FEBRUARY 06, 2007

MAYORS Take Command:
The 81 new mayors elected around the country in December took office. Here, Marco Antonio Segura, elected mayor of Escazú, west of San José, receives his mayoral credentials from Supreme Elections Tribunal (TSE) president Oscar Fonseca.

A MASS for the Ministry: Police officers and Public Security Ministry officials yesterday held a special mass at the Metropolitan Cathedral in downtown San José. Here, Public Security Minister Fernando Berrocal looks upon a restored painting of the Virgin of the Rescue of Ujarrás, the patron saint of the National Police. The ministry presented this work yesterday to San José Archbishop Hugo Barrantes.

The trial of Osvaldo Villalobos got under way at 8 a.m. today, with prosecutors Walter Espinoza and Ilem Meléndez presenting the government's case against him.

In inauguration ceremonies across the country, 81 new mayors elected during December's municipal elections took office yesterday. In doing so, they also took on a host of challenges, from regulating tourism growth in beach hot spots to attracting investment in neglected rural cantons.

Museums, beaches, coffee plantations and volcanoes are among attractions a group of seven representatives from the German government's Tourism Commission will visit during the next few days to learn about Costa Rica's tourism industry, according to a statement from the German Embassy.

Villalobos Trial Under Way

By Leland Baxter-Neal
Tico Times Staff | lbaxter@ticotimes.net

The trial of Osvaldo Villalobos got under way at 8 a.m. today, with prosecutors Walter Espinoza and Ilem Meléndez presenting the government's case against him.

Villalobos is charged with illegal financial intermediation, money laundering and fraud in relation to a high-interest investment operation he and his brother Enrique Villalobos allegedly operated. Government investigations led to the investment operation's closure, leaving more than 6,000 investors high and dry (TT, Oct. 18, 2002). Officials seized $7 million in bank accounts, and Enrique allegedly disappeared with what some have estimated to be nearly $800 million (TT, Dec. 24, 2003).  

Enrique Villalobos is currently being sought by authorities; his whereabouts have been a mystery since 2002.

Osvaldo Villalobos' attorneys insist their client is innocent, was in no way involved in the investment operation and only ran a currency exchange business that shared offices with Enrique's investment service, known as “The Brothers.”

With more than 100 witnesses, the trial is estimated to take at least four to six months. The proceedings were held in the auditorium of the Judicial Investigation Police (OIJ) building, in downtown San José, to make room for the expected crowds of observers. However, the seats were mostly empty, with approximately 20 onlookers, among them Costa Ricans and foreigners, watching the public proceedings.

New Municipal Authorities Take Office

By Katherine Stanley
Tico Times Staff | kstanley@ticotimes.net

In inauguration ceremonies across the country, 81 new mayors elected during December's municipal elections took office yesterday. In doing so, they also took on a host of challenges, from regulating tourism growth in beach hot spots to attracting investment in neglected rural cantons.

President Oscar Arias has said his administration will prioritize municipal growth and government decentralization; now, municipalities receive only 1.7% of all government spending, making Costa Rica the most centralized country in Latin America (TT, Oct. 20, 2006). Arias has promised the new mayors their full share of the proceeds from a fuel tax designed to provide funds for municipal roads - these funds were partially withheld during the administration of President Abel Pacheco (2002-2006) - and work is under way in the Legislative Assembly on bills that would give municipalities more responsibility and funding (TT, Jan. 26).

Another change under consideration: moving the date of the municipal elections to two years after the national elections, rather than 10 months after these elections, as is now the case, in an attempt to address voter apathy. Only 24% of eligible voters visited polling stations in the recent elections.

The new mayors will serve four-year terms. Additionally, 4,000 other municipal authorities elected in December, including district administrators and council members, took office yesterday.

German Delegation Visits to
Check Out Costa Rica's Tourism

Museums, beaches, coffee plantations and volcanoes are among attractions a group of seven representatives from the German government's Tourism Commission will visit during the next few days to learn about Costa Rica's tourism industry, according to a statement from the German Embassy.

The delegation was invited here by Legislative Assembly president Francisco Antonio Pacheco and Tourism Minister Carlos Benavides in order for the two countries to share information about their tourism industries and “further extend the ties of friendship,” the statement said.

