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Most Costa Ricans
Support Telecommunication Opening: survey
A survey
shows most Costa Ricans back the opening up of the state-run telecommunications sector in a Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) with the United States.
The telephone survey was made by Demoscopia among 380 adults from different parts of Costa Rica. It has a margin of error of five percent, said the Al Dia daily on Thursday.
According to the investigation, made this Tuesday and Wednesday, 65.7 percent of those polled said they agreed with the existence of competition and the opening of
ICE (the Costa Rican Electricity Institute) which controls the telecommunication and energy industries of the country.
As well, 74.3 percent of the polled expressed support for the position of ex-President Oscar Arias on breaking the state monopolies of telecommunications and insurance.
The poll was taken as the United States exerts pressure on
Costa Rica to open up its telecommunication and insurance sectors, as a condition for staying in the CAFTA negotiations between Washington and a bloc formed by Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua.
CAFTA members will have the eighth round of negotiations next week in Houston, in the US state of Texas.
President Abel Pacheco Wednesday asked his countrymen to support the free trade agreement with the United States, but stressed that telecommunications would not be included in negotiations.
In a statement on local television, Pacheco said he stood firm in his position not to negotiate the opening of the Costa Rican telecommunications, despite pressure from Washington.
Pacheco also called for inquiries about the US position on the matter, while trade unions called a national march on Oct. 20 to reject the opening of state monopolies.
Costa Rican representatives will meet with their counterparts in the United States to learn what the main intentions of Washington are on the issue of telecommunications, the chief negotiator for Costa Rica, Anabel Gonzalez told a press
conference on Thursday.
San
José Needs 120 Billion Colones to Eliminate
Traffic Chaos
Lately, it seems, there are more cars than
people on the streets of San José and without
control, the situation will multiply and result
in total chaos.
No Costa Rican or visitor escapes the daily
traffic problems, especially in rush hour.
One plan being discussed is assigning special
routes for buses, beginning with the Pavas
route.
In essence the problem is that all the buses
coming from all different directions and
location end up in downtown San José. A new
plan calls for these buses can drop off their
passengers at a terminal and then board a
inner-city bus.
Another plan is to create a metro train that
would connect the areas of Alajuela and Heredia
to San José. Additional plans include train
service between Cartago and San Pedro.
For example, a train traveling from San Pedro to
Heredia can take approximately 35 minutes.
These are among the many plans being discussed
by Ministry of Transport and CONAVIConsejo
Nacional de Vialidad (National Road Council),
explained recently Transport Minister, Javier
Chaves.
The estimate cost to these plans into action is
120 Billion Colones, according to Transport
Ministry estimates.
Links
With Europe
The European Union (EU) is to expand cooperation with Central America, mainly in areas that would get the region ready for an eventual free trade agreement.
The efforts will be focused in areas such as customs, strengthening of the domestic market, common regimes in several areas, and protection of intellectual property, according to EU official Tomas Abadia.
The European cooperation will also take in other areas related to the integration of Central America, immigration, terrorism, energy, telecommunications, and tourism, among others.
No to the
Military
Several
legislators have said that, as a condition to
permit the establishment of a police academy by
the United States in Costa Rica, that is will not train members of the military.
The training center - which is aimed at fighting international
crime - would thus be solely for members of the judiciary and of the different law-enforcement agencies.
The Government of the United States has not yet answered to the condition set by the
legislator.
Costa Rica and the US had signed a bilateral agreement for the establishment of the academy here.
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Crisis in Bolivia deepens as protesters insist on president's resignation
Bolivia's unrest, which has left at least 86 people dead and 500 injured, has shown signs of escalating as protesters reject a government offer for talks and vow to go on demonstrating until President Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada resigns.
Tens of thousands of protesters marched on Bolivia's administration capital of La Paz Thursday in their biggest-yet demonstration since the start of the month-long crisis, sparked by President Sanchez de Lozada's decision to export natural gas to the United States and Mexico through a Chilean port.
