The study, whose results were released Wednesday reveals that there are now 5.378.082 active (postpaid and prepaid) cellular telephone lines for a population of 4.6 million.
The largest number of active lines are “prepaid”, showing a growthe of 179% from 1.518.914 active lines in 2010 to 4.420.967 in 2012.
Meanwhile “postpaid” or subscription lines have dropped from 1.609.458 to 1.137.115 during the 2010-2012 period.
The Sutel attributes the rise in mobile services to greater choices of telecommunications in the market and the increase in purchasing power in the country.
The majority of cell phone services users say prefer prepaid for their ability to control consumption.
Currently there are five providers of cellular telephone services in Costa Rica: Kolbi (brand of state owned ICE), Claro, Movistar, Tuyo an Fullmovil. The latter two working under agreements of the first three.
The survery also shows ICE losing its customer base, dropping to 79% from 90%, while Movistar moved up 3 points to 7% of the market share, while Claro gaining 3% and Tuyo and Fullmovil both increased each 2%.
NO Coins. NO Glass. NO Metal. NO Firearms. NO Explosives. NO Drugs. Are part of the controls for Friday!
The Fuerza Publica (police) are planning extreme security measures for fans entering the National Stadium Friday, for the 8pm World Cup qualifying soccer game between Costa Rica and the United States.
Juan José Andrade, the director of the national police force, said that some 400 officers will be involved in the security detail at the stadium and called on fans to “maintain a respectful attitude“.
Any type of weapon, fireworks, glass or metal – including coins – will not be permitted inside the stadium, according to Andrade.
The police chief said it is recommendable not to take valuables like rings, watches, gold chains, etc. And in addition, the canine unit will be on patrol to detect drugs and explosives.
Police will begin their work at the stadium in the morning.
It is best to avoid the La Sabana an surrounding areas on Friday, especially as the day wears on and closer to game time.
(AFP) Three bodyguards working for American football star Tom Brady and his supermodel wife Gisele Bundchen are to stand trial in Costa Rica after firing shots at two photographers during an altercation at the couple’s 2009 wedding.
A court in Puntarenas, on Costa Rica’s Pacific coast, set a trial date for September 23 against two Costa Rican security guards and a Colombian national who are accused of shooting at AFP photojournalist Yuri Cortez and fellow photographer Rolando Aviles.
The incident occurred on April 4, 2009 as Cortez and Aviles attempted to cover the celebrity couple’s wedding reception held at Brazilian model Bundchen’s Costa Rican holiday home.
According to a previous lawsuit filed by AFP and the two photographers, Cortez and Aviles were forced to drive into the Bundchen property, where they refused demands from bodyguards that they turn over their cameras and memory cards.
As they drove off, “one of the Brady/Bundchen bodyguards opened fire with pistols and shot at Cortez and Aviles,” the suit said.
The bullet shattered the rear window of the vehicle and “narrowly missed striking the heads of Cortez and Aviles.”
“We look forward to the conviction (of the three accused),” said a lawyer for the two photographers. “We have sufficient evidence to support this accusation in court.”
Cortez meanwhile said he was looking forward to seeing the men finally face trial “after four years of waiting.”
“They tried to kill me and I think we have enough evidence to prove it,” said Cortez, who is currently a photojournalist working in AFP’s Mexico City bureau.
Developers planned to invest some $450 million in the coastal project, partially located on a RAMSAR wetland site
TICO TIMES – The Costa Rican Attorney General’s Office revoked an environmental viability study granted to a marina project in the Caribbean port of Moín, saying it would damage protected areas in the Cariari National Wetlands.
The study issued by the Environment Ministry’s National Technical Secretariat in 2008 “contradicts provisions stated by the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance (RAMSAR) and also local regulations including in the country’s Environment Law and Forest Law, among others,” the Attorney General’s Office stated.
Advertising published by developers – the Florida-based Soler Pazos Group – presented the project, Isla Moín, as the largest proposed marina in the Caribbean, with a planned investment of some $450 million.
The project, currently on hold, offered slips for 239 vessels, plus real estate development consisting of 600 condominiums, a hotel with 250 rooms, 100 sea-view villas, 100 apartments and 10,000 square meters of space for businesses.
The total projected area covered is 88 hectares surrounded by 2.7 kilometers of beach and 2.7 kilometers of river.
According to RAMSAR data the Cariari Wetlands include valuable ecosystems that remain almost unexplored and are some of the last sites of refuge for endangered species such as the manatee.
United Parcel Service Inc. will expand in Costa Rica by buying small package delivery company Union Pak de Costa Rica and brokerage company SEISA Brokerage.
Financial terms were not disclosed, but the deals are expected to close in the fourth quarter.
Both companies have long worked with Atlanta-based UPS (NYSE: UPS) as authorized service contractors.
“With the ownership of these operations in Costa Rica, UPS can provide customers the full suite of logistics services and global trade expertise,” said Romaine Seguin, president of the UPS Americas region.
UPS entered Costa Rica in 1990 and provides services there through UPS Air Cargo, and UPS Supply Chain Solutions. The International Monetary Fund projects the country’s annual import and export growth to grow an annual average of 7 percent over the next five years.
