High speed internet access up to 100 Mbps is now reality in Costa Rica, thanks to a new product by Cabletica, that is available for both businesses and homes.
But it’s not cheap.
Cabletica is pricing the 100 Mbps at US$749 monthly. The rate is for residential, the cable company does not publish the business rate on its website.
Connection speeds of up to 50 Mbps is priced at US$399; 35 Mbps at US$299; 25 Mbps US$199; and 15 Mbps US$123.85. All rates are monthly and does not include the 13% sales tax. The connection is by way of cable modem.
With the launch of the new product, Cabletica becomes the first regional provider with such high internet connections.
A court in Mexico released drugs baron Rafael “Caro” Quintero, after he served 28 years priosn for the kidnapping and murder of a US agent. The Mexican court cut short Quintero’s 40-year sentence for the 1985 killing of US Drug Enforcement agent Enrique Camarena.
It ruled that Quintero, now 60, should have been tried in a state rather than a federal court. The murder strained US-Mexico ties and changed the war on drugs trafficking.
The DEA, meanwhile, said it “will vigorously continue its efforts to ensure Quintero faces charges in the United States for the crimes he committed.”
Mexican authorities did not release the full decision explaining the reasoning of the three-judge panel in the western state of Jalisco, but some experts said the ruling may have been part of a broader push to rebalance the Mexican legal system in favor of defendants’ rights, from both law-enforcement officials and the independent judicial system. Mexico’s Supreme Court has issued several recent rulings overturning cases while saying due process wasn’t followed.
Costa Rica Connection
Quintero was arrested in Costa Rica in 1985. Immigration records show that he arrived in Costa Rica on March 17 of that year and deported to Mexico on April 4.
His 18 days in Costa Rica he spend in the quinta he dubbed “La California” located in San Rafael de Ojo de Agua, in Alajuela.
Nobody knew his presence in the country until he was arrested.
A Legislative Commission investigation into Quintero revelead that the Mexican drug lord never submitted to immigration controls at the San José airport, even though two high ranking security and immigration officials were at the airport at the time. In the final report, the Commission could not conclude if the Mexican had ties to national politicians, as was believed.
Quintero arrested in Costa Rica on April 4, 1985
The alleged “patronage” of politicians was the topic of the day with the finding of names and numbers in a phone book seized during a search of his home. The report concluded that the information did not spew any evidence linking any Costa Rican politicians.
Costa Rica’s former Minister of Security, Alvaro Ramos, rules out that the Mexican still has ties to Costa Rica after 28 years of being in prison. Ramos added that the Guadalajara Cartel, which Quintero was one of three founding members, has lost power over to other organizations such as the Knights Templar Cartel and La Familia Michoacana.
The Guadalajara Cartel, in the day, was thought to be responsible for transporting the majority of the cocaine consumed in the United States in the 1980’s.
According to reports, Quintero could have faced other charges and possible extradition to the U.S., but he walked a free man on Friday, avoiding a significant scandal, particularly among Washington-based drug enforcement agencies where the murdered operative is heralded as a hero.
Quintero Continues Control
US authorities believe Quintero has been controlling drugs money from behind bars, the Associated Press news agency reports.
“Quintero continues to launder the proceeds from narcotics trafficking and he maintains an alliance with drug trafficking organizations,” US treasury department spokesman John Sullivan was quoted as saying.
Many analysts believe the Camarena killing represented a key turning point in the fight against drug trafficking in Mexico.
It broke up the Guadalajara Cartel into splinter groups, which formed the basis of today’s powerful drug gangs. Experts say it also led to closer cooperation between Mexico and the US on drug trafficking cases, AFP says.
DEA Doubts
Former DEA officials familiar with the Camarena case said they doubted that Caro Quintero walked free simply due to a legally well-founded reexamination of his case. They noted a history of bribery in Mexico and a continuous need for U.S. pressure on Mexican authorities to keep Camarena’s killers behind bars.
Edward Heath was the DEA’s regional director for Mexico at the time of the Camarena killing and was present during the identification of the agent’s body from dental records.
He said Quintero’s release reflected a broader lack of cooperation with the U.S. from the new Mexican government, a contrast with the policy of former President Felipe Calderon.
“You had a president that was working very close with our government in a quiet way. These people come in and so, boom, the curtain comes down,” said Heath, now a private security consultant. “It means a disrespect for our government … This is only six, seven months into their tenure and all of a sudden things are happening, not necessarily for the good.”
He said he was skeptical of the explanation that there was a justifiable legal rationale for Quintero’s release.
In 1985
Camarena was kidnapped in Guadalajara, a major drug trafficking centre at the time. His body and that of his Mexican pilot, both showing signs of torture, were found a month later, buried in shallow graves. American officials accused their Mexican counterparts of letting Camarena’s killers get away.
Quintero was eventually hunted down in Costa Rica.
The deportation of Owen followed Migración’s cancellation of his tourist visa, profiling him as “high risk”.
Immigration director Kathya Rodríguez, said that Owen did not have a residency visa and confirmed his deportation in the early hours of Friday morning, leaving on a commercial flight from the Juan Santamaría (San José) international airport.
In Costa Rica, Owen faces charges of illegal possession of a firearm. Rodríguez said that the Fiscalia will not require Owen’s presence to continue with the case, allowing immigration to send him back to the United States.
The suspected leader of an international child pornography ring has been arrested in Costa Rica as part of a probe co-ordinated with Spain and several Latin American countries.
The Organismo de Investigación Judicial (OIJ) carried out six raids on Friday morning, including the home of a commercial pilot in Rio Segundo, Alajuela (minutes from the international airport), detaining a 45 year old man identified by his last names Loria Pereira.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dx5MMacaEnY
Costa Rican authorities believe the man distributed child pornography material, an act that is punishable in Costa Rica by up to four years in prison and from six months to two years for the possession of illicit material.
Photo: La Nacion
Raids also occurred in Paso Ancho, San Francisco de Dos Rios, Tres Ríos de La Unión, Guapiles and Siquirres, with police seizing computers and electronic equipment alleged used to produce and distribute the child pornographic material.
Simultaneous raids were carried out by authorities in Chile, Argentina, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Uruguay and Spain.
The operation was part of an coordinated international attack on child pornography called “Operación Pureza II para combatir la pornografía infantil en Internet” (Operation Purity II to combat child pornography on the Internet), that began in April.
In Brazil, authorities there report the detention of four, who, presumably, were part of an international network of pedophiles, but not necessarily linked to Operación Pureza II.
Marisel Rodriguez, spokesperson for the OIJ, told the press that it is presumed that the Loira obtained the material and then spread it, and that there is no indication of it being produced in Costa Rica.
