Free Trade
Agreement on Hold
Following a week of speculations and expectations, the turbulence
over the Tratado Libre de Comercio (TLC) - Free Trade Agreement -
the waters have calmed so to speak.
President Abel Pacheco finally made his decision and it is
irrevocable: the TLC will not go to the Legislative Assembly until
after the tax reform is approved.
Exterior Trade Minister, Alberto Trejos, was quoted in the daily
Spanish newspaper La Nacion, that he is not frustrated at the
decision to hold off the TLC, following the great amount of work
that went into developing the agreement and so close to it being
adopted.
In an interview with the newspaper, Trejos said, El Salvador and
Nicaragua has already sent their agreements to their respective
legislatures, while Guatemala and Honduras have not announced it
officially, will be doing so in the near future.
Trejos dispelled rumours of this week, that the government is
stalling the process because it has decided that the TLC is not
convenient at this time. He said that the rumours were started by a
group of opportunists, reconfirming Pacheco's firm stand in having
the TLC approved.
Government Will Educate Costa Ricans on Tax Plan
Ministro de Hacienda (Revenue Minister), Alberto Dent, announced
that the government will launch a campaign to explain the tax reform
package that is before the Legislature, so that Costa Rican will
understand what the lawmakers are discussing.
The Minister said that the government is discussing the idea of
public forums and seminars to explain the tax proposal, as well as
use media communications to get the message to the people. This will
commence in about three weeks, the Minister announced.
Dent assured that this is not a new publicity campaign. Publicity
campaigns don't permit the space or time to get the whole message
across, the government's plans and tax problems it is facing.
Last week, former president Óscar Arias pleaded with president Abel
Pacheco and other ministers to "educate" the people on the tax plan.
Arias said that if Costa Ricans better understand the fiscal deficit
and the internal debt the country is facing, it will pave the way
for a speedier approval through Congress.
The tax plan - Ley de pacto fiscal - has been before the
legislature for almost a year.
The approval of the tax plan will ensure the government more revenue
to fight the country's financial problems.
More
Protests "For a Whole Bunch of Reasons" Are Coming This Week
The
next few days the streets may be full of protestors, again, as
unions prepare an action "for a whole bunch of things", according to
Luis Sals, secretary general of the Unión de Empleados del INS, y
miembro de la Coordinadora Unitaria Sindical and Magisterial (CUSIMA)
This organizations groups together 70% of the unions in Costa Rica.
Salas said that there if no definite date set, that on Tuesday a
decision will be made on which day the union members will take to
the streets.
This past May 31, ICE unions protested against the TLC. Salas said
this protest is mainly against the "trampling" of worker rights by
the government.
A spokesperson for the Sindicato del Instituto Costarricense de
Puertos del Pacífico (INCOP), said they will support the protest.
Salas added that the movement will also act as support for the
striking air traffic controllers who are now in their 22 day of
their strike, as well as street vendors.
Summer
Vacation Ends
Today
is the last day of "summer vacation". It's back to school tomorrow,
and the traffic will be horrendous as vacationers head for home.
The beaches were packed during the past two weeks, though some say
it wasn't as bad as in the years past. Perhaps, the high cost of
gasoline and other rising consumer prices have kept a lot of
vacationers home this year.
Jacó Beach is the most favourite spot for Ticos to spend their
vacations. Jacó is the closest beach to the Central Valley and a
favourite for swimmers and surfers alike.
Many more make the beach at Puntarenas their place. The beachers of
Mal Pais and Montezuma are a great place to enjoy the sand and the
sun.
COPA AMERICA
Colombia Downs Costa Rica 2-0
Defending champion Colombia eliminated Costa Rica 2-0 in the
quarterfinals on Saturday and extended its unbeaten run at the Copa
America to 10 matches since 2001.
Colombia coach Reinaldo Rueda heaped praise on his team, saying his
young squad had shown discipline and cohesion as it stayed on track
to repeat as champion.
"This is a disciplined and orderly bunch of guys," he said. The team
"had to be intelligent in this game because Costa Rica is a
dangerous team and they succeeded in advancing."
Costa Rica enjoyed the best first chances about halfway through the
first half. Andy Herron, the goal-scoring hero from the qualifying
win over Chile on Wednesday, received a perfect deep pass but
hurried his shot wide in the face of Colombia 'keeper Juan Carlos
Henao.
Despite the loss, Costa Rica coach Jorge Luis Pinto said the
tournament had helped his team gel -- something he expects will give
it a boost to his squad when World Cup qualifying resumes next
month.
"Some of our players lack experience and maturity," he said. "But
they gained some of that here.
"I wish we would have had more success scoring. We seemed to lack
the initiative. But these four games have given us an important push
forward" for the qualifiers, he said.
Click here the Copa America website!
|
