The movie shot in Costa Rica, in La Fortuna de San Carlos, stars Will Smith and his son Jaden and airs on June 9, 2013.
Notice the Arenal volcano as the backdrop for the movie’s promo flyer?
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Due to theft or loss, the Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE), on average blocks some 8.000 cellular phones monthly. The totals from March 2011 to November 2012, the state telecom – the carrier with the largest number of cell phone customers – processedsome 176.000 requests by users.
The viceministro de Seguridad, Celso Gamboa, says theft of cellular phones continue and occur often, with the more expensive equipment being targeted by criminals.
Gamboa recommends the public not to show off their cell phones in public, especially phones like the iPhone or Galaxy, even if its a knock-off.
The vice-minister said unfortunately some criminals are willing to kill and have killed for a cell phone.
If your phone is stolen is lost it can be reported by calling 1193 – the ICE customer service – from any phone. The cost is ¢858 colones plus taxes.
Costa Rica subscribes to the GSM Association (GSMA.com), that represents the interests of mobile operators worldwide. Spanning more than 220 countries, the GSMA unites nearly 800 of the world’s mobile operators, as well as more than 200 companies in the broader mobile ecosystem.
Once the cell phone is reported lost or stolen, ICE will report it to the GSMA and within 24 hours the cell phone is useless worldwide. However, the cell phone itself must be registered with ICE and associated with the number.
For customers of Claro they should call 7002-7002 from any phone (or *10 from a Claro phone) and Movistar, dial 1693 from any Movistar phone or 800 000 1693 from any other phone.
QCOSTARICA – While close to a billion were glued to their television sets last night to watch the presentation of the Oscars, the Academy Awards given annually given annually for excellence of cinematic achievements, they were unaware that the “Oscar” race had already taken place in Costa Rica and the winner…Suzanne Fischel.
Oscars there are plenty, but Arias Sanchez only one, and that is the Oscar that Suzanne Fischel can brag about.
Runners up for the Oscar over the years included, Karina Bolaños. Though Karina and Oscar had no relationship, in the the (almost) award winning performance video that cost Karina her job as vice minister of Youth, she says, touching her bosom “it’s all yours!”.
OK, the message may not have been directed at Oscar, or was it? We will never know Karina, was beat out in the end by Suzanne, but gets the “honorary Oscar” for her performance that went viral on the world wide web and making headlines not only in Costa Rica, but across the big pond in Europe.
Also in the running for years and what looked like a clear winner for the Costa Rican Oscar was Geovanna Mendiola. Up to 2007, Geovanna was in the lead, courting her Oscar.
But, the heart is fickle and love is like a soccer game, anything can happen.
For three years go by with the Oscar up for the taking. And where all the others weren’t, Suzanne was able to clinch the nomination quickly and near the end last year, the prize!
Unlike the Oscar of the Academy Awards, Suzanne’s Oscar comes with the title of two time president of a democratic country and a Nobel Peace Prize award. And not to mention a ton of money and tons of political clout in the small Central American country.
And unlike the Oscar bash last night, Suzanne’ Oscar ceremony was private. The Q did dig up “live” footage of the ceremony. Check it out. Sorry, no dubbed version in English.
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Until the next edition of the Oscar!
Cuba’s parliament has named Raul Castro to a new five-year term as president — which he announced will be his last — and rising star Miguel Diaz-Canel his first vice-president.
The 81-year-old Castro also said he hopes to establish two-term limits and age caps for political offices including the presidency — an astonishing prospect for a nation led by Castro or his older brother Fidel since the 1959 revolution.
Some constitutional changes are to be so dramatic that they will have to be ratified by the Cuban people in a public referendum, he said, though he added he was not named president in order to destroy Cuba’s socialist system.
Cuba is at a moment of “historic transcendence,” Raul told lawmakers in speaking of his decision to name Diaz-Canel to the No. 2 job. “It represents a definitive step in the configuration of the future leadership of the nation through the gradual transfer … of key roles to new generations.”
“This will be my last term,” he said. Raul’s term will end in 2018. The leader will be 86.
The 52-year-old Diaz-Canel is now the first in line to succeed Raul. He is the highest-ranking Cuban official who didn’t directly participate in the 1959 Cuban revolution.
The selections were reported by state media Sunday.
In a rare public appearance, Fidel attended the opening session of the National Assembly for only the second time since he handed over power to his younger brother Raul in 2006, due to ill health.
Fidel is still a member of the assembly.
Newly-elected legislators applauded as the brothers greeted them from the front of the room.
State television showed the 612 legislators standing up one by one to display certificates to prove that they had been elected to the National Assembly. Delegates also then picked economist Esteban Lazo as the National Assembly’s first new chief in 20 years
The youngest legislator to be elected, Lisette Condes Sanchez, read out the oath of loyalty that all members of the National Assembly have to sign.
Afterwards Fidel could be seen signing the oath.
Castro flanked by aging lieutenants
His top two lieutenants are also in their 80s.
