The Tico Times Online Daily Page

Daily Edition: San José, Costa Rica, March 1, 2004

SCORE: Costa Rican players celebrate the goal that gave them a 1-0 victory over Jamaica Friday at the National Stadium in San José.
AFP/Mayela Lopez

Women's Soccer Team
Advances to Semifinals
The Costa Rican national women's soccer team has earned a place in the semifinals of the Pre-Olympic qualifier.
(Click for more)

March 1

Film, Theater and Dance Classes
Register today and learn about "Film Genre," by expert Gabriel González, Tuesdays 6-9 p.m. starting tomorrow. The "Theater Workshop," By María Cháves, is Mondays and Wednesdays 5-7 p.m.; "Bolero Workshop-Club," by dancer María José Urbina, starts March 20, all at Kurubandé Dance School. Info: 234-3025.

Coffee Tour of Café Britt
A bilingual show about the history of the coffee crop, 9 a.m. and 11 a.m., Mon.-Sun. Info: 260-2748.

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Women's Soccer Team
Advances to Semifinals

The Costa Rican national women's soccer team has earned a place in the semifinals of the Pre-Olympic qualifier.

The Ticas defeated Panama 6-1 in their opening game Thursday and clinched a spot in the 2004 CONCACAF Women's Pre-Olympic Tournament Semifinals after a 1-0 victory over Jamaica on Saturday afternoon.

Costa Rica's offense has been led by Megen Chavez, who has scored three of the team's seven goals, including the Saturday's game winner. Goalie Alejandra Alvarez recorded the shut out against Jamaica.

Costa Rica plays Canada today at Eladio Rosabal Cordero Stadium in Heredia to determine rankings for next round seeding.

In the semifinals, Costa Rica will face either Mexico or the United States, who have also made it to the next round. The semifinal games will be held Wednesday at National Stadium in San José.

The top two teams to come out of the tournament will receive a berth to this summer's Olympic Games in Athens.

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Domestic Violence Bill
Obtains Initial Approval

The Legislative Assembly last Thursday evening voted 39 to 7 in favor of a bill penalizing violence against women that has been debated since 1999, according to an official statement from the Assembly.

The Constitutional Court (Sala IV) will now review the bill to determine whether it is constitutional. If no discrepancies are found, the bill will return to the Assembly for a final debate and vote. The Sala IV has declared previous versions of the bill unconstitutional on three occasions (TT, Nov. 28, 2003).

Aggressors convicted under the new law would face sentences of between 20 and 35 years in prison for killing a woman. It would also mandate prison sentences of between six months and three years for persons who "insult, discredit, manipulate, accuse falsely or use offensive verbal or written expressions about women over whom they maintain or had maintained a relationship of power or confidence."

Additionally, the bill would call for aggressors convicted of violence against women to enroll in programs of rehabilitation for problems such as violent behavior and substance abuse (TT, Jan. 30).

Members of the Libertarian Party had ardently opposed the bill, which they called discriminatory. But late last week they voluntarily withdrew 90 of 101 motions they had filed against it, speeding its passage, according to the Assembly statement.

The government last month created a special commission to tackle the problem after a rash of domestic violence slayings this year. In one case last month, a man shot and killed three of his children, injured a fourth and shot his pregnant companion twice in the abdomen before taking his own life. The woman and her four-month-old fetus survived (TT, Jan. 30).

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Finance Minister in France
To Recover Nicaraguan Debt

Costa Rican Finance Minister Alberto Dent is in France this week to meet with the Paris Club in an attempt to recuperate a portion of the debt Nicaragua owes Costa Rica, according to the Finance Ministry.

The Paris Club is an informal group of official creditors that aims to find coordinated and sustainable solutions to the payment difficulties experienced by debtor nations. Paris Club creditors can agree to reschedule debts due to them as a means of providing a country with debt relief.

Nicaragua's debt with Costa Rica, including interest, totals approximately $568 million. The debts were incurred between 1978 and 1981 from unpaid sales of electricity by Costa Rica to Nicaragua, which the country's Central Bank ultimately assumed.

"We have been invited by the kingdom of Spain to participate as an ad hoc creditor before the Paris Club with the goal of finding a solution to the Nicaraguan debt," Dent explained. "Through this mechanism, we estimate we can recover $200 million."

The debt-settlement mechanism, which is promoted by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank under the initiative for highly indebted poor countries (HIPC) - established a system under which certain countries can be relieved of their debt obligations. By forgiving countries' debts, the initiative aims to help them overcome the extreme poverty under which they live.

Nicaragua qualified for the program last January after conducting several IMF-mandated economic reforms. The country will be relieved of approximately 72.8% of its foreign debt, including what it owes to Costa Rica, in the coming months, Dent said.

In the past, the Costa Rican Central Bank has attempted to collect the money from Nicaragua, but has been unsuccessful. The Finance Ministry says the Paris Club is a last resort.

Despite the debt, Dent said he was pleased Nicaragua had qualified for debt reduction.

"We consider the international assistance under the HIPC program grants Nicaragua a development possibility that will help alleviate the immigration problem Costa Rica has as a result of Nicaragua's poverty levels," he explained.

Dent's trip outraged representatives of the National Liberation Party and Citizen Action Party studying the government's Permanent Fiscal Reform Package (TT, Dec. 5, 2003, Feb. 13, Feb. 20, TT Daily Page, Feb. 27), according to the daily La Nación.

The legislators said they needed him to be in the country to be able to consult him on the plan. The commission has a March 6 deadline to finish reviewing the plan.

"I didn't set the date. I can't postpone it," Dent told La Nación. "If I was going on vacation, I'd understand. I have a very important appointment representing the country."

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Wednesday October 26, 2005