Friday afternoon, Loira was released by the Tribunales de Justicia de San José with the precautionary measure not to leave the country during the next three months.
CSS Corp, a technology support and consulting company, on Thursday announced the opening of its delivery centre in Costa Rica. The centre, located at the Ultra Park Free Zone in La Aurora de Heredia was inaugurated by Costa Rica’s Presidenta, Laura Chinchilla.
“Availability of multi-lingual talent and technical skills influenced our decision to locate the delivery centre in Costa Rica,” the US firm’s Indian born chief executive T.G. Ramesh said in a statement.
The near-shore centre for key clients, inaugurated by Costa Rica President Laura Chinchilla Friday, will have about 150 employees in this first year of operations.
With focus on cloud, mobility and analytics solutions, the US-based tech firm caters to about 140 enterprises worldwide, leveraging its domain expertise to effect strategic business transformations.
Lauding CSS Corp for setting shop in Costa Rica, Chinchilla said the IT firm’s presence would augur well for the country’s economic growth prospects.
“Companies like CSS become an important source of quality employment for Costa Ricans who demonstrate quality and innovative spirit at work,” the presidenta said.
The centre will work on projects in software development, network and application support to businesses.
“The centre will be a key site for business continuity planning and disaster recovery planning,” Ramesh said.
The company will also hire local talent with technical skills and language proficiency in bilingual English and Spanish language.
“We will provide technology support to clients looking at a combination of multi-lingual onsite and delivery expertise,” Ramesh said.
Foreign Trade Minister Anabelle Gonzales said Costa Rica offered quality infrastructure, human capital and a friendly business environment and efforts to position the country as a potential investment destination in diverse markets was paying off.
“The entry of CSS in our country is the result of the government’s hard work in association with the Costa Rican Coalition for Development of Initiatives,” Gonzalez added.
Singapore-based artist Fong Qi Wei found his own way to break out the limits of a single shot in time photography. His Time is a dimension series of various landscapes was produced from sequences of shots done within 2-4 hours mostly at sunrise or sunset hours when the sky color changes dramatically. Click here for more shots.
Spanish citizen Gonzalo Alonso Hernandez and Jairo Mora of Costa Rica had a lot in common: Both were deeply courageous biologists committed to environmental conservation whose dedication may have caused them to die at the hands of despicable criminals.
Costa Rican online news media site El Pais, which is known for its strong defense of environmental affairs, recently published an article from the Spanish EFE news agency on the senseless murder of conservation activist Gonzalo Alonso Hernandez in Brazil. According to that article, Mr. Hernandez lived in and worked in Lidice (link in Portuguese), a district of the Rio Claro prefecture, located about 170 kilometers from the populous city of Rio de Janeiro. He was a strong nature advocate who was very vocal about the nefarious work of poachers and the illegal logging trade.
Mr. Hernandez was 49 years old when he was found dead near a waterfall in the Cunhambebe Park, a site he loved to protect. This dedicated biologist worked at the Terra Institute and was a paid consultant for the Municipal Environmental Protection Council of Lidice. His body was found by a neighbor. Police reports indicate that Mr. Hernandez was shot several times in the head, perhaps at point blank and in a manner corresponding to an execution.
According to Mr. Hernandez’ widow, Maria de Lurdes Pena Campos, her late husband had argued with several individuals who were systematically taking resources from Cunhambebe Park: Poachers, livestock owners without grazing permits, and others who furtively extracted palmito (heart of palm) from this protected nature conservation area. Sheriff Marco Antonio Alves of Lidice believes that the motive of this senseless murder was to silence Mr. Hernandez.
The last time anyone saw Mr. Hernandez was on Sunday, after he dropped off his wife at the Lidice bus terminal so that she could travel to Rio de Janeiro.
This murder recalls the sad demise of Jairo Mora in Costa Rica, who died from a violent attack perpetrated by turtle egg poachers operating in the Caribbean coast. Young Jairo was passionate about protecting marine turtles that massively arrive on the beaches of Costa Rica to nest. Authorities in Costa Rica have made arrests in the case, and the suspects are currently in custody awaiting trial.
Many have a lover and others would like to have one. And then there are those that do not, or had one and lost it. It is the latter two that suffer most from symptoms such as insomnia, lack of will, pessimism, crying spells and various pains.
“These are people whose lives are monotonous and without expectations, working just to survive and do not know how to fill their free time. In short, they are truly hopeless”, writes Jorge Bucay, Argentinian gestalt psychotherapist, psychodramatist, and writer, in La Brújula del Cuidador.
In relating his story, Bucay says that before his patients telling him all the above, they had already visited other clinics where they recevied sympathy and diagnosed with “depression” and were prescribed antidepressants.
The Argentinian says that, “after listening carefully to my patients, I tell them they do not need an antidepressant, that what they really need, IS A LOVER”.
“It’s amazing to see the look in their eyes when they receive my verdict. How is it possible that a professional would prescribe such an unscientific suggestion”, says Bucay.
Not all leave his office frightened. Those who stay get his definition of a LOVER: that what exictes us, what occupies our thoughts before falling asleep and who also sometimes does not let us sleep. Our lover is what distracts from our surroundings, what makes us know that life has meaning and motivation.
Sometimes a Lover is found in our partner, in other cases in someone who is not our spouse. We also often find it in scientific research, in literature, in music, in politics, in sports, at work when the vocational transcends the spiritual need, in friendship, in the obsessive pleasure of a hobby…it is “someone” or “something” that make us a friend of life and moves us away from a sad fate of just getting by.
What is just getting by? Watching how others live, visiting doctors, taking medicine, denying ourselves the perks, seeing every new wrinkle with disappointment, afraid of the cold, heat, sun and rain. Getting by is postponing the chance to enjoy today, embracing the fragile reasoning that perhaps we can tomorrow.
The tragedy is not encouraging oneself to live; meanwhile and without a doubt, having a lover…
“To be content, active and feel happy, you have to be a lover of life”, is what psychology has discovered, says Bucay.
The capital city of Costa Rica has been ranked among the top five loveable cities in the world by respected British publication Monocle. San Jose is right up there with Colombo in Sri Lanka, Palermo in Italy, Tel Aviv in Israel, and Chiang Mai in Thailand. Since San Jose gets a lot of flack from locals, tourists and expats alike, so it is a bit surprising that it would be characterized as loveable by editors of a magazine based in London, which is a truly grand and loveable city on her own.Before anyone rushes out to dismiss Monocle’s love for San Jose, let’s get to know that magazine a bit:
“Monocle is a global briefing on international affairs, business, culture and design headquartered in London.