If a fresh face is named as one of Raul’s top deputies on Sunday, it could indicate that his administration is settling on who might carry the country forward when those who fought in the 1959 revolution can no longer do so
Raul has spoken in the past of implementing two-term limits for public officials up to and including the president, as well as the importance of grooming new leaders to take over from his graying generation.
This would be his second full term after formally assuming the presidency in 2008.
Raul is about halfway through a programme of key social and economic reforms that have already seen the expansion of private business activity, legalized home and car sales, eased restrictions on foreign travel and allowed the handover of fallow state land to independent farmers.
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About the video: Jessica and I rappel down a small cliff in Costa Rica on our guided tour with Desafio Adventure Company in La Fortuna, Costa Rica near Arenal Volcano. This was a great way to spend the weekend after a week of classes at USAC in Puntarenas!
(Bloomberg) Costa Rica and China are discussing establishing an economic zone in the country as an export platform for Chinese companies, Trade Minister Anabel Gonzalez said.
Costa Rica and China Development Bank are developing a feasibility study for the “Special Chinese Economic Zone,” Gonzalez, a candidate to succeed Pascal Lamy as director-general of the World Trade Organization, said in an interview in Beijing today.
China’s outbound non-financial investment rose 29 percent to a record $77.2 billion last year, Ministry of Commerce data show, underscoring government efforts to encourage overseas expansion to gain access to technology and resources. A special economic zone for Chinese companies in Costa Rica would be the first in Latin America, Gonzalez said.
“We’d like to see more Chinese investment in Costa Rica,” said Gonzalez, 49. “We think there are, of course, great Chinese companies out there that could benefit from Costa Rica’s strong value proposition in the area of investment and very strong human resources, strategic location, a very good business environment and a strong transportation network to export to the Americas.”
Chinese companies will invest as much as $2 trillion overseas in the decade through 2020, a report by New York-based Rhodium Group estimated last year. So far China’s investment in Costa Rica has been “relatively small,” Gonzalez said.
Gonzalez is competing with candidates including New Zealand’s trade minister Tim Groser and Ghana’s former trade minister Alan John Kyerematen to succeed the WTO’s Lamy, who retires in August.
Gonzalez said the time is right for the next head of the WTO to come from a developing nation and that she would work to help developing nations in Africa and elsewhere that aren’t integrated into the global economy.
“I would like to work very closely with these countries to make sure that the WTO can support inclusive growth for all members,” Gonzalez said.
She also said “there’s a need to revitalize the organization, in particular its negotiating function.”
Carlos Howden Pascal, owner of the professional Limón soccer team, is a free man after a Goicoechea court of appeals overturned his money laundering sentence. He spent 18 months in prison.
Pascal sees international politics at play in his conviction. “I think that this country lowered its pants to please the United States,” he indelicately said in explaining his conviction.
After a long time in prison because prosecutors considered him a flight risk, he was sentenced on Aug. 30, 2012. Prosecutors charged he received money from illicit activities in the United States and invested it here.
U.S. prosecution said that Pascal’s brother, who goes by the name of Rodney Arnoldo Morrison, engaged in selling tax-free cigarettes provided to native American sources to non-native Americans between 1996 and 2004. He thus, they said, avoided paying high taxes.
In order to keep the ill-gotten proceeds from the U.S. Justice Department, Morrison sent the money to Pascal who invested it here, local prosecutors said. Pascal was arrested June 2, 2011, for money laundering.
But appellate judges Rosaura Chinchilla, Lilliana Garcia and Edwin Sala found serious defects in the trial. They ruled that the prosecution did not prove that Pascal knew that the source of the money was from non-payment of taxes on cigarettes.
Moreover, prosecutors claimed Pascal had received $30 million from Morrison. The U.S. court convicted Morrison in April, 2011, on a possession of an illegal firearm although the charges of arson, homicide for payment, firearm aggression and fiscal fraud were dismissed.
Last June, a U.S. appeals court revoked Morrison’s absolution, leaving the door open for a retrial on the dismissed charges. The Costa Rican court, however, left no such possibility that Pascal could be retried on the dismissed charge.
From iNews.co.cr
A 39 year old man was sentenced to 36 years in prison for raping his wife was the sentence handed down by the Tribunal Penal de Goicoechea (in San José) last week. The court heard testimony of how the man, a software engineer, forced his 41 year old wife to have sex with him and physically assaulting her.
The couple had been married for 14 years and have two children.
On the evidence, judges Jorge Tabash, Ileana Méndez Sandí and Silvia Badilla Chang, found that the man identified as Orozco, did indeed rape his wife at least four times.
For reach count the court imposed a 12 year sentence, for a total of 48 years behind bars. However, because at least one rape was a repeat of the same offence, the judges adjusted the sentence to 36 years.
For Judith Salas, head of the Instituto Nacional de las Mujeres (INAMU) – National Women’s Institute, the criminal court decision is crucial as it shows a change in the thinking of society.
“Violence in the family is historical. Historically women perceived that sexual violence in marriage was part of the role of wives, that they belonged to their spouse”, said Salas.
