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COSTA RICA -
Friday 17 December 2004
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Outlook for 2005 Not So Good
According to the experts at the
Cámara de Comercio (Chamber of
Commerce), the outlook for 2005
doesn't look to good.
Based on their projections,
inflation will close for 2004 at
13.3% and expected at 12% in
2005. However, a lower growth
rate in the economy and more
unemployment is expected.
The experts forecast a growth in
the unemployment rate to go from
6.5% of this year to 6.8% for
next year. And this is the good
news. An increase in migration
from Nicaragua and Colombia is
expected, and this will further
increase unemployment levels.
Economic experts also say that
the poverty rate will slightly
increase as well for 2005, going
from the current 21.7% to 21.9%.
The Chamber of Commerce economic
analysts also believe, not
withstanding the cuts at the
Ministerio de Hacienda (Finance
Ministry), the government will
see a 4% deficit and not the 3%
being predicted by Hacienda.
The analysts also see the colon
being further devalued,
surpassing the ¢500 colones for
us$1 mark, ending the year
around ¢510. For 2004, the colon
will close at about ¢460 for
each us$1, from the ¢419.45 it
opened in January. Analysts also
believe the cost of a barrel of
crude oil will reach us$50.
The Chamber of Commerce is
predicting that the approval of
the Free Trade Agreement (Tratado
Libre de Comercio - TLC) will
greatly improve investor
confidence in Costa Rica and
stabilize the economic climate.
The government has been
struggling all year to get
Congress to approve the "Reforma
Fiscal" - Tax Reforms - which
has been mired in controversy
and being pulled in all sorts of
directions by the different
interest groups.
The Chamber of Commerce analysts
see as good news the indication
by President Abel Pacheco that
his government will move ahead
to get the TLC approved, even if
the Fiscal Reform is not
approved or stalled.
All their predictions, of
course, are based on that the
Plan Fiscal - the Annual Budget
- is to reduce the internal debt
and not increase it, as it as
occurred over the last several
years.
Special Police Unit to Guard
Embassies
The tragedy of last July at the
Chilean Embassy in San José,
where a member of the Fuerza
Publica who was posted outside
the Embassy, entered and shot
dead three embassy officials,
has prompted the Ministerio de
Seguridad Pública to create a
special force to guard the 81
embassies located in Costa Rica.
The new unit will be made up of
136 specially trained officers
that will be equipped with
vehicles, motorcycles and the
latest in communications
equipment. As well, the unit can
count with air support, having
access to a helicopter.
Currently, embassies have a
member of Fuerza Publica posted
outside their locations. These
officers don't count with any
special training and in most
cases have outdated
communications equipment and are
ill prepared for the job.
That was the case on July 27,
when Fuerza Publica officer,
Orlando Jiménez Jiménez, who was
posted outside the Chilean
embassy in Barrio Dent, San
Pedro, entered the embassy and
shot dead three embassy
officials after a long stand off
with fellow officers outside.
Jiménez killed himself when the
embassy was finally stormed.
Jiménez was believed to have had
personal problems with members
of the embassy staff that
motivated the slayings.
The creation of the new unit
will see better protection of
the embassies and their staff.
The officers of the new unit
will have been carefully
screened for the position and be
supervised by a senior officer
with formal university training
and in police administration.
Each embassy will count with a
special "operations" file that
will help the officers better
serve their post. Each officer
will have received special
training guarding embassies,
including specific information
and knowledge about the country
of the embassy they are
guarding.
The new police unit will also
create a 'risk table' and use
that information to assess the
needs of the particular embassy
and their staff.
According to Rogelio Ramos,
Ministro de Seguridad Pública,
their priority is to not repeat
the tragedy of last July.
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Number of Abstainers Increase
The number of registered voters
who are planning not to cast
their ballot in the February
2006 Presidential Election
increased from 21 percent last
July to a current 35 percent.
This figure surfaced in the most
recent poll on the trends of
voters.
Also, support for the would-be
candidates is declining fast, so
much so that Oscar Arias -
former President and Nobel Peace
Award and believed the sure
winner - has seen the ranks of
his supporters dwindle from 52
percent to 22 percent.
But not only Arias has lost
support, because all of his
likely contenders have also seen
a decrease in their popularity
among voters. According to
analysts, the trend is prompted
basically by the recent
corruption scandals involving
three ex-Presidents and many
former officials.
The lost of confidence, experts
add, points to the search for a
new leader able to return trust
to voters, one that is not
likely to be found among the
ranks of current politicians.
Construction Increased
According to data from the Costa
Rican Association of Engineers
and Architects, the construction
sector as a whole increased by
31 percent the first 11 months
this year.
Olman Vargas and Rodrigo Acuña,
executive director and chairman
of the Association,
respectively, pointed out that
the largest increase corresponds
to the industry, commerce, and
tourism areas, which increased
by 44 percent.
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Today's Stories:
 Outlook
for 2005 Not So Good
Special
Police Unit to Guard Embassies
Number
of Abstainers Increase
Construction
Increased
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Watch Your Card!
A
word of caution when using your
credit card in Costa Rica -
don't lose sight of it and
always review your statement for
all charges.
Thieves can use the information
on your card to make a copy and
then "max" it out in no time.
The latest arrest came Thursday,
when police arrested five
individuals who were experts at
cloning credit cards.
The gang was discovered when an
alert customer complained of
unauthorized charges on his
statement.
Virus Alert!
"Happy
holidays":
a good intention disguised as a
virus.
Zafi.D sends itself out in email
messages that pass themselves
off as Christmas greetings.
According to data
gathered by the free online
antivirus Panda ActiveScan, the
Zafi.D worm, which appeared just
yesterday, is already the most
frequently detected virus around
the globe, mainly in South
America and Europe.
This worm
spreads in a file attached to
email messages containing the
text Happy holidays! As we are
in the run up to Christmas,
users are sending millions of
greetings via email, which is
helping Zafi.D to spread widely
and rapidly.
To prevent this
worm from continuing to spread,
especially through computers
that do not have adequate anti-malware
protection installed, Panda
Software has released its free
PQREMOVE utility, which detects
and eliminates Zafi.D from all
the computers it may have
infected. This tool can be
downloaded from:
http://www.virusportal.com/
com/downloads/utilities/.
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