officers to cover the entire country.
The tax on corporations was introduced by the Laura Chinchilla (2010-2014) administration and struck down by the Constitutional Court effective for the 2016 tax year, leaving a large gap in tax revenue. The corporations tax required all active corporations to pay an annual tax equivalent to US$300 dollars.
In April of this year, the Legislative Committee on Financial Affairs endorsed bill to revive the tax on corporations. So far there has been no forward movement on the endorsement.
BlackBerry killed off its BlackBerry classic line of phones this summer.
QTECH (CNN) It’s the end of an era for BlackBerry. The Canadian multinational, famous for making cellphones with physical keyboards that were once so popular people nicknamed them Crackberries, has decided to stop making its own devices.
BlackBerry said on Wednesday that it will rely on partners to manufacture the phones, which will still have BlackBerry’s look and feel.
The company announced a joint venture with an Indonesian telecom company that will start making them. BlackBerry plans to turn its attention to software, a move it has made gradually in recent years as sales of its phones have slid.
Shares of BlackBerry (BBRY, Tech30) rose 4% in early trading after the announcement. But the stock price is well below its peak from several years ago.
BlackBerry killed off its BlackBerry classic line of phones this summer.
BlackBerry was once the phone of choice for Wall Street traders, politicians and celebrities, thanks in part to its well-regarded security system. President Obama was spotted with a BlackBerry. So was Kim Kardashian West.
But the company was too late to the touchscreen game, and customers left in droves for Apple’s (AAPL, Tech30) iPhone, Samsung’s (SSNLF) Galaxy and other devices running on Google’s (GOOGL, Tech30) Android system.
Even Microsoft (MSFT, Tech30) has moved ahead of BlackBerry with its Windows Phones.
CEO John Chen has tried to turn the company around since joining in 2013. But even as he has pushed BlackBerry toward mobile and security software, apps and the plethora of connected devices known as the Internet of Things, BlackBerry has bled red ink, posted sharp sales declines and lost customers.
The BlackBerry DTEK50, unveiled in July.
Chen has even done what was once unthinkable, opening the BlackBerry to other operating systems. The company now sells phones that run on Android. It also killed off its BlackBerry Classic line of phones this summer.
So Chen deserves credit for stabilizing BlackBerry and refocusing it on higher growth areas.
The company is also no longer in danger of going under, a legitimate concern investors had before he took control. BlackBerry now has about $2.5 billion in cash and investments on its balance sheet — money for a proverbial rainy day.
BlackBerry will need all the cash it can get. The company also reported Wednesday that its latest quarterly sales fell about 30% from a year ago.
And BlackBerry said that it expects to break even this fiscal year at best. That’s still better than the loss analysts had forecast.
But if Chen can’t get the company’s sales growing again and return it to profitability, there could be more pressure on him to sell BlackBerry.
That’s exactly what Chen has done in the past. He sold the struggling software company Sybase to SAP (SAP, Tech30) for a hefty premium while he was CEO of Sybase.
There has been chatter about a BlackBerry sale for years.
The rumor mill may start turning again, though. BlackBerry also announced Wednesday that CFO James Yersh was stepping down and that he would be replaced by Steven Capelli, who worked with Chen at Sybase.
Chen and Capelli also worked together at Pyramid Technology in the mid-1900s, a company that was sold to Siemens under their watch.
So BlackBerry investors might be hoping that lightning will strike three times and Chen and Capelli can pull off another sale.
The Rolodex, an essential tool slowly fading away as people adopt electronic alternatives, remains a solid fixture in the Elixir office.We’ve had a warm and loving relationship with ours since the firm
(QCOSTARICA) Careful of the information you give your telecommunications operator. This because the Ministry of Finance (Ministerio de Hacienda) has the authority to assess personal data of customers of telecom operators in the country.
The Rolodex, once an essential tool for maintaining customer data.
A new resolution by the Agencia de Protección de Datos de los Habitantes (Prodhab) del Ministerio de Justicia (Data Protection Agency of Inhabitant of the Ministry of Justice) allows the tax department to obtain the information for “tax related matters, but not for other uses that is not of public interest”.
To that end, the tax department can demand from telecom operators five items of personal information: name of the subscriber, identification number (ie cedula or passport), contracted service, exact address and phone number of the subscriber.
According to the Prodhab resolution, access to the information does not require prior consent of the user.
Following a request of its customer data, on May 20, Millicom (Tigo) filed with the Prodhab a complaint against the Directorate of Tax Intelligence of the Ministry of Finance.