“But decisions like these reflect two things: one, is that women have started to become aware of their rights, and the other is to find answers at the various support agencies”, she added.
Salas stressed the importance for women to know that they can refuse to have sex with their men, and if necessary, can report any aggression.
In November 2011, a 51 year old man man in the Osa Peninsula, was sentenced to 35 years in prison for twic raping his wife.
QCostarica doesn’t normally report on traffic accidents, even when drunk drivers are involved, for there are just too many and is a daily occurrence. But, this story deserves a mention.
Despite the tough new traffic laws and the threat of going to jail, in addition to losing the drivers license, many still get behind the wheel after throwing back a few. Or many.
And many with their loved ones in the vehicle, like the case of a drunk driver accident over the weekend in Sagrada Familia (San José).
The driver of the small van, which witnesses say and confirmed by the Policia de Tránsito (traffic police) was drunk behind the wheel, crashed into a light post.
In the van were five people – all related – including a young girl who, to top it all off, was sitting in the front seat on the lap of a woman believed to be her mother.
The Cruz Roja say they had to attend to 10 people: five in the van, five others outside the van.
And for the froth on the brew, the traffic police had to fight off some of the area residents confronting the officials in their act to take the drunk driver to jail.
Reach506.com was launched over the weekend, with the aim of reaching thousands English speaking expats in Costa Rica with a daily email-newsletter with a daily deal, advice and information.
Through the website www.reach506.com the service helps local business promote their business in Costa Rica to the English speaking community.
“Personal subscription management is only one click to opt-out if desired in the future, we play nice with our friends, and we don’t like unsolicited emails either”, says the website, promosing easy un-subscribing to the newsletter.
And subscribig is easy, just put in your email – no need for name, rank and serial number – and after confirming the email (the confirmation is to eliminate spammers and false emails), you’re all set.
And Reach506 is using Mailchimp, a group of developers, designers and professiona problem solvers that are out to make MailChimp the best email–marketing service in the universe.l
And best of all, its FREE!
The first mailing went out Sunday night, welcoming subscribers to the list and promoting “The Whiskey Bar and Grill”, which most, if you are like me, didn’t know is now where the Moto Psycho bar in Santa Ana was previously.
And if you have a business or service, reaching a huge audience in Costa Rica has never been easier, they send one email per day to their opt-in email database, subscribers stay in the know, and businesses benefit with low cost high impact email marketing. Sweet.
Reache506 promises that their content will not be boring or spammy, hand picking “cool Costa Rican businesses” to send information about. Quality content is their aim.
For members of the Liga Femenina de Rugby (Women’s Rugby League) in Costa Rica the idea that the sport is for men no longer exists.
Three years ago the first team was formed, four are currently in the leagueand last year the first women’s tournament was played.
These women play Rugby sevens, also known as seven-a-side, is a variant of rugby union in which teams are made up of seven players, instead of the usual 15, with shorter matches.
As women’s rugby union developed in the 1960s and 1970s the format became very popular as it allowed games, and entire leagues, to be developed in countries even when player numbers were small, and it remains the main form the women’s game is played in most parts of the world.
The first team, Universitarios Club de Rugby (University Rugby Club), is made up of 15 woman who train religioulsy every Wednesday and Sunday.
For more info on women’s rugby in Costa Rica go to: http://www.rugbyuniversitarios.com/web/jugadoras-division-femenina
Zach playing at the Backyard beach party that included a Surfing Contest during the 2013 Jungle Jam! This video is 2 angles loaded with tons of B-roll of that day on the beach.
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The Banco Popular is continuing its support of the Guanacate region, providing financing for the first private medical centre, the Hospital Clínico San Rafael Arcángel in Liberia, that is to provide medical services to both nationals and foreigners.
The private clinic offers 35 medical specialties and has a pharmacy, radiology and laboratory services on a 24 hours basis. Additionally, the medical centre is in the process of being certified by the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC), a voluntary process through which an ambulatory health care organization is able to measure the quality of its services and performance against nationally recognized standards.
Gerardo Porras Sanabria, Banco Popular’s general manager of corporat affairs, said,”the bank understands the importance of promoting development in the communities. This new hospital will meet the demand for specialized health services at affortable terms and encourage medical tourism to become a magnet for professionals of different disciplines of medicine, which will promote the social and economic boost for the welfare of families Guanacaste”.
Source: El Guardian CR
In the past, just being fluent in English was enough to qualify the 14,000 workers in the nation’s call centres for a job. But no more.
This is more than a little perplexing to a country that has prided itself on the quality of its workers, especially in preparing them in language skills. Indeed, it is more than a little disconcerting to CINDE, the agency that has brought in foreign companies and helped fill hundreds of jobs.
Last January the Tele Tech firm announced it was moving its operation abroad and last week Hewlett-Packard announced part of its operation was going to India and asked help in finding jobs for 4,000 employees.
