TICO BULL – A group of Costa Rica’s legislator were in Nicaragua this weekend, to meet with their counterparts in Managua, to urge publicly the government of Daniel Ortega for an open border between the two countries.
That was the news. That is what happened on Friday.
But, according to the Nicaraguan press, the Tico legislators headed by the vice-president of the Legislative Assembly, Jose Alberto Alfaro, decided to take in some tourism and shopping at our expense.
The Nicaraguan publications La Presna and Nicaragua Hoy both featured photos of Tico legislators shopping in Masaya.
“When the arrived at the Masaya shopping centre, they are around the place to appreciate and buy Nicaraguan handicrafts, while Nicaraguan National Assembly workers carried a cooler with ice and whiskey,” the La Prensa reported.
Nicaragua Hoy highlighted that the agenda of the Tico legislators included only Friday as the day of work, while Saturday and Sunda was dedicated to tourism, visiting the departments of Leon, Masaya and Granada – Nicaragua’s three top tourism areas.
In total, 12 Tico legislators from across party lines, took advatange of the trip: For the Partido Liberacion Nacional (PLN): Jose Alberto Alfaro, Olivier Jiménez, Aracelly Segura, Danny Hayling and Michael Arce; for the Frente Amplio: Jorge Arguedas and José Ramírez; for the Partido Acción Ciudadana (PAC) Laura Garro, Emilia Molina, Marvin Atencio and Javier Cambronero; and independent, Carmen Quesada.
Costa Rica’s Foriegn Minister, Manuel Gonzalez, shared on his official Facebook page with the headling, “Turismo parlamentario” (Parliamentary tourism).
For his part, President Luis Guillermo Solis, a president that has barely kept his presidential chair warm a home, criticized the trip saying the visit caused unease due to the cold relations between the neighbouring countries.
Solis said this type of visit to Nicaragua could generate “confusion” among Costa Rica’s international partners. What say you Mr. President? Confusion of what?
However, Solis did accept that the country’s legislators don’t need his approval, sorry, the government’s permission to visit Nicaragua, hold meetings with Nicaraguans, even if to warm relations or spend the taxpayer’s money.
Article first appeared on TICO BULL, reposted with permission.
