Even though things look dire at the moment, as the economy just recorded its sixth month of decline, Costa Rica is poised to grow again in 2010, an International Monetary Fund official told reporters Monday.

Because of some of the actions taken by the government to ward off the crisis, an IMF study predicted that the Costa Rican economy would see around 0.5 percent growth this year, and 1.5 percent growth in 2010.

Speaking to reporters Monday, the deputy director of the IMF's Western Hemisphere Department, Miguel Savastano, said the government's public spending programs on infrastructure and some of its moves to protect vulnerable sectors have put Costa Rica in a position to move back in a positive direction, reported the business newspaper El Financiero on its Web site Monday.

The study predicted the world economic meltdown would not affect Latin America nearly as much as it has already affected other parts of the world. In addition, it said the crisis would not last as long in this area of the world.

While Panama, Honduras and Guatemala are all faring better than Costa Rica within Central America, both Costa Rica and Nicaragua are expected to at least log positive growth – both predicted to grow close to 0.5 percent in 2009.

But after two quarters of negative growth, the economy is going to have to make up ground soon to reach that positive growth mark. In March, the Central Bank recorded the highest rate of contraction – 6.2 percent negative growth in March, when compared with March of last year – on its monthly economic activity index since the bank started calculating the index in 1991.

Still, with Latin America's solid financial system and government actions to quickly reduce the amount of damage such as investments in infrastructure and creation of jobs, a recovery could be around the corner, the IMF said.

Fourteen days left on the campaign trail have caught the three presidential candidates with Costa Rica's leftist Citizen Action Party in near back-to-back debates as they fight for the undecided voters in their party.

Pollsters have pegged party founder Ottón Solís and legislator Epsy Campbell to be the top contenders going into the May 31 primary election. Yet, Román Macaya, who is rather new to the political stage, is said to have registered the most new voters in the party, and could pose a threat to either candidate.

In front of a sea of students at Heredia's Inter-American University on Monday, the candidates faced off for a 90-minute discussion about education, security and the economic crisis – the three issues that have seemingly defined this campaign to date.

Because the candidates didn't stray too far from their party's line, the event was less of a debate and more of a discussion of the same message: That unregulated markets will further polarize the country, that corruption in political circles needs to be eradicated, and that the most important investment for the next administration should be in Costa Rica's educational system.

“The university provided us with this unique opportunity to meet people who could potentially be our next president,” said Joaquín Badilla, an architecture student who expects to vote for a member of the Liberation Party (PLN), but decided to see what the other candidates offered. “It is an opportunity that few universities have.”

For Badilla, Campbell – who is vying to be the first Afro-Caribbean and female president – offered the best choice among the PAC candidates debating that day. “I believe in her,” he said.

Johana Rivera, who is studying media relations, Solís captured the debate and her vote.

“He is more real than the other candidates, more direct,” she said.

See the May 22 print or PDF edition of The Tico Times for more on this story.

Officials from the National Police and Public Security Ministry confiscated 70 unregistered firearms and four toy guns from private security forces last week. The seizures were part of a three-day sting last Monday, Tuesday and Thursday.

The police visited 53 businesses that employed private security guards. Officials found illegal guns at 26 of the 53 businesses.

Costa Rica law mandates private security providers to register with the Public Security Ministry and have weapons registered. To not do so is “not only illegal, but unsafe,” said Patricia Meléndez, a spokeswoman for the Public Security Ministry.

Officials confiscated the artificial firearms because they also lacked registration permits.

“We had to be sure. We had no idea they were toys when we took them,” Meléndez said.

While the use of un-inscribed toy artillery is not illegal, Meléndez said it is just bad business.

“These are security companies and their job is to provide security. They should offer an honest service.”

Mail service company FedEx has been named the best place in which to work in Central America and the Caribbean region, according to a new ranking.

The Great Place to Work (GPTW) Institute listed FedEx first among 30 leading companies in the region in its 2009 ranking, published recently by the business magazine Estrategia y Negocios.

The index assesses employers by the degree to which they promote trust between employees and make them feel like valuable assets to the company, “especially during these months in which massive layoffs have been a constant (occurrence),” according to a GPTW press release.

It is the second year FedEx has led the institute's league of great employers. The mail giant was followed by paper products company Kimberly Clark and software business Oracle Caribbean.

“It's no coincidence that these companies have shown excellent management results in recent years,” said Jorge Ferrari, president of GPTW Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean. “The development of human capital has become the ‘secret weapon' to competing in the markets and more so in the current situation (of economic trouble) we've found ourselves in.”

For a full list of top employers, visit the Web site: http://www.greatplacetowork-ca.com/best/list-centralamericacaribbean.htm.