QCOSTARICA – The second attempt at dialogue by the Executive Power to define the route to follow in search of a solution to the fiscal and economic crisis and the unemployment problem, is beginning to stumble.
The fractions of the political parties Restauración Nacional (PRN), Unidad Social Cristiana (PUSC), Nueva República (PNR), and Liberación Nacional (PLN) parties announced that they will not participate, turning their backs on the new attempt at dialogue called by the Government.
In a message, Restauración Nacional said they first want to know what proposals and agreements are and if the Government can reach an agreement with these different sectors.
“There, yes, the Legislative Assembly has a very important role in evaluating these proposals and knowing if they will benefit Costa Ricans,” said Xiomara Rodríguez, head of Restauración.
This transcended despite the fact that Eduardo Cruickshank, chairman of the Legislative Assembly and a member of this party, was one of those who called for the dialogue.
“Our fraction is not going to attend this first call. We continue to believe that the legislators should remain in a manner attached or parallel to these discussions and that it is the multiple sectors that discuss their initiatives under the leadership of the President,” said Luis Fernando Chacón, head of the PLN Fraction, who assured that they will then analyze what results.
The Nueva República bloc was more forceful in arguing why it declined to participate in the meeting.
“We want to make public that our Nueva República party will not be an accomplice of this failed government in a convocation in which important people are missing at the table; the working methodology is not known and it is not known what the role of the legislators would be to be able to implement the solutions that require a legislative process,” said Fabricio Alvarado, the general secretary of that political group, (who came ‘this close’ to the presidency in 2018), said in a statement.
The “fabricistas” added their disagreement with the discussion of the 2021 National Budget in the Legislative Assembly this week.
“The fiasco that resulted from next year’s budget discussion, where the PAC and Frente Amplio legislators took turns delaying and hindering the motions that sought to lower government spending, not to mention that the Presidency orchestrated a campaign of lies, falsehoods, and fears by telling Costa Ricans that, if the waste in the budget was not panned, then the country would fall into a technical shutdown,” added Alvarado.
The Unidad Social Cristiana (PUSC) party did not detail their reasons, just informed their will not attend.
Few confirmations
The work session is being held at the National Stadium, today, Friday, October 23, starting at 8:30 am.
On Wednesday, the Presidency summoned some 70 organizations to today’s meeting. However, expected to attend are less than half of that, with Casa Presidencial Thursday evening failing to respond to questions of the actual count.
The objective of this working session is to “rethink, and set in motion together, the mechanisms that will guide the presentation and analysis of proposals on economic growth, job creation and for the sustainability of public finances” the government of Carlos Alvarado detailed.