In print Monocle’s 10 issues a year are dense, book-ish and collectable and call on a global team of staff editors and over 30 correspondents from Beirut to Milan, Washington to Singapore.”
Now, let’s look at their criteria for what makes a city loveable:
“They might not be slick or smart, they might be a bit dusty in the corners or a nightmare to navigate, and they won’t be making our top 25 most liveable cities list any time soon. But who cares? One thing they are not, is boring.”
Loveable, not liveable; therein lies the difference. This is something that was explored at length by Carolina Ruiz Vega and Alonso Mata Blanco of national newspaper La Nacion. To this end, Mr. Mata, an expert in all matters pertaining to San Jose, pointed out that the capital city of Costa Rica is indeed fascinating, but it can only be made loveable by her denizens -the same who answer positively when the international happiness pollsters come around.
Costa Rica is certainly loveable, but what about her capital city? Some would say San Jose is not quite loveable, but certainly visceral. One of the slogans used by the National Tourism Board (ICT in Spanish) for Costa Rica is “No Artificial Ingredients.” For San Jose it should be something like “You Wanted the Kitchen Sink? It’s in There, Too.” Let’s not forget that former Mayor Johnny Araya wanted to incorporate some features of New York City into San Jose.
What is certainly adorable about San Jose is that her periphery features include some really great places to enjoy. Forget about Downtown and Chinatown; one needs to travel just outside of the city to learn how loveable she can be. Here are three places that beg to be visited in this regard:
Located just one hour west of San Jose, there is an amazing place where yoga, wellness, bird-watching, relaxation, and adventure come together in a pristine mountain environment that enjoys great weather the entire year. This pretty eco-resort features private casitas rather than stuffy hotel rooms, an infinity pool with one of the best views in Costa Rica, healthy and delicious meals, spa services, and a focus on holistic wellness that is unmatched around the country. Although AmaTierra is just miles away from San Jose, the difference is night and day.
At the AmaTierra Retreat and Wellness Center, Mother’s Day is a very special occasion for both staff and guests. AmaTierra is the premier holistic yoga retreat in Costa Rica, and a significant portion of guests are mothers. For this reason, AmaTierra is offering a one-day promotion to celebrate the most endearing members of our families on their own, special day. Click here to visit the special Mother’s Day promotion.
Being inside the heart of San Jose can be a chaotic experience, which begs to wonder: How does it look from afar? One of the best places to appreciate San Jose from a distance is located near Desamparados. Parque de la Paz (Peace Park) was designed by the same urban planning team that created La Sabana. It features nature areas, walking trails, lakes, plenty of trees, picnic areas, athletic fields and courts, plus a hill and small observatory where you can see that San Jose is actually a small city dwarfed by the mountain range that surrounds her.
Zoo Ave
One actually needs to travel outside of the province of San Jose to get to this amazing wildlife rescue center in La Garita, province of Alajuela. Sounds far, but it is not. You can jump on a bus going to Atenas and be there in 40 minutes. Zoo Ave cares for abused and neglected wildlife species such as birds, sloths and spider-squirrel monkeys, but they are also an educational center for the entire family. They have their own forest where they transfer some of the animals that cannot be released into the wild. This is a true gem of Costa Rica, and is located in an area where you can find plenty of restaurants that offer delicious local cuisine.
A recent visit by The Honourable John Baird, Minister of Foreign Affairs in the cabinet of Prime Minister Stephen Harper to Costa Rica underscored the excellent status of bilateral relations and their intent to cooperate and establish meaningful dialog.
Chancellor of the Republic Enrique Castillo, who is also the Minister of Foreign Affairs in Costa Rica, sat down with Minister Baird and reviewed existing treaties and affairs as well as the status of regional affairs. Specifically, they discussed their participation in the Organization of American States (OAS), the Central American Integration System (SICA in Spanish), the Summit of the Americas, the Pacific Alliance, and Costa Rica’s temporary leadership of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC in Spanish) which begins next year.
According to an official press release by the Ministry, Costa Rica and Canada share a particular convergence of positions with regard to democracy, human rights and the promotion of international peace initiatives. After the meeting between Chancellor Castillo and Minister Baird, the Canadian public official met with President Laura Chinchilla.
Some of the highest level visits by Canadian officials to Costa Rica in modern times have taken place during the current administration. In 2011, Prime Minister Harper visited, followed by the Speaker of the House of Commons and various Members of Parliament followed in October 2012. In March 2013, The Honourable Diane Ablonczy, Minister of State of Foreign Affairs (Americas and Consular Affairs) also visited Costa Rica.
Although Canada has increased her military involvement in the United States War on Drugs in Central America, Costa Rica has not been affected. According to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC),
“Canada has participated in naval operations in the Caribbean Sea designed to thwart narcotics-smuggling efforts. Canada has also provided specialized radar and reconnaissance patrol aircraft to that fight. Canadian troops are working and training with troops from Chile, Brazil, even Colombia, [the commander of Canada’s operational forces, Lt.-Gen. Stuart] Beare said. But the effort is sharpest in Central America.”
The statements to the CBC by a high-ranking Canadian military officer run counterpoint to the ongoing trend of budget cutting across the Canadian Forces, which the Costa Rica Star has written about in the past.
For several decades, the Juan Santamaria International Airport (SJO) in Costa Rica was described as a spartan, no-frills facility for air travel. It wasn’t until almost the end of the 20th century that tourists and expats coming to Costa Rica started to see features that are standard in many airports around the world, such as terminals, lounges, duty-free shops, and places to eat.
The SJO experience is no longer a hasty affair of landing, crossing the tarmac, getting your luggage, stamping your passport, and jumping into ground transportation. Today’s SJO is beginning to look a little more like your average airport in Europe and North America, which means more fast-food outlets to grab tasty, yet not quite healthy, bites to eat.
According to financial weekly El Financiero, the master franchise giant QSR International recently opened eight of its quick-service and fast-food retail locations at SJO. Getting the highly-prized permit to operate at SJO may have been a long, drawn-out affair for QSR International, but opening all their locations took them only a year and $5.5 million.
Next time you find yourself in SJO, you will find a food court near Gate 4. This dining area consists of the following options: KFC, Quiznos, Smashburger, Cinnabon, and Q’Corner. Near Gate 10, you will find a smaller Quiznos To Go where you can grab a sub or wrap to go; this will come in handy when you fly on those stingy airlines that charge for everything -from luggage to minuscule meals.
