"Huelga Total" Today
As announced and promised, today Wednesday, will be a day of protest and total work stoppage. The protest is against the Tratado Libre de Comercio (free trade agreement with the United States) mainly, called by the strongest of all public sector employee union, the ANEP - the Asociación Nacional de Empleados Públicos.

Expected to hit the streets beginning after 10am are all public school teachers and a large number of public employees from various government agencies, who will converge on the Sala Constitucional (Constitutional Court), the Asemblea Legislativa (Legislative Assembly) and Casa Presidencial (Presidencial House).

Teachers, students and government workers will all take part in the protest. School will be let out at 10am, most government workers will either call in sick or walk off the job at 10, who will meet at the Parque Central in downtown San José.

The Policía de Tránsito has assured that they will be out in full force to manage traffic flow and reduce congestion caused by the protest. The rain and clouds that has covered the Central Valley this morning will not deter the protest, organizers say, but in reality they expect a much smaller number of protestors than if the weather was sunny and warm.

The call also went to workers of the Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE), the Instituto Nacional de Seguros (INS), Municipal workers in San José and smaller municipalities around the country, teachers, hospitals and the Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social, and members of the Sindicato de la Educación Costarricense and the Asociación Nacional de Educadores.

In effect the organizers want to paralyze the country between 11am and 2pm.

Some government institutions, like ICE. will be closed tomorrow as well and then the country will be completely paralyzed Friday morning for the opening of the 2006 World Cup game between Costa Rica and Germany.