Costa Rica will host the Global Youth Summit sponsored by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), the United Nations announced today. The meeting will be in session from September 9 to 11 and will discuss the use of new information and communication technologies to improve the quality of life and influence the post-2015 development agenda.
In remarks broadcast by the UN radio station, the Ambassador of Costa Rica to the UN, Eduardo Ulibarri, said the forum aims to encourage youth participation in global decision-making affecting them.
According to Ulibarri, over 500 youngsters worldwide will attend the summit, which will be open to all those wishing to participate via the Internet.
The UN is currently working on the development of the so-called Post-2015 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which will give continuity to the Millennium Development Goals adopted in 2000 to be completed by 2015.
Gisele Bündchen slipped into a leopard-print bikini to hang on the beach in Costa Rica today. In addition to her sexy printed two-piece, Gisele wore an oversize sun hat and body harness to carry her baby daughter, Vivian Brady, and played with a friend’s dog between dips in the ocean.
Gisele Bündchen is 33 on July 20 is relaxing with family and friends in Central America after a busy couple of months; she spent time in Paris while shooting for Vogue and brought her sons, Jack and Benjamin Brady, to Disneyland for a fun family outing in Anaheim, CA.
Gisele’s tropical vacation could also be a celebratory one, as she rang in her 33rd birthday earlier this week. She took to Instagram to share cute photos of her big day while exploring the outdoors with Ben and Vivian and also included a sweet tribute to her twin sister, Patricia.
The model has showed off her hot body in front of cameras for years, and she’s brought even more sexiness since becoming a mom. Gisele’s career and family life may keep her busy, but she still finds time to hit the beach and maintain her toned figure and gorgeous tan.
More of Gisele’s hottest bikini moments at QMaxine!
In the wake of the visit of the political leader of the People’s Republic of China, Xi Jinping, journalist Gustavo Arias of business weekly El Financiero, owned by Grupo Nacion, published a series of facts about the Asian economic powerhouse and her environmental record as it relates to Costa Rica.
Mr. Arias did not mince any words when mentioning the irony of China’s Presidential visit to Costa Rica taking place around the time when the United Nation’s World Environment Day is celebrated. The visit seemed to be a success for both nations, at least in terms of signing agreements, treaties and establishing a climate of friendship. Mr. Arias, however, is not too sure about Costa Rica’s friendship with a nation he calls a global “toxic bomb.”
On his June 5th column in El Financiero, Mr. Arias lamented the fact that Costa Rica sought friendship with a country that practices an economic model that is destructive and opposed to sustainable practices. He then set out to list the supporting facts:
China has the worst track record in terms of preventing carbon dioxide and greenhouse gas emissions, which represent 24 percent of the global output.
More than 75 percent of Chinese cities have very low air quality levels, which make them unsafe for humans. This includes the city of Linfen -although it is important to note that this city is trying to clean up its act (pun intended).
More than 55 percent of China’s aquifers are contaminated.
About 60 percent of energy consumption in China comes from coal, which is one of the least-clean energy sources around.
The Chinese government has admitted that the use of toxic and noxious chemicals have endangered both life and their ecosystems. However, just like the United States, China does not wish to partake in emission-reduction plans that may hinder their economic growth. In other words, it may be too late to turn back the industrialization clock for China.
In the end, Mr. Arias argues that, while Costa Rica’s environmental track record is far from perfect and the country engages in greenwashing from time to time, a partnership with China could spell greater environmental losses to our country.
Dozens of children from the Osa Peninsula in Costa Rica recently gave Mother Earth a nice present in advance of August 15th: 500 fruit trees planted in strategic areas. According to Yency Arroyo Murillo of Diario Extra, business leaders and public officials from the Municipality of Osa helped in coordinating this noble cause.
The trees have been planted alongside some of the major roads around town. Most of the species planted are fruit trees that yield delicious treasures such as sour sop, lemon, mango, and papaya. The idea is to provide shade and oxygen to human residents and nourishment to the plentiful wildlife that calls Osa home.
The planting activity above is part of an ongoing reforestation effort that seeks to revert some of the harm caused to Costa Rica over more than three decades of irresponsible farming and logging. Before the middle of the 20th century, the forest coverage in Costa Rica was almost 75 percent. By 1983, that coverage was drastically reduced and the alarm was sounded. Since then, reforestation and reclamation of forest land has managed to increase forest coverage to 52.3 percent, with a goal of reaching 60 percent in the next few years.
The Costa Rica Star recently explained the goals of two major programs in Costa Rica that are helping advance the national carbon neutrality initiative by means of reforestation:
“MINAE and FONAFIFO have managed to reclaim a good portion of the forest land lost thanks to programs such as Payment for Environmental Services Program (PSE in Spanish) and the Strategy to Reduce Carbon Emissions Caused by Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+ in Spanish). The PSE program has been particularly effective in this regard since it encourages participation of land owners.”
By getting children involved in reforestation, Costa Rica is effectively planting a seed in her young people. Accomplishing environmental protection goals is much easier when people are aware of the intrinsic benefits and actively contribute to protecting the ecosystems they live in.
Mike Periu, a Miami-based financial expert whose work has appeared in CNN and Yahoo!, recently published a report on the five most expensive places to live in Latin America. Costa Rica occupied fourth place, which closely follows Uruguay, Brazil and Venezuela.
It is important to note that Uruguay has a high economic development index and Brazil is the “B” of the BRICS nations slated to become the next world economic powers, the other countries being Russia, India, China, and South Africa. Venezuela is a top oil producer. So how did Costa Rica, the Switzerland of the Americas, end up being more expensive than Switzerland herself?
Mr. Periu wrote the article with a specific audience in mind: People who are contemplating moving to a Latin American country. He urges people to think about security, stability, employment opportunities, but -above all- the cost of living. Mr. Periu chose the Big Mac Index used by The Economist over other indicators such as the Consumer Price index to make his point. The Big Mac Index, which is loosely based on the purchasing power parity (PPP) concept, is a fun way to compare how currency exchange rates fare across nations.
The Big Mac Index is fun and populist, but in many cases it should be taken with a grain of salt -or with a packet of ketchup. In fact, The Economist has commented on its own, unique index:
“Burgernomics was never intended as a precise gauge of currency misalignment, merely a tool to make exchange-rate theory more digestible.
PPP signals where exchange rates should be heading in the long run, as a country like China gets richer, but it says little about today’s equilibrium rate. The relationship between prices and GDP per person may be a better guide to the current fair value of a currency.”
So The Economist admits that pricing a Big Mac around the world should not be equated to economic theory by Adam Smith, John Maynard Keynes, Shinzo Abe, or Ben Bernanke. Mr. Periu does not consider per capita gross domestic product (GDP), nor does he consider ongoing monetary policy by the United States Treasury or the Central Bank of Costa Rica. Mr. Periu wrote his oft-cited article back in March of 2013, and he appears to have used the “gourmet” version of the Big Mac Index at the time. If we check The Economist’s interactive currency-comparison tool (highly recommended), we see that Colombia has beat us at the expensive game, at least in late July 2013, and that a Big Mac in the U.S. costs more than in Costa Rica.
In the past, The Costa Rica Star has commented on the apparent pricing disparity of McDonald’s products between, say, Cleveland and San Jose. It is easy to come away with the impression that Costa Rica is the most expensive country in the world if a restaurant in Cleveland is running a “Two for Tuesday” special and Big Macs cost just a buck. Most of the time, however, Americans are paying more for their beloved Big Macs than Ticos do.
