The Tico Times Online Daily Page

Daily Edition: San José, Costa Rica, August 12, 2003

TEARY GOODBYE: 10-year-old Honduran child says goodbye to his father, who was deployed yesterday to Iraq.
AFP/TT

PUSC Leaders Call for
Unity, Governability
Flanked by former Presidents Miguel Angel Rodríguez (1998-2002) and Rafael Angel Calderón Jr. (1990-1994), President Abel Pacheco yesterday called for a unification of the ruling Social Christian Unity Party (PUSC) and urged all Costa Ricans to work together to restore governability to the country.
(Click for more)

UCR Poll Shows C.R. by the Numbers
President Abel Pacheco, who enjoyed a 72% approval rating last year, has plummeted back to Earth with the release of University of Costa Rica's (UCR) annual public opinion poll, which gave him a 26% approval rating.
(Click for more)

C.A. Troops Head to Iraq
TEGUCIALPA (AFP) -- The first contingent of Honduran troops said goodbye to their families and departed for Iraq yesterday, as soldiers in Nicaragua and El Salvador prepare to leave for the Middle East in the coming days.
(Click for more)

August 12

Exhibit Opening
Architect Eugenia Vega invites the public to the opening of her craft display "Intimate Space and Incognit Space," at 7 p.m., at the School of Fine Arts of the University of Costa Rica Campus, San Pedro. Info: 207-4271.

Book Presentation
"Sopa de Caracol", writen by Arturo Arias from Chile. Anacristina Rossi, Werner Mackenback and Francisco Alejandro Méndez are in charge of the discution about the book, 7:30 p.m., Chile Cultural Center, 200 m. north of Subarú Cars. Info: 224-5816.

Learning about Whales and Dolphins
Call today and register for the trip organized by the Organization of Tropical Studies (OET). Participants will visit Ballenas National Park, Drake Bay, Corcovado and Caño Island, leaving Sat., Aug. 16 and returning Aug. 17. Info: 236-1713, 240-6696.

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PUSC Leaders Call for Unity, Governability
By Tim Rogers
trogers@ticotimes.net

THE THREE AMIGOS: Pacheco (center) flanked by Rodríguez (L) and Calderón Jr.

Flanked by former Presidents Miguel Angel Rodríguez (1998-2002) and Rafael Angel Calderón Jr. (1990-1994), President Abel Pacheco yesterday called for a unification of the ruling Social Christian Unity Party (PUSC) and urged all Costa Ricans to work together to restore governability to the country.

The unusual press conference, featuring a six-page joint-declaration that read like a State of the Nation Address, marks the first time party boss Calderón Jr. -- who blasted Pacheco as "mentally unstable" during the 2002 campaign -- has reached out to the President since he took office last May.

Yesterday's staged show of party unity came as Pacheco continues to reel from a campaign finance scandal and public opinion polls released by the University of Costa Rica show the President's popularity rating has hit new lows, dropping to 26% from 72% last year (see separate story).

Pacheco, who ran on the campaign slogan "Un abrazo para todos" (a hug for everyone), has struggled to hold his party and the government together during his first 15 months in office. After dividing his party by winning the Unity ticket during the 2002 primaries, Pacheco has lost eight Cabinet members during his first year in office and apparently started a fall from grace with the public.

Although the declaration made by the three Presidents said yesterday's meeting was requested by Rodríguez and Calderón Jr., Pacheco later said the powwow occurred due to "natural causes" and was not planned.

Without going into details, Pacheco said his two predecessors offered suggestions about fiscal reform, social policies and improving relationships with his Cabinet and lawmakers.

"The President of the Republic Abel Pacheco has openly received these proposals and will study them and will make corresponding decisions," reads a Casa Presidencial release.

Calderón Jr. insisted that the show of party unity was in the best interest of the country, not an effort to mend fences in preparation for the 2006 election, which could result in Unity finishing in third place behind the National Liberation Party and the upstart Citizen Action Party.

"[This meeting] was about sharing my experiences from four long years in office," Calderón Jr. said. "You learn from the failures as well as the successes."

Read Friday's TT print edition for full story.

