The Tico Times Online Daily Page

Daily Edition: San José, Costa Rica, April 16, 2004

THIRTY-TWO steps closer: Former Costa Rican President Miguel Angel Rodríguez (1998-2002) received an endorsement from the United States yesterday in his bid to become the next secretary general of the Organization of American States (OAS). Rodríguez has the pledged support of 32 of the 34 countries in the OAS.
AFP Photo/Ezequiel Becerra

Government Announces Another
Proposal to Assist Small Businesses
President Abel Pacheco on Wednesday unveiled a new plan that seeks to improve coordination between many of the institutions that offer programs aimed at assisting the country’s small, medium and micro businesses.
(Click for more)

Police Arrest Suspected
Members of Car Theft Ring
Police on Wednesday night arrested two men they suspect are members of a larger band of car thieves, officials from the Public Security Ministry announced yesterday.
(Click for more)

April 16

Workshop on the Conservation of Migratory Birds
Workshop is Sat., April 17, 9 a.m.-noon at the Centro de Conservación Santa Ana, west of San José. Info: 256-0012.

The Queen’s Birthday Party
Benefit for charity, entertainment, refreshments and food for all ages in celebration of English Queen Elizabeth’s Birthday, Sat., April 17, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. at the Residence of the British Ambassador, Escazú. Info: 234-9054.

International Food Festival
Taste the traditional food of countries around the world Sat., April 17, at the International Food Festival, which will also feature a car exhibit, entertainment for children, typical dances and sports from various countries, and a raffle featuring artisans, plane tickets, hotel stays, and restaurant gift certificates. Festival hosted by the Ladies Association of the Inter-American Institute for Agricultural Cooperation (IICA), 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the IICA headquarters in Coronado. Info: 825-5516, 837-7042.

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U.S. Endorses Tico Ex-President’s
Bid For Secretary General of OAS

U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell yesterday announced the United States would endorse former Costa Rican President Miguel Angel Rodríguez (1998-2002) in his bid to become secretary general of the Organization of American States (OAS), Costa Rica’s Foreign Ministry announced in a statement.

The decision practically ensures Rodríguez will become the next secretary general of the OAS. The ex-President has received the pledged support of 32 of the 34 countries that are part of the OAS.

Rodríguez thanked the government of the United States for its support.

“This assures that a hemispheric consensus has been reached supporting my candidacy,” he said. “I believe a constant dialogue between Secretary Powell and his colleagues, the Foreign Ministers of the hemisphere, is crucial in strengthening the capacity of the OAS to face the challenges of an increasingly complex future.”

In addition to the United States, Rodríguez has been publicly endorsed by Antigua & Barbuda, Argentina, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Guyana, Jamaica, Grenada, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Saint Kitts & Nevis, Saint Vincent & The Grenadines, Saint Lucía, Surinam, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay and Venezuela (TT Daily Page, March 29).

Rodríguez has not yet received endorsements from Central American neighbors El Salvador and Nicaragua.

Representatives of the member states will meet in Quito, Ecuador, June 6-8 to officially elect the organization’s next Secretary General.

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Indigenous Group Hosts
Three-day Event for Peace

The Foundation for the Social and Cultural Development of Ethnic Indigenous Costa Ricans (FUNDEICO) is hosting an event that begins today called “Three days of Social Awareness for the Peace of Humanity.”

The event, according to organizers, will be an encounter of indigenous persons from North America and Costa Rica. It is being held in the Cultural Plaza in downtown San José, and will run from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. today through Sunday.

“Between the indigenous persons of North America and Costa Rica there has arrived a great illumination of the spirit of God,” said Carlos Chaverrí, FUNDEICO president. “We should tell all of humanity the importance of peace.”

The purpose of the encounter is to “say no to war, no to terrorism, no to aggression, no to oppression, no to violence, no to more spilling of blood,” and commemorate the Day of the Aboriginal, celebrated throughout the Americas on April 19.

Organizers said everyone is invited to attend and bring a white handkerchief in their hands as a sign of peace and respect for those who have died in war or terrorist acts.