The game between the United States and Costa Rica is tomorrow and despite the heckling at the airport and the fact that the U.S. team has never won in Costa Rica, there is no reason for the Americans to give up hope. And Costa Rica’s national stadium, built and donated to the country by the Chinese, may give the U.S. a chance at qualifying for the World Cup before the weekend.
Originally the Costa Ricans (Ticos) wanted the game be played in the loud and imposing Ricardo Saprissa stadium, nicknamed “the Monster’s Cave“, a venue that has fans on top of the action.
The Saprissa
Instead the 35.000 seat national stadium boasts level sight-lines for the fans and a lovely track surrounding the field, placing even more distance between the players and the fans, this dampening the noise that will be emitted by what is expected a noisy an ruckus bunch. The high-tech artificial turf installed two years ago (the stadium’s opening in 2011) is nothing like the pockmarked artificial turf of the Saprissa.
What this all means for the U.S. team, the change of venue from the Saprissa to the Nacional, is the Tico’s loss of home field advantage.
“La Sele”, the nickname of Costa Rica’s national soccer team, knows well how to take advantage of the shortcomings of the Saprissa stadium. Many of the Sele players are from the Saprissa soccer club and/or have played for the Saprissa club and will definitely have played at the Saprissa stadium on many occasions during professional play.
Eduardo Li, president of the Fedefutbol, had some particularly strong rhetoric: “The voice of the people is the voice of God, and if people want us to play there, we will play in the Saprissa against the United States.”
The rowdy fans of the Saprissa
But they had to abandon that plan when it became clear that FIFA wouldn’t approve of a match held in the rundown palace of futbol. See, there’s this beautiful new sterile stadium just down the road, and it’s open for business.
The U.S. coach, Jürgen Klinsmann, for one, feels OK with how it all went down.
“We have a lot of respect for Costa Rica and it’s important that the players always respect their opponent and know what to expect. They can expect a very intense game, a high energy game, but I think we have the quality and the mindset to be confident enough to go there for three points. This is what we’re trying to build…. Hopefully we can take that mindset down to San José and win there for the first time ever in World Cup Qualifying.”
Thanks to Oscar Arias (who happens to live just a few blocks from the National Stadium) the Chinese, that United States team might actually have a shot at qualifying.
In 2007, Don Oscar, as president of Costa Rica established diplomatic relations with China, so Costa Rica got a shiny new toy and China got itself a bit of influence.
Watching the video of the “greeting” given the US team’s arrival in Costa Rica, I come to wonder if those same idiots who came to boo and shout insults, showing their anti American sentiments, eat at McDonalds, KFC, Wendys and Taco Bell, have an iPhone or iPad, wear Nike clothing, use the internet and so on…most things American in their daily lives.
I can understand their frustrations over what happened last March and enjoy the passion over their soccer.
BUT, is this any way to act?
I think not.
Shame on every one of you present at the airport or everyone who wishes they could have been there.
Just my point of view, not being a Costa Rican nor an American!
A dozen or so Costa Ricans took it upon themselves to represent the entire country in greeting the United States team with shouts “No Fair Play USA” among the catcalls, booing and placards.
The US Team is in Costa Rica for their game against “La Sele”, Costa Rica’s national team at the Estadio Nacional (National Stadium) on Saturday.
If you will recall, La Sele faced the US team last March 22, in a game played in a snow storm, when the US beat Costa Rica 1-0.
Friday’s game is so important that the MOPT (Ministry of Public Works and Transport) said on Tuesday it is scurrying to finish the work on the Circunvalacion by Friday, in time for the game.
Presidenta Laura Chinchilla said Tuesday that she cannot take “lightly” the recent statements made by her Nicaraguan counterpart, Daniel Ortega, in which he continues to reiterate his claim for Guancaste before the International Court of Justice in The Hague (ICJ).
Chinchilla said the threats might be because Costa Rica is unarmed, and if it had an army, she is sure that the Nicaraguan presient would be acting in this way.
She reiterated that there is no dialogue with Ortega and that she does not believe his calls for a stidown are sincere, because in the past he stood up Costa Rican government representatives.
The Presidenta made her remarks at a press conference following a cabinet meeting.
Since early Tuesday, proucers of bean and corn from different areas of Pérez Zeledón an Buenos Aires de Puntarenas began a blockade of the Interamericana Sur (Ruta 2), the main road to and from San José and the Panama border.
The blockage is mainly centred in the area of the Río Jilguero.
Trucks in the middle of the roads, slowdowns of traffic on alternate routes and people all over, the domestic producers are demanding that the government listen to their concerns.
The group of farmers, who maintained their blockade through the night, and despite the police action to disperse the protestors, they say they will not move until government officials arrive in Pérez Zeledón an open a dialogue.
According to the producers, their protest is that they have been abandoned by the authorities of the MAG since the beginning of the government of President Laura Chinchilla.
With the objective of promoting more tourims, trade and investment, as well as global positioning, Costa Rica has a new country brand called “Esencial Costa Rica“.