The claim did not prosper. On August 5, the Prodhad ruled that Millicom was to immediately hand over its customer database. The company filed an appeal, but on September 9 the Prodhad once again rejected the claim.
Norman Chaves, manager of Corporate Affairs at Tigo, told La Nacion that the company has handed over to authorities their complete customer database, as requested.
(QCOSTARICA) The vehicular restriction applied in San Jose will not be extended to other roads in the Greater Metropolitan Area (GAM).
The Minister of Transport and Public Works (MOPT), Carlos Villalta, explained there aren’t enough traffic police officials to control a larger area of restriction.
Villalta added that it is pointless to extend the restrictions beyond the current area that for the most part takes in the central area of the capital city without more officers to fine drivers.
At present, the Policia de Transito (Traffic Police) has 763 active officials. Authorities estimate the police force should have at least 1,161 officials to cover a larger area of restriction.
What was the idea?Weeks ago the MOPT announced the possibility to extend the restrictions to the autopistas General Cañas (San Jose – Alajuela), the Florencio del Castillo (San Jose – Cartago) and parts of the Ruta 32 (San Jose – Guapiles).
The idea was to extend the vehicular restricion of San Jose to routes leading to and from the capital city as shown on this infograph by La Nacion. The shaded area is the current restricted area.
The study by Director of Traffic Engineering also recommended the Ruta 3 (Heredia – Alajuela – San Jose) and Ruta 5 (Heredia – Santo Domingo – Tibas).
According to the Policia de Transito, daily some 300,000 vehicles circulate the metropolitan area of San Jose.
The restriction in San Jose are weekdays, from 6:00am to 7:00pm; on Mondays vehicles with plates 1 and 2 are restricted, 3 and 4 on Tuesdays, 5 and 6 on Wednesdays, 7 and 8 on Thursdays and 9 and 0 on Fridays.
Fines for violating the vehicular restriction is ¢22,000 colones (plus costs).
Fumigating has been an effective way to combat Dengue, Zika and Chikungunya in Costa Rica. The Ministry of Health says it has dealt with more than 2.1 million breeding sites. Photo RAFAEL PACHECO, La Nacion
Fumigating has been an effective way to combat Dengue, Zika and Chikungunya in Costa Rica. The Ministry of Health says it has dealt with more than 2.1 million breeding sites. Photo Rafael Pacheco / La Nacion
(QCOSTARICA) Costa Rica is one eleven countries to date to approve the Sanofi Pasteur dengue vaccine, Dengvaxia.
Sanofi’s vaccines unit, said on Tuesday that its , had received market approval in eleven countries: Costa Rica, Mexico, the Philippines, Brazil, El Salvador, Paraguay, Guatemala, Peru, Indonesia, Thailand and Singapore.
Dengue fever is a mosquito-borne disease caused by four virus serotypes (1 to 4) as categorized by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
In Costa Rica there is risk of Dengue at elevations below 1,300 metres (4,300 feet), especially in urbanized areas. Risk is also elevated in coastal provinces.
The most affected cantons with Dengue in Costa Rica are: Atenas, Quepos, Parrita, Osa, Nandayure and Buenos Aires.
Risk of Dengue exists in tropical and subtropical areas of Central America, South America, Africa, Asia, and Oceania.
Zika
The major concern for Health officials at this time is the Zika virus. According to the latest by the Ministerio de Salud, last week there were 75 new cases of Zika, bringing the total confirmed to 1,151.
Good news is that this is the fifth consecutive week where new cases have been below 100 per week. Prior to that, each week there were up to 126 new cases a week.
“We are noticing that in Puntarenas, Barranca, Garabito and Esparza, the most affected parts of the country, there is a trend to a possible decrease. We are not saying that the outbreak of Zika in the country this controlled, but slight decrease in cases, ” said Rodrigo Marín, national coordinator of Health.
Dengue Symptoms
In some cases, Dengue infection is asymptomatic – persons do not exhibit symptoms. Those with symptoms get ill between 4 to 7 days after the bite. The infection is characterized by flu-like symptoms which include a sudden high fever coming in separate waves, pain behind the eyes, muscle, joint, and bone pain, severe headache, and a skin rash with red spots. Treatment includes supportive care of symptoms.
The illness may progress to Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever (DHF). Symptoms include severe abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea, convulsions, bruising, and uncontrolled bleeding. High fever can last from 2 to 7 days. Complications can lead to circulatory system failure and shock, and can be fatal (also known as Dengue Shock Syndrome).
If you are infected with the same Dengue virus serotype you become immune to future infections. However, if you are infected subsequently with a different serotype, immunity wanes over time which increases the risk of developing Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever.