“The UK, along with the United States, Chile, New Zealand and Costa Rica are rated as being in the -/+ 10% for their currencies, which puts them at the centre of the survey.”
The fact that many tourists and expats are victims of sticker shock as soon as they land at the Juan Santamaria or Daniel Oduber Quiros airports does not make Costa Rica as expensive as Norway -a top oil-producing nation. There is no question that San Jose is the most expensive city in Central America, and that Managua is the cheapest; this would imply that tourists get more bang for their buck in Nicaragua, a country where tourism is not even a fraction of what her southern neighbor constantly realizes. Oh, and to add fuel to the fire: Real estate in San Jose is the most expensive in Latin America, but that does not seem to stop buyers.
A better PPP index that also uses pop culture to make it more accessible is the UBS Wealth Management annual survey of the world’s most expensive cities, which takes into consideration a basket of 122 goods and services in addition to the currency exchange. On top of the Big Mac, UBS adds buying an iPhone, purchasing groceries, paying for rent and utilities, and other factors. No cities in Costa Rica make UBS’ list, but it is fun to follow part of its rationale:
“In Tokyo it takes nine minutes of work to earn enough to buy a Big Mac, while in Nairobi it takes 84 minutes”
How long does it take for a Tico worker to buy a Big Mac in Costa Rica. Let’s assume the salary of a Fuerza Publica police officer in the 80th percentile, which means she earns about $800 per month working between 40 and 48 hours a week. She makes a little less than $4.20 per hour, so it would take her about 50 minutes of work to buy a Big Mac -or about 15 minutes of her shift to buy a delicious cheese empanada. Not quite Tokyo, but definitely not Nairobi.
The government of Costa Rica could save up to $70 billion in infrastructure expenditures from now until 2050 by following the advice of the International Energy Agency (IEA). A recent research study by that agency, which was reported by Leticia Vindas Quiros of business weekly El Financiero, explains that Costa Rica has clear options in three major transportation categories:
Trips that can be avoided
More efficient modes of transportation
Taking advantage of emission-free technology
The report by the IEA gives clear examples based on 30 cities around the world that have vastly improved their transportation systems and saved lots of money in the process. One such example is Belgrade in Serbia, which managed to triple its train ridership, which in turn cleared highways from traffic jams. This is very promising for Costa Rica, since the ongoing reactivation of the urban train system serving the Greater Metropolitan Area (GAM in Spanish) is the only transportation initiative that has worked thus far.
Other initiatives such as bus services that would run across urban sectors succumbed to silly bureaucratic games and monetary interests that either supported or opposed the project. This is a shame for Costa Rica, since the IEA explains that New York and Seoul are two major cities where bus services have seen increased efficiency.
Bicycle lane projects for downtown San Jose have also stalled, not so much due to bureaucracy but because the growing number of vehicles entering the capital city of Costa Rica leave no room for improvements. The old capital of Cartago, on the other hand, is emerging as a model city where bike riders have their own lanes and train riders are enthusiastic about their new transportation option.
What about a comprehensive plan to rezone the GAM and transportation therein? Once again, bureaucracy, indecision and corruption got in the way. The proposals for Regional Urban Planning of the GAM (PRUGAM in Spanish) and the Territorial Organization of the GAM (POTGAM) were discarded after almost 11 million euros were spent on nothing. Urban planners and academics criticized the plans and mocked the spending, and now Costa Rica is waiting for the GAM Plan 2013 to be unveiled at the end of the year.
Until then, Costa Rica has the IEA research study and its potential savings to consider.
Having her agenda cleared for Thursday morning, Presidenta Laura Chinchilla took the opportunity to visit the Murciélago police school, which operates on a 57 hectare estate, facing the ocean near the Nicaragua border, which belonged to former Nicaraguan dictator Anastasio Somoza, expropriated in 1978.
The presidenta’s Thursday morning agenda cleared up with the decision the night before by Nicoya city council, changing the commeration ceremonies from 10am to 5pm, amid fears of protests against the government.
At Murciélago, Doña Laura delivered 40 double traction police vehicles to the Ministerio de Seguridad Pública for use in border patrol and saluted the 195 police officials being trained in border security.
The police unit protects, especially, the 160 kilometre trail that runs parallel to the San Juan river.
The announcement of more police presence along the border comes four days after it was learned that Nicaragua is alleged to be offering Costa Rican territory for oil exploration concessions, and possible new demands against Nicaragua for the violation of Costa Rica’s sovereingty.
This latest action by the Daniel Ortega administration caused tensions to increase since the alleged invasion by Nicarauga in 2010 of the Isla Calero, in the northern Caribbean, triggering an international court battle that is still before the International Court in The Hague.
In a press release, Chinchilla said yesterday that the government “will continue to strengthen security along the northern border, both to protect the sovereign rights of Costa Rica who were affected by the intrusion to Isla Calro as combating drug trafficking and in defense of rights of Costa Ricans and Nicaraguans in the area “.
In the statement, the Presidenta added that the government will, first, open a Coast Guard station in Cuajiniquil, Santa Cruz, “which will provide major maritime control,” said Casa Presidencial.
The second, is to build a “coyote station” in Nandayure, a station with an area of 1.500 square metres and will dock a surveillance vessel valued at US$300.000 dollars.
Back in Nicoya, Doña Laura arrived 45 minutes late, when forced to travel by car after the police helicopter ran into mechanical problems. The tardiness was also due to the Presidenta’s stop at her hotel room at the Riu Guanacaste in Playas del Coco.
In Nicoya, rain dampened the anti-government protests by the 34 groups that make up Foro de Guanacaste and trade unionists led by Wilmar Matarrita, linked to the Frente Amplio and with electoral aspirations within that party, the protestors kept their word to march through the centre of Nicoya.
In the end, what appeared could have been a difficult day for Presidenta Laura Chinchilla, in minutes after 5:45pm the Presidenta and her cabinet their session and went home.
According to a report and figures released titled “State of the Region”, SICA writes that Central America is the most violent region in Latin America per 1,000 inhabitants that is not at war.
How accurate is that statement remains in doubt. However there is no question countries such as El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras are depicted as wholesale killing fields.
But then come comes the #4 spot, Pura Vida, our country. Our nation of peace.
The World Health Organization (WHO) generally classifies 10 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants as endemic. Costa Rica is pushing the envelope with an estimated (And I mean estimated or reported) 9.7 homicides per 100,000 population. Close to endemic.
In my opinion, and not so humble, the Caribbean and some parts of the Pacific are made for target practice or even more horrific crimes such as that of Jairo Mora, the asphyxiated environmentalist who after being beaten, tortured died a horrible death and despite global pressure, little is being done about it.
To make Costa Rica even less inviting, “A report on the Financing Blog titled “Your Insurance” says that of all 100% Latin American countries, Costa Rica comes in 4th on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) list. If you live here, then the CPI is the most important measure of the cost of living in real terms as opposed to artificial inflation figures. And, this says, “Wow, we are one expensive place to live or visit.”
As a side bar, numero uno on the list is Venezuela, then comes Brazil, Uruguay ranks third and then comes Paradise finally followed by Chile. That is quite an array and not the best of reputations.