Another Quiznos To Go is now at Gate 3. Fans of Ron Centenario, one of Costa Rica’s most distinguished liquors extracted from sugarcane, will now be able to enjoy a quick sip at the Bar & Cafe Centenario right in front of Gate 8. By the way, if you want to know what beer aged in a Ron Centenario barrel might taste like, be sure to check out some of the seasonal offerings by Costa Rica Craft Beer.
You can expect typical airport pricing at these new dining options, but QSR International vows to be competitive at the right time.
The opening of these eateries has netted 100 new jobs for bilingual employees at the airport. QSR International owns a bunch of fast-food joints in Costa Rica, and they plan to open five more KFC restaurants during the next 12 months. This is part of a greater trend happening across the country, wherein fast-food enterprises are being well-received by Ticos and expats alike.
“Black” debit card in Latin America, a product aimed at high-income customers. Costa Rica was selected to introduce the product because it has the highest average number of customers with high purchasing power in the region, MasterCard’s executive in charge of operations in Costa Rica, Honduras and Guatemala, Gabriel Pascual, said.
“We could not have chosen another country because of the advanced banking system and because the average of customers with high purchasing power in Latin America is 9.2 percent, but in Costa Rica it is 13 percent,” Pascual said.
The Black cards will be provided to customers of BNCR, Costa Rica’s largest bank, which has more than 1.7 million debit card accounts.
The high-end debit cards will be offered by invitation only to customers with the highest transaction volumes, BNCR manager Fernando Naranjo said.
The goal is to issue 500 cards this year, 1,000 in 2014 and hit a target of 20,000 in three or four years, Naranjo said.
The Black debit cards offer MasterCard’s highest level of service, special offers and services, insurance and warranties, as well as preferred access to events and travel perks.
Wednesday, the 7Th of August, I read not an interview as expected of the Johnny Araya camp but rather a rambling, negative, commentary of his mayor-ship of San Jose. (An ambush)
As luck would have it, I was there at don Johnny’s house when the first reporter from La Nación came knocking on the door to do the infamous “interview” at 10:15 AM, Tuesday August 6th.
Presidential candidate Johnny Araya was enthusiastic and welcomed the reporter to his living room.
But, according to the published article of August 7, 2103, apparently, the journalist came loaded with negative events about San Jose and placed the blame straight on Johnny Araya for “non-performance” as city’s mayor and now presidential candidate.
The published front page article was not an interview but rather a commentary of opinion and had little if anything to do with the election in 2014. But now, I know why the journalist shrugged to shake my hand and never introduced himself by name although I did mine to him.
For some reason he came loaded to crucify the candidate!
If the writers want to tell me that San José is a dump, no question. It has been for 50 years. Even the television program “South Park” once said, “…the loser of the contest needs to spend one week in San José, Costa Rica.”
Okay, that was then, years ago. What this front page article failed to say is that San Jose, while far from being a panacea of tourism or hang-out for locals has been far, far improved with hole free roads, weekly public events, improved transit and one can actually walk without fear.
Araya did that against all odds.
San Jose has, over the long and short years, attracted more people looking for work than any other province, city in Costa Rica, Central America. However, with unemployed comes the homeless, crime, drugs and prostitution. Tell me one other city in the world that does not experience this same progression?
If you vote against Johnny Araya it is because you vote against liberalism and what Partido Nacional Liberación (PLN) has represented during the last two administrations.
Araya himself is a progressive liberal and you might not like that. But that is his stand. Even if the ruling Liberación party, who might well come off as elitist, do not support. Araya is to the left of centre and will foster more education, public health care, open and free speech and spend the money on the people; not the person.
As La Nación said in concurrence with CRhoy.com, Araya certainly did produce and was the driving force behind the Christmas Festival of Lights, the open park weekend variety/musical events, the Central American Sports competition, the opening of the troubled, yet Quixotic, Chinese Paseo. Most importantly, he made San Jose “walkable” and made way for residential construction.
The August 7Th issue of La Nación is a poor example of journalism and its lead story belongs with mine as an opinion piece and certainly not an interview. La Nación is a leading and highly respected newspaper and this is a sad comment where it fell off the horse that got them there.
Hong Kong is ranked among the Top 10 Cities With the World’s Worst Air. Excessive levels of nitrogen dioxide, ozone, sulfur dioxide and carbon monoxide. The Air Pollution Index, which rates the likelihood of people getting ill from breathing a city’s air, has recently reached 500, the highest possible level, for multiple parts of Hong Kong. This year saw the worst levels of pollution since 1995, prompting the government to warn people against doing outdoor activities. These levels were 12 to 14 times worse than WHO standards. No wonder a recent Gallup poll has shown that 70% of Hong Kong’s population are dissatisfied with their horrible air quality.
If you take for granted that competition will ensure you the best price for your purchase, you might be in for a shock, as the Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Comercio (MEIC) – Ministry of Economy, Industry and Commerce – found in their latest survey of 25 retailers in the Gran Área Metropolitana (GAM) – Greater San José Area.
The MEIC found price differences of up to 78% on identical items and up to 292% on similar items.
The MEIC found a difference of up 229% on similar coffee products, 229% on similar rice cookers and 228% on similar frying pans, for example.
For example, an LG LCD flatcreen television going for ¢149.900 at Importadora Monge in Cartago and ¢267.500 at Hogar Feliz in Heredia: difference ¢117.600 colones or 78%.
For the full report click here. (The link will take you to the MEIC pdf file)
The MEIC says it also found irregularities in credit terms and payment plans.
Buying on credit can increase the purchase price with rates of up to 64% annual interest. The MEIC report found that a 34% annual interest was the lowest offered.
MEIC deputy minister, Luis Alvarez, is calling on consumers to shop around and file a complaint if case of problems.
To report a consumer problem, the MEIC can be reached by telephone at 800-266-7866 (toll free in Costa Rica), their website at: http://meic.go.cr/ or in person at: Sabana Sur, 400 m West of the Contraloría General de la República
The government of Nicaragua is arming to protect the border with Colombia, after the ruling by the the International Court of Justice in The Hague in its favour.
On November 19, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled in Colombia’s favour on a long-standing dispute between Colombia and Nicaragua over a group of contested islands in the Caribbean. However the court also redrew the maritime border between the two countries, handing Nicaragua more sea territory, reported the BBC. Nicaragua’s extended rights over the Caribbean will give it more access to fishing and to potential natural resources such as oil or gas.
Reports are that Nicaragua is acquiring weapons to enfore the ruling and ensuring compliance with the provisions of the Court decision.
Caracol News in Colombia reports that Nicaragua is buying four ships valued at US$45 million dollars, along with munitions and multi-barreled tybes capabale of launching guided missiles.
Nicaraguan army commander, General Julio César Avilés, confirmed to the media that his country in seach of weapons.
