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Massive national general strike is on for tomorrow

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June 24th, 2013 (InsideCostaRica.com) The National Forum, the Caja Workers Union, teachers unions, dockworkers, healthcare workers, various public and private institutions, private transport drivers, motorcycle owners, community organizations, even Frente Amplio (Broad Front) will all participate in a massive general strike and protests tomorrow which will likely cripple the country.

 

The various groups said they are striking and protesting against a host of issues affecting the country, including corruption and impunity of public officials, controversial concessions, the killing of environmentalist, Jairo Mora, which Vice President Alfio Piva called an “accident,” the case of lawmaker Jorge Angulo (accused of extortion), the controversial Chinese-funded oil refinery planned for Moín, the case of the Crucitas open-put goldmine, President Laura Chinchilla’s use of a private jet linked to a Colombian businessman who was investigated for drug trafficking, the border road with Nicaragua known as “La Trocha,” privatization of ports, the closing of a health clinic in Montes de Oca, social inequality, deteriorating public services, and more.

 

The groups are also striking for what they see as government efforts to limit the “human right” of workers to strike.

 

In San José, the various groups plan to organize at the Fuente de la Hispanidad, and then march to the Legislative Assembly.  Those groups will be accompanied by the National Civic Committee of Motorcyclists, who will begin a slow procession in La Sabana before meeting up with the other groups on their way to the Legislative Assembly.

 

In San Ramon, the National Forum and community organizations will meet in the central park, and will then march through the city’s major streets, ending at the highway, where they plan to block traffic for several hours.  Residents in Naranjo and Palmares plan to do the same.

 

The newly founded East Forum will organize in the Central Park of Cartago, before marching through that city’s main streets.

 

In Guanacaste, protests are planned in Liberia and Nicoya, while in San Carlos educators, students, and farmers plan marches and protests of their own.

 

Groups from throughout the province of Puntarenas plan to gather in protest in the port city of Puntarenas as well.

 

Meanwhile, in the ports of Limón and Moín, the dockworkers unions will be on strike as of 9 a.m.

 

Protests are also planned in Heredia, Alajuela, Grecia, Turrialba, Quepos, Parrita, Jaco, Perez Zeledon, and Upala, amongst other locations.

 

 

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  • dr meno

    Austerity in Costa Rica, How the Presidents Sold the Country, Chinchilla, Arias.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPRQD9-KmK4

    • mhogan

      Austerity (government measures to reduce a budget deficit) is hardly in play in Costa Rica, so how can it be the problem? Ticos love their big government and Nanny State but when it comes time to pay for it, that’s where the problem comes into play. It might be natural for government to grow but with it, liberty must yield. With more legislation (laws) being passed here and paying for a more powerful government, it comes with a hefty price tag. Hence, people are intimidated by “big brother” and payment is extracted from everyone to feed the beast you’ve created. Don’t you see this in the rise in cost of living and the lower standards even the Tico’s have to admit to. But perhaps they love their “gimmee’s” but watch while the ones paying for it exit the scene. Then you’ll really experience austerity.

  • georgechapogas

    strikes and protests are for idiots. march on bozos. yes, they built this.

  • Ken Morris

    Even I, a strong supporter of unions and the right to strike, have to question a strike so general that it’s against everything and therefore nothing. It doesn’t even appear that the various striking organizations agree with each others’ agenda, so what can any of them possibly hope to accomplish? To my mind, this weakens all of them by depriving them of legitimacy, and the first people needing to be fired are the union bosses and others who organized this nonsense. A strike can be both necessary and effective when it targets specific and correctable grievances, but a strike this general can’t be successful, unless the objective is revolution, which I doubt these strikers want.

    • georgechapogas

      you betray your own kind hippie, get out there and march like a bozo. lol. sorry could not resist. but the truth is you lefty types will get all you deserve, unfairly, i will be forced to pay for a lot of it.

    • mhogan

      Ken, since you’re of the strike persuasion, maybe you can explain to me the justification of one group of people (protestors/strikers) who I agree may have legitimate grievances and have acquired the “right to protest” to infringe on innocent fellow citizens by blocking their free access to maybe go to a medical clinic to receive treatment for their well-being? Or just for someone who is entitled to services or a child an education? Or it is all just about “them” and their rights? It’s one thing to march on a sidewalk and wave banners to promote whatever cause they chose but quite another to block highways and secondary routes. Lord knows the roads are bad enough but to have trucks and protestors to compound already precarious travel in this country. Don’t misunderstand, I believe there are some issues in this country that need “fixing” but I think this way of going about it is narcissistic. Maybe more attention should be paid to the process of investigating candidates for public office, voting responsibly, and holding public officials accountable through legal channels. Oops, I forgot, the legal system is also something “broken” in this country. Or is it a matter of getting the government and system you deserve — in which case, methinks you protesteth too much.

  • Parritaman

    The excessive import taxation on merchandise which the Costa Rican people must pay is a crime. The governments minimum wage is outrageously low. I’m not surprised if there protests or even a civil uprising in that country. The cost of living in Costa Rica is so high that even people from North America have given up vacationing or retiring in Costa Rica. Example: The import taxes on a refrigerator is 85%, which is a totally insane tax for a necessity of life. Finally: Cars are more expensive in Costa Rica than any other place in the world, and so are the interest rates on loans and mortgages.

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