(QCOSTARICA) Heavy downpours are expected this afternoon in the Central Valley and many other parts of the country, according to the national weather service, the Instituto Meteorológico Nacional (IMN).
This is October, the worst month of the rainy season.
A typical rainy day in October is clear morning skies, hot sun, an increase in humidity, leading to intense rainfall.
Typically lightning and thunderstorms are associated with the afternoon downpours. In the Central Valley dark clouds from the northwest or south typically means a nasty downpour.
Heavy downpours are expected in all areas of the country: Guanacaste (North Pacific), South and Central Pacific, the Northern Zone and the Caribbean coast.
The shooting occurred around 4:30pm Sunday, the gunmen opening fire on crowded beach after learning their intended victim had survived the intial attack. Photo Rodolfo Martín, La Nacion
(QCOSTARICA) What is believed a “settling of accounts” left two women and teenager dead and seven wounded while enjoying the Sunday afternoon beach in Limon.
The incident occurred around 4:30pm in Cieneguita de Limon, when two gunmen on a motorcycle opened fire with a high calibre rifle (some eyewitness say it was an AK-47) on their intended victim.
Authorites say the dead and wounded were innoncent bystanders.
From Teletica television news
According to information provided by the Organismo de Investigación Judicial (OIJ), learning that their victim was only wounded, the gunmen started shooting again, this time into the crowded beach.
Of the wounded, two were minors.
Carlos Hidalgo, spokesperson for the Ministry of Security, said a suspect in the shooting was arrested.
(QCOSTARICA) Local pizzerias are giving the big U.S. franchises something to worry about. With good pricing and excellent quality, the neighbourhood pizzerias, mostly located in residential areas, are earning customer loyalty.
The small pizzerias compete against the likes of Pizza Hut, Papa John’s and Little Ceasar’s.
In a report by La Nacion, two small pizza chains, Oteros Pizza and Monster Pizza go head-to-head with the big names and usually win out on customer loyalty.
Claudio Otero, who at 19 worked for Pizza Hut after 4 years at a small pizzeria, opened his first in 2003 and now has six pizzerias from San Jose to Cartago, with plans to open in Heredia and Santa Ana in 2018.
Otero says his success is due to quality.
Meanwhile, Monster Pizza opened its first store 13 years ago and currently has four. The most recent is in Coronado, which opened just three months ago.
Gabriel Valverde, general manager of Monster Pizza, told La Nacion that his company has opted to locate mostly in residential areas because it allows them to cover a larger population, keeping his costs low when compared to big commercial centres. Valverde feels his pizzeria chain is well positioned and has earned customer loyalty, not only for their oversized large pizza (their trademark) but for taste and price.
A favourite at the Q is L’Italiano’s in Santa Ana. Their only store is located on the road to Cuidad Colon. Their pizza tastes best from Sunday to Thursday with their 2 for 1 offer. You can read our report here.
What do the US franchises think?
When placed together, the local pizzerias are the “most important” competitor to the US chains.
Pizza Hut was the first to enter the market, in 1972. Today it has 60 locations, from table service restaurants (including several with the red roof), home delivery, food court and mobile, employing 1,250.
Jorge Gutierrez, general manager of Pizza Hut, says their strategy is to continue making our products more accessible in different markets and socioeconomic levels. “We give more value for their money to customers through special promotions and products, such as 2×1 Tuesday, Big Quatro and more,” explained Gutierrez.
Little Caesars, which began operations in the country in 2014, has currently only four stores, but plans to have 18 within five years, is another company that recognizes the impact of the local pizzerias.
Virya Navarro, marketing manager at Little Caesars said, “the rise of these businesses does affect the big chains, but you have to understand that the market is very large and for everyone.”.
Aware of the situation, Little Caesars is planning a Hot-N-Ready program that involves immediate home delivery of their pizzas.
At Papa John’s the focus is on quality, according to Gabriela Cordeo, spokesperson for the brand in Costa Rica.
The chain entered the Costa Rica market in 2000 and currently has 22 stores and more than 200 employees. “Quality, customer service and consistency in both, with the promise of the best ingredients, the best pizza,” said Cordero.
Eating pizza was a luxury in Costa Rica. In the past, Costa Ricans considered eating pizza as a luxury. Dining at a Pizza Hut was a family event and an expensive one.
But that has changed.
Names That Came and Went
Names you no longer see in Costa Rica are Domino’s, 241 Pizza and Pizza Pizza, all three failing miserably in the country.
