MESOAMERICA
VOLUME 20, NUMBER
10, OCTOBER 2001
COSTA RICA
Presidential
Campaign 2002
The campaign for the
2002 presidential election officially began on 1 Oct. Out of 15 political parties, 13 presidential candidates will be
participating in the general elections on 3 Feb ’02, and 57 legislative
representatives will be elected. The
two favored parties and their candidates are the National Liberation Party
(PLN) with Rolando Araya, and the Social Christian Unity Party (PUSC) with Abel
Pacheco (see Vol. 20, No.7).
Among the minority
parties are the Democratic Force (FD), Vladimir De la Cruz; Citizens Action
Party (PAC), Ottón Solís Fallas; and Coalition Change 2000, Wálter Coto
Molina. Both Solís and Coto were
previously active members and leaders in the PLN. Disenchantment with the party and their inability to reform from
within led them to create their own political parties. Wálter Coto, a former Secretary General and
legislator of the PLN, stated that he withdrew when he became convinced that
the most powerful sectors of the party betrayed many of the party’s basic
principles.
According to Coto,
the PLN is in favor of an economic model where all the wealth is in the hands
of a few individuals. He also believed
that the PLN failed to respond adequately to cases of corruption.
Otton Solis, a former
legislator and cabinet member under President Oscar Arias, left the PLN because
of the ethical distortion he saw within the party; and because of the ways in
which the PLN ignored regulations with impunity. He also criticized dishonesty during the campaigns and the biased
decision-making tactics.
The
Petroleum Conflict, Round Two
Aside from the
intensive yelling match that took place on 19 Sep, no real resolution came out
of the 10-hour public hearing at Port Limón about oil exploration (see Vol. 20,
No. 9). More than 600 people gathered
to listen to 214 speakers, including representatives from the Houston-based
Harken Energy Corporation and Louisiana-based MKJ Xplorations. The event became a verbal battleground
between environmentalists and those who favor oil drilling. “We either die of hunger or exploit the oil
so that Limón can profit,” exclaimed one citizen of the area.
The anti-oil
exploration audience had better representation of the diversity of individuals
who would be directly affected if oil exploration were to be approved. Critics report that Harken had generously compensated
port workers for their presence and support at the public hearing on 19 Sep;
workers reportedly received approximately three days’ pay. Environmentalists, students and local
businessmen stood firm against oil exploration, because of a concern about
protecting the environment from oil pollution.
When La República
published a controversial article on 26 Sep about the “huge benefits” that
would be reaped if oil exploration and exploitation were to proceed, the verbal
battle generated many other news articles and editorials. In an interview with Rick Conrad, president
of MKJ, he affirmed that oil exploration would actually be good for the
environment. The article in La
República stated that, according to further economic studies conducted by
MKJ, oil exploitation would generate an estimated $330 million for the state
and $110 million for the port city of Limón. Environmental, economic and
political critics claim that this estimate is ludicrous, although one of the
main arguments used against anti-petroleum activists is that they do not offer
any concrete evidence to disprove this estimate.
However, the article
was allegedly a cruel advertisement, a story that could be very damaging to the
future of the environment in Costa Rica if taken seriously. Critics such as Rodrigo Alberto Carazo and
Vilma Ibarra immediately responded to the article. Carazo stated that if oil is found off the coast of Limón it will
belong to an international oil company, and if Costa Ricans want the oil they
will have to purchase it at international prices (Vol.19, No. 12).
Environmental groups
argue that oil exploration and exploitation could have a dramatically negative
impact on the environment and on the tourism industry. Critics claim there is lack of information
about Harken’s exploration procedures, but
no one has presented concrete proof about the environmental damage that
could occur if oil exploitation were to proceed.
SETENA, the technical
service department of the Ministry of Environment and Energy, is in the process
of reviewing documents and giving audiences to groups and individuals who want
to propose arguments for or against oil exploration. SETENA is required to consider all information it receives from
the public and various interest groups before reaching a “reasoned and
justified” decision about the future of oil drilling in Costa Rica.
Economic
Plunge
This year the trade
deficit and public debt have been the principle economic pitfalls in Costa
Rica. In the first eight months of ’01,
the trade deficit was at $978 million, or 644% higher than it was last year. The
main cause of this deficit was a decrease in Intel exports, the decreasing
world market price of coffee and the slow recuperation of the banana and
textile industries. The Central Bank had depended on income received from
foreign capital expenditures and from the tourist industry, but since the 11
Sep terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, DC, both sectors have been
negatively impacted.
The public debt has
reached critical heights: it has gone from 33% of the national budget in ’98 to
41% in ’01, and it is estimated that the cost to service the debt will consume
42.4% of the estimated ’02 national budget.
It is expected that the U.S. will experience a growing recession, which
will decrease U.S. consumer demands and further harm Costa Rica’s economy,
because 50% of national exports go to the U.S.
Street
Children Crisis
An economic battle
between the government and private agencies has left street children abandoned
on the streets once again. The closure
of one of the nation’s largest privately administered street-children programs,
because of the failure of the government to transfer designated funds, has put
the lives of 150 kids at risk. This
program included services such as a daytime clinic, counseling, education,
dorms and a dining room. The dorms gave
street kids a safe place to sleep at night.
Now many of them are on the street again in search of food and
shelter.
Delinquency on the
streets is expected to increase as these children are forced to steal in order
to survive. One 16-year-old
commented: “If the program had not been
closed, kids would not be stealing and taking drugs.” Jorge Marín, a psychologist in the day-treatment center lamented:
“These kids are thrown out on the street like garbage, but at least trucks come
by to collect garbage; no one is going to collect these kids.”
The Salvation Army
was contracted by the Child Welfare Office (PANI) to run this program in ’98,
the same year the legislative assembly approved a law that designated 7% of the
budget for child welfare programs, but these funds have never been transferred
to PANI. Instead, PANI has had to resort
to distributing funds from other programs, which were stretched in order to
keep the street children’s programs up and running. Many times PANI was late in providing these funds, which forced
the Salvation Army to use up all its reserves.
Eventually the funds ran dry and on 10 Sep the Salvation Army had to
terminate the street-children program.
At this point PANI was $1.8 million in debt.
The Salvation Army
was not the only private organization in financial distress; there are a total
of 56 private organizations that work with marginalized youth. Although
delayed, PANI was finally able to pay off the NGOs that had funded the social
programs, but since the Salvation Army was operating without a legal contract
it was not reimbursed for the program and no new funds have been allocated to
reopen the dormitory and treatment center.
On 28 Sep, a group of
determined street children united at the legislative assembly to demand funding
for the recently-closed Salvation Army program, “Attention to Children and
Adolescents at Social Risk.” The government
has not proposed any alternative plans to date. The lack of proposals does not make their future very promising—at
least 150 children will remain on the streets until a new project has been
negotiated.
New
U.S. Ambassador
John Danilovich began
his duties as the new U.S. Ambassador
to Costa Rica on 10 Oct. His nomination
was approved by the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee on 26 Sep, at which
time he stated that his main priorities
are “to work diligently to advance U.S. investment and commercial interests, strengthen
counter-narcotics cooperation, encourage environmental collaboration and
enhance U.S.-Costa Rican relations.”
Danilovich is an
active leader in Republicans Abroad and has had 20 years of experience in
international commerce. He holds a B.A. in Political Science from Stanford
University and a M.A. in International Relations from the University of
Southern California.
—Silvana Arista