March in “defense of La Caja” ends in chaos, 36 arrested

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November 9th, 2012 (InsideCostaRica.com) What began in the early morning as a peaceful protest “in defense of the CCSS” (Costa Rican Social Security System, also known as “La Caja”) ended in quite a mess last night – the type of chaos not usually seen in civil protests in Costa Rica.

As a result, 26 people were arrested, two legislators quarreled with police officers, and general chaos and disorder overcame the streets of San Jose.

The tensest moment was at around 6:20 pm, when approximately 100 officers from the Police Intervention Unit were ordered to clear the avenue, as hundreds of vehicles and pedestrians where essentially trapped in the chaos.

One officer received a broken nose, and another person suffered serious injuries. Both were transferred to hospitals within the city.

Hours before, two legislative members; both from the PAC (Partido Accion Ciudadana, Citizen Action Party) were involved in another quarrel with the police. Both legislative members ended up on the ground, and one of the legislators, Claudio Monge, apparently struck down a police officer. The police officer was transferred to Calderon Guardia Hospital for a medical evaluation.

That quarrel resulted in more arguments between the legislators and the police authorities. The police officer, of the last name Gonzalez, promised that she would press charges against the legislator.

It was not until almost 7:00 pm when police were able to restore order, dispersing the protestors so that traffic could be freed from the downtown area.

Dozens of police officers remained on 2^nd Avenue until 9:00 pm to maintain order.

The march began at 9:00 am as scheduled, and began peacefully.

That all changed though, when a legislator, Jose Maria Villalta, confronted the officers trying to disperse the protestors.

Eleven people were arrested and taken to the Public Ministry, charged with disobeying authority, public disorder and obstruction of traffic.

The arrests seemed to mark the beginning of the chaos.

Following the arrests, around 4:30 pm, men, women and group leaders that had been in front of the “Caja” building, moved towards the southern side of the building, blocking traffic.

At 6:20pm, police advised that they would begin to forcefully clear the protestors from the public street. This sparked the third wave of commotion, in which 25 others were arrested.