COSTA RICA NEWS – As might be expected, President Luis Guillermo Solis’s 100 day report stirred up a veritable hurricane on social media. The speech registered more than 8,500 comments on Twitter in 24 hours and were filed on the Casa Presidencial account under the hash mark #100dias.
Indignation registered by voters found its echo in the wrath of Partido Liberacion Nacionao (PLN) – National Liberation Party’s president Bernal Jimenez but for a vastly different reason. He especially took umbriage at Solis’s description of the country as having been governed during the last few years “with disrespect.”
This is despite the fact that long-time Liberationist Jimenez was at odds with the decisions made by former President Laura Chinchilla and her crew. Still, he is a loyalist and rued the tone of the speech as well as some of its content.
Remembering that Solis had said that “those who have directed the ship of State” have caught it in a maelstrom of corruption and inefficiency,” Jimenez responded to La Nacion by saying, “That appears to me to be a rash accusation.” He said both Chinchilla and her predecessor, Oscar Arias, have respected the Constitution.
Jimenez then said that the President himself had defied the Constitution by naming a Lutheran bishop, Melvin Jimenez, as a top cabinet minister. But the party president did admit that Solis has taken up the battle against corruption and urged him to punish the wrongdoers.
Indeed, he handed the Chief Executive a rose for his invitation to all political parties to form a dialogue. But Jimenez comes from another generation of politician, courtly and understated, forming a clubby “political class” that the younger generation of Costa Rican now, judging from their Tweets, think is an abomination.
Against that tradition, the President’s address raised a storm of shock and horror, not to mention outright rage. After the (PLN) party meets next Monday to decide how to respond, no doubt they will try to label Solis as a dangerous ideologue.
Their delay over a weekend may be a mistake. PLN party sources have said that they were anticipating much of what Solis said and the country will have time of let his message harden. But it’s obvious to us that the President has given up on Liberation in congress as a possible ally. They’ll be furious.
Before leaving for a three-day visit to Limon, the President’s casual parting shot may also raise hackles. “And that’s not all of it,” he commented on his speech.
Article by iNews.co.cr, reposted with permission
Yeah, a media storm with the PLN in the middle. I found it particularly laughable that Jiminez accused Solis of violating the constitution by appointing a Lutheran bishop to his cabinet (when the intent of the constitutional provision he is accused of violating was to prevent officials of the Catholic State religion from having a place in government), while stating that Arias and Chinchilla’s inefficient and corrupt governments respected the constitution.
Solis has not accused either of his predecessors of deliberate acts that were illegal or of being bad people. Unfortunately, incompetence that permits illegal acts by others or simple waste are not illegal or unconstitutional. Solis does not accuse his predecessors of actual corruption but for allowing a corrupt system to thrive. He has brought no legal charges against members of the former administrations, but has called for moving forward. Certainly, corruption in government has existed throughout the country’s history, and I suspect that inefficiency and corruption were no worse during the past two administrations than in earlier ones Corruption and inefficiency have been brought to light during the past two administrations because the media have taken an increasing “gloves-off” position in covering the government, and corruption is easier to uncover in the information age.
I hope that the PLN leadership abandons its cover-up and finger-pointing positions and takes a proactive approach to finding remedies to the weaknesses that enable waste and abuse of the system, joining Solis in moving forward and calling for accountability and transparency. I believe that this is the only way that the PLN will regain its credibility with the people. If they continue their strategy of denial, they will continue to lose strength in the Legislative Assembly and the government in general.
Critics have alleged that Solis has not set a course for his administration, but I believe that his failing has been that his stated goal is so large and the people think it’s a lie or a pipe dream. President Solis’ call for accountability, transparency, and an end to corruption is one that the people and everyone in government should get behind.