In short, Costa Rica is on the hit list for killing or be killed (#4), we are on a similar hit list for the cost of living, also #4 in all of Latin America. It costs a lot to live and die here.
And when taking in consideration more subjective subjects matter, again it is still an “ouch”.
For example, how is it possible that 11,000 plus Costa Ricans drink arsenic laced water every day of their lives and there is no answer according to our crack experts in the government. “It is in the soil,” they say. But how did it get from raw earth into the drinking water unless like the roads and bridges, the pipes have rotted away for lack of maintenance.
We have some quasi war on drugs which all to quickly is swept under the carpet. A few weeks ago we had this big scandal concerning doña Laura and an implicated drug trafficker from Colombia who apparently married a Tica for citizenship. The Gabriel Morales scandal. Like most scandals it is now a thing of the past because we need to move on to more important things like the elections or even Chinatown.
Freedom of the press; another touchy sensitive spot.
If I write something directly demeaning to or about the president, be it true and correct or not, I might spend time in jail. So there is a caution sign saying yield to contrived press freedoms because they are might be interpreted by the government as “freedom speech”, “appropriate” or “defamation” and you never know which until it is too late.
In Costa Rica about the only thing you can depend on beside death and taxes is one more “shot in the foot” until the toes are all gone.
When you walk around a city, there are things you can just sense, like if you’ve wandered into a bad neighborhood. A traveler visiting Rio, Manila or Caracas, does not need a report to learn that these cities are unequal; she can see it directly from the taxicab window.
This is because in most cities inequality is conspicuous, but also, because cities express different forms of inequality that are evident to casual observers.
Cities are highly heterogeneous and often unequal with respect to the income of their residents, but also, with respect to the cleanliness of their neighborhoods, the beauty of their architecture, and the liveliness of their streets, among many other evaluative dimensions.
Until now, however, our ability to understand the effect of a city’s built environment on social and economic outcomes has been limited by the lack of quantitative data on urban perception.
Researchers from MIT Media Lab may have found a way to measure this “aesthetic capital” of cities, with their website Place Pulse, a tool to crowdsource people’s perception of cities by judging digital snapshots
—a sort of “hot or not” for urban neighborhoods.
Some 4,000 geotagged Google Streetview images and 8,000 participants later, the team found that by using digital images and crowdsourced feedback, they can accurately quantify the diverse vibes within a city, which in turn can help us better understand issues like inequality and safety. The results were published yesterday in the journal PloS One.
The results could be used to someday map the intangible uniqueness of neighborhoods around the world, which could help improve neighborhoods and design future cities.
The data could also add some weight to the controversial “Broken Windows Theory,” which suggests that physical signs of disorder in a neighborhood—like broken windows—can lead to crime, causing a vicious cycle. The theory has been hotly debated since it came out of Harvard in the 80s, partly because it’s hard to actually measure and quantify “disorder.”
The Place Pulse experiment could change that. From the study:
Cities are not just collections of demographics, but places that people experience. Urban environments are known to elicit strong evaluative responses, and there is evidence and theories suggesting that these responses may affect criminal and health behaviors. Yet, we lack good quantitative data on the responses elicited by urban environments. Place Pulse is an effort to help collect quantitative data of urban perception to help advance these research efforts and open new avenues of research.
In other words, there’s more to measure in a city than just demographics and income. Things like energy level, architecture, beauty, and so on can impact people’s social behavior. While Place Pulse 1.0 was a small experiment—it looked at images from just four cities, Boston and New York in the US and Salzburg and Linz in Austria—the method proved effective enough to be worth exploring further, according to the report.
Now MIT has expanded the study out to 56 cities around the world, with more than 100,000 geotagged images. Place Pulse 2.0 also measures more characteristics, looking at how boring, depressing, lively, safe, and wealthy the cities seem.
The team wants to use this second, larger dataset to train machine learning algorithms to understand what kind of features in the photos lead humans to answer the way they do—in a sense, to teach computers intuition, so the research could scale.
The Place Pulse experiment is simple. Like Mark Zuckerberg’s infamous pre-Facebook FaceMash site, it shows two images side by side and asks people to answer questions like “which place looks safer?” or “which place looks more upper-class?”
The first experiment found that the US cities, Boston and New York, were more unequal than the Austrian cities. There was a wider gap between “good” and “bad” neighborhoods. The researchers compared the results with actual statistics on homicides in New York and found a strong correlation between their data on how safe neighborhoods seem, and the existing data on how safe neighborhoods are.
With a larger dataset, being analyzed by learning machines, the findings could be used to design the city of tomorrow. “Ultimately, the goal of this study,” researchers wrote, “is to contribute to our understanding of the urban environments that we have built, with the goal of improving them, and their ability to include their citizens, while also informing the construction of future cities.”
FBI Press Release – Frank Politicchio was sentenced by United States District Court to four months in prison and three years of supervised release, for his involvement in an illegal sports bookmaking operation based in Costa Rica, according to the FBI website.
U.S. District Judge Vanessa L. Bryant in Hartford, Connecticut, also ordered Potolicchio, a Norwalk resident, to forfeit US$100.000.
According to court documents and statements made in court, after a long-term investigation led by the FBI Fairfield County Organized Crime Task Force, the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, and the Stamford Police Department, Potolicchio and 19 other individuals were charged with various offenses related to their involvement in an illegal Internet sports bookmaking operation and illegal card gambling clubs in Stamford and Hamden that were controlled by the Gambino Crime Family of La Cosa Nostra.
The investigation, which included the use of court-authorized wiretaps, revealed that Potolicchio was involved in a large-scale sports bookmaking operation in which gamblers placed bets with offshore Internet sports-gambling websites, particularly www.44wager.com, based in Costa Rica.
FBI analysis of the sports-betting website utilized by the co-defendants has determined that the total gross revenues of the Stamford-based gambling operation were nearly US$1.7 million from October 2010 to June 2011.
On February 13, 2013, Potolicchio pleaded guilty to one count of operating an illegal gambling business.
By Henry Morales, Vozdeguanacaste.com – On July 24, the community of Filadelfia in the Canton of Carrillo received the Government Council headed by president Laura Chinchilla Miranda, who attended along with representives of 10 ministries, including Leonardo Garnier of the Ministry of Education, Allan Flores of the Ministry of Tourism, Rene Castro of the Ministry of Environment and Manuel Obregon of the Ministry of Culture.
In addition, in the community hall more than 500 people attended to observe the rendering of accounts of Chinchilla’s cabinet as well as the four legislators of Guanacaste.
The president opened with words of gratitude to the community of Filadelfia and said, “We receive the government on the basis of three great challenges, the global crisis that affects Latin American countries, the crisis of public finances, which is a product of the large fiscal deficit, and the financial disaster of Costa Rican Social Security (CSSS).”
Later she acknowledged problems that have happened in her administration and talked about the poor perception of the population reflected in the polls. “Although it’s certain that we’ve had setbacks, we have face these challenges in a brave and decisive way,” she said, and added, “Our government will be remembered for our achivements and advances that we have left as a legacy to our nation.”
The president ended with the expression, “The annexation of Guanacaste teaches us that to reach our dreams, we have to annex ourselves and unite wills.”
“There are many ways in which they have wanted to measure use and one way has been the opinion surveys but I want to tell you that once again you have received us with joy and affection… This support, especially from the women, is what determines the government, not the surveys,” affirmed Chinchilla.