“We visited different factories or shipyards that manufacture naval assets, including the Russian Federation, for the type of media that we need,” he told the press.
“Nicaraguans can rest safely as we are watching our seas, these large seas that we have now reclaimed. We have not stopped going there, we have not stopped flying over the area and have not stopped to navigating with our naval assets, ” he added.
With respect to the maritime boundary question in the Golfo de Fonseca, the ICJ referred to the line determined by the 1900 Honduras-Nicaragua Mixed Boundary Commission and advised that some tripartite resolution among El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua likely would be required.
Nicaragua also has a maritime boundary dispute with Honduras in the Caribbean Sea and a boundary dispute over the Rio San Juan with Costa Rica.
The Partido Acción Ciudadana (PAC), the Defensoría de los Habitantes (Ombudsman) and the public employee union, the Asociación Nacional de Empleados Públicos y Privados (ANEP), have banded together asking presidenta Laura Chinchilla to declare a state of emergency in the country’s penitentiary system.
According to legislator and leader of the PAC legislative bloc, Carmen Muñoz, the call is for the government to take into account the serious problem of overcrowding in the national prisons, for an increase in penitentiary staff and improved infrastructure.
According to the director of the Defensa Pública (Publid Defender’s ofice), Marta Iris Muñoz, overcrowding will increase to 45% by next year. The director explained that this year only 600 spaces were created, when 4.000 or more are needed.
Currently, prison overcrowding in Costa Rica is at 37%, meaning that for every 100 spaces, there are 137 prisoners.
The Ombudsman, Ofelia Taitelbaum, last May sent a letter to the United Nations subcommittee on Prevention of Tortue to discuss the need for the Organization of American States (OAS) to visit and inspect Costa Rica’s prison system
Chito made friends with the croc after finding him with a gunshot wound on the banks of the Central American state’s Parismina river 20 years ago.
He had been shot in the left eye by a cattle farmer and was close to death. But Chito enlisted the help of several pals to load the massive reptile into his boat. He says: “When I found Poncho in the river he was dying, so I brought him into my house. He was very skinny, weighing only around 150lb I gave him chicken and fish and medicine for six months to help him recover. I stayed by Poncho’s side while he was ill, sleeping next to him at night. I just wanted him to feel that somebody loved him, that not all humans are bad. It meant a lot of sacrifice. I had to be there every day. I love all animals – especially ones that have suffered.”
It took years before Chito felt that Poncho had bonded with him enough to get closer to the animal. He says: “After a decade I started to work with him. At first it was slow, slow. I played with him a bit, slowly doing more. Then I found out that when I called his name he would come over to me.”
At one point during his recovery, Chito left the croc in a lake near his house. But as he turned to walk away, to his amazement Poncho got out of the water and began to follow him home. Chito recalls: “That convinced me the crocodile could be tame.” But when he first fearlessly waded into the water with the giant reptile his family was so horrified they couldn’t bear to watch. So instead, he took to splashing around with Poncho when they were asleep. Four years ago Chito showed some of his tricks to friends, including getting the animal to close his eyes on command, and they convinced him to go public with a show. Now he swims and plays with Poncho as well as feeding him at the lake near his home in the lowland tropical town of Sarapiqui. The odd couple have now become a major tourist attraction, with several tour operators, including Crocodile Adventures, taking visitors on touring cruises to see the pair.
On the Crocodile Adventures website it describes the spectacle as: “One of the most amazing things that no cruise ship passenger will want to miss, the adventure show between the man and the crocodile.”
American crocodiles, which inhabit North, Central and South America, can live to around 70 years old. It is estimated that Poncho is around 50 – almost the same age as his owner. They are also said to be less aggressive than their Nile or Australian counterparts. Chito, whose real name is Gilberto Shedden, was given his nickname by friends, who also call him “Tarzan Tico”
And he certainly plays up to the name, wearing a tattered pair of leopard-print shorts for his half-hour performances with Poncho.
A keen conservationist, he also offers boat tours, where he eagerly points out a variety of wildlife. But he only charges a few dollars to watch the breathtaking crocodile show, claiming he does not want to cash in on Poncho. He says: “He’s my friend, I don’t want to treat him like a slave or exploit him. I am happy because I rescued him and he is happy with me because he has everything he needs.”
The story of the legendary crocodile Pocho and his “owner,” Costa Rican fisherman Gilberto “Chito” Shedon, will be shown in Latin America on the nature TV channel NatGeo next Saturday a 7 p.m.. A filming team originally picked up on the story in 2009 that had captivated Costa Ricans.
The team filmed the unlikely pair but decided that the 15 minute segment they had programed for the film was just too short to do the story justice, since the section showing Chito and Pocho swimming together in affectionate poses, especially with the Tico kissing Pocho’s nose, was too good on TV to cut so short.
So the NatGeo team came back for more. Nature lovers watching the show are bound to be pushovers for the story of a fisherman who rescued an injured crocodile in the Tarcoles River near his home. They became fast friends and Pocho seemed aware of his good fortune.
They performed before crowds on weekends until Pocho’s death of natural causes recently. The NatGeo Web site explains, “‘Tocando el dragon (touching the dragon in English) examines the surprising relation between the oldest predator on earth and a unique man, that defies the boundaries of the natural world.”
(We have not seen the film which aired in English a couple of weeks ago, but it should come with the caution, “Kids, don’t try this at home.”)
Chito actually trained Pocho to do tricks and for four years the pair were a favorite tourist attraction at the Centro de Tilapias at Siquierres. So beloved was Pocho that when he died of natural causes last Oct. 10 his body was carried in a funeral procession throughout the canton.
Chito told last Sunday’s edition of TV guide for this country (published by La Nacion) how NatGeo got wind of Pocho even though the croc was only a national celebrity at the time. “A filming team from NatGeo was filming a program in Africa when the team saw a tee shirt with my photo and Pocho’s on it.”
The tourist filled in the crew about Chito and Pocho and NatGeo was hooked. It took them three years of editing to get it just right and only this year did they send him a copy of the finished cut. And, like all who have lost a beloved pet, it was very hard, he said, the see Pocho swimming happily as if immortal.
Carlos Arturo Espinosa, presidente de THX Energy / Photo: El Espectador
With the resignations of three close associates of President Laura Chinchilla, one might think the July 3 trip to Peru of the Presidenta in a corporate jet owned by the THX Energy company was a dead issue. But it was revived this week by an interview with THX president Carlos Arturo Espinoza in the Colombian newspaper El Espectador.