Yesterday, the German delegates were scheduled to meet with Foreign Minister Bruno Stagno, Pacheco and representatives from the Costa Rican Tourism Institute (ICT) and Science and Technology Ministry (MICIT).

On Wednesday, they plan to meet with President Oscar Arias, and on Thursday, they're scheduled to meet with Benavides and William Rodríguez, Chamber of Tourism (CANATUR) vice-president, before leaving Costa Rica to continue their tour in Mexico.

-Tico Times

European Union Hopes for Debate Over
Nicaragua's Therapeutic Abortion Ban

The European Union recently expressed hope that the Nicaraguan government will open up a “real debate” over its decision to outlaw therapeutic abortion to save a woman's life.

The National Assembly voted on Oct. 26, 2006, to revoke a century-old law allowing these types of abortions by reversing Article 165 of Nicaragua's Penal Code, thereby criminalizing all forms of abortion (NT, Nov. 3, 2006).

“We hope the new government (of President Daniel Ortega) will be capable of opening a debate and discussing the matter outside of the passion of the elections,” Marc Litvine, E.U. representative for Mexico and Central America, told the daily El Nuevo Diario.

The European Union is “worried” over the National Assembly outlawing therapeutic abortion in the middle of an electoral campaign, Litvine said. The decision came just before the national elections Nov. 5. Now the country should “take its time to discuss the matter calmly... to have a real debate,” he said.

The government has received national and international criticism since the law was passed, including from the U.N.-E.U. organization Human Rights Watch, which has demanded that the topic be discussed more in depth.

Meanwhile, doctors have warned that the banning of therapeutic abortion will increase maternal deaths and infant mortality and cause the proliferation of illegal abortion clinics.

The coastal native Americans of the U.S. Pacific Northwest lived in a land of such plenty that they used to hold potlatches, ceremonial feasts for an event such as a wedding, in which the host distributed gifts according to each guest's rank or status. Between rival groups, the potlatch often involved extravagant or competitive giving and destruction of valued items as a display of superior wealth. The Bellevue-Redmond area of Seattle, Washington, where I stay when I am in the United States, is one of the places where native peoples lived and celebrated their prosperity. You may think that much has changed, but, in some ways, things are not so different after all.

This is one of the upscale neighborhoods in Seattle, the area where Bill Gates decided to establish Microsoft. As I stroll through this neighborhood and look around, I can't help but contrast it with Costa Rica.

As if string theory weren't enough, traveling from a remote mountain area of Costa Rica to this place in less than a day gets me to wondering about the true nature of reality.

This is the place where…

Everybody has a bread machine and a juicer, but nobody makes bread or juice.

You can buy five different kinds of salt.

Everyone sleeps under a duvet.

Wedding costs begin at $15,000.

Nobody throws garbage on the ground.

There is a special park just for dogs.

Nobody has to watch commercials any more.

Grocery shopping is available online – free delivery next day.

The hospital reception area features floor-to-ceiling aquariums and a classical pianist.

No one ever overcooks vegetables.

There are no stray dogs.

Everyone has an outdoor hot tub and speakers hidden in fake rocks.

Yards with dogs all have invisible fences.

No one knows, thank goodness, what a chayote is.

Bus drivers are always helpful.

All appliances (large or small) must match the decor of the kitchen.

Dog sitters charge $25 a night.

People leave blenders and toasters on the sidewalk for Goodwill pick up.

Everyone has at least one gas fireplace.

Black beans are a gourmet item.

During the Christmas season, stores feature a section for doggie stocking stuffers.

No one jaywalks.

Everyone eats organic.

You can get your money back on merchandise for any old reason.

UPS comes two or three times a week.

People stop their cars for pedestrians to cross the street.

For just $1 apiece, you can buy one kind of lemon (yellow, thick and pulpy).

Each child has his own DVD player for the car.

The roads are perfect.

Everyone recycles.

Little girls take ballet and little boys take karate.

Landscapers charge $900 to prune two apple trees.

A four-lane highway is a very small one.

Phone cable stays put.

All the traffic lights work.

CDs are passé.

Everyone has a redwood deck.

Sushi is a standard item in grocery stores.

So what is my conclusion? Is Bellevue, which means “pretty view” in French, better than where I live? Better than my view of the Costa Rican mountains from the windows of my funky cabin?

Mmm, I don't think so.