Photo for illustrative purposes
Domino’s finally close its operation in the country in June this year after a troubled time in Costa Rica since its arrival in the 90s. The franchise was purchased by Oscar Cabada in 1997 with one store and 24 employees. In 2006, Cabada sold the franchise to Younger Generation Enterprises, and sold again in 2009 to Grupo Mozzarella (BGM), for a reported “not more than US$10,000 dollars” (no misprint) and a year later closing down its three stores. The company blamed the pizza price war. The franchise was revived in only to close down again.
241 Pizza in the late 90s was a force in the country, with their “always one free” stores popped up all over the San Jose area. My recollection was the location in Escazu, where the KFC now stands and the big store on Paseo Colon, where the Registro Civil is now located.
The Canadian franchise chain of pizza restaurants headquartered Toronto, Pizza Pizza, had a run at Costa Rica in the mid 90’s. The franchise tried to enter the local market, its landmark location was diagonal from the La Sabana park, that later became the offices for the LACSA airline. The location is currently a vacant lot.
Shops look favorably initiative and expect increased investment in Limón
Local business see favourably the initiative to bring more tourists and expect increased investment in Limón. Photo file.
(QCOSTARICA) With the interest of the Government to attract more tourism in different regions of the country and from more tourists abroad, the immigration service announced that Colombians arriving at the Port of Limon on a cruise ship will not require a visa.
The director of the Dirección General de Migración y Extranjería, Gisela Yockchen, announced Friday that the visa free period begins on November 4 with the arrival of the first cruise ship and in force until May 2017.
With this temporary exemption, Colombian tourists on a cruise ship docking at Limon may enter Costa Rica for a few hours to a day (the typical dock time for cruise ships) without processing their visa and then will resume the trip.
The decision is stimulate the local economy. The Costa Rica Tourism Institute (ICT) estimates that some 1,000 Colombian tourists, each spending an average of US$100, from the Pullmantur will visit Limon during the cruise ship season.
The 2016-2017 season expects 26 cruise ships at Limon.
To avoid that Colombians don’t use the cruise ship as a way of entering the country with the intent to remain, the director explained that the immigration service must receive at least five days ahead of arrival the list of names of Colombians who wish to visit (get off the ship) the port city. The time will be used by authorities to investigate backgrounds; and At the time of sailing if one or more persons has not reboarded, the cruise ship will not be able to continue on its journey.
The decision is expected to boost the local economy in the centre of Limon. The president if the Cámara de Comercio, Industrias y Turismo de Limón (local chamber of commerce), Rubén Acón, said that available for cruise ship tourists will be a City Tour service similar to that already running in San Jose.
No word yet if and when the exemption will apply to the Caldera and Puntareas ports.
In a historic vote, Colombia’s electorate on Sunday rejected a recently signed peace deal with Marxist FARC rebels, stopping in its tracks a peace process that had already begun.
With 99.08% of the votes counted, the “No” option received 50.24% of the votes against 49.75% who voted “Yes.”
The referendum obtained the necessary votes for it to be valid.
However, because the difference between the two options is only 60,000 of 12.7 million votes the campaigns respectively have yet to claim victory and admit defeat.
The vote came as a major surprise, as all pollsters predicted a landslide victory for the “Yes” vote preceding the plebiscite.
The referendum result is a major blow for President Juan Manuel Santos, who has pinned his political legacy on making peace with the FARC.
At the same time, the referendum result is a major victory for former President Alvaro Uribe and his Democratic Center Party, who had been virtually alone in the promotion of a “No” vote.
According to Uribe, he and his supporters want a renegotiation on the FARC’s political participation and the punishment for war crimes.
However, the vote throws in disarray the demobilization and disarmament of the FARC, which had already begun under supervision of the United Nations.
Both the government and the FARC had said there is no Plan B in the event Colombia would reject the deal that sought to end 52 years of armed conflict between the state and the FARC.
(TODAY COLOMBIA) The political opposition in Venezuela has warned that Colombia’s peace deal with the FARC guerrillas could lead to an influx of fighters into Venezuela, a serious concern given the rebels’ firmly established presence in the country.
Speaking on Venezuelan radio, the executive secretary for the opposition Coalition for Democratic Unity (Mesa de la Unidad Democrática – MUD), Jesús Torrealba, claimed that only a minority of combatants from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia – FARC) will return to civilian life during the imminent demobilization process and that those who do not may fuel crime and insecurity in Venezuela.
“Where are they going to go? They will most likely come here, where they have had a government that has been their accomplice, that has allowed them to come and go whenever they want and become the owners of various zones,” he said.
Torrealba said the guerrillas “have done nothing but murder, rob, kidnap and traffic drugs,” and called on the government to reinforce security in the border region instead of persecuting political opposition.