In the article titles “Laura Chinchilla actuó vanidosamente“, the corporate president depicted his company as an innocent victim of the bad press, unflatteringly characterized Chinchilla as “vain” and charged that she herself had asked for loan of the plane for the ill advised trip.
This latter statement most certainly contradicts the official Casa Presidencial version of the trip in the plane linked with Colombian Gabriel Morales who is under investigation for possible narco-traffic figures in South America. The official word is that it was a snafu on the part of the President’s staff in not checking into the source of the lease on the jet which Morales offered.
The country has never had a private jet for its President to use. Past presidents have used private aircraft lent to them before without stirring up the hornet’s nest that the Peru trip did. Ironically, few have even mentioned a March Presidential excursion to Venezuela to attend the funeral of that country’s President Hugo Chavez, in the same THX jet.
The airplane at the centre of the political storm.
The Peru excursion cost the resignations of Communications Minister Francisco Chacon, presidential aide Irene Pacheco and National Intelligence and Security director Mauricio Boraschi. The wife of Chacon, Foreign Trade Minister Anabel Gonzalez, was also on the Peru trip but avoided the axe.
Public Ethics prosecutor Gilberth Calderon says his agency issued a strong criticism of the trip which, he says, Vice President Alfio Piva filed away in a drawer after publicly criticizing it. At any rate, the three resignations should cover the main points of the condemnation.
Chacon’s replacement at the communications post, Carlos Roverssi, told La Nacion that the President would not trade “insults” with the THX president. Espinoza had charged that Chinchilla had claimed to be fooled by the THX company but Roverssi denied the President had said any such thing.
As Costa Rica prepares to celebrate the 65th anniversary of the abolition of her armed forces on December 1st, her Central American neighbours are allocating more resources to their military forces. This situation is being closely monitored by the Chancellery of the Republic and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
US and Honduran troops in Tegucigalpa,
The latest move in the Central American arms race that Costa Rica has expressed grave concerns about is Nicaragua’s plan to acquire six gunboats from Russia. According to defensa.com, a Spanish language Web site dedicated to the global defense industry, the Fair-Nevsky shipyard in St. Petersburg is currently busy with Project 12418, from which two Lightning-class small missile frigates will be given to Nicaragua. Another four Mirage-class gunboats will follow. These are not Coast Guard vessels used for search-and-rescue or maritime law enforcement missions; they are heavily armed as you can see below:
“The reaction from the Chancellery is one of deep concern because Nicaragua continues to build up the military. We doubt their need to have this type of weaponry.”
We believe this is connected to Nicaragua’s expansionist policy.
Chancellor Castillo is likely referring to the infamous incursions by Nicaraguan soldiers into Costa Rica in recent years, particularly the embarrassing Google Maps invasion led by former guerrilla leader Eden Pastora. There is also the controversial and seemingly quixotic proposal entertained by Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega to build a ship canal from the Caribbean Sea to the Pacific Ocean using the San Juan River and Lake Nicaragua.
Geopolitical observers think that Russia’s potential interest in the Nicaragua canal is the motivation behind the magnanimous offer of missile frigates and gunboats. These six vessels will leave Russian shipyards complete with sophisticated navigation radar systems, GPS units, sensors, and other instruments and features that are unlike anything the National Coast Guard Service in Costa Rica has. With these vessel acquisitions, Nicaragua’s naval firepower is getting a significant upgrade in terms of range and supremacy in the Central American region.
Should Shark Finning Crews Be Afraid?
As it stands now, the National Coast Guard Service in Costa Rica is far more successful than Nicaragua’s Naval Force in catching shark fin poachers and other illegal fishermen in the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea. Now that Russia is effectively starting a new era for Nicaragua’s military in terms of maritime operations, could it be reasonable to think that shark finning crews should fear one day finding themselves in the sights of an AK-306 30 mm cannon manned by a Nicaraguan sailor with an itchy trigger finger?
In the past, Russia has taken the side of China and Japan with regard to shark finning –although shark fin soup and other products are not part of Russian culture. With President Vladimir Putin in charge, however, things are different. Russian border guards and maritime security forces have been known to fire at Japanese whaling vessels. President Putin may not be an active endorser of Paul Watson and the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, but he supported the ban on hunting baby harp seals. President Putin may be a hunter, but he also has an environmental streak in him. Only time will tell if Russia’s military contributions to Nicaragua will have an effect on shark finning.
The Militarization Continues
Over the last few years, Honduras and Panama have received considerable aid from the United States in cash, weapons, military equipment, and training. By the end of fiscal year 2014, Panama will have received $141 million from the United States in funds destined to militarize the Panamanian Public Forces since 1996. This is despite Panama’s abolishment of her standing army in 1990, although the scope of military aid and training of her security forces by the U.S. has actually increased since. In other words, Panama has moved to demilitarize but the U.S. has moved in the opposite direction. Many observers, including Chairmen of the U.S. House Armed Services Committee, question why so much training, weapons, equipment, and cash is being delivered to a country that abolished her army.
Honduras has received more than $90 million in military aid from the U.S. since 1996, particularly in support of the War on Drugs. One of the most odious results of this intervention has been the Cobras, a fearsome special unit made up of highly-trained Honduran security forces, who have been at the center of violent, bloody raids that have claimed the lives of innocent people –including indigenous pregnant women. It is not easy to forget that the Army of Honduras was at the center of the 2009 coup d’etat executed by masked gunmen and forced President Manuel Zelaya to take refuge in Costa Rica.
For Nicaragua, it’s almost as if the ghost of Cold War past is coming to visit. The U.S. has been providing military aid to that country despite President Daniel Ortega’s allegiance with leftist regimes in Latin America such as Bolivia and Venezuela, which in turn are supported by Russia. President Ortega, however, supports the U.S.-led War on Drugs and is opposed to legalization of marijuana and other drugs for personal consumption, which is something that President Laura Chinchilla has supported along with other Central American leaders.
In an effort to prevent American one-upmanship, Russia is providing these heavily armed vessels to Nicaragua at a time when Presidents Vladimir Putin and Barack Obama are not talking to each other due to the Edward Snowden leaks on the Orwellian web of international surveillance conducted by the U.S. With Russia and the U.S. providing military aid to Nicaragua, it’s like a proxy arms race in Central America -a flashback to the Cold War.
Costa Rica may be worried about the increased militarization of her Central American neighbors, but she is not completely innocent in this regard. The Joint Patrol Agreement and the participation of a select group of Fuerza Publica (the national police force) officers in training exercises such as Fuerzas Commando 2012 belie her peaceful, unarmed ways.