For more information call 241-7187.

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Government Announces Another
Proposal to Assist Small Businesses
By Fabián Borges
fborges@ticotimes.net

President Abel Pacheco on Wednesday unveiled a new plan that seeks to improve coordination between many of the institutions that offer programs aimed at assisting the country’s small, medium and micro businesses.

“The current administration’s strategy is clear and consistent,” Pacheco said. “We want to combat poverty and generate wealth and prosperity. At the same time, we want this wealth to be socially generated and socially distributed.

“To accomplish this, the consolidation of small, medium and micro businesses is a key instrument,” he added.

The program, Red de Apoyo para PYMES, is part of the ongoing efforts of the Economy, Industry and Commerce Ministry (MEIC) to provide assistance for the country's small and medium businesses with the goal of making them more competitive and able to survive and thrive in an increasingly globalized marketplace (TT, Dec. 19, 2003, March 12).

In its initial phase, the program seeks to coordinate the efforts of the National Learning Institute (INA), Banco Nacional, the Costa Rican Technological Institute (ITCR), the Foreign Trade Promotion Office (PROCOMER) and the Chamber of Industries.

"We have determined that the different programs that seek to foster the development of small and medium businesses often don’t work together as well as they should,” said Gilberto Barrantes, Economy, Industry and Commerce Minister.

“For this reason, we considered it fundamental to create a network that will make it possible to articulate existing programs to make the best possible use of the resources available in the country for training, technical assistance, access to credit, technological innovation and market information for these businesses,” he explained.

Through INA, small and medium business owners will receive classes where they will be taught the practical skills they need to get their companies off the ground. ITCR will lend its human resources and infrastructure to strengthening the newly formed network.

The Chamber of Industries agreed step up efforts to strengthen Costa Rica’s commercial ties with the European Union -- a vast potential market for small Tico firms. To make trade easier, PROCOMER will work on easing the bureaucratic requirements small businesses must meet to export their products.

Banco Nacional will continue its policy of making credit available to small businesses through its BN Desarrollo program. Since May 2002, BN Desarrollo has provided a total of ¢54.98 billion ($129.39 million) to 24,102 small and medium businesses.

During that time, Banco Popular has lent small mediums businesses with ¢9 billion ($21.18 million) in credit. Banco de Costa Rica lent ¢12.5 billion ($29.41 million).

MEIC estimates there are approximately 74,000 small and medium businesses in Costa Rica that employ more than 400,000 workers. About 98% of Costa Rican businesses are small or medium-sized, and 46% of these businesses export part of their products abroad.

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Police Arrest Suspected
Members of Car Theft Ring
By Steven J. Barry
sbarry@ticotimes.net

Police on Wednesday night arrested two men they suspect are members of a larger band of car thieves, officials from the Public Security Ministry announced yesterday.

Officers from a special anti-vehicle-theft task force received an anonymous call tipping them off to the theft of a champagne-colored Toyota Corolla at approximately 8 p.m. Wednesday in a sector of Hatillo 2, a neighborhood south of San José, officials from the ministry said.

The caller told police seven people would be involved in the robbery and that they intended to take the vehicle to the neighborhood of San Francisco de Dos Rios to negotiate its sale, said Patricia Meléndez, a spokeswoman for the ministry.

After witnessing the theft of the Corolla, police followed the two suspects to an area near the Roundabout of the Y – about two kilometers south of San Pedro – where they stopped in a park. It was there officers made the arrest, Meléndez said.

Ministry officials said one suspect was Cuban and the other Costa Rican.

The Cuban, who police said has a last name of Rosabal, has a criminal history including aggression with a firearm, fraud and carrying illegal weapons. The Costa Rican, identified by police as having a last name of Retana, had been previously investigated for robbery and homicide, among other crimes.

Police were able to link the suspects to the robbery of at least one other vehicle and are now on the trail of other members of the band. Authorities said the group includes other foreigners, among them Guatemalans.

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Wednesday October 26, 2005