But other firms, like Sykes, Amazon and Convergys, appear perfectly content here and, indeed, are growing. Francisco Alba, president of the Chamber of High Tech Service Corporations, says that some firms are simply seeking more efficiency and lower costs.
But others are demanding special skills as the market “matures,” says Alba. They want employees conversant in digital animation, software, engineering, research and development and other specialties.
Says CINDE director Gabriela Llobet, “Important leaders of industry have grown in Costa Rica, giving more high value services and they are demanding more specific knowledge and abilities.”
Although Llobet notes that, while a second language is important, such as English, those entering the work force should sharpen other skills as well. “If one of these employees were my child,” she says, “I’d direct them to study other areas as well, because the best opportunites are for those in other fields.”
In other words, she and a number of others with knowledge of the field consulted by the daily newspaper La Nacion, make the same point–broaden your education, especially in technology.
From iNews.co.cr
LIBERIA, Costa Rica (AP) – On a recent Friday morning at a gleaming new international airport in Costa Rica, hundreds of tourists from New York and Minnesota emerged blinking onto the sun-blasted tarmac. At the other end of the runway, eight Americans zipped into tan flight suits aboard a huge white surveillance plane.
As four propellers roared, the P3 Orion flew out above the tourists and over the hotels and beach clubs of the Pacific coast, its bulbous radar dish scanning for speedboats loaded with U.S.-bound cocaine.
In the cabin’s bank of radar screens, a dot pulsed just north of Panamanian waters. The P3 swooped down to 1,000 feet and soared past a tiny Costa Rican fishing boat. Using a long-lensed digital camera, one of the military veterans snapped a string of photos. A colleague radioed the boat’s details back to the United States.
This prosperous paradise of golden beaches and lush cloud-forest preserves is throwing itself wholeheartedly into the U.S. war on drugs as a flood of cocaine shipments and a surge in domestic crime erodes Costa Ricans’ sense of proud isolation from the problems of the rest of Central America. Crime levels here are among the lowest in the region, but many Costa Ricans fear even the slightest possibility that their country could become more like Mexico, Guatemala, or Honduras, where the unchecked power of drug cartels and ordinary criminals has millions of people living in fear.
In 1948, Costa Rica abolished its army, plowing money into education, social benefits, and environmental preservation. As a result, Costa Rican officials say, the country whose laid-back national slogan is pura vida – pure life – is poorly equipped to battle ruthless and well-equipped Mexican drug cartels. To assist, the United States is patrolling Costa Rica’s skies and waters while also providing millions of dollars in training and equipment. The Costa Rican government, in turn, has launched a tough line on crime backed by a top-to-bottom transformation of its law enforcement and justice systems.
“Costa Rica is today the closest the U.S. has to a protectorate in Central America,” said Sam Logan, director of Southern Pulse, a risk-analysis firm focused on Latin America.
Fed up with crime, many Costa Ricans are welcoming the change. A wide range of serious crimes have risen sharply in Costa Rica over the last decade, though some, like homicide, have begun to dip.
“Security in general is going backward,” said Roberto Arce, a 23-year-old university student. “You can’t walk in peace in the street, you’re not at peace at home, or anywhere.”
But a small group of critics fear that the orderly and deeply democratic nation known as “the Switzerland of Central America” may be losing fundamental aspects of its identity by implementing its own version of the “iron fist” policies in place around the region.
“The United States’ fight against drugs, militarizing it, using violence, above all in the cases of Colombia and Mexico, hasn’t led to results,” said Carmen Munoz, a congresswoman who oversees human-rights and national security issues for the opposition Citizens’ Action Party and has worked to block U.S. warships from landing at Costa Rican ports.
“We have a tremendous fear that their goal is also to militarize the war against drugs in Central America,” she said.
Costa Rica’s growing role in international smuggling has fueled the growth of local drug markets, criminal organizations, and crimes ranging from homicide to simple burglary, officials say.
The country’s crime levels remain the second-lowest in Central America, after Nicaragua, and while tourism hasn’t suffered, concern about crime among Costa Ricans is sky-high: The regional LatinoBarometro found last year that Costa Ricans have the second-highest perception of insecurity in Latin America, topped only by Venezuela.
Source: Michael Weissenstein, Associated Press
According to families and corroborated by owners private ambulance services, several private clinics in Costa Rica are transferring their deceased patients to state hospitals and clinics, to evade the responsibilities of malpractice or negligence.
José Alberto Castro, a resident of Santa Teresita de Aserrí, told LA PRENSA LIBRE, this unfortunately happened to his wife, Jenny Borbón, who he took to a private clinic complaining of abdominal pain.
Castro, in his narration to the PRENSA said, “my wife was diagnosed with colitis and an hour after being injected with a serum and lying in bed she went into convulsions and suffered a heart attack.”
Castro added that his wife was never intubated, they (the private clinic) had a fibrilator, but it was never used. They called a private ambulance service that arrived on the scene 22 minutes later, when there was nothing more as his wife was already dead.
“The clinic asked the ambulance attendants to transfer my wife to the Hospital San Juan de Dios (HSJD), but they objected”, said Castro.