The campaign was produced by Future Brand and at a cost of nothing more and nothing less than US$650.000 dollars.
The primary market for the new brand will be New York (US) and China, according to tourism officials. Anabel Gonzalez, minister of the COMEX (Foreign Trade Ministry), added that it promote the brand globally, using ICT (Tourism Board) resources, to attrace trade and investment.
Presidenta Laura Chinchilla presenting the new brand on Tuesday.
PROCOMER (Foreign Trade Office) manamer, Jorge Sequiera, said the brand will be allowed to be used by Costa Rican companies that meet attributes and values. According to Sequeira, the green was chosen to highlight the Costa Rica’s environmental status in the world.
The new brand has already generated discontent and critcism, mainly through the social networks. One of the most vocal (written) is El Chamuko (El Infierno en Costa Rica ) who says the brand is better used for a shampoo or deodorant product and questions the use of the green, that is a colour with strong ties to the Partido Liberacion Nacional (PLN) – the ruling party.
El Chamuko says he liked the “Pura Vida” brand much better. What do you think? Use the comments section below or our Facebook page to give your point of view.
The following table shows a sample of how Costa Rica’s new brand compares to that of other countries:
Every driver in Costa Rica knows well that the autopista General Cañas, the major route between the international airport in Alajuela and the La Sabana park in San José, is the busiest and most congested road in the country.
And now there are numbers to back it up.
According to the Laboratorio Nacional de Materiales y Modelos Estructurales (Lanamme), de la Universidad de Costa Rica, 98.616 vehicles snail along the General Cañas daily, topping the 89.000 vehicles on the Ruta 27 (San José – Caldera) and the 80.000 on the Circunvalación (ring road around San José).
Click on map to enlarge.
The Tránsito Promedio Diario (TPD) map shows graphically the congestion of the major roads of the Central Valley, roads that were never designed or built for the volumes of today.
Guillermo Loría, general coordinator at the Lanamme, says the data was provided by the Ministerio de Obras Públicas y Transportes (MOPT).
The map will be updated annually and will be included in the LanammeCR free mobile application (app) for smartphones, SmartRoad that helps drivers to understand where dangers lurk on highways in Costa Rica. The free application describes levels of risk or susceptibility to accidents, providing information on slippery road sections, with little or no signage and significant presence of impairments.
The Santa Cruz municipal council finds itself in a bind. The body leased out a concession for a tourism installation on Isla de la Plata (Plata Island) in 2008, a legal mistake, but no one seems to know what to do about it.
The island in the Pacific is a paradise for sport fishermen and an ecological garden where humpbacked whales cavort. But the Procuraduria General de la Republica, a body acting as lawyers for the country, say that a municipality has no power to grant such a concession.
Martin Vallejos, a councilman at the time, said he gave his vote only as a sign to the Legislative Assembly of approval for Inversiones Vimavi del Pacifico S.A. of Esparza to develop a tourist installation on the island, including a hotel.
He said he was aware at the time that a law had to be passed by the deputies to grant such a concession. “When we voted, we intended to recommend to the Legislative Assembly that they approve it and that hasn’t happened,” he said.
Vimavi has had its eye on the lush island since it applied for a concession in 1994. In October of that year, the Environment Ministry, acting for the Tempisque Conservation Area, threw a roadblock in the way of the island’s development and, in 2004, the Ecoplan firm drew up a regulatory plan for it at Vimavi’s request.
Two years later, an Internet page offered the concession for sale at $15 million, following the Ecoplan scheme. The Environment Ministry issued a warning of legality violation right after the municipality vote but since 2008, no one has done anything to reverse the concession, says Deputy Yolanda Acuña of Citizen Action Party.
Two conservation studies by the Environment Ministry have determined that the island is covered with vegetation that should be protected, which precludes construction.
Meanwhile, the municipal council seems to be waiting for someone else to revoke the concession.
Although Canadian heartthrob Justin Bieber has not included Costa Rica on the itinerary of his Believe World Tour, that is not stopping young Ticas from doing whatever they can to ensure they do not miss their idol. According to Melvin Molina of La Nacion, if the Bieber does not come to Costa Rica, Ticas will go to the Bieber.
The Believe World Tour is only the second international string of concerts by Justin Bieber, who plans to wrap it up later this year after 150 performances. It is estimated that the Believe tour has already earned more than $70 million. Justin Bieber is scheduled to play at the Rommel Fernandez Stadium in Panama City, which is a magnificent venue that can accommodate about 29,000 screaming fans of the singer who is known for hits such as Beautiful, Die in Your Arms and As Long as You Love Me.
The ultra-modern city of Panama is where about 200 young girls who belong to the JB Fans Club Beliebers Costa Rica will be on October 24th. The concert will feature a special VIP section, the “Belieber Zone,” and this is where you will find most Ticas. Tickets to the Belieber Zone cost almost $300, and sales have been brisk thanks to the interest by fans from Costa Rica.
