Union Leaders Aim to Bring
Country to Standstill
Unions are
threatening that if the
government doesn't sit down to
talk, the strike will continue
beyond tomorrow and within a few
days, they will bring the
country to standstill.
Expected to take part in the
day of protest are taxi drivers,
auto mechanics, agricultural
producers and public employees
from all sectors are but a few
that will walk off the job
tomorrow in a mass protest
against government policies.
And although some have their own
complains, all are complaining,
saying that the current
government has not lived up to
it's promises.
The organizers of the march is
the Movimiento Cívico Nacional,
which is comprised of 24 social
groups, whose complaints include
the monopoly given to the
Spanish firm Riteve SyC that for
all vehicular inspections.
The recent increase in public
salaries for the second half of
the year - unions say that the
increase is not enough - is
another bone of contention.
And of course, the Tratado Libre
de Comercio (TLC) - the Free
Trade Agreement Costa Rica
signed with the United States -
is always a source of
complaints.
The government has repeatedly
said that some of the complaints
cannot be negotiated, all they
can do is control the situation.
Nonetheless, two major unions -
the ANDE and SEC - both
teacher's unions have said they
will not participate in the
strike. A spokesperson for the
teachers say Monday will be a
day of reflections in the
classroom.
Representatives of the Foro
Nacional de Transporte
Público,which groups bus
services, say they will not join
the protest. Maritza Hernández,
presidenta de la Cámara Nacional
de Transportes, told the Spanish
newspaper Al Día, that the
public need not worry, buses
will run normal tomorrow.
Another powerful union has not
said if it will participate. The
unions at ICE have not made any
comment as to their
participation. If the "yellow
wave" doesn't join the force,
there is doubt that the day will
have any impact.
Protestors are expected to
gather in front of the
Legislative Assembly tomorrow.
ICE Cuts 15.000 Cellular Lines
per Month
The Instituto
Costarricense de Electricidad
(ICE), the state monopoly on
telecommunications, says that
each month it has to cut service
to about 15.000 cellular
telephone customers for failure
to make their payments.
A report by ICE, says that the
institution had to cancel 60.271
services from December to March
of this year, of customers who
failed to pay their phone bill.
The average unpaid cellular
phone bill was ¢32.760 for a
total of ¢1.974.000 colones.
The information contained in the
report is being used by ICE to
make it's claim for an increase
in telecommunications rates
before the regulating authority
- Autoridad Reguladora de los
Servicios Públicos (ARESEP).
ICE put on sale 15.000 GSM
cellular lines last month, these
were lines that had been
cancelled for non-payment.
Officials at ICE say that many
of those that made the long
lines to get cellular service
last month, were not new
clients, they were clients who
had lost their service and now
wanted to connect again.
ICE requires a deposit guarantee
of ¢12.500 for each line and
applies that against any
outstanding balances when the
service is closed. When cellular
service was first introduced in
Costa Rica some years back, ICE
demanded ¢60.000 ($200 in those
days) as a deposit, dropping it
to ¢25.000 and then to the
current ¢12.500 last August.
ICE attributes say the bad
payers are due to the small
deposit.
At present, ICE has 853.668
cellular telephone lines
assigned to customers. The GSM
network has a capacity of
400.000 lines, while the
original and older TDMA service
has capacity for 544.897
connections. Some 70.000 TDMA
lines are still currently
available.
The deal with the Ericsson Costa
Rica to supply 600.000 new GSM
lines by the end of this year is
all but over, as the
Comptroller's office found some
38 points of contention in the
contract. IF the Comptroller's
office approves the contract,
the lines would be available
March 2005.
ICE officials say that the
demand for cellular service
could reach 1.100.000 by the end
of this year with an expected
increase to 1.300.000 for the
year following.
For ICE, cellular telephone
service is the largest money
maker. Revenues generated by
cellular service enables the
institution to finance many of
the projects it has on the go.
According to ICE figures, it
bills ¢10.000.000.000 colones
each month to it's cellular
telephone customers.
Women Better "Mules"
What was almost an
exclusive activity of men, the
illegal transportation of drugs
across borders, has now become a
real headache for Costa Rican
police, as more women have taken
up the trade.
More and more women are now
acting as "mules" for drug
trafficking gangs, as well as
being distributors and vendors
of illegal narcotics.
A recent look at prison figures
reveals that 69% - 235 of
the 336 women in the prison at
the women's prison El Buen
Pastor, are there due to their
involvement in the drug trade.
Court figures also show a
similar growth. Of the 172 women
who are awaiting trial, 104 are
related to the drug trade.
Of all the women tied to the
drug trade, police believe that
40% were involved in the
transport of illicit drugs.
This year the Policía de Control
de Drogas (PCD) has arrested 31
women at the Juan Santamaria
airport: 19 men and 14 women.
Police theorize that women are
better "mules". They can pass
through customs and police
inspections without detection a
lot easier than men and are less
likely to betray the
organization they work for.
The growth has government
authorities concerned, as it
studies the possible need to
build another jail exclusively
for women.
Lack of Interest in Politics
A recent survey by UNIMER for the daily
La Nación reveals the feelings of Costa Ricans towards politics, which are
basically "lack of interest", "indifference", and "despair".
A full 79 percent of the respondents stated negative opinions about Costa
Rican politics, while only 15 percent gave positive criteria involving
expressions such as "hopeful", "interested", and "involved".
The disappointment of the population - as per the survey - reaches such
heights that 76 percent of the respondents asserted that they are not going
to partake in any of the party conventions leading to the February 2006
presidential election.
A majority also reproach the would-be presidential candidates for having
already launched their campaigns.
Furthermore, the data also show that a majority of Costa Ricans are tired of
the traditional organizations and would like that the winning party be not
one of the traditional two - National Liberation and Social Christian Unity
(currently in power) -, but a totally new one or one of the so-called
emerging parties.
Satisfaction with Democracy Ebbs
Costa Ricans continue trusting democracy
as the best system of government. However, the degree of satisfaction
decreased along the last year.
In 2003, 77 percent of the Ticos considered democracy the best system, but
that percentage dropped to 67 this year.
This was one of the findings of the Latin Barometer Corporation - a
non-profit organization with headquarters in Chile - that surveyed people in
18 Latin American nations on democracy and authoritarianism, confidence,
economy, and social policies.
This time Costa Rica dropped markedly regarding satisfaction with democracy,
since half of the Ticos are not satisfied with the way the system operates;
however, the level of satisfaction - 48 percent - remains the highest in the
18 nations surveyed, followed by Uruguay at 45 percent, and on the opposite
side of Peru, with the lowest, at 7 percent.
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