“Hay muchas maneras que han querido medirnos y una forma han sido las encuestas pero yo quiero decirles que una vez más nos han recibido con alegría y cariño…ese apoyo sobretodo de las mujeres es lo que determina al gobierno no las encuestas”, afirmó Chinchilla.
Carlos Cantillo, mayor of Ciudad Arqueológica, expressed his annoyance with the press and said, “Some communication media want to embarras our president and our government, and this isn’t fair because the press is a private business.”
Next, the different members of the cabinette were presented on the stage.
Pedro Castro, minister of MOPT, recalled that during the last year for Guanacaste “there has been an investment of $60 million, of which $40,000 were invested in the interamerican Cañas – Liberia northbound route.”
Leonardo Garnier highlighted the invesment in many educational centers in the region, for example Leonidas Briceño School in the amount of $1,600,000, the high school in Marbella of Santa Cruz with $904,000, the high school of Copal of Nicoya in the amount of $1,000,000, John F. Kennedy school in Liberia with $276,000 and the Technical Professional High School of La Fortuna of Bagaces with an investment of $220,000.
Agreements Signed
The president along with Mario Zamora, minister of Public Security, Pedro Castro of MOPT and Jose Luis Araya, official of Finance, signed an agreement that establishes a reform of the municipal regimen establishing a tax of $3.50 to foreigners who enter the country through the Daniel Oduber Airport in Liberia.
These funds will be destined to federations, confederations and municipalities of Guanacaste to use in county works.
In addition, Chinchilla came to an agreement with Marcos Jimenez, mayor of Nicoya, to change the time of the celebration of festivities in the Colonial City to 4 p.m. in the colonial plaza of Recaredo Briceño park.
OK, another holiday out of the way, one of a dozen national holidays in Costa Rica. Coming up next is the BIG ONE, Mother’s Day. I know, what about August 2? Though it is regarded as a holiday, it is not a “national” holiday, one that means you get paid for not working.
Most holidays in Costa Rica are pretty straight forward. New Year’s day, Christmas Day, Mother’s Day, Independence Day, Easter (Good Thursday and Good Friday), Juan Santamaria Day, May Day and so on… the “Guanacaste” holiday, however, stands apart.
Although the Annexation of Guanacaste holiday is a national holiday, it really isn’t. Let me explain.
Once a year the country shuts down on July 25th. The president and cabinet ministers head out to Guancaste, where Guanacastecos have been partying for days on end leading up to July 25.
In the Central Valley (San José) and the rest of the country, however, it is just like any other day, save there is no traffic and banks and government offices are closed (if the holiday falls during the week).
There are no flags waving, no one taking to the streets in celebration to even hint there is a national holiday happening.
Walking around town (San José) the only reminder that Guanacaste was being celebrated was by my dear friend in her traditional Costa Rican blouse. Unlike Independence Day (September 15), there were no flags on the autopista, retail stores and malls were not adorned with Costa Rican paraphernalia.
For most outside of Guanacaste it was just another day off work, with pay. Yeah, we all know about the bad reception our Presidenta got, how she had to change her schedule to avoid anti-government protests. For a few it is a long weekend, with the holiday falling on Thursday the lucky few could take a day, others I am sure called in sick this morning. For example, the Citibank offices around the corner from my house this morning was not the with the usual bustle of employees going to work. I estimate about one in four of the employees didn’t show up for work this morning.
So, on to the next holiday. If you are religious, the Virgen de los Angeles (August 2) is on deck.
But the most important of all holidays in Costa Rica is the one following, Mother’s Day on August 15.
You can forget or skip all or any of the other holidays, but NEVER Mother’s Day because this holiday is THE BIG DEAL!
As the cornerstone of Costa Rican society revolves around tradition and family ties and the role of the mother is evident in virtually every household.
The World Games 2013 in the city of Cali, Colombia get underway tonight at 7:00 pm with the official declaration by President Juan Manuel Santos at the Pascual Guerrero Stadium.
The Games, which are held under the patronage of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and whose President Jacques Rogge. The Opening Ceremony which will be attended by a crowd of 35,000 (sold out) will see more than 4,500 athletes and officials from 101 nations taking part in the event which runs through until August 4.
Ron Froehlich, President of the IGWA, said: “The World Games have undergone an enormous development as a multi-sport event in the new millennium.
“The ninth edition will prove itself as an important milestone.”
The first ever edition of the Games – the main international multi-sport event for sports or disciplines that are not contested at the Olympics but which aspire to be on the program – was held in Santa Clara, California, in 1981 and this year’s event will see 201 medal events in 26 official and five invitational sports contested across 25 venues.
In 2011, Cali – the third largest city in Colombia with a population of just under four million – was a host city for the FIFA Under-20 World Cup and also staged the 1971 Pan American Games.
Rodrigo Otoya, President of Cali 2013, said: “We want to present ourselves as good hosts and welcome the world of sport to Colombia.”
Otoya went on to thank the more than 3,500 volunteers who will be on hand during the Games describing them as “the smiling face of our city and our country.”
Workers in Costa Rica have certain legislative protections against sexual harassment, but what about non-sexual badgering and mistreatment such as making fun of someone’s appearance or assigning employees tasks that are considered denigrating?
The Special Permanent Committee on Women’s Affairs of the National Assembly in Costa Rica is looking into the matter and is proposing legislative action.
According to the Press Office of the National Assembly and the National Liberation Party (PLN in Spanish), legislative proposal 18.136, the Law to Prevent and Sanction Workplace Harassment in the Public and Private Sectors will advance to debate status. This proposal seeks to fill the legal void with regard to workplace harassment in Costa Rica. The Constitutional guarantee to introduce such legislation comes from Article 56, which directs the government to protect the safety and dignity of labor relations in our country.
Pilar Porras, President of the Committee on Women’s Affairs explained that:
“This initiative establishes the following actions as workplace harassment: insults, offensive comments, constant snide remarks about personal traits of workers, the forceful assignment of work tasks that are denigrating or outside of the employee’s abilities, among others.”
Depending on the position of the individual found to commit acts of workplace harassment, he or she could face written admonishments, unpaid suspensions up to one month, and even termination without severance. These penalties would be applied in accordance to the severity of the harassment.
The legislative proposal also seeks to define how penalties will be applied when it comes to elected officials. For example, a public ethics admonishment could be applied to legislators. In the case of mayors, superintendents and labor union leaders, they could receive a written admonishment or simply lose their jobs.
Amid allegations of dubious funding, money laundering and even ties to powerful drug cartels, more than 100 pirate radio stations in Costa Rica will be investigated by public officials and law enforcement officers.
According to National Chamber of Radio Sations (CANARA in Spanish) and the Ministry of Science, Technology and Telecommunications (MICITT in Spanish), there are 137 radio stations that operate outside of the law and impinge upon the radio spectrum in Costa Rica, which is a public benefit regulated by the country’s standing legislation on these matters: Public Law Number 1758 of 1954, known as the Radio Law.
CANARA is an organization that represents several profitable radio stations in Costa Rica. According to a report by Radio Actual 107.1 FM, the Superintendency of Communications in Costa Rica (SUTEL in Spanish) is not aware of the rapid growth of pirate stations across the country. Many of these stations impinge upon the radio spectrum frequencies granted to the Costa Rican Institute of Radio Education (ICER in Spanish) and a couple of radio conglomerates, one of which owns Radio Actual.