Although the name of the clinic is being withheld pending litigation, Castro is feeling what many fell daily, the frustration of losing a loved one, but more the “in humane” attention by private clinics who “don’t even have an ambulance”.
Castro, like many others choose a private clinic or hospital over one run by the Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social (CCSS), to avoid the lines and for what is believed to be better service.
The man who lost his wife will not let her death go unnoticed. He filed a complaint with the Ministerio Público and is waiting on the Medicatura Forense (Coroner) to determine the cause of death.
In his search for answers – and justice – Castro found that his ordeal is not all that uncommon, more and more private clinics are a “deception”, only concerned on charging fees and not providing proper medical care. ”
Castro also learned from the owner of the private ambulance service that they receive frequently similar calls from private clinics, asked to take patients to the San Juan de Dios and Calderon Guardia hospitals (both in downtown San José).
Speaking to the LA PRENSA LIBRE, the owner of the ambulance service said he could not talk much about the problem, but did confirm that on that day in September he did get a request and objected to move the dead woman to a state hospital.
What Castro found and so did the PRENSA LIBRE in their investigation, is a wall where no one is unwilling to talk about the problem. Dr. Miguel Villalobos, jefe del Servicio de Emergencias del San Juan de Dios, told the PRENSA (by way of the hospital’s press office) that he is unaware if patients are sent to the hospital already deceased.
“We would report it immediately, what we know is that we oftern receive patients in critical condition, as private hospitals and clincis often do not have the equipment or personnel necessary for the interventions”, was the response by Dr. Villalobos.
For her part, Ofelia Taitelbaum, the defensora de los Habitantes (Ombudsman), assures that this a “serious” problem and that her office cannot act against private business and that the families must file charges with the Ministerio de Salud and the Colegio de Médicos (Ministry of Health and Medical Board), and only then can they get involved.
The head of the Electoral Observation and Political Accompaniment Mission of the Organization of American States (OAS), the former President of Costa Rica and Nobel Peace Prize Winner, Óscar Arias, begins this weekend a visit to Asuncion, to promote dialogue between the different Paraguayan political and social actors, and to prepare the deployment of the Mission that will monitor the general elections of April 21.
Arias, designated to lead the Mission by the Secretary General of the OAS, José Miguel Insulza, will be in Asunción until February 27 and his agenda includes meetings with Paraguayan government officials, ministers of the Superior Court of Electoral Justice, presidential candidates, party officials, members of the diplomatic corps and media outlets.
The OAS Mission aims to facilitate the convergence of all Paraguayans sectors around a common agenda to strengthen democracy in the country and contribute to the holding of free, transparent, inclusive and equitable elections in April. To that end, during this visit the Agreement on Observation Procedures will be signed with the Electoral Tribunal and a mobile group of observers will be installed which will maintain direct contact with the actors in the electoral process throughout Paraguay during the next two months. The final deployment of the Electoral Observation Mission of the OAS will occur in the weeks immediately prior to April 21.
The Costa Rican Nobel Prize Winner has expressed interest in using this visit to Paraguay to hear the views of political actors about the current Paraguayan electoral process. At the same time, he will take the opportunity to advocate for a constructive and transparent campaign process that facilitates national consensus building, both before and after the elections.
Contrary to Mercosur and Unasur, the OAS did not sanction Paraguay following the removal of Fernando Lugo from the Executive, triggered by an overwhelming majority in the country’s Senate.
The successful Colombian telenovela, “La Prepago”, has been nominated the best Colombian production abroad, is aired in Costa Rica daily at 10:00pm on local channel 7, and its star, Lilo de la Vega, has won the hearts of viewers with her “picardia (naughtiness) and sensuality.
The novela is a Colombian original series produced by Sony Pictures Television for RCN television.
Inspired by a true story and produced entirely on location, La Prepago focuses on the story of a woman who leads a doubel life: one the one hand a beautiful college student with a normal romantic life and traditional family, and secondly, the an escort.
The plot of the story is of a university student who, out of economic necessity decides to be a sexual companion hidden from her family and her boyfriend, that then becomes involved in the death of a powerful politician.
The novela was originally to have aired at 9:00pm, however, viewer criticism that the content was not apt for minors, forced the Teletica to move the airing to 10.
Editor’s note: The word “prepago” (prepaid) is used in Colombia to refer to a prostitute, escort or any person who offers sexual favours for payment. Since payment for sexual favours are usually in advance, hence “prepago”.
A telenovela (Spanish: [telenoˈβela]) is a limited-run serial dramatic programming popular in Latin American television programming. The word combines tele, short for televisión (Spanish) for television, and novela, a Spanish “novel”.
Telenovelas are a distinct genre different from soap operas, for telenovelas have an ending and come to an end after a long run (generally less than one year). The telenovela combines drama with the 19th century feuilleton and the Latin American radionovela. The medium has been used repeatedly to transmit sociocultural messages by incorporating them into storylines.
