Costa Rica's center-right Social Christian Unity Party (La Unidad) moved to forge ahead toward the February 2010 elections Saturday, choosing the party's president, Luis Fishman, to be its new candidate just two weeks after a San José court sentenced its long-time leader and earlier contender, former President Rafael Angel Calderdón, to prison for corruption.

"I accept the responsibility knowing at the starting gun that they have put stones in the way for our party, while they've given others a helping push," Fishman said Saturday, in front of an assembly of the party he helped found.

The new campaign launch comes as La Unidad has been reeling from the landmark, Oct. 5 court ruling against Calderón – five years in prison and slightly more than a half-million-dollar fine. The sentence prompted the former president to revoke his presidential bid, leaving a question mark around the future of a party that once stood as a leading force in Costa Rican politics.

Fishman, 61, a former legislator, government minister, security chief and vice president – the latter post lasted from 2002 to 2006 under President Abel Pacheco – was widely seen as the most likely successor following the Calderón trial. He beat the party's only other contender to the candidacy, legislator Bienvenido Venegas, in a 111-38 vote, according to a Unidad press release.

Of Polish - Jewish descent, Fishman's candidacy marks an important step for the country at a time when the state's oficial support for the Catholic church has come into question, a s well as for a party with the word "Christian" in its name.

"I'm proud of being Jewish, and I know there are people who still haven't overcome prejudices, Fishman told the daily La Prensa Libre. "A Jew could perfectly be president of this country."

During Saturday's assembly, the party also named two vice presidential candidates to accompany Fishman on the campaign trail: engineer and construction entrepreneur Humberto Vargas and radio journalist Iris Zamora. (Costa Rica's executive branch makes room for two vice presidents, at least one of whom must be female.)

Separately, Ottón Solís, running on the left-leaning Citizen Action Party ticket, on Saturday also named his vice-presidential candidates, businesswoman Mónica Segnini and public health specialist Julio Humphreys.

The Costa Rican Women's National Volleyball Team sailed passed Mexico and Trinidad and Tobago to qualify for the world championship in August.

But due to lack of funds, they're not sure they can go.

The team of 12 women is waiting for the Costa Rican Institute for Sports and Recreation (ICODER) to determine if they'll be able to fly to Japan in October of next year.

“We are launching a great effort,” said William Corrales, president of the Costa Rican Federation for Volleyball. “It's a great honor. We have some of the best players in the world and it would be a shame if we couldn't go.”

This is the second time Costa Rica has qualified for the championship. While they mustered enough money to go the first time, because of the financial crunch and the economic slowdown it's not clear whether the country will be able to send them this year. 

For Osvaldo Pandolfo, vice minister of sports, finding money for international competitions is a chronic problem.

“There is never enough money,” he told The Tico Times. “It's one of the struggles we've always had.”

ICODER supports 32 sports federations in Costa Rica and hasn't received more than a half-million dollars from the government to support them.

He said individual competitors are the ones who most often find themselves staying at home because they can't find the money to compete.

Soccer is a different story. Through ticket sales and private money, national soccer teams are self-sustaining and can usually be jetted to Washington, D.C. or Egypt to compete in international competitions.

“Soccer sells here,” Pandolfo said. “It's backed by a nationwide passion so they've been able to facilitate financing.”

Pandolfo hopes that a bill sitting in the legislative assembly – aimed at increasing government allocations and creating a sports ministry – will help overcome the perpetual shortage of funds.

Under torrential rains, hundreds of Miskito separatists from rural communities in the North Atlantic Autonomous Region (RAAN) trekked through the mud to the regional capital of Bilwi in anticipation of Monday's march to assert their independence claims as the Communitarian Nation of the Moskitia.

By 5:30 p.m. Sunday an estimated 1,800 separatists had gathered in town and were billeting with local families, according to separatist leader Rev. Héctor Williams, known as the Wihta-Tara, or “Great Judge.” He said he expects that number to grow to around 6,000 by Monday morning around 11 a.m., when the march is scheduled to begin.

“Right now it is raining very hard and lots of people can't get out, but we hope God will help out and people will be here in time for the march,” Williams told The Nica Times Sunday evening in a phone conversation from Bilwi.

The independence leaders insist they are urging calm, but claim the situation between separatists and local government authorities has become “very tense.”

On Saturday, Guillermo Espinosa, the Miskito nation's appointed defense minister, denounced an alleged attack by the Nicaraguan Navy on a 12-passenger panga (small boat) filled with indigenous residents from the community of Sandy Bay, north of Bilwi. Espinosa told The Nica Times that one indigenous man was killed and several others injured when the navy boat “intentionally” ran over the panga on the open ocean.

Twenty four hours later, there was still conflicting information about what exactly happened, and whether or not anyone died in the incident. Though Espinosa insists the boat was carrying residents from Sandy Bay to Bilwi to purchase food, local media correspondents suggested it was a navy anti-drug operation that resulted in one serious injury when a man jumped overboard and was hit by the naval vessel's motor. The navy is reportedly investigating the incident and has not yet offered comment.

Espinosa says the separatist nation is demanding a full explanation from Nicaraguan authorities, and is urging calm.

Sandy Bay is a fiercely independent community that was devastated by Hurricane Felix in 2007. Separatist leaders warn the community, which was once heavily infiltrated by drug dealers whom the local residents protected from the government, is armed (NT, Oct. 16).

The Miskito Council of Elders first declared the rebirth of the Communitarian Nation of the Moskitia last April, and gave the local government a six-month timeframe to hand over power (NT, May 1; June 26). That time has n ow run out.

Starting at 11 a.m. Monday morning, the separatists plan to march on Bilwi and culminate their protest with the takeover of the local government headquarters. In anticipation of violence, local businesses were reportedly closing their shops and boarding up windows over the weekend.

Said the Wihta-Tara on Sunday evening, “Right now we are telling people to eat and rest and trust in God that tomorrow we will continue the struggle.”

On the esplanade of San José's La Soledad Church, Costa Rican President Oscar Arias, the mayor of Costa Rica's capital city and that of the Chinese capital of Beijing met Saturday to lay the first stone of Costa Rica's future Chinatown.

The project will take root along the Paseo de los Estudiantes, between Avenida 2 and 14, in a downtown area that already boasts a variety of Chinese-owned businesses, restaurants and shops. These 8,300 square meters will receive an architectural makeover to resemble what Arias called "a tiny China," the latest in a string of gifts that have come from the Asian g iant since the countries established bilateral realations a little over two years ago.

The Chinese Embassy in Costa Rica will donate $1 million to the project, while the San José Municipality will pick up the remainder of the cost, estimated at $300,000, according to the newswire EFE.

"San José's Chinatown will be much more than just a festive corner of the capital city; it will be a demonstration that we're ready to receive the message of China, receive its friendship and its marvillous lessons hidden in its history," Arias said.

The Barrio chino will feature "symbols belonging to Chinese culture, displayed in harmony with colors that reflect its identity," according to a government news release. Large, ornate archways will mark the entrance to the new barrio ; the street will be a pedestrian-only promenade. R enovated storefronts, streetlights and benches also will lend the area an "unmistakable" air of a Chinese village, the release said.

Yet some local business owners might need more convincing. Daxiang Lin, who owns a variety store called Daxiang Lin Limitada, said business is doing fine without an official Chinatown and fears that a pedestrian walkway might even hurt sales. "People won't buy big things if cars can't pass here," he said in an interview after the idea was launched last year (TT, Sept. 26, 2009).