Despite his warnings, Torrealba expressed his support for Colombia’s peace process and the demobilization of the FARC.
“We celebrate the fact that one more conflict has been dismantled, but we hope it does not now pass into Venezuela,” he said.
Venezuela Guerrillas map
While the opposition’s remarks are framed within their own political struggles with the Chavista government of President Nicolas Maduro, they do represent a legitimate and serious concern for Colombia’s peace process.
The FARC maintains a strong presence in both Colombia and Venezuela all along the border between the countries, and the rebels have long used Venezuela to retreat from the pressures of Colombian security forces. They also carry out trainings, resupply weapon stockpiles and control cross-border criminal activities such as drug trafficking and contraband smuggling. Their presence is so cemented, that InSight Crime has uncovered evidence of guerrillas carrying Venezuelan identity cards and purchasing plots of land within the country.
As Torrealba points out, FARC dissidents from these units that decide to either criminalize or continue their armed struggle will pose a serious security risk for Venezuela.
In addition to the FARC, Colombia’s smaller guerrilla group the National Liberation Army (Ejército de Liberacíon Nacional – ELN) and even a small band of narco-guerrillas called the Popular Liberation Army (Ejército Popular de Liberacíon – EPL) also maintain a presence in the border region, with the ELN’s Central Command stationed in Venezuela. The ELN in particular could be about to see an influx of FARC dissidents into its ranks, potentially strengthening its forces in Venezuela as well as in Colombia.
As highlighted by Torrealba, the FARC’s expansion into Venezuela was facilitated by the government of former President Hugo Chavez, although their relationship was not always straightforward. The government’s active support for the rebels began to wane long ago, however, and Venezuela’s role in bringing the FARC to the table to talk peace as well as its status as an “accompanying country” throughout the process likely means the government will be keener to make a success of the demobilization process than to offer any clandestine support to armed structures.
Nevertheless, with the political situation in Venezuela deteriorating to the extent that a violent civil uprising cannot be ruled out, the presence of armed, battle-hardened networks with clandestine ties to state structures and an ideological affinity with the government has the potential to be dangerously destabilizing.
Colombia President Juan Manuel Santos summoned all political parties, particularly the conservative opposition, for an urgency meeting on Monday after the country’s voters unexpectedly suspended an ongoing peace process with FARC rebels.
The president couldn’t have faced a more divided Colombia and the losing of the referendum couldn’t have come at a worst time, one day before FARC guerrillas would actually begin leaving their jungle camps to demobilize.
With 99.94% of the votes counted, 50.21% of the voters voted against the peace deal, while 49.78% voted in favor, leaving only a 55,000-vote margin between the two camps and 170,000 ballots registered as invalid.
The vote left the country in a state of bipolar chaos; While opponents of the peace deal were celebrating, those who had begun seeing light at the end of a 52-year tunnel of armed conflict were devastated.
The outcome surprised all Colombians as pollsters over the past weeks consistently predicted a landslide victory for the “Yes” camp.
In order to maintain order and reaffirm his authority, President Juan Manuel Santos took to national television shortly after the results to tell the country “I am the president of all Colombians. Of those who voted ‘No’ as well as those who voted ‘Yes’, of ALL Colombians.”
After admitting his defeat, “be it by the tiniest of margins,” Santos said that “as the head of state, I am the guarantor of the stability of the nation and this democratic decision may not affect the stability I will guarantee.”
The president said the definitive and bilateral ceasefire with the FARC “remains in force and will remain in force.”
However, the FARC’s demobilization and disarmament that had already begun must be put on hold, leaving the country’s largest armed group in limbo and under imminent threat of rival armed groups.
Santos convoked all political parties for Monday, “particularly those who today manifested themselves in favor of the ‘No’” vote “to hear them, to open spaces for dialogue and determine the path to follow.”
The president said he would send his top negotiators back to Cuba to immediately inform the FARC about the results of the emergency meeting with the political parties.
With his speech, Santos put the ball in the court of his political arch rival and the main critic of the peace deal, former President Alvaro Uribe, who has consistently refused to talk to Santos in spite of numerous mediation attempts, reportedly including US ambassador Kevin Whitaker.
In case Uribe’s party continues to refuses to reconcile, Congress would still be able to overrule Sunday’s referendum and return Santos the faculties needed to proceed with the process in legal disregard of the referendum outcome.
However, this would likely make the situation in the country more explosive as it already is as tensions between supporters and opponents of peace are high.
FARC leader Rodrigo Londoño, a.k.a. “Timochenko,” said on Twitter he felt “the support of the nation.”
