JANUARY 26, 2007

BABEL: Adriana Barraza and Elle Fanning star in the movie Babel, which arrives today to Costa Rican theaters. See today's Weekend section of The Tico Times for a list of theaters.

TAKING the Plunge: These girl swimmers ages 13-14 are a few of the thousands of young Costa Rican athletes who have competed this week in the National Sporting Games being held around San José. Baseball, chess, cycling and volleyball are among sports competitions wrapping up this weekend, and the games will conclude Sunday with an international marathon leaving from La Sabana park, on the western edge of San José. For a complete schedule, visit the Web site of the Costa Rican Sports Institute (ICODER) at www.icoder.go.cr.

Washington D.C. -- Costa Rica and the United States should negotiate a “new generation” free-trade agreement in “three or four years,” said Ottón Solís, leader of the Citizen Action Party (PAC), yesterday in Washington D.C. during an event organized by the Center for Global Development, a think-tank based in that city.

The National Tourism Chamber (CANATUR) yesterday gave a nod of approval to the National Development Plan announced Wednesday night by Second Vice-President Kevin Casas.  

The Legislative Assembly this week voted to shelve two proposed laws that would allow for ecotourism on islands in the Golfo de Nicoya, off the northern Pacific coast, and allow for this land to be titled, according to a statement from the marine conservation group Marviva.

Solís: Costa Rica, U.S. Should
Negotiate New Trade Pact in a Few Years

By Fabián Borges
editorial@ticotimes.net

Washington D.C. -- Costa Rica and the United States should negotiate a “new generation” free-trade agreement in “three or four years,” said Ottón Solís, leader of the Citizen Action Party (PAC), yesterday in Washington D.C. during an event organized by the Center for Global Development, a think-tank based in that city.

Solís, also a runner-up in last year's presidential elections, said it is no longer possible to renegotiate the Central American Free-Trade Agreement with the United States (CAFTA), as he had vowed to do if elected President. Therefore, the best option for Costa Rica is to reject it and negotiate a better agreement in the coming years, he said.

“We want a free-trade agreement with the United States, but of a different shape [than the one that was negotiated],” Solís said. “We hope that in three or four years it can take shape.”

Solís proposes an agreement that would spell out trade and investment rules and include stricter labor and environmental standards than CAFTA. Rules on preventing corruption and money laundering, ensuring the development of participatory democracy and the protection of the rights of women and minorities would also be included in the agreement.

Such an agreement would represent a “new partnership with the United States,” Solís said. However, it could only be negotiated at least three or four years down the road. “I know it's not possible [now] given what is happening in this county,” Solís said, likely referring to the new balance of power in the U.S. legislature.

The former candidate argued CAFTA would limit Costa Rica's development options and that, given the country's high levels of human development, it should have a different trade agreement with the United States than the one its poorer neighbors have signed.

CAFTA is being debated in the Legislative Assembly and could soon be sent to its main floor. Costa Rica is the only signatory country that has not ratified the controversial trade pact.

Tourism Chamber Gives Thumbs
Up To National Development Plan

The National Tourism Chamber (CANATUR) yesterday gave a nod of approval to the National Development Plan announced Wednesday night by Second Vice-President Kevin Casas.  

The Development Plan provides “a map to outline the development the country needs right now” and addresses areas that affect the success of the tourism sector, such as infrastructure, according to a statement from the chamber.

The plan calls for the country to “recuperate and amplify the country's transport infrastructure,” and sets specific goals like having 30% of the country's roadways in “good condition” by 2010. It also calls for expansion of airports and improvements at ports.

“We're very satisfied with the way the Development Plan is defined, specifically the points related to tourism,” CANATUR president Gonzalo Vargas said in the statement.

The Development Plan was presented Wednesday night at the National Theater in San José. It is divided into five focus areas: social policy, production,   the environment, telecommunications and energy, and institutional and foreign policy reform.

The document, which all presidential administrations must prepare once in office to establish their goals, outlines the steps President Oscar Arias and his administration expect to take to achieve campaign promises such as a reduction in poverty levels from 20% to 16%, improved health coverage and security and better infrastructure.

Among the key initiatives included in the 133-page plan are the expansion of grants and school-lunch funding to reduce inequality in schools; a curricular reform to emphasize the teaching of art, music and citizenship; broadening vaccine coverage; giving San José a sewer system and addressing the country's trash problem (“For the love of God,” Casas said, “how is that (we)…aren't capable of taking out the garbage?”); meeting 100% of the country's electricity needs with renewable sources by 2010; and strengthening municipal governments

Legislature Shelves Bills
Concerning Golfo de Nicoya Islands

The Legislative Assembly this week voted to shelve two proposed laws that would allow for ecotourism on islands in the Golfo de Nicoya, off the northern Pacific coast, and allow for this land to be titled, according to a statement from the marine conservation group Marviva.

