The Tico Times Online Daily Page

Daily Edition: San José, Costa Rica, April 14, 2004

FREE trade proponent: Tomás Dueńas, president of the Costa Rican Investment Board (CINDE), yesterday warned that failure to approve the Central American Free-Trade Agreement (CAFTA) with the United States would make it difficult for the country to attract foreign investment.
Tico Times/Julio Laínez

Investment Board Chief:
No Foreign Investment Without CAFTA
Tomás Dueńas, president of the Costa Rican Investment Board (CINDE), yesterday warned business leaders that failure to approve the Central American Free-Trade Agreement (CAFTA) with the United States would put an end to Costa Rica’s hopes of continuing to attract foreign investment.
(Click for more)

April 14

Night Under the Stars
Astronomer José Alberto Villalobos is giving a talk about Venus. The scientist will explain why it’s easier to see it in December and will give details on its journey past the sun, which will happen on June 8. According to Villalobos it will be similar to an eclipse. Talk begins at 7 p.m. at the National Museum, Ca. 17, Av. Ctrl./2 in San José. Info: 257-1433.

Editus in Concert
The acclaimed trio (two-time winners of the Grammy) will perform at 10 p.m. at Jazz Café in San Pedro, east of San José. Info: 253-8933

Course on Stress Management
Register today for the May 1-2 workshop on how to manage personal and workplace stress, directed by Dr. Robinson Rodríguez Herrera, surgeon, professor and psychotherapist. Workshop will take place at the San Gerardo Biological Station of the Children’s Eternal Rainforest. Cost is ˘25,000 per person and includes all meals, lodging, materials and certificate. Info: 645-5200, 645-5003, e-mail: acmsecre@racsa.co.cr, fax: 645-5104.

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Investment Board Chief:
No Foreign Investment Without CAFTA
By Fabián Borges
fborges@ticotimes.net

Tomás Dueńas, president of the Costa Rican Investment Board (CINDE), yesterday warned business leaders that failure to approve the Central American Free-Trade Agreement (CAFTA) with the United States would put an end to Costa Rica’s hopes of continuing to attract foreign investment.

“I believe the non-approval of CAFTA is a scenario we should avoid,” Dueńas told members of the Costa Rican-American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) at the organization’s monthly luncheon.

“...It’s clear there is no other option. Not entering CAFTA would be the end of foreign investment in the country. It would be serious,” he said.

However, Dueńas said he remains confident CAFTA will be approved by the Costa Rican and U.S. governments in the coming months. Forming part of the CAFTA bloc of countries would serve as an invaluable tool that would make the country a more attractive destination for foreign companies to set up shop, he said.

He mentioned the Costa Rica-Mexico Free-Trade Agreement as an example of how a trade agreement can increase investment between participating countries. Since the trade agreement with Mexico went into effect in 1995, the amount of Mexican investment in Costa Rica has multiplied several times.

However, to make the most of the investment opportunities CAFTA would create, Costa Rica will need to work hard to make itself a more competitive investment destination, he said.

The CINDE leader stressed there’s urgent need to improve education in Costa Rica, particularly in English and information technology, and enact more flexible labor laws, draft a clear, fair and internationally competitive tax code, improve roads, ports and telecommunications infrastructure and reduce red tape at government institutions, particularly at customs offices.

While he admitted Costa Rica was a dominant force in the region in terms of attracting foreign direct investment, Dueńas stressed the need for the country to set its sights higher and compete with international investment-attraction powerhouses such as Chile, Ireland, Malaysia, Mexico and Singapore.

In terms of business competitiveness, Costa Rica ranked 45th out of 95 countries monitored by the World Economic Forum in its 2003-04 Global Competitiveness Report, which was released last October.

While Costa Rica ranked above countries such as China (46), Mexico (48), Panama (59) Dominican Republic (61) and El Salvador (63), it still ranked far below most of the countries it aims to compete with, including Singapore (8), Ireland (21), Malaysia (26), Chile (32) and Czech Republic (35).

Finland was ranked number one on the list, followed by the United States.

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Law Penalizing Violence
Against Women Moves Forward

The proposed law penalizing violence against women made some progress in Congress this week, as it was transferred Monday to the Constitutionality Commission for an analysis of the vote of the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court (Sala IV), according to documents released by the Legislative Assembly.

The measure is scheduled to return to the floor of the assembly for a second and final vote on April 27.

The Sala IV, upon reviewing the proposed law, said it found two unconstitutional articles – numbers 21 and 31.

Article 21 would establish that the Costa Rican Social Security System and the Ministry of Justice must work together in the formulation and operation of a system to carry out alternative sentences being proposed by the law and should dedicate human resources to that end.

Article 31 of the law would mandate prison sentences for those who force women to commit sexual acts causing pain or humiliation, or carry out or view acts of exhibition, or watch or listen to pornographic material. The magistrates said sentences for these offenses are already outlined in current Costa Rican law, according to the assembly.

As a consequence, both articles will be reviewed by the Constitutionality Commission to see if they have been modified since the court’s ruling.

The judges did not make other specific objections or express doubts about other portions of the proposed law, according to the assembly.

“There is a very important thing in this resolution of the Sala,” said Gloria Valerín, a Social Christian Unity Party legislator who has championed the proposed law. “(The court) said it is constitutional, that it is not discriminatory to make laws in favor of women and we are not going to discuss that any longer.”

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Costa Rica to Support Resolution
Against Cuba in Geneva

Costa Rica will support the resolution in Geneva presented by Honduras – and supported by the United States – condemning Cuba for human rights violations, Costa Rica’s foreign ministry announced yesterday.

“Costa Rica’s vote has to be in favor of this resolution,” Foreign Minister Roberto Tovar told the press. He indicated he had already given instructions of this sentiment to Ambassador Manuel González, who is vice-president of the United Nations Commission of Human Rights in Geneva. The commission is expected to vote on the resolution tomorrow or Friday.

According to the Costa Rican foreign minister, the proposed resolution, presented by Honduras and co-sponsored by a dozen other countries, “is not a resolution condemning anybody, but rather it is in favor of the exercise of human rights for the Cuban people.” And because the defense of human rights is a state policy in Costa Rica, there is “no other alternative” but to support it, Tovar explained.

The motion urges the Cuban government to open its doors to a United Nations human rights monitor (the French jurist Christine Chanet), which Tovar said, “seems absolutely correct.”

Representatives of the United States have said they hope the majority of Latin American countries support the proposed resolution, which condemns for the first time the detention of 75 Cuban dissidents in March 2003 and their sentence of an average of 20 years in jail.

The U.N. Human Rights Commission in Geneva has 53 rotating members, elected for three years. Until the end of the year, the Latin American countries that are part of the commission are Costa Rica, Chile, Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Cuba, Honduras, Guatemala, Peru and Dominican Republic.

On April 17, 2003, a resolution requesting Chanet’s entry into Cuba as an envoy of the High Commission of Human Rights was passed with 24 votes in favor, 20 votes against and nine abstentions. But Cuba has rejected the decision, attributing it to pressures from the United States.

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Wednesday October 26, 2005