Unions Will Not Accept A "YES" To The TLC
The leaders of the country's unions say that they will not accept a positive vote from the Legislative Assembly in approving the ratado de Libre Comercio (TLC) - the free trade agreement with the United States (CAFTA).

The union leaders say that they will take to the streets with a "referendum", saying that the "Primer Poder de la República" (the legislature) is being "prostituted and kidnapped" by Casa Presidencial, economic powers and  the U.S. Embassy.

Those were the words used by Edgar Morales, head of the powerful Asociación Nacional de Empleados Públicos (ANEP), to the Spanish daily La Nación. Jesús Vásquez, head of the equally powerful, Asociación de Profesores de Segunda Enseñanza (APSE), said that he agrees with Morales.

Both leaders reiterated the clear position of the ANEP and the Asociación de Empleados del ICE, signed by union leaders Albino Vargas and Fabio Chavez, last May.

The union leaders feel that the Legislature has been compromised and is not representative of the democratic process, being subject of a government who has used all sorts of pressure to get its way and not respect the want of the people.

Legislator Alberto Salom,  subhead of the Partido Acción Ciudadana (PAC), who is opposed to the TLC, reminded the union leaders that "the legislature is the only adequate body that can make the decision on the approval of the TLC".

Salom has been critical of the "Comisión de Asuntos Internacionales" which has been discussing the trade agreement, but believes that the Legislative Assembly is the place where the decision is to be made, no matter which way the TLC goes.

For his part, Ottón Solís, head of the PAC, agreed with Salom that Legislature is where the decision is to be made. Solís campaigned against the TLC in the last presidential election, losing to Oscar Arias by a small margin.

Francisco Antonio Pacheco, president of the Legislative Assembly, said that the affirmations by the union leaders is a produce of an "enormous deficit of civic form".

Morales assures that the fight against the TLC will go to the streets, saying that "democracy has been left behind" when dealing with the TLC.

The union head believes that the people have to take their battle to the streets as they are not being properly represented in the legislative process.