Some of the frequencies that these sonic buccaneers like to broadcast include 88.1, 88.3, 107.1, 107.7, and 107.i9 on the FM dial. If your favorite stations are on those frequencies and you live in rural areas in Costa Rica, there is a chance that you have listened to these audio hijackers of the airwaves take over. MICITT officials and Fuerza Publica detectives will work to unmask pirate radio operators, a task that is easier said than done.
A Very Lucrative Radio Spectrum
During a recent forum at the University of Costa Rica, the topic of discussion was the rapid proliferation of pirate radio stations, which mostly operate in rural and remote areas, as well as the troublesome concentration of the radio spectrum in the hands of just a few corporate interests.
Journalists and observers of the airwaves in Costa Rica are concerned that the radio spectrum in the country is following in the footsteps of conglomerates such as Clear Channel and Viacom in the United States, two corporate giants that make tons of money thanks to the powerful broadcast lobby that has been operating since the 1990s. A PBS Frontline investigation into radio consolidation, The Way the Music Died, explained that the broadcast lobby consisted of:
“Thousands of radio stations changed hands and companies that wanted to really get on radio were able to pull up some enormous multi-billion dollar mergers.”
This, in turn, resulted in:
“you have these companies emerge where they controlled every station in that city or they controlled a small station that you used to be able to hold sway over. But they also have a huge station that held sway over you, and they can use that to leverage the record companies.”
Basically, pirate radio, and to a lesser extent Internet and satellite radio, are alternatives to get away from being under the thumb of radio conglomerates, which have been growing in Costa Rica. In other words, without comprehensive reform of spectrum regulation, giant radio chains in Costa Rica could become like the monopoly ICE used to be, only without government or community participation.
In Costa Rica, the big boys of radio include:
Grupo Columbia, with 12 stations
Central de Radio, with 11 stations
The Catholic Church, with 8 stations
Cadena Radial Costarricense, with 7 stations
Grupo Nacion, with 4 stations
The only thing that stands in the way of the groups above acquiring more stations is money, which they have plenty of, and high-level horse trading, which involves greasing palms and gaining political favor. They make it difficult for stations such as Rainforest Radio, which aim to serve the communities they broadcast from.
More Than Just Music
In a few heavily populated urban areas of Costa Rica such as the Hatillo communities, pirate radio stations are mostly low-powered affairs that broadcast over a few blocks. The format of these stations includes non-commercial reggaeton and underground hip-hop music, peppered with commercials and announcements about commercial enterprises that operate on the fringes of the law, such as informal taxi drivers, dance halls that operate without permits, shade-tree auto repair, unregistered lotteries, etc.
The pirate radio stations that CANARA is concerned about are not like the one described above in Hatillo. Some would argue that there is room for such pirate stations to fill the void left by the closure of the dynamic rock emporium at 91.5 FM. The freebooter stations that worry public officials have ulterior motives in mind.
Rowland Espinoza, Vice Minister of Telecommunications in Costa Rica, recently explained to Diario Extra three hypothesis that aim to explain the spread of pirate radio stations in our country:
In the chaotic border towns of Penas Blancas to the north and Paso Canoas to the south, some creative radio entrepreneurs operate mobile transmitters to broadcast from one country or another, thereby staying one step ahead of the law. These pirates mostly have a commercial interest in mind to appeal to people who regularly cross the borders.
Some pirate stations area actually funded by oil and mineral exploration interests that are conducting indoctrination and propaganda campaigns to sway the community in their favor with strategic broadcasts. This is especially the case in remote areas that indigenous communities protect.
In coastal zones, drug traffickers may have found a way to launder money through radio broadcasting operations. Cartel can also use pirate radio stations to indoctrinate the community, transmit coded messages, and throw off law enforcement agents who may also be listeners.
In the end, CANARA explains that it does not want to end up like Guatemala, a country where 800 pirate radio stations compete against each other, and where less than 150 stations operate under the law.
The Miss Costa Rica 2013 beauty pageant has been filled with controversy and animosity, which in turn have been fueled by the eternal flames of online social networks.
The latest scandal is centered on allegations by contestants who are not the winner, Fabiana Granados, and who have gone on record to claim that the fix was in. We are either looking at a sordid state of affairs, or just a case of sour grapes.
The grievances lodged by contestants Claudia Gallo and Alba Rodriguez are more than just snide comments left on Facebook. In the case of Claudia, her Facebook status update revealed her discontent and hinted at nefarious work behind the scenes:
“Everyone enjoyed an ‘excellent’ dog-and-pony show… sorry, I meant ‘pageant.’”
Instead of chalking it up to temporary spitefulness, Claudia expanded on her conspiracy theory to national newspaper La Nacion:
“I said dog-and-pony show because it is obvious that the initial scores by the judges on the swimsuit, nightgown, and questions segments do not match up with what people saw. The change of Fabiana’s height measurements… it was 1.69 meters in the initial casting and later 1.73 meters.”
Alba Rodriguez, who at an statuesque 1.77 meters (5′ 9”) is taller than the reigning Miss Costa Rica, is the second runner-up. On her Facebook Timeline she commented that:
“Perhaps we should just flip coins to choose Costa Rica’s prettiest woman?”
Alba, however, was not as blunt as Claudia Gallo when La Nacion came knocking. She said:
“I have many things to say, but I prefer to live it as is and not have people say that I am a sore loser.”
Still, Alba did not heed her own advice and continued:
“What I will say is that I would prefer that the most beautiful or most capable contestant be crowned, instead of wasting time and playing with the illusion and efforts of others. It is better to take that money and invest it in helping people who need it.”
That last zinger is a tacit allegation that the Miss Costa Rica pageant, which is owned by the Teletica Channel 7 TV broadcast network, is on the take. Pageant director Gabriela Alfaro spoke to La Nacion on the matter and had the following to say:
“It is normal that some people will say this one was prettier than the other one, but to allege that the fix was in is an insult. Indeed, they are shooting themselves on the foot since I would have liked to audition some of them to become television hosts, but the things they say…”
Fabiana, the smoldering brunette from Guanacaste who was recently crowned Miss Costa Rica, has not had an easy time fulfilling her duties as Queen of all Ticos. Her problems started seconds after she was chosen as representative of the feminine beauty that Ticas are blessed with: Fabiana committed a linguistic faux pas as she exclaimed, in perfect English and on national television, “Oh my God!”
Social media was not kind to the new Miss Costa Rica. For her lingual gaucherie, she was accused of being a “fresa” and a “pola.” In the Costa Rican slang vernacular, the former is used to describe a woman who flaunts her superior socioeconomic status with foreign expressions and customs, but the latter refers to a woman who awkwardly tries to hide her simplistic ways with foreign expressions and customs.
The metropolitan intervention unit of the National Animal Health Service (SENASA in Spanish) in Costa Rica recently confiscated 179 gamecocks used by a clandestine fighting ring in San Jeronimo of Moravia, in the northeastern outskirts of San Jose. This action was supported by members of Fuerza Publica, the national police force in Costa Rica.
Assorted cockfighting paraphernalia and other implements of this illegal activity were also seized at the scene; this included: Medications such as antibiotics and stimulants, and the sharp spurs -also known as gaffs- and blades that the roosters are fitted with so that they can engage in torturous and deadly fighting matches that often culminate in their violent demise.
