In the first game of the final series of the Costa Rican first division summer championship, visitors Club Sport Herediano tied Liberia Mía 0-0 Sunday evening in the city of Liberia, in the northwestern Guanacaste province.

Heredia controlled the pace of the game, and missed several clear chances at goal in the second half. Liberia was playing without a number of its most important players, who were excluded for having accumulated yellow cards in earlier games, or, as in the case of William Sunsing – widely considered Liberia Mía's most dynamic player – because of injury.

The two teams will meet next Tuesday night for the deciding game. While Heredia will enjoy home field advantage before sold-out grandstands, Liberia Mía should be close to full strength with the return of its suspended players. While both teams seemed satisfied with Sunday's lackluster tie, Tuesday's game should see a much higher level of intensity.

For most Costa Ricans, the real significance of the championship series is that it marks the first time in over 16 years – since Heredia last won the championship in 1993 – that the final series of a championship will not be won by either Deportiva Saprissa or the Liga Deportiva Alajuelense, by far Costa Rica´s most dominant and popular teams over the past two decades.

While La Liga was eliminated from competition before the playoffs began, Saprissa was knocked out in the semifinals series by Liberia Mía, in a series marred by a controversy over yellow cards. Saprissa challenged the result of that series, alleging that Liberia fielded players who should have been suspended for having accumulated five yellow cards. Liberia Mía, for its part, claims that it had properly appealed the cards, while Saprissa maintains that yellow cards cannot be appealed according to international rules binding on the Costa Rican championship.

Costa Rica's trade deficit has fallen 66 percent from the rate registered during the same period last year, as imports fell more quickly than export numbers, according to data released Friday by the Central Bank.

In the first four months of this year the trade deficit reached $617.6 million, far below the more than $1.8 billion registered after four months into 2008.

Imports are at almost $3.4 billion, a more than 30 percent drop from the $5.1 billion in imports registered through April 2008.

Exports also continued to tumble – albeit more slowly – grossing less than $2.8 billion, about 15 percent below the almost $3.3 billion in goods exported during the same period last year.

The news came after Central Bank President Francisco De Paula Gutiérrez once again readjusted the bank's economic outlook for 2009.

The economy will contract 1.8 percent, he said Thursday, a substantial change from a more optimistic projection in January of 2.2 percent growth at year's end. The bank chief also said inflation will reach 8 percent.

Liquor and elections don't mix in Costa Rica, or at least they haven't for the last half century.

A law prohibiting the sale of alcohol on election days has been on the books since 1952, keeping voters away from those iced Pilsens at local bars after braving the polls.

Yet, an effort is underway to lift the prohibition in time for February's presidential election and, so far, it has resounding support in the Legislative Assembly and such high-level government offices as the Supreme Elections Tribunal (TSE).

“The sale of alcohol poses no problem to the electoral process,” said Héctor Fernández, coordinator of the electoral program at the TSE, who said he favored lifting the ban. “And (the current law) doesn't significantly reduce the consumption of alcohol on those days.”

The original law stemmed from violent voting days in the 1940s, when a dispute over a presidential election led to a 44-day civil war that left 2,000 dead.

But that was the last election that resulted in violence, say those who want to repeal the law.

“We think this law is obsolete,” said Kattia Monge, aid to Congressman Mario Núñez who authored the motion to repeal the law. “And, in reality, it is no longer necessary. We haven't had a violent conflict relating to elections in decades.”

In the midst of a recession, Monge added, the country should take measures to support its businesses and, by lifting the ban on alcohol, restaurants, bars and hotels expect to bring in more money.

The last presidential election coincided with the United States football championships – the Super Bowl – which is the most watched sporting event among U.S. citizens.

With Costa Rica's high influx of U.S. expats and tourists, Tico bar owners and managers resented the lost business.

“We're usually sold out for the Super Bowl. We'll probably lose between $5,000-$10,000,” Adrian Vira, food and beverage manager at Club Colonial in downtown San José, told the Tico Times before that election. “The law should have exceptions for tourists, who can't vote” (TT, Jan. 27, 2006).

The law also poses a problem for all-inclusive hotels, which can't offer alcohol to fulfill prepaid packages on those days.

Among the legislators currently discussing the bill, Francisco Marín was the sole voice against it.

“In the one day we have to strengthen our democracy, why do we need to open the bars?” he asked. “This has been the way we have done elections for so many years, why do we need to change it?”

He opposed the law because it went contrary to the effort of addressing Costa Rica's drug and crime problem, but also because it could result in manipulation of the voters (a politician could buy votes with liquor).

Determined not to lose focus on its long term plan, Panama's second largest bank opened its Costa Rican headquarters, officially entering the market as a personal and corporate bank.

On Thursday evening, Costa Rican President Oscar Arias cut the ribbon at the opening ceremony of the new Banco General in Escazú, west of San José. The ceremony marked the completion of the international expansion that had been planed for more than a year, according to a bank spokeswoman.

While Banco General has representative offices in seven other Latin American countries, this is the first branch it has opened outside of Panama that offers its banking services to the public.

The bank plans to open another office somewhere on the eastern side of San José by year's end and as many as 15 in the next few years.

Banco General was founded in Panama in 1955, building a tradition originally upon mortgage loans. Even though it altered its operations slightly in the early 1990s, opening up to commercial investors, it still maintains the largest stake in Panama's mortgage market – a market that was booming in the country, until recently. And while Panama isn't currently recording the record growth that characterized the past few years, its economy is still doing better than that of any other Central American country.