Still, military aid by the U.S. to Costa Rica is but a tiny fraction of what Panama and Honduras receive, much to the chagrin of the North American nation. U.S. efforts to militarize Costa Rica are often thwarted by legislators and the people they represent. Central America is certainly a tough neighborhood, but Costa Rica has no immediate plans to join the ongoing arms race and please the lucrative military-industrial complex. Left up to the people of Costa Rica, her motto “More Teachers Than Soldiers” will prevail.
One of the strangest cases in the history of Costa Rica’s judiciary recently came to an end in the Central Pacific city of Puntarenas. It is not everyday that judges in Costa Rica preside over prosecutions involving frozen shark carcasses filled with cocaine, but after four years of legal wrangling and a considerable expenditure by prosecutors and investigators, the defendants were cleared of all charges.
The story begins in 2009, when the Mexican Navy intercepted a shipment of cocaine-filled frozen sharks in the port of Progreso near the Yucatan Peninsula. Anti-narcotics agents were called in to examine the frozen sharks, which were heavier than usual. At first sight, customs and fishery agents thought the sharks were overstuffed with a substance that would preserve their freshness, but in the end it was cocaine hydrochloride in powder form.
According to BBC Mundo, there were more than 90 frozen sharks about to burst with nearly a ton of cocaine in total. The sharks were in a Maersk 40-foot container destined for Jalisco, which was loaded at the port of Caldera in the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica. The ship carrying that curious cargo was the Dover Strait, registered in the Marshall Islands and based in Houston. Mexican law enforcement and drug control authorities reached inside the frozen sharks and pulled out 876 packets of cocaine. It is believed that the United States were the final destination of the drugs.
An Expensive Fishing Expedition by Prosecutors
There were two shipments intercepted by Mexican agents: One in February and the other one in May of 2009. By June of that year, four people in Costa Rica were detained in connection with the incident. Authorities in Costa Rica arrested four people connected to a company dedicated to catching sharks for commercial purposes. It is important to note that these defendants are not connected to the nefarious shark fin poaching trade; they rather catch sharks and gut them for steak, filet and other parts of their selachian anatomy that often end up in recipes such as ceviche (seafood cocktail) and arroz con mariscos, a Tico version of Spanish paella.
After sharks are gutted for their meat, their skin is often used to manufactured products such as footwear, wallets, and purses. This is what the four Tico defendants stated they were doing when they shipped the frozen sharks to the Mexican firm Teneria del Caribe Manufacturera, located in the state of Jalisco. After their arrest, legal experts in Costa Rica who followed the case were concerned about prosecutorial intent since it was apparently clear that the shark-catching firm had nothing to do with stuffing the sharks with cocaine and Mexican authorities had already made arrests on their end.
Other legal analysts were concerned that the facts surrounding the case against the Tico defendants were weak, and that prosecutors would end up getting embarrassed in court. This is pretty much what happened in criminal court in Puntarenas in late July. Three defendants were thoroughly exonerated, and a fourth was cleared based on the doctrine of in dubio pro reo, which means that after four years and 550 million colones spent (about a million dollars), prosecutors in Costa Rica could not get a conviction on the cocaine sharks case. To add to the consternation, judges noted that prosecutors were reaching and that their investigation was riddled with errors.
Analysts who spoke to Diario Extra in Costa Rica stated that the Carcharhinidae blue sharks sold to Mexican clients are too small to be stuffed with so much cocaine, which was basically spilling out of them when Mexican authorities spotted them. This is something that the defendants, who are shark experts, would have known. Unreasonable prosecution and overspending are side effects of the War on Drugs; in this case, however, they did not prevail.
Some P&G customer service jobs will be moving to Latin America. This year, Procter & Gamble will begin to transition most of their Customer Service Accounts Receivable work from current North America sites to existing P&G offices in San José, Costa Rica.
Right now, 70 employees work in Customer Accounts Receivable in the Cincinnati office; after the transition, that number will go down to 15.
P&G says they expect that the this transition will be fully completed by June of 2015.
Small and medium sized supermarket chains are expanding in the greater metropolitan area.
One example is Super Mora, a mini chain of supermarkets from Puriscal which in 2014 will be expanding into Santa Ana, where there are plans to invest $3.7 million in the construction of a 7000 m² square which will include a main supermarket, commercial stores and parking areas. Super Mora is known to be competing with Auto Mercado, which recently opened a 2,600 m² store in Escazu.
Other shops of this type which are also growing are ASUN, Uscosa, Luperon, Coopeagri, and the convenience stores Deli Mart and Quickstop. “It’s an industry that is just beginning to unfold, there is still enough room for new competitors,” said Flavia Loeb, responsible for publicity and marketing at Deli Mart.
“Data from the research firm Euromonitor International reveals that, in 2012, supermarkets generated $1.5951 billion in sales and convenience stores $78.7 million,” noted an article in Elfinancierocr.com.
Source: Central American Data and Elfinancierocr.com
Costa Rica’s chief prosecutor Jorge Chavarria has filed charges against three political party “money men” who applied to the Supreme Elections Tribunal (TSE) for reimbursement for election expenses that were allegedly fraudulent. The billings to the TSE would have had taxpayers reimbursing political parties.
TSE filed a complaint regarding the 2010 general election in three blatant cases involving three of the major political parties.
The first such case to come to light was that of the Libertarian Movement vice president Rolando Alfaro and two ex-officials who filed for TSE reimbursement of 240 million colones for 190 internal education seminars to make minor official function better.
When TSE dug further, that watchdog body found that the informational chats simply were the products of someone’s fertile imagination. Most of the attendees cited by the party denied having attended any such session and one turned out to be a La Nacion reporter who was investigating the fraud story. He immediately recused himself from the report.
Alfaro was then treasurer of the Libertarian party. Prosecutors accuse him of fraud, attempted fraud and use of a false document. Also accused of complicity are Carlos Solano, ex-secretary of the training unit and Roger Segura, ex-party accountant.
The prosecutor also filed formal charges against San Jose lawmaker Oscar Alfaro for filing false claims for transportation expenses during the 2009-2010 campaign for the National Liberation Party. And a charge was filed against the Citizen Action Party for filing for reimbursement for payment of members who worked for free during the campaign.
Commentary: These charges probably will not be the last ones stemming from the 2010 campaigns. Costa Rica prides itself on its democratic system and certainly TSE’s holding the parties accountable justifies that pride. But a bill has been filed with the Legislative Assembly to take that function away from TSE.
This will leave the parties free to grope around in taxpayers’ pockets for any amount of false charges. Payment by the government for campaign expenses is to give smaller, less well heeled, parties a chance to compete with the big boys.