An order to immediately demolish the fighting ring establishment was issued on the spot, and SENASA will bring charges against the humans responsible for this ghastly ring. The charges will result in sanctions issued by SENASA’s own sentencing tribunal.
A Rural Tradition Against the Law
Chapter IX of Costa Rica’s Public Law number 8495 sets forth the infractions and sanctions against those who do not procure animal welfare according to technical and ethical rules. This general law gives authority to SENASA to crack down on cockfighting rings, which are considered an illicit activity in Costa Rica that endangers animal welfare.
Although cockfights date back to Costa Rica’s Spanish colonial days, the fact is that the activity has been deemed illegal and prohibited for several years. It is considered an unlawful and intentional affront to harm animals that has little to do with heritage.
The reason cockfighting and raising gamecocks is often practiced in rural communities is tactical more than traditional. In rural and remote areas of Costa Rica, it is easier for cockfighting organizers to ply their wicked trade in concealment, stay one step ahead of the law. This is a lucrative clandestine activity that is based on gambling and has nothing to do with rural traditions.
SENASA and Fuerza Publica mostly depend on tips from the community and from confidential informants to identify new cockfighting rings and take them down.
After a series of previous snubs in 2013 and delayed legislative review, a committee of 42 legislators in Costa Rica gave the green light to vessels from the United States Navy and Coast Guard to dock in the country. These ships, which are part of the Joint Patrol Agreement between the U.S. and Costa Rica to combat drug trafficking in the Atlantic and Caribbean coasts, will be able to dock from now until the end of 2013.
The bilateral maritime accord between the U.S. and Costa Rica has been the subject of much debate in the National Assembly. The administration of President Laura Chinchilla has been supportive of the Joint Patrol Agreement, but legislative approval is still needed for such matters in a country that has enjoyed life without a military force since 1949. Case in point: The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Sherman, which planned to dock in Golfito but was turned away since it lacked the permit to do so.
The snubbing of the USCGC Sherman was lamented by both the U.S. Embassy in Costa Rica and President Laura Chinchilla, and it was exacerbated by the fact that a Colombian Navy vessel, the ARC Valle del Cauca, was docked in Puntarenas while training members of the National Coast Guard Service in our country. The ARC Valle del Cauca had permission to dock, the USCGC Sherman did not -even though it was part of the Joint Patrol Agreement. The problem was that legislators in Costa Rica dragged their feet to extend the approval of U.S. military vessels to dock.
How Much Military Help Does Costa Rica Need?
Approval of U.S. vessels to dock in Costa Rica includes disembarkation rights for military personnel to come ashore, and it comes at a time when the Constitutional Chamber (called Sala Cuarta, the country’s highest court) declared that the U.S. Blackhawk helicopters that were part of the massive security operation ahead of President Barack Obama’s historic visit to our country lacked permission to fly over San Jose and actually disturbed the peace. It is also important to consider that, in 2013 the National Coast Service of Costa Rica and national law enforcement elements have been able to intercept tons of narcotics outside of scope of the Joint Patrol Agreement.
Those who oppose the presence of foreign military forces in Costa Rica also point out that old-fashioned, non-military police work also works in the fight against drug cartels; to wit: the displacement of the Caballeros Templarios (Knights Templar) Mexican drug cartel. Others point to the extensive militarization of Panama’s security forces by the U.S., which does not seem to have the desired effect in curbing the flow of drugs into Costa Rica. Like Alex Sanchez of the Eurasia Review explained in his comprehensive analysis of Costa Rica: An Army-Less Nation In A Problem-Prone Region, our country does a lot better in matters of national security than its militarized neighbors in Central America and the Caribbean.
Civic activities in Nicoya to celebrate the Annexation of Guanacaste has been moved last minute to 5:00pm from the original 10:00am.
Nicoya mayor, Marco Antonio Jiménez, said the decision for the change is to ensure the safety of the people of Nicoya.
The change will not be a problem for Presidenta Laura Chinchilla, who is “under the command of the Nicoya City Council”, said the minister of Communication, Carlos Roverssi.
Mayor Jiménez did not cite security for the presidenta as issue, however, minister Roverssi did say in his communiqué the change is due to a “issue of fear“, the possibility of anti-government demonstrations.
Costa Rica cheese producers cannot use local cheese brands with Italian regional names
The European Union (EU) has given Costa Rica notice that Italy has blocked implementation of the Acuerdo de Asociación entre Centroamérica y la Unión Europea (AACUE) – the trade agreement – set for August 1, protesting the use of Italian names by Costa Rican cheese producers.
Provolone, Fontina, Gorgonzola and Parmiggiano Reggiano, Italy argues, are cheeses produced in that country, products of an area or region and cannot be used by Costa Rica producers. On Costa Rica’s list of cheese names are Queso Turrialba, for example.
In Costa Rica there are some cheeses produced and found in supermarkets with the Italian names
The clash arose because producers in Costa Rica object to the Registry of Intellectual Property (Registro de la Propiedad Intelectual in Spanish) protection for the foregoing cheese names.
The European Union had asked two conditions be part of the agreement. One is legislative approval, which Costa Rica achieved quickly, the other the registration of 114 indicators, of which 24 were with Italy. In the respective process there was opposition to only six, within which are the four cheeses.
For the agreement to be in effect, Italy is demanding that not only Costa Rican companies be forbidden from exporting products with those four names, but also that the names not be used in brands for sale in Costa Rica. Complicating matters is that some local cheese products have the Italian names.
The Cámara de Exportadores de Costa Rica (Cadexco) – Chamber of Exporters of Costa Rica – has asked the government to take all steps within its power to avoid further delays, as the wait could affect competitiveness.
For his part, Jorge Sauma, general manager of Corporación Bananera Nacional (Corbana)- National Banana Corporation, is calling all parties to find a point of flexibility and an ultimate solution. The president of the Cámara Nacional de Agricultura y Agroindustria (National Chamber of Agriculture and Agribusiness), Álvaro Sáenz, called Italy’s reaction “disproportionate”, since only four of the indicators were opposed.
It has been more than five years since public officials from the National Tourism Board in Costa Rica (known by the initials ICT in Spanish) traveled to Playas del Coco in Guanacaste to give their approval for an ambitious development project that will bring a massive luxury marina with enough dock space to accommodate almost 300 yachts and host of administrative and business facilities.
Foto for illustrative purposes
The Marina de Playas del Coco project, which is also known as Coco Marina in English, has been on the drawing board for nearly a decade. When the ICT public officials left the Punta Centinela area, the investors and developers of the most ambitious marina in Costa Rica hoped that bureaucracy would not get in their way, and it didn’t: The ICT gave a green light to the project in just a couple of months.
That was, however, in 2008. While the officials of the ICT’s Interoffice Commission on Tourist Docks and Marinas evaluated the Marina de Playas del Coco project, the housing market in the United States was coming to the end of its inflationary bubble period and beginning its painful burst. Months after the ICT told the developers of Coco Marina to go ahead with their project, the subprime mortgage meltdown and the credit crunch almost collapsed Wall Street. The Great Recession set upon the U.S. and the European Debt Crisis loomed.
Costa Rica, like other countries in Latin America, fared better than expected during the global financial crisis, but the key tourism sector took a major hit since the flow of dollars was fueled by the misguided economic optimism that the housing bubble in the U.S. would never end. As a result, projects such as Coco Marina were shelved until conditions improved. That time seems to be now.