The guerrilla chief, however, made it clear that the FARC wants to be included in the debate that follows the referendum as a political movement and not an illegal armed group as formally agreed in the peace deal signed only six days ago.
But with the peace deal now officially off the table this is hardly likely.
Venezuela’s economy is collapsing, but the march towards a revolutionary socialist nation continues. (@XHNews)
(Panampost.com) The world is finally aware of the severity of Venezuela’s economic crisis — a resource-rich nation that is on track for a brutal GDP contraction for the third year in a row (over 10% for 2016). The conspicuous consequences of interventionist state policies, alongside stringent price and foreign-exchange controls, have gone from inciting ridicule to indignation.
Even when coerced into basements by government mandate, daylong lines for basic goods are hard to hide. International pundits are keen to advocate rational economic policy actions to alleviate the situation. Yet there is one problem: economic development has not been a goal for the Venezuelan government for many years now.
There are plenty of Oxbridge-educated bureaucrats in Venezuela that are capable of coming up with effective solutions for the country’s economic woes; yet everyone in a position of power is blinded by ideology and distracted by revolutionary social justice goals. Therefore, without a regime change there will not be a return to growth.
Today, Venezuela suffers from the world’s highest annual inflation rate of more than 450% (1,150% for unregulated goods). The country is also on the verge of default, having depleted its international reserves after years of unbridled spending and handouts.
It is one of the world’s most dangerous countries with almost 25,000 homicides in 2014 and more than 90 percent of the murders going unpunished, according to the nonprofit organization Venezuelan Violence Observatory (VVO). Additionally, government institutions are riddled with corruption and allegations of wrongdoing while the citizens suffer the daily consequences.
Like Cuba and North Korea, Venezuela established a foreign-exchange control system more than a decade ago along with ever-stronger price controls, and has now began to ration food as imports tumble and basic good shortages reach almost 30 percent.
For Venezuelan citizens, the economic reality of the country translates to a daily grind to find foodstuffs, household items, and medicines. Countless illnesses that could be easily treated in the past have today become a death sentence, as industry leaders estimate medical supply scarcity has surpassed 60 percent.
The endless lines to await the arrival of food products at supermarkets force many to miss days of work. A new government plan to enforce rationing with fingerprint machines is being rolled out to control the chaos whenever any of the scarce goods arrive. Yet none of these economic difficulties should have come as a surprise to a government that receives policy advice from Havana.
Cubans have been standing in lines for decades, and Venezuelan subsidies have long been the lifeline for the island’s economy. Venezuelan government officials are extremely well versed in the history of economic thought and the consequences brought about by Leninism.
And yet they forge ahead. Because their goal is not to achieve economic growth or development; their goal has always been clearly stated: to construct a 21st-century socialist nation based on a revolutionary system of government that will achieve social justice.
This revolutionary clamor for redemption stems from mistakes and crony capitalism during the country’s democratic era. Yet the reason for poor wealth distribution among the population came precisely from policies based on socialism. The Venezuelan government has complete ownership of the country’s subsoil and the returns which it produces, and country’s inability to diversify away from oil dependency alongside the top-down approach to development created unsustainable growth and benefited only the governing elite and their supporters.
To Hugo Chávez and all of his successors today, despite dire results for the economy, the revolution is what will bring justice to all those who were oppressed in the past. And even while manipulating the truth by pretending to adhere to democratic principles, they have never hidden their true goal. When Chávez first arrived to power, one of his first actions was to change the constitution. Since then, a slew of mandated decrees have created a stranglehold on the private sector, the only productive sector in the country.
In Venezuela, no one can be fired, profits and prices are capped, imports are restricted, dollars are almost impossible to come by, and production minimums still have to be met to avoid fines or imprisonment.
So given the entrenchment in government of the current ideological elites, the economy will get worse before it gets better. The march towards a revolutionary socialist nation will continue. Only a higher level of social unrest from the struggling population will refocus the government’s goals on the economy and democracy.
But one thing is for certain: there is no solution to the economic crisis that includes the current regime or another like-minded one staying in power; promoting dialogue with current leaders will only kick the can down the road.
Barrio 18 gang graffiti on the wall of the Parco Trotter in Milan. Photo Nanni Fontanta (Interanzionale)
Barrio 18 gang graffiti on the wall of the Parco Trotter in Milan. Photo Nanni Fontanta (Interanzionale)
(Q24N) Milna, Italy is known the world over for its high-end fashion and design, but a new report brings attention to a much less favorable label the city has acquired as the European stronghold of Central America’s hyper-violent Barrio 18 and MS13 street gangs.