Paula Solis is the president of the JB Fans Club Beliebers Costa Rica. She explained to La Nacion that she has been hoping for her idol to play here since 2009, but that has not happened. Her parents are paying for the trip expenses, which include transportation, lodging, souvenirs, and the coveted tickets to the exclusive Belieber Zone. Paula is going with her best friend Melissa.
A handful of travel agencies in Costa Rica are handling the travel arrangements to see Justin Bieber in Panama. If the concertgoer is under the age of 18, an adult guardian must provide escort and chaperone duties. Beliebers under 12 years of age will spend between $235 to $549, teens and young adults will spend between $310 (for nosebleed seats) to $629. According to the president of the Bieber fan club in Costa Rica, some young Ticas are currently an emotional wreck because they will not be able to attend the concert in Panama.
In other news, the oft-shirtless singer with a predilection for wearing sagging pants was recently attacked at a Toronto nightclub in an incident involving an expensive gold chain.
Friday is the big day, and football (soccer) fans in Costa Rica are anxiously awaiting to witness what promises to be one of the most exciting games of 2013. On that day, the Costa Rica National Football Team (La Sele) will host their counterparts from the United States in what has been repeatedly reported as: “the ultimate grudge match.”
This international match is part of the qualification path to the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, which is sure to be one of the most memorable sports events of the 21st century. Football players in Costa Rica and around the world would like nothing more to one day tell their grandchildren: “I represented our country’s national football team in Brazil,” or “I played at the Estadio do Maracana; it was a deafening roar.” Although it is important for both the U.S. and Costa Rica to come away victorious this Friday for the purpose of keeping World Cup hopes alive, this game has an important matter to settle.
The matter is what happened earlier this year at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Colorado, where the U.S. hosted Costa Rica during polar conditions unbecoming a football match. The U.S. team came away with three points after a sole goal by Clint Dempsey 16 minutes after the game started. The officials brought out the yellow balls needed for low visibility conditions, but after a while the snowfall had blanketed the entire stadium, the players could not see the markings, and the ball could barely move forward.
For hecklers and badgerers, the game was a lot of fun. Players could barely stay on their feet and were visibly frustrated; fans began lodging snowballs into the pitch and at each other in the seats; ESPN broadcasters Bob Ley, Alexi Lalas and Kasey Keller put on anoraks and ludicrous snow hats, and the second half played out like a rugby game where players could not touch the ball or each other with their hands.
The game was an embarrassment for FIFA, and Costa Rica’s late appeal fell on deaf ears. It was resolved that the matter was to be left alone, at least until the next match against the U.S., and that time has come. La sele is ready to reclaim the three point lost in the snow, and fans in Costa Rica are fine tuning their secret weapons: Heckling, baiting and riding.
Welcoming the U.S. Team
Harassment of visiting teams is practically a tradition in football circles. It usually starts with letting the visiting team know that they are not exactly welcome from the moment they arrive. The U.S. team has already tried to avoid this potential unpleasantness by requesting that Base 2 of the Juan Santamaria International Airport (SJO) be reserved for their landing so that they do not have to clear customs and immigration with the rest of the foreigners arriving in Costa Rica. The country’s immigration and civil aviation authorities will have the last say on this matter.
Other proposals to badger the U.S. team is to purposely cause traffic jams as they try to make it to practice and to the game, although this might not even be necessary as traffic jams in the Greater Metropolitan Area (GAM in Spanish) of San Jose are the norm anyway. Then there is the classic maneuver of making a lot of noise near the hotel where they will stay, thereby eliminating their chances of getting a good night’s rest before the match.
For all the heckling and taunting proposed, national sports daily Al Dia has adopted a mature and serious stance by reminding fans that FIFA officials and Fuerza Publica will be watching closely. Everyone wants to enjoy a good match between two rival teams that have world-class stars on their rosters: (Saborio, Ruiz and Campbell for Costa Rica, Donovan and Dempsey for the U.S.), but there is no need for snarling or acting a fool. Here are the consequences for unacceptable behavior:
Referee Marco Rodriguez will not tolerate field invasions of any kind. The pitch is off-limits to unauthorized persons. Should there be an invasion or excessive throwing of foreign objects, the match will be suspended and the National Stadium may be called off for future qualification matches against Mexico and other teams.
Racists taunts or insults by fans may result in a FIFA investigation and possible elimination of the National Stadium in future international football matches.
A physical assault on any of the visiting players and team staff may result in criminal prosecutions under articles 126 and 128 of the Criminal Code of Costa Rica, which recommends a prison sentence up to a year.
Damaging the vehicles used by the U.S. team during their visit to Costa Rica may result in a criminal prosecution under article 228 of the Criminal Code, which could lead to a prison sentence ranging between 15 days and a year.
When conducted in a clever and respectful manner, heckling can be a fun aspect of the football experience. This is something that haters and others who take the beautiful game a little too seriously must learn to accept. Just like Costa Rican star striker Alvaro Saborio mentioned as he arrived home a couple of days ago: “The snow match is in the past. Now we have an important game on Friday.”
The first vehicles to cross the Bailey bridges on the Circunvalacion at 5am this morning.