Sources familiar with the Marina de Playas del Coco project and Guanacaste realtors who work in the area have recently noticed some activity, and they seem to think that construction will begin in earnest later this year. The Coco Marina will be a boon to tourism in the area; Playas del Coco is already a magnet for visitors, and the marina is expected to generate business and employment both directly and indirectly.
The Municipality of Carrillo will be in charge of issuing business permits and contracts while the El Coco Marina Development Association (ASODEMAC in Spanish) will be responsible for construction and adherence to environmentally-friendly policies and requirements.
The Banco Central de Costa Rica (BCCR) – Central Bank – dropped the Basic Passive Rate (BPR) (tasa básica pasiva in Spanish) to 6.55% on Wednesday, after maintaining the rate at 6.65% for weeks.
This is the lowest rate since 2008 when it dropped to 4.25% in April of that year, climbing back up to a high of 12% in July 2009. Since February of this year, the rate is about one half of the rate in 2005.
The BPR is used as a guide by lending institutions for most loans in colones and is calculated using the weighted behaviour of rates by private and public banks and lending institutions.
The Banco Central or BCCR is not to be confused with the Banco de Costa Rica (BCR). Similar to other Central Banks in the world, the functions of Banco Central de Costa Rica include providing banking services to the Government of Costa Rica and financial institutions, issuing the domestic currency, regulating commercial banks and other financial institutions, providing economic advice to the Government, conducting research and publishing information on monetary and other economic developments. Only notes and coins issued by the Central Bank shall be legal tender in Costa Rica. The BCR on the other hand is one of three state owned commercial banks.
Before World War II, almost 75 percent of Costa Rica was covered by forest land. What happened in the next four decades was particularly damaging to the national ecosystem: The national forest coverage decreased to 21 percent.
In just 33 years, from 1950 to 1983, more than 46 percent of forest land in Costa Rica was lost due to lack of reforestation efforts. In the next 27 years, however, tree planting and forest conservation activities have managed to reclaim 26.3 percent of the lost forest areas. This amounts to a 52.3 percent forest density in Costa Rica as of 2010.
The figures above, cited by Cristina Mora Jiliuta of Amelia Rueda’s online news and discussion site Nuestra Voz (Our Voice), come from research performed by Ministry of the Environment (MINAE in Spanish) and the National Forestry Financial Fund (FONAFIFO) in Costa Rica. The deep deforestation during the World War II and Cold War periods coincided with mass farming of coffee, sugar cane, and Africanized palm for cooking oil purposes. These cash crops are quite lucrative; in fact, they are routinely traded as commodities on Wall Street.
Another cause of deforestation in Costa Rica was the lumber industry and the irresponsible clearing of acres upon acres of primary forest by logging interests. By 1987, it was clear that without decisive government intervention, Costa Rica’s forest would suffer the destructive fates dealt to countries such as Haiti and Nicaragua.
These days, however, MINAE and FONAFIFO have managed to reclaim a good portion of the forest land lost thanks to programs such as Payment for Environmental Services Program (PSE in Spanish) and the Strategy to Reduce Carbon Emissions Caused by Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+ in Spanish). The PSE program has been particularly effective in this regard since it encourages participation of land owners. The Costa Rica Star has previously written about this program, which can put cash in the pockets of land ownerswhose properties have portions of forest land.
Figures recently released by MINAE and FONAFIFO include a forecast for reclaiming up to 70,000 annual hectares in the next few years, with the ultimate goal of seeing Costa Rica’s forest coverage up to 60 percent. This is in line with the Costa Rica – Carbon Neutral initiative that is expected to take effect in the year 2021. According to the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, reforestation is the easiest way to combat climate change.
Public surveys commissioned by La Nacion and performed by UNIMER, as well as crime statistics compiled by the Ministry of Public Safety (MSP in Spanish), indicate that security has increased in Costa Rica in the last few years.
Although President Laura Chinchilla’s approval rate has plunged to the lowest levels in Latin America – a sad fact she shares with her Brazilian counterpart, President Dilma Rousseff- the current public opinion regarding crime and the statistics presented by the MSP show that the security efforts by the current administration have paid off.
President Chinchilla recently went on national television to highlight her administration’s work in improving public safety in Costa Rica. This has been one of the few high points of her mandate –another one is a national child care network for working-class families, which is incidentally very similar to a government initiative in Brazil. One of the first things Ticos, the people of Costa Rica, noticed when President Chinchilla took office was the number of Fuerza Publica (the national police force) officers that were deployed in the streets of Downtown San Jose, in busy bus terminals, crowded public spaces, and schools across the country. The visibility of these officers, who often walk the beat in pairs, contributed to an immediate reduction of crimes committed in flagrante delicto –common street crimes such as retail drug dealing, purse snatching, harassment, assaults, and others.
Positive Crime Figures in Costa Rica
Law-abiding Ticos love to see Fuerza Publica cops walking the beat, and they have also noticed the number of women joining the force; in fact, this was one of the highlights of President Chinchilla’s recent message to the people of Costa Rica. At the beginning of her term, analysts and observers in Costa Rica wondered home much this increased police presence will cost, and they had every reason to be worried: The national deficit has increased considerably, and the country has gotten in debt for the purpose of funding national security effort.
In a recent interview with Diario Extra, MSP Minister Mario Zamora explained that the murder rate in Costa Rica has decreased to 8.9 from 11.5 per 100,000 people, which means that there are 150 less murders per year compared to 2010. Another figure he highlighted is the fact that more than 80 percent of Fuerza Publica officers patrolling on foot earn more than 400,000 colones per month (about $800), a sharp improvement from nearly three years ago. All officers, including those who belong to special units such as the Tourism Police, have access to Kevlar gear and service weapons.
The National Coast Guard Service has also experienced strengthening during this administration, and there is a revival of old-fashioned police work tactics that seem to have a great effect in the 21st century, and they are even helping to disrupt Mexican drug cartels. Activities such as walking the beat and reaching out to the community with charitable work are fostering good relations between Ticos, Fuerza Publica and other police units.
Monsanto, the global agro-industrial corporate giant that is used to having its way around farming operations around the world in the name of big profits, is experiencing one setback after another. The next disappointment for Monsanto in the near future could arrive in Costa Rica via the country’s Constitutional Chamber (informally known as Sala Cuarta).
A few weeks ago, Costa Rica’s highest court accepted a request for judicial review by several concerned parties over the gains Monsanto had made in the country with the approval of some of their transgenic corn seeds for cultivation. It all started in early July, when the acting Head of General Procurement of Costa Rica, Ana Lorena Brenes, issued a report that echoed the sentiments of citizens’ groups and organizations opposed to the spread of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in our country.
Pulling a Fast One
The report by General Procurement Officer Brenes indicated the strong doubt cast by the decision of Costa Rica’s National Technical Committee on Bio-security (CTNBio in Spanish), which essentially approved a request by an agricultural company to plant several hectares with the GMOs MON-603, MON-88017 and MON-89034. It is important to note that the company in question, PL Semillas, is a subsidiary of Delta Pine Land, which itself is a shell company that acts a subsidiary of Monsanto. Using this corporate hodgepodge is part of Monsanto’s modus operandi since the company is not welcome in Costa Rica and therefore lacks an office here.