Recent telenovelas have evolved in the structure of their plots and in the themes they address. Couples who kiss each other in the first minutes of the first episode sometimes stay together for many episodes before the scriptwriter splits them up. Moreover, previously taboo themes like urban violence, racism, and homosexuality have begun to appear in the newest telenovelas.
Due to the similarities between the telenovela and the American soap opera, the telenovela format is also colloquially known as a “Spanish soap opera” in the United States.
While most English language soap operas can continue indefinitely, almost all telenovelas run for a predetermined duration. They are usually shown five or six days a week and run for an average of 120 episodes.
In the video, university student, Maricruz Castillo, posted this video in which she calls for respect of sexual diversity in Costa Rica.
Maricruz, is 21 years old and is a student of electrical engineering.
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The Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Comercio (MEIC) is making a reminder to businesses that consumer prices, be it a service or product must show the “final” or all-inclusive price to the consumer.
The “total” price must either be included either on the product label, a price tag, sticker, placard, menu or whatever pricing system is used, so as not to confuse the consumer.
Cinthya Zapata, directora de la Unidad de Apoyo al Consumidor, del Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Comercio (Consumer Support Unit, Ministry of Economy, Industry and Trade), explains price tags and menus can show the breakdown of taxes and other costs (surcharges, fees, etc), but must show and without ambiguity the final for the product or service.
The rules of all-inclusive pricing is specified in the “Promoción de la Competencia y Defensa Efectiva del Consumidor”, effective as of November 2010.
Thus, the price advertised, be it for a can beans, a computer or a new or used vehicle must include all costs, ie taxes, fees, financing charges, commissions, etc.
“Price labeling must be so that there is no doubt of the final amount – including taxes, surcharges or fees – to be paid by the consumer”, explains Zapata.
If a retailer or service, for example, advertises/offers a “net” price and does not indicate the final price of the product, the consumer can demand to pay the price advertised.
A common practice by the “importadoras” (import retailers who offer financing as part of their deal) is to show the “cash” price to entice consumers. However, in the fine print of the ad they must show the final cost if financed.
The final pricing applies to all consumer goods, including vehicles, which means the sticker price on that new or used vehicle at the dealer lot is the FINAL price to be paid by the consumer. The law does not allow for the dealer to add on for this, that and the other at the time of checkout. The price sticker must include all the extras!
In the case of services, like in a restuarant, the final price must be indicated on a board, placard or menu. The law gives consumers assurances that all prices shown are all-inclusive and final and there are no hidden charges.
Costa Rica’s consumer laws allows pricing in “other” currencies (the most common other currency is the US dollar) so long as the consumer has the option to pay the equivalent in colones.
Zapata explains that the “other” currency pricing is allowed and recognized by the “Ley Orgánica” of the Banco Central (Cental Bank).
Thus, the prices of goods and services can be quoted in US dollars (or other currency) as long as the consumer has the option to pay the equivalent in colones. And that equivalent is based on the exchange rate calculated daily by the Central Bank.
The consumer can demand the exchange conversion to colones is that of the Central Bank, which places in doubt the practice of many hotels and other businesses catering to tourists offering exchange rates lower than the published rates by the Central Bank.
In theory, the exchange rate posted by the business is for providing currency exchange. In practice, however, the rate is used to convert the price of the product and/or service, such as a room charge. Few visitors know the current exchange rate and even fewer know the law that allows them to demand the use of the rate set by the Central Bank on that day.
Consumers who are victims of misleading prices can file a complaint with the Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Comercio (MEIC). Complaints can be filed online or by visiting the nearest MEIC office.
See also: La “Prepago” Nominated For Best Foreign Production Airs In Costa Rica Nightly
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The areas west and south of San José will be without water today, as the Instituto Costarricense de Acueductos y Alcantarillados (AyA) – water and sewer utility – carries out a series of maintenance works at the Puente Mulas pumping station.
The areas affected are:
Santa Ana: Centro, Don Lalo, Gavilanes, Concepción, La Chispa, Pozos, Obando, Valle Soleado, Lajas, Casa Blanca, Calle Pilas.
Escazú: Centro, San Rafael, Corazón de Jesús, Rosalinda, Bello Horizonte, Anonos, Trejos Montealegre, Maynard, Los Elíseos, Altos de Bello Horizonte, Santa Teresa, Profesores, Santa Eduviges, Vista de Oro.
Alajuelita: Centro, San Felipe, La Aurora, Tejarcillos, San Josecito, Calle El Alto, Concepción, El Tejar.
Desamparados: Novedades, Alpino, Méndez, Los Ángeles, Santa Cecilia, Tolima, Maiquetía.
The dry taps will affect some 140.000 people between 9:00 am and 6:00 pm today (Saturday).
A warning to female drivers (and all other drivers) in the area of Los Anonos bridge – the bridge connecting La Sabana and Escazú – a group of delinquents are taking advantage of the traffic conditions to smash can windows and grad what the can.
A note by a Q reader and posted on Facebook, tells the story of how this group targets women stopped in traffic.
