Porteadores Waiting For White Smoke
The Porteadores - informal taxi drivers - have put on hold today's protest waiting the outcome of a meeting of the government, who is doing its best to avoid a protest similar to last week. However, the hold won't be for long, as patience grows thin.

The Porteadores had threatened to take to the streets today, in more numbers than last week, as they continue to press the government for reforms to the law that would allow the "porteo" - the informal taxi service.

According to Viviana Martín, vice-minister of Transportes, the process to allow the Porteadores to obtain a taxi license plate is an alternative to solving the problem, which will not go away so easy.

Martín explained that issuing additional taxi plates is just one alternative to counteract the controversy over the porteo and that the process would be in two stages.

In the first stage, there would be made available 2.773 taxi plates to the provinces of Cartago, Alajuela and San José. In the second stage, taxi plates would be available in the provinces of Guanacaste, Limón and Puntarenas, though no numbers were available on the number of plates to be issued in those provinces.

"There is a great necessity for taxi plates especially in the areas of Liberia, Quepos, Jacó and Dominical", said Martín.

The vice-minister added that the issuing of the taxi plates would be in conforming with the existing laws and will not be just handed out to porteadores because they want one. "The law will be equal to any interested party, who must comply with the requirements", said Martín.

The vice-minister, along with the Ministra de Obras Públicas y Transportes (MOPT), Karla González, and other government officials, know that the problem of the porteo will not end with the issuing taxi plates to the Porteadores.

"The solution has to be more complete", said vice-minister Martín.

German Lobo, a spokesperson for the Porteadores said that there is "confabulation" between the formal taxis and the government, that is against the Porteadores.

"We will continue the fight, we have no other alternative. There is a strong bond between the government and the taxis. The government is contradicting itself by promoting the TLC, while it pretends to eliminate the legality of the porteo", said Lobo.

The spokesperson added that the Porteadores will not accept the offer of the taxi plates and the it is a trick. Lobo said that if they accept the taxi plates, what will become of those after them. The Porteadores want the porteo legalized and are not interested in taxi plates, the spokesperson affirmed.

Meanwhile, Porteadores are waiting for the "white smoke" to come from the offices of the MOPT before they will decide to take to the streets today or keep on dialoguing.