The first vehicles to cross the Bailey bridges on the Circunvalacion at 5am this morning.
It was 5am on the dot when traffic officials removed the barriers and traffic started flowing across the two Bailey bridges on the Circunvalacion, between Hatillo 8 and Pavas.
Rains had delayed the promised Monday opening.
Work crews worked over night Monday to lay down the asphalt over the installed structures spanning more than 50 metres (150 feet), a temporary fix to the growing problem underneath.
It was 10 days ago when a sinkhole by the side of the road forced Transport officials to close off one lane on the heavily travelled ring road on the west side of San José.
Last week Public Works minister Pedro Castro announced that the problem would take months to solve, and that two Bailey structures would be installed to move traffic while work continues below, similar to the situation on the autopista General Cañas several months back.
Now that traffic is moving again, the quesiton of who is to fix the problem begins.
The Conavi (national roads council) said on Monday, that on closer inspection, the problem is the responsibility of the water and sewer utility, the AyA.
President Daniel Ortega warned Costa Rica that Nicaragua may ask the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to restore Costa Rica’s Guanacaste province he said it lost to “occupation” in 1824.
Ortega was referring to the province which is about 20 percent of Costa Rica’s territory and a popular tourism destination.
“Costa Rica did not win that territory in an international court, but rather by force, with arms,” Ortega said at a military ceremony on Monday.
He said he would like to negotiate with San José over the issue, an idea that has been rejected by Costa Rican President Laura Chinchilla.
Who wouldn’t want to live in one of the world’s most coloruful cities? The colour of a city and the creativity of its people can easily turn a dull town into a place with vibrant beauty. If you ever wonder what makes a city beautiful, the answer can lie within its architecture, landscape, or people – But can also be something simpler, like colour. A colorful city is a happy city. Just imagine your own city only more cheerful and colorful. Check more examples of cities with colour at UrbanPeek.
Remember when the Americans beat the Ticos 1-0 in the snow? Well, in a few days the Ticos will get to exact their revenge on the US, in a game set for September 6, this time in hot and sunny (but wet) Costa Rica.
“The San José game is the biggest game in 2013 or all of us because we want to win there,” United States Coach Jurgen Klinsman told USsoccer.com. “We want to get three points. We want to qualify as soon as possible for the World Cup in Brazil. We want to get the first-ever three points in World Cup qualifying in Costa Rica. It’s going to be huge. We have to be extremely disciplined with eight or nine players being on yellow cards to prepare also for the game against Mexico in Columbus, so going into Costa Rica we really need to be on top of our game. We need to be very focused and sharp and make it happen.”
The Costa Rica – US game will be played at the Estadio Nacional (National Stadium) starting at 8pm, with the gates opening at 3pm. Tickets for this event are SOLD OUT!
Costa Rica – Mexico What is available, though are tickets to the Costa Rica – Mexico game on October 15. Tickets for that game went on sale at 1:00am this morning at specialticket.net, availble only on the web until 8:00am and then at distribution outlets (Servimás for example) an call centres starting at 8:30am.
Entrance prices for the Mexico game are from ¢10.000 to ¢20.000 (plus service charges) with a maximum purchase of four per person.
According to SpecialTicket.net, purchased tickets will be available for delivery to nationals and residents from Sept 4 to 30 and to foreigners only between October 13 and 15.
Images taken from live television coverage this morning.
Images taken from live television coverage this morning.
It had been expected complete by this morning, but the rains of the weekend delayed the work on the installation of the two Bailey bridges on the Circunvalación.
CONAVI officials say that the work will be complete by noon today, as the metal structures have been installed and what is now required is the on/off ramps.
Traffic on the Circunvalación was heavy in both directions this morning, mainly due that many expected the road to be open and given it follows pay day. Costa Ricans normally take out their cars a couple of days before and after pay days, the 15th an 30th of each month..
The Policia de Tránsito is still on site and will remain for days, maintaining the flow of traffic, according to German Marín, director of the traffic police force.
Though it does not seem like it, this year to date, there have been fewer rainy days, when compared to the average of the last 14 years.
The areas with the least rain have been Guanacaste, San José and Alajuela.
According to the Instituto Meteorológico Nacional (IMN) – national weather service – the province of the “pampa” (Guanacaste) has seen 35% fewer rainy days this year, while in the province of Alajuela the rains are down 26% and 15% in the province of San José.
Werner Stolz, chief forecaster at the IMN, explains that the lower rainfall is due to the strong period of “heatwaves” or “veranillos” affecting primarily Guanacaste and the central pare of the country.
Stolz said the the heatwave ended mid-August and normal rains expected for September and October, the wettest months of the rainy season.
According to the IMN forecasts, during this and next month we can expect rainy periods of between three and fours, with rainfall of up to 80 litres of water per square metre. These conditions are expected throughout the country.
Remember, for this month and next, never mind looking up to the sky to see if it will rain or not. Be prepared for rain and enjoy it just in case, though remote, it doesn’t.