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UCR Poll Shows C.R. by the Numbers
By Jon Gambrell
Tico Times Staff

President Abel Pacheco, who enjoyed a 72% approval rating last year, has plummeted back to Earth with the release of University of Costa Rica's (UCR) annual public opinion poll, which gave him a 26% approval rating.

The UCR survey, conducted annually since 1988 by the School of Mathematics, polled 1,000 people via telephone on 84 topics, ranging from perceived government-corruption levels to favorite soccer teams. The poll claims a 3% margin of error.

The poll found that Ticos are generally sleeping less, are more depressed and are more cynical about their government than ever before.

Pacheco's popularity fell nearly 50 percentage points over the year, due to his support for the U.S.-led war on Iraq, social protests and the current campaign-finance scandal.

More than 70% of those polled said the psychiatrist-turned-President "says one thing and does another;" 48% said Pacheco was responsible for the nation's teachers not being paid properly and 47.5% claimed the President knew about and allowed illegal foreign donations into his campaign.

The Costa Rican government did not fare any better. More than 78% of those polled believe corruption has penetrated all levels of government, and 78.8% say that municipalities are "decayed" with corruption.

On personal levels, the poll suggested that the Pura Vida lifestyle is also in decay.

Roughly 30% of those polled said they suffer from insomnia, and 40% said they suffer from depression.

Crime numbers are also up. According to the study, 12.7% say their homes have been burgled -- the highest percentage ever; and an additional 19.3% said they had suffered attempted burglaries.

The poll found 96.8% of Ticos own color TVs and 51.3% own automobiles, the highest numbers ever recorded. The percentage of cellular phone owners also jumped, from 38.3% last year to 53.9%.

The poll also suggested that many Ticos are more leery about foreigners. More than 83% are in favor of controlling the number of immigrants allowed into the country, and 70.9% say immigration officials are too complacent in allowing "criminals" into the country.

Colombians received particularly bad marks, with 50.1% blaming them for violence, and another 40% claiming Colombians are "mobsters."

In the media, 39.2% of those polled prefer the daily La Nación, followed by the sensationalist daily Diario Extra at 23.9%. The daily Al Día came in third with 14.3%, followed by the business-focused daily La República, which in the last 15 years has dropped from a 26.7% preference rating to 1.6%.

Television's Channel 7 was the most preferred at 29.9%, followed closely by Channel 6, which fell to 26.9% this year after being at the top last year.

Finally, the poll discovered that Alajuela's fútbol team La Liga is still the most beloved first division team with 37%, followed by Saprissa's 31% popularity rating.

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C.A. Troops Head to Iraq

Nicaraguan President Bolaños and Army Chief Javier Carrion (L) bid farewell to troops.
AFP/TT

TEGUCIALPA (AFP) -- The first contingent of Honduran troops said goodbye to their families and departed for Iraq yesterday, as soldiers in Nicaragua and El Salvador prepare to leave for the Middle East in the coming days.

The three Central American governments, all members of the U.S.' war coalition, are sending a total of 954 troops to perform patrols in coordination with the Spanish-led "Plus Ultra" brigade.

The decision to actively support the war in Iraq has been met with stiff opposition from mostly left-wing political opposition parties and civil society groups in Nicaragua, Honduras and El Salvador.

A spokesman for the Honduran Army confirmed yesterday that the first contingent of 123 troops (out of 370 total Honduran soldiers) was deployed to Iraq yesterday morning via Spain. El Salvador, meanwhile, is scheduled to deploy 364 troops today.

As the Central American troops head to Iraq to participate in the "humanitarian" mission, soldiers and officers are already grumbling about salaries.

Javier Carrión, head of the Nicaraguan Army, complained last Friday that Congress has not yet guaranteed funding to pay salaries to the Nicaraguan troops departing for Iraq. He said the troops have received guaranteed transportation, technical equipment, food and housing, but still no guarantee of payment.

Carrión claimed his troops were promised monthly salaries of $400 to $2,800, but the money has not yet been provided.

Honduran troops are also complaining of unjust pay.

According to a Honduran officer who wished to remain nameless, the Honduran troops in Iraq will receive monthly salaries of $150, while Salvadoran troops will be paid $1,000 to $1,500 a month.

"This, obviously, has created a lot of discontent, and I hope it doesn't led to desertions," the unidentified officer said.

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