Although there is a strong possibility that Monsanto used corporate obfuscation and bastardy, as well as greasing of palms, to get the uncharacteristic CTNBio approval, the report by Brenes omitted such speculation and got straight to the heart of the matter: The people of Costa Rica were denied their fundamental right to access important administrative information about the nature of the request by PL Semillas. It is inconceivable that CTNBio would have so easily approved a request to plant MON-603, a transgenic corn strain that France has strongly opposed to due to concerns about what the crop does to the soil in the long run.
What Comes Next
Those who signed the appeal against Monsanto before Sala Cuarta, who include indigenous people of Costa Rica, environmental activists, farmers, and legislator Jose Maria Villalta from the Frente Amplio (Broad Front) political party -who is also a presidential candidate, are confident that their the court will rule in their favor. After all, they have legislation against transgenic crops on their side, as well as the fact that 59 out of 81 municipalities in Costa Rica have adopted ordinances to prevent cultivation of harmful GMOs on their jurisdictions.
Costa Rica is not the only nation that has proactively rejected Monsanto. In mid-July, the company confirmed that it will retreat its efforts of marketing new engineered seeds in Europe; this was confirmed by a press release from Greenpeace International. An investigative journalism report by Chris Parker in the Miami New Times, “How Monsanto is Terrifying the Farming World,” concludes that despite the company’s stronghold in the United States agricultural industry, things are turning around and opposition to transgenic crops is gaining momentum from Florida to California.
Purdy Motors will soon be importing Lexus hybrid starting at US$59.000
Presidenta Laura Chinchilla signed a bill on Monday to slash taxes on hybrid cars by 20 percentage points, in a bid to cut fuel emissions in the country.
The tax will be cut from 15% to 10% on vehicles with engines not greater than 2000 cc, well below the 30% to 53% tax rates levied on vehicles fueled exclusively by gasoline and diesel but still higher than the zero-tax status enjoyed by electric vehicles.
The reduction can mean cut in the price tag of between US$2.000 and US$3.000 according to Javier Quirós, president de Grupo Purdy Motor, exclusive importer of Toyota vehicles in Costa Rica.
The hybrid vehicles sold in Costa Rica for now are the Prius and Camry by Toyota with a price tag of between US$35.000 and US$45.000. Quirós says there are about 300 hybrids in circulation.
Nissan is said to be looking to start selling its Leaf model soon, according to a spokeswoman for Costa Rica’s Environment Ministry.
“In this bill we’ve incorporated incentives that should be seen as signs that Costa Rica wants to keep moving forward in its determination of achieving its carbon neutrality goal”, Chinchilla told reporters.
The tax break applies to sedan models, motorcycles and some pick up trucks that run on both gasoline and electricity.
Costa Rica has set the goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2021, which means that any industrial emissions will be offset through different mechanisms, like taxation, reforesting to soak up greenhouse gases, and using clean energy.
Legislators approved on Tuesday, in first debate, the Ley de Monitorio Arrendaticio, an initiative that streamlines the tenant eviction process for non-payment of rent.
The vote was 39 in favour and three against, with second and final reading set for next Monday.
The amendment provides that a landlord can take action against a payment for failure to pay rent, after two months of missed payments.
The changes also introduces the oral modality in such litigation, allowing an eviction resolution in months instead of a year or more.
Against the changes is José María Villalta, of the Frente Amplio party, who fears that the new rules will allow landlords to trample the rights of tenants, and force families out on the street.
Tenant laws in Costa Rica are pro-tenant in that even if a tenant refuses to pay it can continue to live in the property until the landlord exhausts all of his or her legal hurdles to evict, a process than can take years in the worst case scenario.
But that may soon change with the passage in first debate of a reform to the Landlord-Tenant law that expedites the process of eviction, allowing the Landlord to bring a non-paying tenant to court in as little as two months. See report.
In Costa Rica the Landlord-Tenant Law (Law 7527, called “Ley General de Arrendamientos Urbanos y Suburbanos”) regulates all aspects of the relationship between a property owner and their tenant.
The process of evicting a tenant for not paying his rent seems simple enough: the landlord files an action under the Summary Process provided for by the Code of Civil Procedure (Codigo Procesal Civil), the tenant is served and has five days to respond. After the evidentiary period, the court will issue a final judgement and writ of possession and the police is called in to evict the tenant.
As with all litigation processes in Costa Rica the time frame can vary significantly depending on the court and the location, a process than can take as little as several months to a year or more, depending on the circumstances.
Let’s start that the minimum term of a rental agreement in Costa Rica is three years (this applies to both oral and written agreements). If the tenant wants to terminate the lease before this time expires, he/she must send the landlord a three month prior notice, unless the parties agree otherwise. The parties may agree on a penalty for early termination by the tenant.
If the term of the agreement expires, it is automatically renewed for three years more, unless the landlord gives the tenant a three month period prior notice, stating he/she will not renew the agreement. The landlord may give notice if landlord or their family need the premises for themselves or intends to undertake major construction work.
For housing, if the rental is in colones (Costa Rica’s currency), there is an automatic yearly increase but cannot be higher than a 15% of the fixed rent. In most cases the landlord will increase the rent the 15% without providing an explanation. For the increase to be more than a 15%, the country’s inflation must be higher than 15%, and the rent increase must be based on a certification of the inflation issued by the State.
If the rent for housing is agreed in US dollars or other foreign currency, no yearly increase is allowed unless it is called for in the rental agreement and the not to exceed the agreed to amount.
Law 7527 has been effective and enforceable since August 17, 1995. Before then, there was another law that did not fully cover many of the issues that arise in a tenant-landlord relationship. Case law helped to regulate many of the aspects and issues not covered by such legislation. No change is expected in the near future.
Law 7527 does not cover or regulate hotel rooms or bungalows, car parking, or company housing for employees. The Civil Code regulates farms and tourism leases.
Security deposits to cover pending rent payments or any other obligations of the tenant can be freely agreed between the parties with no legal maximum, but in practice, landlords request one month as security deposit. Advance payments of rentals are in contrast limited to just one month’s rent (an exception applies to social housing).
In Costa Rica, the security deposit, typically the amount of the last month’s rent, it is not the last month’s rent. The landlord can and will insist on payment for the last month and then uses the security deposit to make repairs to the property after the tenant leaves. In a perfect world, the Landlord will refund the deposit after inspecting the property, in full if there are no damages or in part, deducting expenses for the repairs. In the real word, however, the tenant can kiss the security deposit goodbye.
In conclusion, Costa Rica’s tenant law was designed to protect the tenant 100%, which makes it almost impossible for a landlord to evict even the worst tenant. Many lawyers in Costa Rica have made a fortune in tenant evictions or “desalojo” in Spanish.
Independent activist, Diego Grooscors, will begin today collecting the 160.000 signatures required to present to the Legislative Assembly a bill to legalize marijuana consumption.
Grooscors explained that the proposal is based on citizen initiatives presented in the past but never made to the Legislative floor for discussion.
The text of the proposed bill, according to Grooscors, is to reform the law on narcotis, psychotropic substances, unauthorized drug and related activities, as well the general health law. The changes would remove the punishment for marijuana consumption if and when it is for recreational or therapeutic uses.
Grooscors will be explaining his proposal in detail on Thursday at the auditorium of the Universidad Latina starting at 9:30am.
Another group, the Movimiento Cannabis Medicinal Costa Rica, is also preparing a bill that ais to regulature the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes.