Also be prepared for flash flooding, especially near rivers and creeks. Have rain gear – an umbrella, raincoat and galoshes – handy. Change the batteries on the flashlight and store it in a easy to reach place, have candles (and matches) available in case of power failures, and keep an eye out for electrical storms (lightning) that can accompany heavy rains.
The new head of the UN anti-impunity investigations unit in Guatemala is likely to be a Colombian veteran of paramilitary investigations, who will face stiff challenges amid continuing political opposition and a mandate that is rapidly running out.
Guatemalan President Otto Perez Molina announced that although the appointment had not been officially confirmed, he had been informed that the next head of the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG) will be a former Colombian judge, prosecutor and investigator Ivan Velasquez Gomez, reported El Periodico.
In Colombia, Velasquez was involved in numerous investigations into atrocities committed by the paramilitaries of the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC) and their links to state and political institutions.
However, he will inherit an organization under political attack. On August 29th, a congressman, formerly of the party of ex-dictator Efrain Ríos Montt and currently with the Institutional Republican Party (PRI), tabled a motion to revoke the CICIG’s mandate. “The CICIG maintains a state of permanent blackmail of the justice system,” said Luis Fernando Perez
The motion failed, but only after what appeared to be political maneuverings, with congressmen who supported the measure avoiding the vote itself, reported Prensa Libre.
Velasquez is a hardened anti-impunity campaigner, who has faced down the threats and intimidation of Colombia’s paramilitaries and even stood firm as he watched colleagues murdered. He also has a proven track record in taking on not only criminal elements, but also their allies in the state — which will be critical to success in Guatemala, where corruption is one of the main elements fuelling impunity.
However, he will face serious difficulties if he is to make advances in the time he will have in the position. The CICIG’s mandate expires in September 2015, and President Perez has indicated he will not renew it. According to Perez, Velasquez’s role in that time will be little more than ensuring a smooth handover to the Guatemalan judicial institutions.
The CICIG has marked up some notable successes in its six years of operations, and can lay claim to being a key factor in the 23 percent drop in impunity over that time. However, it continues to face heavy opposition from within political and state institutions, and when the time comes to hand over to Guatemalan institutions, which will not have the international clout of the CICIG, it is likely many of these gains will be reversed.
Comparing the cost of living across international regions is a popular activity among those who seek to retire abroad. Until a couple of years ago, Costa Rica appeared in just about every list of top places to retire -all of which considered low cost of living a priority. That no longer seems to be the case.
There is no question that the cost of living in Costa Rica has gone up considerably over the last few years. This is a country that has traditionally thrived on inflation, but the current state of macroeconomic affairs has a few variables that directly affect the cost of living:
The shift to a consumer economy
The sheer popularity of Costa Rica as a prime tourist destination
The monetary policy of the Central Bank
The high cost of imports does not seem to deter Tico consumers, whose incomes do not match the rate of inflation. This can be witnessed on the highways of Costa Rica, where a growing number of cars are causing gridlock (and sadly, almost none are hybrid or electric). Never mind that the prices and taxes of motor vehicles in Costa Rica are among the highest in Latin America, and the same goes for the price of the fossil fuels used to power them.
The National Board of Tourism (Spanish initials: ICT) has done a masterful job promoting the country as a top visitor destination. The ICT’s strategy has mostly consisted of highlighting two of Costa Rica’s most valuable resources, her natural beauty and the happiness of her people. This strategy has worked wonders, which in turn has caused the cost of vacations to go up. Side effects from this tourism success have been the Bed & Breakfast Crisis and proposals to impose higher revenue duties from the hospitality and tourism industry.
Although the economy of the United States is gradually recovering from its darkest days circa late 2008, the Harvard-educated governors of Costa Rica’s Central Bank are set in their ways with regard to keeping the U.S. dollar confined to narrow bands that keep it from breaking the currency exchange rate.
If you add Costa Rica’s continuous improvement in industrialization and human development matters, you can understand that the country is becoming less appealing to frugal foreign retirees. In this regard, Costa Rica can be compared to Uruguay, a country that has vastly improved in human development and quality of life, and the cost of living in that South American nation has gone up considerably as well.
BankRate.com cites Chiang Mai in Thailand as a very affordable city for retirement. Chiang Mai, along with our very own San Jose, were recently featured by respected British magazine Monocle as two of the most lovable cities in the world. BankRate also listed Buenos Aires -a gorgeous city- as inexpensive, and this is a very interesting claim. Let’s not forget that Argentina is no longer in the throes of economic disaster as seen in the early 21st century. The fact that Buenos Aires is listed by BankRate does not mean that opportunistic retirees can move there and take advantage of a crisis; what it means is that Costa Rica has grown to be as expensive as Argentina in some regards.
Two of the best online resources for international cost-of-living comparisons are Numbeo and Expatistan. Numbeo indicates that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) in San Jose is 69.14 percent while the local purchasing power is about 38.4 percent -a wide gap that calls for Ticos to be prudent when it comes to budgeting. This is how two North American cities fared when compared to San Jose, Costa Rica in Expatistan’s cost of living calculator, which takes into account food, housing, clothes, transportation, personal care, and entertainment:
BankRate also recommends the magnificent city of Valencia in Spain as a cheap retirement option, but this would be mostly opportunistic because of that country’s ongoing economic crisis, which means that those who choose to retire there should monitor the cost of living once economic conditions improve in Spain. At this time, however, retiring in Valencia is a whopping 25 percent cheaper than San Jose according to Expatistan.
