Daily Edition: San José, Costa Rica, January 27,  2004

EXPLAINING his book: Culture Minister Guido Sáenz went before a special congressional investigative committee yesterday to explain a controversial passage in his new book, Piedra Azul, which quotes former President Oscar Arias saying four Supreme Court Magistrates had confided in 2000 that they would vote in favor of lifting the constitutional ban on reelection, but that one of the judges had betrayed him. Sáenz told congressional deputies that his book is work of literature that is not based entirely on factual events. Don't miss Friday's TT print edition or Digital PDF version for the full story. Tico Times / Jeffrey Arguedas

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Reggae Night
Performance by Roots Dancehall Duo, 8 p.m. at Mambo Restaurant, downtown Santa Ana. Free entrance. Info: 203-3934.

Second Annual Left-Shoe Classic
Tennis Tournament
Proceeds from entrance fees will be donated to ALS-Therapy Development Foundation. Tournament is for doubles, with a random draw for partners (limited to 32 players). Deadline to register is Sat., Jan. 31. Organizers will let competitors know who their partner is and their starting time on Sun., Feb. 1. Tournament beings at 8 a.m., Sat., Feb. 7. Entrance fee (for players and fans) is ¢5,000 per adult (tax-deductible if paid by check in dollars), and includes a light breakfast, lunch and a cold beer. Info: e-mail kbdhub@aol.com

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Unions Blast CAFTA,
Vow to Stop Treaty
By Fabián Borges
fborges@ticotimes.net

Leaders of two of the country's largest workers' unions spoke out yesterday against the Central America Free-Trade Agreement (CAFTA) with the United States, which Costa Rica successfully finished negotiating on Sunday (TT Daily, Jan. 26).

Union groups accused the Costa Rican negotiating team of "caving in" to U.S. demands by agreeing to open the country's telecommunications and insurance monopolies to private competition (TT, Oct. 31, Dec. 19, 2003).

"The negotiating team gave everything away to the U.S.," said Fabio Chaves, president of the Association of Costa Rican Electricity and Telecom Institute Employees (ASDEICE). "When [U.S. Trade Representative Robert] Zoellick visited the country (TT, Oct. 3, 2003) he said the telecommunications sector could be opened in eight to ten years. Costa Rica agreed to do it in two to three years. We believe the Costa Rican people have been ripped off."

Unions leaders said they believe CAFTA will destroy the country's institutions and result in a sharp increase in the cost of public services and insurance, which would leave thousands of Costa Ricans unprotected.

"What was negotiated is unacceptable," said Albino Vargas, secretary general of the National Association of Public and Private Employees (ANEP). "It puts the future of Costa Rica's public institutions at great risk. In addition to the Costa Rican Electricity and Telecom Institute (ICE) and the National Insurance Institute (INS), CAFTA also compromises the Social Security System (Caja) by obligating the country to apply stricter intellectual property rights laws," he told The Tico Times.

"We are also worried that CAFTA may lead to the privatization of the country's water services," Vargas explained. "Costa Rica will lose its current model of public services based on solidarity. The most vulnerable sectors and even the middle class will be left unable to pay for basic services."

In the past and again this week, unions and other groups opposed to CAFTA vowed to do "even the impossible" to stop the treaty once it gets to the Legislative Assembly, which must ratifying the treaty for it to go into effect (TT Daily, Jan. 20).

Although their main goal will be to use dialogue to convince legislators to reject the treaty, anti-CAFTA groups have not ruled out the possibility of protest marches and rallies, like those held in October and November of last year (TT, Oct. 24, Nov. 28, 2003), to get their point across.

In the meantime, they plan to hold seminars and conferences to inform the general public of the "truth about CAFTA" and what it will mean for the country's institutions.

If all else fails, unions will hold a general strike and attempt to paralyze the country, Chaves said. "We are planning to hold a general strike one day after the treaty is approved. We have already begun to make the necessary preparations. Deputies must understand. If CAFTA passes, this country will break down."