MS13 and Barrio 18 factions based in Milan are carrying out acts of violence and are becoming a public safety concern for the police and the Salvadoran expatriate community, reported El Mundo. Deidamia Calderon, who moved to Milan in the 1970s to work as a maid, told the newspaper how her community is changing as a result of the gangs.
“This year we were afraid to celebrate Independence Day in a park,” Calderon said, adding that extra police presence was required for the September 11 festivities. “The gangs…have been introduced silently and no one knows how many of them are now around us.”
According to El Mundo, there are currently 15 gang members being held in the Milanese Bollate Prison for murder, attempted murder, or aggravated violence. Much of the violence is directed towards other gang members. Salvadoran news outlet El Faro recounted one particularly bloody example from 2008, when a football match devolved into a violent battle between the two gangs. A young man was severely beaten and lost one eye.
Tiger migrated to Milan in middle of the last decade and his tattoos traveled with him. Almost all refer explicitly to his gang, the Barrio 18, but in a society like the Italian, where the phenomenon of gangs is still unknown, it is not as dissonant. Photo Nanni Fontana (Internazionale).
However, gang-related crime appears appears to be spreading outside the Salvadoran community. In June 2015, several gang members attacked a train inspector with a machete, reported El Mundo. The attack nearly left the man without his right arm.
Anna Viola and Gianluigi Pino, a social worker and a psychologist who work with incarcerated gang members, say Salvadoran youths who struggle to adapt to their new settings are vulnerable to being taken in by a gang.
“They are young people who came to Italy when they were 13 or 14 years old through a process of family reunification,” Viola said. “Many did not want to come here and met an unwelcome environment: a mother whom they only knew from Skype, a foreign language and culture, and a cold climate.”
“These are guys who cannot find a place in society and seek to identify with something,” continued Pino. “The gang becomes their family.”
InSight Crime Analysis
Central American-based gangs in Italy is not a new phenomenon; according to Conte, the first evidence of MS13 members being active in Milan surfaced in 2005 or 2006. The gangs in Italy have mimicked many of the same cultural and organizational norms as their counterparts in El Salvador. Even the Barrio 18 split between the Sureños and Revolucionarios factions has been mimicked in Italy, albeit at a delayed pace. In both 2013 and 2015, the Italian State Police launched raids against the MS13 in Milan, arresting over a dozen gang members in each instance.
Italy is a natural landing spot and recruiting ground for gang members because of the large Salvadoran expatriate community there. With an estimated 40,000 Salvadorans living just in Milan and its surroundings, this represents the largest concentration of Salvadorans outside of the Western Hemisphere.
According to El Mundo, Salvadoran women began migrating to Milan to work as domestic servants in the 1970s. Many decided to stay as their home country devolved into civil war. Eventually, they brought over their husbands, brothers, and sons, who were fleeing the war. Now, however, the migrants reaching Milan are often fleeing the gang violence that helped turn El Salvador into the most homicidal country in the world last year.
Many of Central and South America’s prisons are gang controlled. Photo El Salvador’s prison from Insightcrime.org
(Q24N) Prison gangs in Central America and Brazil have evolved from small predatory groups to sophisticated criminal organizations with an ability to create mayhem that extends far beyond penitentiary walls or current prevention strategies, according to this study from the Brookings Institution.
Contemporary prison gangs present new and confounding challenges for states. They have gained the capacity to organize street level crime, radically alter patterns of criminal violence, and, in the extreme, hold governments hostage to debilitating, orchestrated violence and disruption.
Unlike traditional armed groups though, prison gangs cannot be directly neutralized through repressive force, since most of their leadership is already incarcerated. Indeed, common hardline state responses like aggressive policing, anti gang sweeps, and enhanced sentencing can inadvertently swell prison gangs’ ranks and strengthen their ability to coordinate activity on the street.
Breaking up prison gang leadership has proved particularly counterproductive, often facilitating prison gangs’ propagation throughout state and national level prison systems. Alternative approaches like gang truces that exploit prison gangs’ capacity to organize and pacify criminal markets can be very effective at reducing violence. However, they are politically dicey and hence unstable, and ultimately leave the state partially dependent on prison gangs for the provision of order, both within and beyond the prison walls.
Unfortunately, there is no silver bullet. Indeed, there are three distinct problems for policy makers to grapple with. First, anti-gang crackdowns, which often raise incarceration rates, lengthen sentences, and worsen prison conditions, can actually help prison gangs establish authority outside prison, organize criminal markets, and orchestrate mass violence and protest. In many cases, prison gangs come to play a major role in providing order in peripheral communities, imposing codes of conduct that significantly reduce property crime and violence among residents.
