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Vice President Calls It
Quits
A Majority Will Vote
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Fear
World Biosphere Reserve
Free
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Vice President Calls It
Quits
The second vice
president of Costa Rica,
Kevin Casas, yesterday
presented his
resignation to president
Oscar Arias, quitting
both his vice presidency
and minister of planning
post, clearing his way
to join the "Si" TLC
campaign and avoid a
"major political waste"
for the government.
The 39 year old Casas
made his decision known
in the early hours of
Saturday morning in a
letter to president
Arias.
Casas justifies his
departure on the effects
of the negative impact
his memorandum
co-written by legislator
Fernando Sánchez on
recommendations for the
"Si" campaign over the
Tratado de Libre
Comercio (TLC) - free
trade agreement with the
United States.
The memo recommendations
included "placing fear"
to those who did not
support the trade deal,
especially local mayors
who promoted the "No"
vote.
Casas insists that the
words were written at a
time when he was angry,
following offenses dealt
him by the "No" campaign
during a debate in
Heredia. Casas assures
that the recommendations
were never put into
practice.
The news of Casas'
resignation came shortly
afer 12 noon at a press
conference where
president Arias made the
news public of his
acceptance of the VP's
resignation.
"More than my vice
president, he is a
person I respect very
much", said Arias.
The memo was sent by
Casas to president Arias
on July 29 as an
internal private message
and was illegally taken
from his personal email,
Casas claims in his
letter of resignation.
The memo was made public
on September 6 in the "Semanario
Universidad" the
newspaper of the
Universidad de Costa
Rica.
Following the
publication, Casas took
an indefinite leave of
absence from his post as
ministro de Planifiación
and refused pressure to
quit his vice
presidency.
The pressure to resign
came from both the pro
and con camps of the TLC
campaign, pressuring
Arias to fire his
minister and VP,
however, Arias refused,
supporting Casas.
Four days after the
publication of the memo,
the Tribunal Supremo de
Elecciones (TSE)
qualified the memo
"unacceptable" and
opened an investigation.
Arias has publicly
supported Casas calling
him the representative
of a new generation,
with great political
future. |
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Arias (left) and Casa (right). |
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