Chile is a longtime rival of Bolivia and the two countries broke off diplomatic relations in 1978.
Leaders of the protesters, furious at government's high-handed policy toward the protests, rejected an olive branch extended by the president, who offered on Wednesday to hold a national referendum over his natural gas export proposal.
Sanchez de Lozada said he would not consider resignation and hoped the social and economic problems in the countries would be solved through peaceful means.
But the protesters insisted on Sanchez de Lozada's resignation, saying there were too many deaths and the president's resignation was the only solution to the crisis.
Over the past four weeks, protesters have blocked roads and choked the capital city from the rest of the country, and the government responded with heavy-handed oppression. On Sunday, the La Paz international airport had to close because of violent clashes. La Paz has become critically short of petrol and food supplies.
The mounting unrest in Bolivia drew expressions of concern from countries near and far. They called for a halt to violence and urged peaceful settlement of differences.
At home, Sanchez de Lozada's high-handed policy toward protesters has also led him to increasing isolation. His vice president has voiced withdrawal of his support for the president and four ministers have tendered their resignations.
In fact, the recent protests were an eventual eruption of poor Bolivians' discontent about the president's economic policy.
Bolivia is one of the poorest Latin American countries, with 70 percent of its population living in poverty.
Sanchez de Lozada, now 72, had launched a free-market drive during his first term between 1993 and 1997. He adopted a similar free-market policy during his second term which started in August 2002 and brought in an austerity program.
The program, including a levy of a 12.5 percent salary tax
from public sector workers, has been criticized by many as a policy to woo the International Monetary Fund at the price of Bolivians' basic interests.
The program also triggered a rash of deadly protests earlier this year, leaving 33 people dead and more than 180 others injured.
Bolivian businessmen seek end to protest deaths
Bolivia's business people Thursday appealed to the government to prevent turmoil and more deaths when thousands of Bolivians marched into the capital La Paz.
The Confederation of Private Businessmen of Bolivia mourned the deaths in demonstrations and asked the government to meet the demands of protesters, said reports from La Paz.
It said "bloodshed must open our eyes and ears" in order to solve the problems of the country.
The Bolivian community was concerned over the economic crisis and the "deep wound" caused by the clashes between demonstrators and the police and the army, said Carlos Calvo, president of the country's largest entrepreneurial organization.
Over the past three weeks, Bolivians have gone onto the streets to protest against President Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada's plan for a 5 billion US dollar pipeline to export natural gas to the United States and Mexico, and have asked the president to resign. Demonstrators set up roadblocks and more than 80 protesters have been killed in the clashes.
Calvo emphasized that leaders of labor and social organizations who repudiated the economic policy of Sanchez de Lozada and demanded his resignation must "consult" their consciences to "make
greater efforts to seek solutions" to the protests.
Bolivian vice president rules out seeking presidency
Bolivian Vice President and National Congress President Carlos Meza said Thursday that he would not take over as the country's president as demanded by several opposition groups.
Meza said he is not "prepared to serve as an instrument in a dangerous process that is polarizing the Bolivian society."
"I am not and will not serve as a banner of any group whose interests have nothing to do with those of the homeland," he noted.
Meza has said he would not return to the government of President Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada, because of the differences that surfaced after he criticized the president for the high
death toll since protests began on Sept. 15.
According to reports from the administrative capital of La Paz,mass demonstrations continued across the country on Thursday and protesters are demanding the ouster of President Sanchez de
Lozada.
The situation is reportedly deteriorating as clashes between police and protesters continue unabated.
More than 80 people have died in the clashes since Sept. 15 when large numbers of people took to the streets to protest the government's plan to build a pipeline through Chile to export natural gases to the United States and Mexico.
President Sanchez de Lozada said on Wednesday that the government agreed to hold a referendum to decide the fate of the disputed natural gas export plan.
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