"No"
Rally Brings Out
Thousands
Tens of thousands Costa
Ricans gathered in San José to
protest the Tratado de
Libre Comercio - free
trade deal with the
United States - that is
to be voted on by
referendum in less than
a week.
Dressed in skeleton,
waving placards, the
massive crowd that
filled Paseo Colón, from
the San Juan de Diós
hospital to the Parque
La Sabana, listened to
leaders of the movement
protesting the trade
deal telling them how
the country will be
flooded with cheap farm
goods and mean loss jobs
for many Costa Ricans.
Some of the chants that
could be overheard were
"No to the TLC" and
"Costa Rica is not for
sale"
More than 100,000 Costa
Ricans, some dressed as
skeletons, protested a
United States trade pact
on Sunday that they said
would flood their
country with cheap farm
goods and cause job
losses.
Chanting “No to the free
trade pact” and “Costa
Rica is not for sale,”
“We need an accord with
the United States, but
not this way,” said Juan
Chacon, a 50-year-old
computer technician.
In the searing heat,
some protesters wore
masks of President Bush
and handed out fake
dollar bills, lampooning
United States trade
policies.
A small contingent of
pro-trade demonstrators
also turned out at the
rally. A government
official said more than
100,000 people turned
out for the
demonstration, a huge
protest in a country of
4 million.
Costa Rica is the only
country that has not
ratified the Central
American Free Trade
Agreement (CAFTA) - which
includes Guatemala, El
Salvador, Honduras,
Nicaragua and the
Dominican Republic - and
will be the only nation
to decide the issue by
referendum.
The coming Oct. 7
referendum has split the
nation, with President
ÓscarArias and some
businesses saying the
TLC
will bring investment
and jobs. Opponents say
it will mean a flood of
cheap rice and dairy
imports and limit the
country’s sovereignty by
taking investment
disputes to
international
arbitration.
Mr. Arias said it would
be “collective suicide”
if Costa Rica rejects
the TLC and over the
weekend asked for
tolerance and respect
for the opinion of
others after the vote. |
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