Cheaper regional alternatives to Costa Rica are already emerging among expat and retiree circles. Panama has been a candidate for some time; the new locations are Leon in Nicaragua and Lake Atitlan in Guatemala. BankRate has an interesting writeup on this mountainous city:
Several waterfront houses are available for rent on the lake; a three-bedroom house costs around $300 per month to rent.
For those who require assisted living, a full-time personal nurse can be hired for $15 to $20 per day […] A maid is about $4 (to) $10 per day.
The housekeeping professional mentioned above can still be hired in Costa Rica at a similar rate of pay of $10 per day, but it would have to be a live-in maid, which would entail additional food costs as well as contributions to La Caja (Costa Rica’s public health system), and perhaps legal costs if the housekeeper is from Nicaragua. A full-time personal nurse in Costa Rica will cost a lot more than $15 to $20 per day, particularly if she is a graduate from one of the country’s prestigious public universities.
If we were to conduct an informal survey asking people if they would prefer to live in Guatemala or Costa Rica, people are very likely to think about Costa Rica’s image as a green and peaceful developing country where quality of life is a priority, and they may think about Guatemala as the grand nation where the Maya civilization flourished, but they might also associate Guatemala with political instability, civil strife, poverty, and violence. For these reasons, Costa Rica has become progressively expensive; she might not be the most affordable place for retirees, but she is certainly still a great country to live in.
Two recent articles in online news daily Costa Rica Hoy (CRHoy) call attention to the rising trend of Ecstasy use in Costa Rica. Ecstasy is a common English slang name for amphetamine-based street drugs typically manufactured in pill form. In Costa Rica, these drugs are referred to as “extasis,” “cristal,” or even molly, which is a trendy slang term for them in North America.
A recent article by Viviana Arce of CRHoy details an interview given by “Fernanda,” the fictitious name given to a 23-year old female university student in Costa Rica who is fond of going out to weekend parties and dance clubs where she ingests up to five tabs of Ecstasy in one night, often combining them with other substances such as alcohol, lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) or ketamine. NOTE: Fernanda admits she has developed tolerance for these substances, but this in no way shall ever be construed as being anything except irresponsible and risky behavior. According to CRHoy, Ecstasy is becoming a drug of choice among young middle-to-upper class Ticos who enjoy going out to clubs where electronic dance music (EDM) is played.
What Fernanda and other users of Ecstasy in Costa Rica hope to get whenever they get their hands on some pills is that they are mostly 3,4-methylenedioxy-N-methylamphetamine (MDMA). In the past, this empathogenic stimulant has been used for therapeutic purposes, and to this day it continues to be evaluated for medical uses such as the treatment of patients who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder. As a recreational drug, MDMA and its Ecstasy variants are often associated with the rave and EDM culture.
MDMA in Costa Rica
It is not surprising to learn that Ecstasy use is on the rise in Costa Rica. After all, MDMA users report enhanced feelings of empathy, closeness to others, reduced anxiety, and happiness; such feelings are compatible with the typical mindset of people in Costa Rica. The EDM scene has also grown in Costa Rica over the last few years; to wit: The Envision Festival, as well as various big-name DJs who come to spin sets their popular sets here. A tenet of the rave and EDM culture is PLUR, which stands for Peace, Love, Unity, Respect. Such as philosophy would be welcome not just in Costa Rica, but anywhere in the world.
Unfortunately, not everything is PLUR when it comes to Ecstasy in Costa Rica. This is a controlled substance that carries certain risks and presents ancillary challenges. The first issue is that, as a designer drug, Ecstasy is often subject to impure manufacturing -this means that users in Costa Rica hoping to score adequate doses of MDMA may end up getting bathtub-made amphetamine. “Getting burned” in this fashion entails a monetary loss, which at current retail street prices may fluctuate between $10 to $20, and it also means being subject to unknown substances and potential toxicity -a phenomenon known as “dirty pills.”
Tico MDMA users rely on the PLUR network to attest the purity of pills, which are often imprinted with designs such as cartoon characters (such as the Smurfs), brand logos (such as Mitsubishi years ago), stylized silhouettes (doves), and others. Going by these logos is not, of course, a reliable way of testing whether a pill is MDMA or not. Chemical reagent test kits and knowing the reputation of the source of the pills are preferred methods, which brings us to the issue of drug trafficking.
Trading Cocaine for Ecstasy
A recent article by Alvaro Sanchez of CRHoy reports on the recent dismantling of an Ecstasy smuggling ring in Costa Rica. According to the article, the Drug Control Police (Spanish initials: PCD) arrested an Italian man and two National Post Office workers suspected of participating a scheme that involved trading cocaine for high-quality Ecstasy pills manufactured in the Netherlands.
