"There is not one nickle in my pocket that was gained improperly", said the President In His Last Message
"I leave office with the conscience that I did all that I could for the good people. I led a responsible and sensible government. Despite of the pressures from all sides I kept the economy stable and maintained social calm", president Abel Pacheco told the Legislative Assembly in his final report to the nation.

The speech began at 4:30pm and the president spoke for 37 minutes.

In attendance were the new legislative deputies who took office on May 1, the diplomatic core, members of the Supremos Poderes, representatives of the Catholic church and invited guests.

"During the last four years, we had to govern within the context of a precarious financial climate and international difficulties. During this administration the prices of our imports, especially petroleum products, rose much more rapidly than our exports", said the president.

Pacheco touched on the Reforma Fiscal (the Tax Plan), blaming Legislators for not giving him the financial resourced needed to meet the needs of the country in not passing the bill proposed by his administration.

The president said that during his administration the economy was manager with responsibility and with no massive increase in external debt like it has happened in past administrations, patting himself in the back for his efforts and economic restraint and is leaving the country in a stable economic condition.

As to the TLC, the trade agreement with the United States, the president stressed that it needs to be approved as soon as possible, as the Costa Rican market is too small to pretend it can develop on its own. Pacheco said that he used a proactive attitude in regards to the TLC.

The TLC, according to Pacheco, guarantees Costa Rica open doors to other markets and will provide opportunities and advantages for the future. He also touched briefly on his government's achievement of a trade agreement with Canada and the rest of Central America.

In his closing statement, the president says that he leaves office with the knowledge that he did all he could for the good people of Costa Rica. "I led a responsible and prudent government despite the pressures. Although I was surrounded by criticism, I stood by my convictions", said Pacheco.

"There is not one nickle in my pocket that was gained improperly" added the president, referring to allegations of campaign improprieties that have been thrown at him since the first days in office.

In his last remarks, president Abel Pacheco said he leaves all Costa Ricans the legacy of have had an honourable and well intentioned president. "That is all: yours always and thank you very much", were the last words of president Abel Pacheco de la Espriella before heading of on vacation for his last week in office.

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