Legislator Proposes Bill To End Secrecy in Government
Legislative deputy Óscar López, of the Partido Accesibilidad Sin Exclusión (PASE), said that he is determined to end the "secretismo" (secretism) that is part of the sessions of the Consejo de Gobierno, the Sala Constitucional (Sala IV) and the Corte Suprema de Justicia.

In quest for openness, López has introduced a bill that, if approved, would obligate the President and his ministers to hold their annual Consejo de Gobernio (government counsel) meetings in public, with loudspeakers and a person using hand signals for the deaf.

The legislator is asking for the same public forums for the sessions of the Sala IV (Constitutional Court) and the Supreme court.

The proposed bill would make changes to the Ley General de Administración Pública y la Ley de Jurisdicción Constitucional, and end all the secrecy in government, according to López.

"For me all the secrecy is a form of corruption. I am not saying that the President and the Magistrates are corrupt, but I don't like that they make important decisions for the country on the backs of the people. I feel it atrocious and shameful that a country that values democracy has all this secrecy", said López.

The legislator added that his intention is to put an end to the interests created by powerful groups that affect the political and economical climate in the country and have tremendous influence over the decisions of the government and the Constitutional Court.

López added that the Poder Ejecutivo (the executive branch of the government) and the Poder Judicial should follow the example of the Legislative Assembly, where all sessions, including sessions of the legislative commissions, are in full public view.

"Just a few days ago, President Oscar Arias, said he met with the president of Supreme Court, Luis Paulino Mora and various magistrates. Who knows what was discussed? What did they talk about? Isn't the Political Constitution supposed to separate the supreme powers? What I want is transparency", emphasized the legislator.

According to the legislator, there is a clear lack of will on the part of the Poder Ejecutive to be transparent, in example the recent trip by the president to Switzerland, Germany and Italy. "That trip was totally unproductive for Costa Rica other that for the president to blackmail the Pope on the subject of the TLC. The trip was made with public funds and they had their meetings in secret. No one knows what was discussed", said López.

The PASE party is fully committed to the idea that any citizen can obligate the powers to give an account of their actions, including their private lives, the same transparency that is demanded by legislators and other public officials.

López is asking the support of legislators of the other parties in Assembly and will be launching a public campaign to shame his fellow legislators, who he says forget who elected them.

According to the Ley No.6227 of the General de la Administración Pública, approved on September 2, 1978, all sessions of the Consejo de Gobierno shall be secret and at the discretion of the president to make the sessions public.

Article 54 of the law relating to the Supreme and Constitutional Courts, allows their sessions to be in private but, accordingly, the magistrates unanimously can elect to allow public access to the sessions.