When the smuggling ring was broken up, the authorities in Costa Rica seized 11,109 pills and about a kilogram and a half of cocaine that was ready to be shipped to Europe. In a few European nations, purchasing the chemical ingredients needed to manufacture large quantities of MDMA is not as controlled as in the Americas. Dutch chemists are known to be knowledgeable and ethical when it comes to manufacturing MDMA, and thus their output is highly sought-after in the PLUR world. When it comes to Ecstasy, Dutch provenance is considered to be of the best quality and safety. Pills manufactured in Mexico or Canada, not so much.
That criminal organizations trade cocaine for Ecstasy in Costa Rica should not be a surprise. A 2003 report by the United States Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) explained that:
Costa Rica is a transshipment and staging area for cocaine and South American heroin targeted for the United States as well as Europe. Drug traffickers use Costa Rica as a location to store and consolidate multi-hundred-kilogram cocaine shipments and to stage heroin shipments for smuggling.
Costa Rica will continue to be an attractive vacation location for Europeans and U.S. citizens who may contribute to local MDMA abuse.
The main issues with MDMA use in Costa Rica transcend its status as a controlled substance. Dirty pills pose obvious health risks based on the fact that substances unknown may be present in pill form, but even MDMA abuse can be a major concern.
Potential Health Issues
Side effects of MDMA include hyperthermia, dehydration and tachycardia. The City of New York recently shut down the popular Electric Zoo EDM festival at Randall’s Island after two deaths and four people ending up in critical condition due to alleged use of Ecstasy. Concertgoers are blaming “a dirty batch of molly” on the unfortunate casualties, but there are also concerns of overdosing and adverse physical reactions.
The physiological side effects of Ecstasy can be quite strong, especially when combined with other drugs as described earlier in this article by Fernanda, the Tica molly user. Mixing MDMA with LSD is known as “candy-flipping;” mixing it with cocaine is often called “sugar-flipping.” Regardless of slang, these are very irresponsible practices, especially when considering the hyperthermia and dehydration already attributed to MDMA. Such behaviors do not fit into the PLUR doctrine, which actually supports moderation.
Being the victim of constant ridicule from his fellow workers for wearing women’s pants, a man named Sanchez working for the Ministerio de Obras Públicas y Transportes (MOPT), decided to rely on the law and file a “recurso amparo (appeal) with the Constitutional Court.
The appeal challenging his employer’s rules prohibiting him from wearing women’s clothes is closely watched,
Sanchez is not in an office job, but working as a “bacheador” filling in potholes with asphalt.
“While work has a dress code, he must follow the rules”, the worker said that, although he was aware that be must be protected against the hot asphalt and traffic by wearing pants, a bright orange vest, helmet and boots, he says in his complaint that he was reprimanded for wearing women’s slacks.
The case and the Court decision resounded Friday the hallways of the Defensoría de los Habitantes (Ombudsman), saying there could be a case of discrimination if the Sanchez is identified as a transexual in his “cedula” and the MOPT hired him as such.
At the Ministry of Labour (Ministerio de Trabajo), Minister Olman Segura said, “we have to see that background, if the man wants to go to work in heels, for instance, it is illogical for it to be allowed. The employer is the one who sets the dress code and the worker must respect it”.
In his Court filing, Sanchez says he wants to be accepted as a “transexual” and not a man, hence feels it is inappropriate to be forced to be dressed as such (as a man).
His fellow workers, at the Alajuela plant, have filed a complaint with the Labour ministry because they feel uncomfortable with the situation. The complaint is pending a hearing.
Sergio Hidalgo, senior officer at the MOPT, told CRHoy.com that Sanchez was hired in July 2009, is a good worker and has not had any problems with him. Hidalgo confirmed that Sanchez was hired as a man, as indicated on his identification and not as “Wendy Vanessa Sanchez”, as he is commonly known.
“I was born in the San Juan de Dios hospital on November 3, 1960, at 3:10am. See how I accurate I am”, he told Amelia Rueda with a smile.
Sanchez while being interviewed by Amelia Rueda. Photo Ameliarueda.com
In the interview with the radio personality, Wendy relates his/her story of getting up at 4am to start work at 6am, work that includes handling boiling asphalt until 3pm.
“I am a Josefina (from San José). I grew up in Cinco Esquinas de Tibás, the oldest of four brothers. My father abandoned us when I was five, he took everything. Don’t know why he took even my clothes”, Wendy tells her story.
“I was about 4 or 5 when I put for the first time my mother’s bloomers. She was not the cuddling type. She gave me a horrible beating.
Sanchez with his co-workers
“When I was in school, third or fourth grade, a school friend named Sandra Zamora gave me one her blouses. I was so very happy, because I knew it was woman’s clothing, they button up in reverse.
“At 7 or 8 years old, I liked wearing jeans like she did. As kids we would go down to the pond and I always had my jeans on. She did not know. She would have killed me if she had found out!
“What has been most difficult is to be in a body that I don’t belong.
“My sex. I would prefer to live one second as a woman than a million years as a man”.
Asked what she expects to get out of her appeal, “to be left to be a woman. That is what I want”.