The organization expressed relief over the shelving of these bills, one of which concerns the administration of Isla San Lucas, a former prison island. The bill would have placed this island, which has been administered by the Ministry of Environment and Energy (MINAE) since it was declared a national wildlife refuge in 2001, in the hands of the Municipality of Puntarenas.

The island is “property of the state that is of national interest” that should be administered by MINAE, not the local government, the statement said.

Regarding a proposed law to allow for ecotourism on islands in the Gulf of Nicoya, Marviva argued that such a law would go against international agreements to protect biodiversity and conserve ecosystems.

“The rejection of these bills is important to set precedents and reaffirm the sovereignty of our country over these islands and maritime zones,” said Marviva Costa Rica legal director María Virginia Cajiao, according to the statement.

German Bank Loans Nicaraguan Government
$15 Million for Housing, Small Businesses

A German development bank recently approved a $15 million loan to the Nicaraguan Bank of Finances (BDF) to finance the construction of housing and small business development, according to a statement released yesterday by BDF.

Deutsche Investitions und Entwicklungsgesellschaft (DEG), a member of the German banking group KFW, and its partner Compañía Financiera Holandesa de Desarollo (FMO) approved the loan Tuesday.

The $15 million, 10-year loan will be used to expand financing options for housing for low-income families as well as provide loans for small and medium Nicaraguan businesses, the statement said.

BDF president Juan Bautista Sacasa said the loan will “translate into direct benefits for our clients in general, but especially for families with low incomes.”

DEG has worked with more than 1,000 companies, granting $7.5 billion in loans during its 45 years in business.

Asian fetishists, gun control zealots and people with opinions about the Mexican-U.S. border will find some fodder in acclaimed Mexican director Alejandro González Iñarritu's “ Babel.” But don't let the trailer fool you; it's not about international terrorism and doesn't have much scope or philosophical relevance beyond the lives of its three casts of characters.

González Iñarritu, the director who brought us the heavy-hitting films “Amores Perros” and “21 Grams,” teamed again with writer Guillermo Arriaga and brought a bigger budget than ever (but, at an estimated $25 million, still paltry compared to what Hollywood bankrolls) to bear on a movie that aspires to deal with communication.

Not a Cartoon, at Least: Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett star in Alejandro González Iñarritu's “Babel,” set to open today in Costa Rica.

Photo courtesy of United International Pictures

The film is told in three dramas that occur simultaneously in four countries and are linked by a Winchester 270 rifle. The plot is thin enough that a brief summary can't avoid being a spoiler, but here goes: a U.S. couple is traveling in Morocco when the woman (Cate Blanchett) is accidentally shot. She writhes in pain while the couple's nanny takes their kids across the Mexican border to a wedding and a deaf and mute Japanese girl undresses in a misguided bid for acceptance.

The cast is flecked with superstars such as Blanchett, Brad Pitt and Gael García Bernal, and their prowess, commendably, is shored up or sometimes eclipsed by that of the no-names often given center stage.

The dream-team cast, writer and director and fascinating on-site filming in Morocco, the Mexican border and Japan were a potentially potent formula that fizzed – it's the story, man; it's mediocre. González Iñarritu claims it's about communication breakdowns in many forms – linguistic, physical, cultural, etc. – but such a broad theme alone does not justify corralling three plots into the same fold. The philosophical component is flimsy enough that it will spawn only conversations that end before you've wiped the last kernel of caramel popcorn from your shirt as you stand during the credits.

It is not surprising that the U.S. couple (Blanchett and a baggy-eyed Pitt looking his age) who argued bitterly in the opening scenes becomes closer while Blanchett is bleeding and pissing herself. Nothing brings people closer than a gunshot wound – after all, only a real bastard would keep an argument going while his spouse is dying in his arms. Likewise, the abuses Mexicans suffer at the U.S. border are not interesting enough to stand alone as a plotline. García Bernal shines as a blithe and smiley wedding goer but his wealth of talent is frittered away in a relatively minor supporting role. The Japan storyline is the most provocative, one of isolation and the pathetic attempt to escape it; and it ends with a peek at redemption. That third might be enough to justify the rest of it.

But maybe you should see this movie not for what it is, but because it's not a cartoon. It's also not “Eragon” or the worst Ben Stiller flick ever, which is sort of like a cartoon, but more depressing. Of the eight movies offered in Costa Rica at the time of this writing, three were cartoons, one was “Eragon,” and another was the worst Stiller flick ever, which makes “ Babel ” pretty attractive.