OAS Chief Pledges Support For New President
The head of the Organization of American States (OAS) José Miguel Insulza on Tuesday pledged support for the newly-elected President Oscar Arias.

"We will try to work with the Oscar Arias administration as much as possible," said the Chilean-born OAS secretary-general, who attended Arias's inauguration ceremony on Monday and was one of the first guests at the Arias home on Tuesday.

He said he was interested in several topics mentioned in Arias's inauguration speech, including international cooperation and reducing military spending.

Insulza said Arias had asked him for help in making Costa Rica more governable. He said the OAS would support the government in its bid to make Costa Rica more open to the outside world and help it boost public administration and political transparency.

"President Arias has begun his second presidency at an important moment for the country. I believe he will be very successful," Insulza said.

Arias served as president of Costa Rica from 1986 to 1990.

Moreover, Insulza said Arias won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1987 for promoting peace talks that eventually ended civil wars in Central America and the OAS might call on him to help settle disagreements among some South American nations.

"President Arias is a person with a great deal of international standing and he could help a lot on the continent," Insulza said.

Currently, Costa Ricans are in a national debate on whether they should enter a free trade agreement with the United States. The CAFTA trade deal or  Tratado Libre de Comercio (TLC ) as it is known locally, was signed by the Pacheco administration but has yet to be ratified by the Legislature, while the other Central American countries have already adopted the trade deal.

In Latin America, Venezuela is arguing with Colombia, Peru and Ecuador, as the countries hope to reach free trade agreements with the United States, a move Venezuela opposes.

Uruguay and Argentina are also at odds as Uruguay built two paper mills on the shores of the Uruguay River, which forms the border between the two nations. Buenos Aires said the mills had posed threats to environment on the Argentine side.