Protest March Agaisnt the TLC Was Peaceful
As promised by union leaders, the protest march against the Tratado de Libre Comercio (TLC) - free trade agreement with the United States - was peaceful and uneventful.

An estimated 2.500 took to the streets to make their view known, thousands short of what had been expected by organizers.

The protest march began around 10am from the La Merced church on Avenida Segunda and made it's way to the Legislative Assembly building, where speeches against the TLC were made and the national anthem united all.

The TLC agreement was signed by Costa Rica and the United States last year, however, it requires the approval by the Legislature. President Pacheco has said he will not send the document to Congress until Congress approves the Plan Fiscal (Tax Reform). In a political move to appease the protests, president Pacheco announced last week the forming of a group of five that will study the negative effects of the TLC and Costa Rica's sovereignty.

Leaders of the protest reaffirmed that they will not recognize the presidency of Oscar Arias is he is elected next February. Union leaders believe that the participation of Arias in the upcoming presidential elections is an electoral anomaly and unconstitutional.

Danilo Rojas, head of the Asociación de Profesores de Segunda Enseñanza, said that they are not calling for a revolution or an armed conflict, no one is going to sabotage the elections. "Arias as president would be a fraud."

Various other union leader have the same opinion of Rojas, including the Frente Interno de Trabajadores del Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad, perhaps the strongest of all unions.

Oscar Arias was president from 1986 to 1990 and last year the country's constitution was amended to allow re-election of a president to permit Arias to run in the 2006 elections.