Minister
Tenders Resigns Taking "Political
Responsibility For Thursday's Fatal Accident
The ministra de Obras Públicas y Transportes,
Karla González, Monday afternoon tendered
her resignation in an act of "political
responsibility" for the tragic accident of
last Thursday when a bus plunged in the
river Grande de Tárcoles, killing five and
injuring dozens more.
González said she is tendering her
resignation to mitigate the outrage of the
public over the accident.
"I have decided to take the political
responsibility that falls on me and as a
gesture of solidarity and respect to the
pain of the families, communities and other
sectors of the country", said González
shortly after 1pm in a press conference, but
it was not until the end of the day that she
finally sent her resignation letter to Costa
Rican president, Oscar Arias.
In her speech to the press, the 44 year old
lawyer and minister since May 8, 2006,
regretted she could not explain to the
families of the five persons who lost their
lives on Thursday, of the work she has done
since taking over the transportation
portfolio.
González said that Thursday's fatal accident
is not the fault of any one person in
particular, but of a system that has been a
problem for the last 40 years and though
during her tenure good work has been done, a
mistake was made.
González added that at this time
explanations are not valid even though they
are rational and logical.
"That bridge should have been working
securely", González insisted.
President Arias was not pleased with the
decision by her only transport minister
during his administration and before
receiving the letter of resignation he said
he would talk to her to try to sway her
decision.
President Arias, who has shown strong
support for his minister for the first hours
of thre accident, said last night that he
evaluating the resignation, even though the
opposition insists that the minister should
step down.
Last night the president said to the press
that González can count with his support and
confidence and will be speaking with her in
depth before he accepts her decision.
Arias denied that González is being
pressured to leave her post, although the
opposition members of the Legislative
Assembly reacted in favour of the González
resignation and the Unión de Cámaras and the
Asociación Nacional de Empleados Públicos (ANEP)
began celebrating the departure.
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The truck that is suspected of damaging the collapsed Turrubares suspension bridge belongs to the Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE), who is investigating why the driver, with a truck full of sand and gravel, decided to cross the bridge. A video showing the truck attempting to cross has circulated the internet. ICE says the truck crossed the bridge 80% of the way before having to back up, after the driving noticing he could not cross the height barrier, and many have struck one or more of the metal cables, contributing to Thursday's fatal accident.
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