The method of this group is to, one begins to harass the female driver causing her to be distracted, while an accomplice smashes the passenger window and grabs whatever is in reach.
Of concern is that this is a regular occurrence.
Following the posting on Facebook, more women have come forward to say they have been victims as well. At least ten women have been vicitms of this act this month alone.
The smash and grabs had been common in the area of Hatillo, at the lights near the plaza. A strong police presence reduced the criminal activity, which seems to have moved to other areas
Recommended is best to avoid the area of Los Anonos, especially if you are a woman and at night.
The cars and the booths of Expomovil will stay put at the Centro de Eventos Pedregal while the Tribunal de Apelación Contencioso Administrativo rules on an appeal says the Asociación de Importadores de Vehículos y Maquinaria (Aivema ), following the closing by the municipality on Friday morning.
Aivema said it filed an appeal against the action by the Municipalidad de Belén following the closure Friday morning, less than 24 hours after the fair opened to the public.
Carlos Aguilar and Liliana Aguilar, spokesperson and director of Aivema, respectively, said they will be meeting with car dealers to continue to offer Expomovil deals at their dealerships while the organization fights to re-open the fair that was to have run until March 3.
Municipalidad de Belén officials, accompanied by municipal police, the Fuerza Pública (national police) and the Policia de Tránsito (traffic police) descended on the Pedregal fair grounds Friday morning with a court order in hand, forcing the closure of the event.
Municipal officials say modifications to building’s structure were being done without a building permit forced the closure.
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Doingcostarica.blogspot.com – Drinking, working and living in Costa Rica just seem to go hand-in-hand…Or maybe it’s just me.
Here’s the problem(s). I(we) live in paradise. EVERYDAY is a vacation day or at the very least, a Friday or Saturday. Seriously, everyday.
And although we work hard, we also work for ourselves so there’s no one telling us we can’t extend lunch for 5 hours, so in essence, everyday has the potential to be an extended, never ending ‘Happy Hour’.
And as you might imagine, we meet a LOT of tourists, and guess what, they’re on vacation too, so we’re not opposed to showing our Costa Rican guests a good time. Pura Vida. Not sure if we’ve ever said, “no” to a beer.
Vacation is one thing, living here is another…. here’s our video about DRUNKer in Costa Rica. ENjoY!
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SPECIAL REPORTS/QCOSTARICA – A series of original studies commissioned by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) quantify the costs of crime and violence in Latin America and the Caribbean using a combination of crime, health and economic statistics to come to fresh conclusions.
In Brazil, one study found people pay an extra US$13 billion to gain a sense of security alone, while in Uruguay economic activity suffers a negative impact of more than 3.0 percent of gross domestic product, while long-term generational impacts are found on the health of babies born to mothers who suffer from physical violence.
“People pay for a sense of security,” said David Vetter, lead author of a study examining the impact on residential property values in Brazil’s metropolitan areas of insecurity resulting from crime.
“There are a lot more people who are afraid of crime rather than are victims of crime,” Vetter told Reuters in a telephone interview.
A common theme running through the eight research papers presented is that women, children and families in general are affected most by crime and violence.
The IDB points out that the region suffers from some of the world’s highest homicide rates and is where 20 of the world’s most violent cities are located.
However, International Monetary Fund (IMF) projections show Latin America and the Caribbean region’s economic growth of 3.6 percent this year is more than double the 1.4 percent forecast for advanced economies and above the 3.5 percent predicted for the world overall. That kind of growth masks somewhat the impact of crime and violence on the economies in the region.
In Vetter’s study, housing costs in Brazil are inflated by $13.6 billion, based upon a “strong and significant relationship between monthly rent and the sense of security in the home.”
Increasing the sense of security in the home from 40.9 percent to 59 percent (or one standard deviation) would increase home values by $757 if divided amongst all 18 million households in the study area.
“The implications of crime on the region’s well being are potentially much greater. Violence not only victimizes individuals – it undermines trust in public institutions,” Ana Corbacho, an economist with the IDB’s Institutions for Development division, said in a statement.
The IDB solicited academic studies to measure the cost of crime and received 117 proposals from 19 countries. The authors of eight out of nine research studies that won funding are presenting their results at an IDB seminar in Washington January 24-25.
“Latin American and Caribbean citizens cite crime and violence as their top concern, above unemployment, healthcare and other issues,” the IDB said in a statement.
NARCO-VIOLENCE
Much of the violence in the region can be ascribed to the narcotics trade.
A drug war raging in Mexico has led to a decline in economic activity in the municipalities where narcotics related violence is most prevalent, another study found.
Last month, Mexican Attorney General Jesus Murillo estimated that some 70,000 people had died in drug-related violence under former President Felipe Calderon, with roughly 9,000 bodies unidentified.
The explosion of violence seven years ago between rival drug gangs and the government crackdown on traffickers serves as a demarcation point for economic growth.
Using electricity usage rates as a proxy for economic growth in Mexico, researchers at Stanford University found that starting in 2006 the level of economic activity between municipalities experiencing heavy narcotics-related violence and those that did not diverged dramatically.