Instead, some party members, perhaps with the complicity of higher officials, have used this as a piñata, a windfall of found money. So far we have yet to hear a cry of outrage and this is worrisome. That noxious bill in the Legislative Assembly should have raised a firestorm.
If any of the parties feel a shred of shame over this betrayal of public trust, they should kick out for life any member convicted of wrongdoing. Is it any wonder that polls show a declining confidence in public officials and the political system?
Are we very far from the political aspirant who runs on the platform, “Vote por Fulano de Tal. He won’t steal very much.”
Walmart in Costa Rica was fined ¢4.395.000 colones (US$8.900 dollars) for “lack of information and misleading advertising” in a promotion of flat screen televisions.
The Comisión Nacional del Consumidor (CNC) – National Consumer Commission – said it fined the giant retailer following an investigaton into complaints by 58 consumers, for price differences in the retailer’s promotion “Día más barato del año” (lowest price day of the year) on December 1, 2012, a sale where consumers were enticed with prices so low never seen before.
The complaints filed by customers say that the price at the “gondola” (shelf) was ¢17.800 colones, but ¢178.000 at check out. At the time of the incident, Walmart argued that someone, other than an employee, changed the price tag on the 32″ flat screen and refused to honour the tag price at checkout.
The Commission, in a majority vote, felt the consumers were duped by the pricing and the lack of information by the company was regarded as misleading advertising.
Copos (literally, “flakes” – as in “snow flakes”) are sold on the street and many of the popular beaches of Costa Rica by Copos vendors, pushing two-wheeled carts with insulated compartments that house a large block of ice (maqueta de hielo).
The carts are also outfitted with holders for flavored syrups (“blue”/chicle/bubble-gum, “red”/kolita/kolita, “white”/coco/coconut, “purple”/uva/grape, “green”/limón/lime, “orange”/naranja/orange), paper cups, spoons and straws.
The vendor has a cool shaving contraption that probably has a name, but I don’t know it.
It holds an inverted cup and directs the ice shavings up into it as the block is shaved. There’s some technique involved and it’s fun to take part in the spectacle of the “production” of the copo. Copos have been the cool, rich, sickeningly-sweet favorites of non-diabetic kids and adults alike for generations.
Wanna see how it’s done? Here’s a video I took recently while walking the dogs on the beach, this will give you an idea of what I’m talking about.
Unfortunately (or fortunately), I can’t share with you the sugar rush and the snow cone headache that these things pack.
Notice for parents: the sugar buzz you get from these streetwise delicacies is intense, even for an adult. Give one to a three or four-year old and you’d better get your catcher’s mit or goalie gloves ready, they will be playing all afternoon.
The United States Consular will be giving a talk on preventing fraud of U.S. Visas. The idea is to inform American citizens living or visiting Limón on the different services that the Federal Benefits Unit offers to Americans in Costa Rica.
For instance:
• Issuing Social Security Numbers
• Completing applications for retirement, disability, and survivors benefits
• Handling post-entitlement related issues (i.e., establish direct deposit, change of address, etc.)
• Applications for retirement, disability or survivor benefits.
• Applications for new, replacement of Social Security cards.
• Applications for enrollment or cancellation of Medicare (please note that Medicare does not cover outside the USA). Applications for selection of a representative payee (i.e., when the beneficiary is not capable of managing his/her own benefits)
• Changes/corrections to the record for beneficiaries already receiving SSA payments.
• Information about the Direct Deposit (DD) program.
• Missing or delayed payments.
Important Note for Department of Defense Retirees: Department of Defense retirees must deal directly with their Defense Finance and Accounting Service Center office in the United States.
• For Veterans issues FBU acts as the liaison between the veteran and the Veterans Affairs Office.
WHEN: Today, Wednesday August 7, 2013
WHERE: Salón Multiusos del Organismo de Investigación Judicial (OIJ), Limón
WHAT TIME: 10:00 a.m.
The Permanent Committee on Women’s Affairs at the National Assembly in Costa Rica recently approved two motions that take a strong look at how women are perceived and treated with regard to political participation and their image in the media.
On July 30th, the 64th anniversary of the women’s right to suffrage was celebrated with a motion to investigate why political parties in Costa Rica are not incorporating enough women in their ballots for the 2014 elections. This is not just a matter of equality in general terms; it is actually promulgated by the Electoral Code of Costa Rica. According to Irina Grajales Navarrete, a journalist assigned to legislative matters, the Committee approved the motion unanimously.
The motion calls for the matter to be widely investigated starting in August, which should include summoning magistrates from the Superior Tribunal of Elections to testify at the National Assembly about the low participation by women in the political parties -at least when it comes to leadership positions in the ballots.
The height of female political participation in Costa Rica was seen during the last presidential election, when President Laura Chinchilla became the first woman elected to the highest leadership role in Costa Rica. Since then, many women have also become legislators and public officials around the country, but that momentum seems to have subsided since. At least one political party has paid attention to this matter and is now rushing to find women to put on their Vice Presidential ballots.
Respecting the Image of a Woman in the Media
A legislative proposal being considered by the Committee would impose penalties for individuals and business entities in Costa Rica that use female images in gratuitous and self-serving manners. Essentially, the proposal seeks to reform three articles of an existing law that regulates how a woman’s body is used in advertising and marketing campaigns. The specific action to be penalized would be the use of female figures to promote products or services that have nothing to do with a woman’s body.
This initiative is being led by legislator Pilar Porras of the National Liberation Party (PLN in Spanish), a long-standing political powerhouse in Costa Rica. On an official press release, legislator Porras explained that the proposal seeks dignity for women by empowering the government to act in cases when their body images are exploited.
A previous article in the Costa Rica Star compared the image of women in national media with the situation in Italy, where media analysts believe that many years of influence by former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi created significant objectification of females in that European nation. Berlusconi was eventually given a vote of no confidence, which was influenced by powerful bond traders, but not before his involvement in the Bunga-Bunga scandal gained international notoriety.
On that article, an observation was made on how the sexist media era in Italy was coming to an end, but it is just getting started in Costa Rica. That article specifically mentioned television shows such as A Todo Dar in the past, as well as Intrusos and the wildly popular Combate on Repretel. Imported telenovelas (soap operas) from Colombia and Mexico are becoming favorites in Costa Rica, and they are known to feature risque scenes of curvy Latin American actresses wearing skimpy attire. It is important to note, however, that male bodies are equally on display in Combate.
What the PLN proposal aims to avoid is Costa Rica’s descent into a “bimbo era” as it happened in Italy during the Berlusconi era.
High speed internet access up to 100 Mbps is now reality in Costa Rica, thanks to a new product by Cabletica, that is available for both businesses and homes.