Second, while there is evidence that these mass incarceration policies helped prison gangs establish their authority, both within prison and on the street, it is not clear that simply reducing incarceration rates or improving prison conditions would neutralize that authority. The social orders that prison gangs have built in Central America, Brazil, and even parts of the United States rest on real institutions of varying degrees of formality: from shared language and symbols to written constitutions, and even corporate and state like administrative structures. Like all institutions, these are likely to be “sticky,” i.e. resilient to turnover in members and leaders, and adaptable to changing local conditions.
Finally, it is not clear that rolling back, undermining, or neutralizing gang authority — even if it were possible — would produce positive outcomes. States were not good at providing order in prisons or peripheral areas before sophisticated prison gangs arose, and there is little reason to believe that they can entirely supplant gang authority in the short or even medium term. Smashing the authority of prison gangs could lead to outbreaks of brutal infighting or a chaotic scramble for power.
As such, this paper recommends a containment approach that strikes a balance between hardline repression and accommodation. Policymakers should aim to: increasingly acknowledge gang presence and power, rather than deny or obfuscate it; set rules of the game that take advantage of gang leaders’ ability to pacify criminal markets while demarcating realms where the state can slowly supplant gangs; use repression more strategically to enforce these rules, creating incentives for gang leaders to avoid violence and anti social behavior; and put greater state, civil society, and international resources into recuperating state authority in non criminal areas where gangs currently hold sway.
(QCOSTARICA) Legend has it incredible amounts of treasure are hidden around the world: gold, silver, pearls, religious artefacts, emeralds from the New World. Even some of King John’s crown jewels, lost in 1216, are rumoured to be among the booty.
Gone are the days of tattered maps with a handy “X” marking the spot.
Bullion Vault, the world’s largest online gold investment service, has just released an infographic detailing the locations of seven treasure troves yet to be discovered.
The experts at Bullion Vault say the best bets for finding ancient treasure are the UK, Malaysia, Costa Rica, Poland and Taiwan.
According to Bullion Vault, in the Cocos Island (Isla del Coco) of Costa Rica you could find The Treasure of Lima, a buried treasure reputedly removed from Lima, Peru, in 1820 and never recovered. The treasure consists of gold and silver coins and ingots, jewellery, candlesticks and religious items and is estimated to be worth up to US$208 million in today’s money.
History
As the story goes, in 1820 Lima was on the edge of revolt. As a preventative measure, the Viceroy of Lima decided to move the city’s wealth, treasure was valued at between $12 million and $60 million, to Mexico for safekeeping. A Newfoundlander (“Newfoundland and Labrador” then dominion of the United Kingdom became the tenth province to enter the Canadian Confederation on March 31, 1949), Captain William Thompson, commander of the Mary Dear, in charge of transporting the riches, with his crew turned pirate, headed for Cocos Island, off the coast of present-day Costa Rica, where they allegedly buried the treasure.
However, the Mary Dear was captured, the crew went on trial for piracy and all but Thompson and his first mate were hanged. To save their lives, they agreed to lead the Spanish to the stolen treasure, and escaping into the jungles of Cocos Island. Thompson, the first mate, and the treasure were never seen again.
The Treasure of Lima is among the list of notable treasures that are currently lost or missing.
The female workforce plays a decisive role in attracting foreign investment to Nicaragua’s free zone. La Prensa / Y.LÓPEZ
(TODAY NICARAGUA) The textile sector claims that the high cost of electricity in the country has become a limiting factor to foreign investment.
The union of textile companies states that more foreign investment could reach the industry if the cost of electricity was not so high. According to Dean Garcia, executive director of the Nicaraguan Association of the Textile and Apparel Industry (Anitec), “… there could be benefits from the entry of textile companies and spinning mills setting up in Nicaragua and producing sufficient raw material for the industry that already exists in the country. ”
Laprensa.com.ni reports that the Anitec “… has repeatedly raised the issue with the Agency for Investment Promotion and the National Free Zone Commission itself, which between 6:00 am and 10:00 pm does not penalizes the rate paid for electricity. ‘To get an idea, if a company needs to work at night, its more viable for them to install fuel plants to pay for energy’.
Up to June this year, the free zones counted with 177 companies operating in the country, of which sixty percent were textile manufacturers.
Some 112,000 people are employed in free zones, according to statistics by the BCN for first half of this year.
“A programmed of devaluation of the national currency represents a contradiction with the current exchange rate regime. For practical purposes, it would mean returning to a situation of a predetermined exchange rate” Eduardo Prado, general manager of the BCCR told Elfinancierocr.com.