In the 2006-2010 time period, areas where drug crimes were higher ended up lagging less violent areas by 6.8 percent per year.
A second study on Mexico by economists at the University of Maryland, Instituto Tecnologico Autonomo de Mexico and Stanford University found a 1.0 percent increase in the number of homicides resulted in a 1.8 percent decline in home prices in affected areas.
As a consequence of violence in Uruguay, the cost to the economy was $1.2 billion a year, or 3.1 percent of GDP.
WOMEN AND CHILDREN FIRST
One common theme running through the studies focused on health and social issues is the significant impact on women and children from crime and violence and the long-term generational effects on health, education and spending on prescriptions.
“Children whose mothers suffer from physical violence have worse health outcomes,” said researchers at the University of California, Riverside.
In their study of domestic violence against women in the demographic and health surveys of Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Honduras and Peru, the researchers found the negative effects on children under the age of six takes place even before they are born.
A women aged between 15 and 49 who suffers from domestic abuse is less likely to have the four required prenatal visits with a doctor. The children, once born, are more likely to have had diarrhea in the last 15 days and tend to have a lower weight. Vaccinations are reduced and height is stunted among these children, the study found.
In a separate study, pregnant women in Brazil are more likely to give birth to underweight babies if they live in high crime areas and are themselves poorly educated.
“This suggests that violence adds up to the mechanisms that affect the transmission of socioeconomic status between parents and their offspring,” wrote researchers at the University of Leicester and Queen Mary University of London.
The USCGC Mellon, a High Endurance Cutter homeported in Seattle, Washington, participated in the rescue of a Costa Rican fisherman who became seriously ill while on board the Costa Rican fishing boat the Maria Bonita.
According to the US Embassy in San José report, the fisherman, who was loacted some 200 nautical miles from Golfito, was identified as Alexis Gutiérrez Rodríguez. The 50 year old man is a resident of the Golfito area.
The USCGC Mellon was in Golfito a few days ago and by luck found the Maria Bonita offshore and immediately came to the aid of the angler, co-ordinating with a US Navy ship in the event the fisherman needed to be airlifted to shore. However, the USCGC Mellon medics were able to stabilize Rodríguez, who had suffered symptoms of appendicitis.
The fisherman was handed over to a Costa Rican coastguard patrol boat and taken to the Golfito hospital.
The Ministerio de Seguridad Pública (MSP) thanked the humanitarian action by US authorities.
Source: US Embassy San José
It was a surprise to the many who had arrived at Expomovil this morning and the thousands who had been planning it as a weekend activity. It was also a surprise to the dealers, salespeople, financiers and others inside the fair this morning when police showed with tape and a court order to shut down the fair that had opened the day before.
But, it appears it wasn’t a surprise to organizers. Municipal officials say that they had warned organizers that they weren’t in compliance with all the permits and had been warned that that the fair could be shut down.
Notwithstanding, the doors to Expomovil 2013 opened as had been announced. The newspaper, television and radio advertising promoted the event. La Nacion, Costa Rica’s leading Spanish language newspaper, had several inserts in Thursday’s publication. Today’s (Friday) is full of car advertising, all inviting to the car fair to make their deal.
Expomovil is the most important car fair of the year, offering visitors the ability to kick tires and talk prices. Some even look forward to make their purchases. In fact, the car fair has resulted in more than 5.000 car sales a year for the past several years.
The Expomovil is organized by the Asociación de Importadores de Vehículos y Maquinaria (AIVEMA). For 2013, some 30 car dealers had a booth and special fair deal. Also all major banks provided a booth and staff to discuss financial deals.
Although the AVIEMA said it is exhausting “all legal” channels to remove the “clausurado” (closed) police tape, it is uniikely this year’s fair can be saved given that the first appeal filed this morning was rejected by the courts.
AVEIMA is expected to make an official announcement by the afternoon. In the meantime, car dealers like Vetrasa (Mitsubishi) and Agencia Datsun (Nissan) say they will offer customers the same Expomovil fair deals at the their agencies.
Other dealers also told the press that they urge customers who planned to buy at the Expomovil can visit their dealerships for the same deals.
This is an idea the COSEVI – the road safety council – is working on: since they cannot fine speeding drivers due to legal and technical problems with notification, the idea is to outfit the traffic cameras with a laser that will stop the speeding vehicle and driver in its tracks.
The COSEVI say they are still working out the bugs in the laser. But…
The vehicular inspection service, Riteve and the Caja Costarricense del Seguro Social (CCSS), will continue their campaign to collect discarded tires this week, in a campaign against Dengue.
Riteve will accept used tires at its stations in Alajuela, Santo Domingo de Hereida and Lagunilla from 6:00 am to 9:00 pm.
The campaign aims to prevent the spread of Dengue, as discarded tires are a favourite breeding place for mosquitos.
All the tires collected will be recycled and used as fuel by the Holcim cement plant in Cartago.
All types of tires not exceeding 22 inches in diameter will be accepted.
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