Rodríguez
Appears Before Legislative Commission
"When I was in business, I had a lot of good luck... when I
left politics I didn't have an hectare of land, nor a head of cattle, no
participation in any production company and no commercial enterprise,
losing everything that over the years, my wife's family and I worked had
to achieve..."
Those were the opening words of former president and now Secretary
General of the OAS, Miguel Angel Rodríguez, before the Legislative
Assembly commission, explaining his receiving of $232.000 Dollars after
leaving the presidency, as a debt owed to him from the 1995 presidential
campaign.
Rodríguez presented the legislative deputies a promissory note backing a
debt owed to him by the a company owned by his wife, AyZ, that owed him
$595.000 Dollars and was used to support the finances of the his
political party in 1994.
Rodríguez said that in 1997, the former treasurer of the party, Alberto
Dent, paid him $295.000 and was still owed $300.000.
Rodríguez confirmed that while in the presidential chair, in December
2001, he received payment on the campaign debt, and though he accepted
the payment, days after he heeded to the advice of his friend Samuel
Guzowski, that the payment may be interpreted wrongly.
The commission is investigating the origin of funds raised by the
political party Partido Unidad Social Cristiana (PUSC), which were not
reported according to the law.
The president of the commission, Luis Gerardo Villanueva, said after the
hearing that the appearance of Rodríguez before the Legislature went
well, though there still are doubts and said that Rodríguez could be
called again in the future to give more declaration if the commission
deems it necessary.
For the time being the payment is being credited as a campaign debt owed
to Rodríguez, said Villanueva, now our job is to find out who made the
donations.
Rodríguez was to have appeared before the Legislature last February 5,
however, his appearance was postponed to allow the former president to
concentrate on his campaign for the high position at the OAS.
During the last months, the commission has also been investigating of
other political parties when it came to light that during the last
presidential election, the Pacheco campaign received donations that were
not duly reported to the Tribunal Supremo de Elecciones (TSE).
The objective of the commission is propose election campaign reforms to
guarantee "transparency" in the election process.
Lower
Growth, Higher Inflation
The lack of political consensus to eliminate
the fiscal deficit and the clashes caused by changes in the
international economy fuel lower growth and higher inflation in Costa
Rica this year, fiscal and monetary authorities admit.
The president of the Central Bank, Francisco de Paula Gutierrez, said
that the country is likely to grow 4 percent this year, when inflation
would reach 10 percent, even though the projected figures early this
year were 4.4 percent and 9 percent, respectively.
Finance Minister Alberto Dent hotly criticized the blocking at the
Legislative Assembly of a fiscal plan that would improve the
Government’s income. He added that because of this, the Ministry of
Finance will continue reducing the spending and limiting investment on
roads, education, and infrastructure.
Both officials agreed that, even though international organizations
point out the growth of the economy of Costa Rica, the limited resources
prevent more investment to promote productivity. They added that, given
that scenario, there is limited ability to counter the impact here of
the increase in oil prices or of interest rates in the international
market, for example.
Young
Adults Abstain
In a recent report by the Supreme
Election Court on the presidential election of 2002, the reports
shows that abstention rose to a historical 31.2 percent – 710,000 – of
registered voters and that 60 percent of the abstainers (416,000) were
between 18 and 39 years old.
According to analysts, this results from a series of reasons that
involve individualism and distrust in common causes. They add that this
phenomenon cannot be ignored, particularly because the people in this
age group account for one third of the overall Costa Rican population.
Moreover, adds sociologist Manuel Rojas, no major changes to counter
this trend are even hinted at in the major political parties.
Florisabel Rodriguez and Silvia Castro made a study and reached several
paradoxes regarding the issue, such as the fact that young people
subject many of their hopes to a presidential system, in whose members
they simultaneously find negative characteristics, such as corruption,
dishonesty, and failing to be true to their promises.
Soccer:
Cuba Won't Give Up
Cuban players are not giving up and believe they can produce a few
surprises at the return match in San José this weekend.
“Everything’s even and nothing is lost, we’re going out to win as the
visiting team, although we know that they are a better team, but as we
have nothing to lose we might surprise them,” said Cuban Lester Moré
after the game.
The first game the first leg of CONCAF’s second
qualifying round for the World Cup in Germany 2006, and ended in a 2-2
tie.
The game took place at the Pedro Marrero stadium in Havana before
more than 20,000 spectators including more than 3,000 Costa Ricans who
traveled here to support their team.
Moré scored the island’s two goals in the match against Costa Rica
whilst the visiting goal scorers were Douglas Sequeira and Alvaro
Saborio.
For his part, Cuban coach Miguel Company predicted that his pupils look
set to provide a rigorous performance in Costa Rica.
“We’re going to play with the same rigor, without being disheartened.
We’ll develop our game by managing the ball well and looking for a win,”
said Company after the match.
Bogus Pills
Sold on the Net
Foreign Internet pharmacies shipped counterfeit Viagra and
Oxycontin pills to the United Sates accouding to a report requested by
U.S. Republican Sen. Norm Coleman.
The U.S. General Accounting Office, Congress' investigative arm, found
substitutions for Pfizer Inc.'s Viagra, Purdue Pharma Inc.'s OxyContin
and Roche Holding AG's Accutane. Forty-five of 68 pharmacies in the
United States, Canada, Costa Rica and 9 other nations also sold
prescription drugs without a doctor's order.
An unspecified number of Internet pharmacies investigated improperly
sent medications to patients who should be monitored by a doctor when
they are taking the drugs, the study found.
In its report, the congressional accounting office said it found that 16
of 18 drugs that investigators bought from Canadian pharmacies weren't
approved for sale in the United States, but all of them were chemically
comparable.
Investigators also obtained drugs from Argentina, Costa Rica,
Fiji, India, Mexico, Pakistan, the Philippines, Spain, Thailand and
Turkey, the report said.
Obtaining a drug from many of these pharmacies involves only selecting
the desired medication and submitting the necessary billing and shipping
information.
 News
Briefs
-
The Italy (Bologna) based
Segafredo Zanetti Group, the
largest in the coffee market
with 11 plants worldwide and
2450 employees has signed an
agreement for the purchase in
Costa Rica from the export house
Santa Laura Exportadora de
Cafe'.
Costa Rican beans are considered
to be of the highest quality.
The purchase of EVA allows
Segafredo Zanetti to reinforce
its position in the coffee
market in that it is the only
company in the world to be able
to control the whole production
process.
- Costa Rica is joining a world-wide campaign to rid the internet of
viruses, by being a participant in the "Worldwide Internet Security
Campaign", whose aim is to make the internet a safer place for all
users. It's estimated that every 30 days, more than 600 viruses are
being launched. For more information about reducing the risk of virus
on your computer go to:
http://www.worldwidesecure.org/en/default.htm
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