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27 Oct 2005

Daily Edition: San José, Costa Rica, April 21, 2004

STEPPING down: Germán Serrano, president of the National Insurance Institute (INS), resigned yesterday amid controversy surrounding a proposal to build costly panoramic elevators at the institution’s main offices in San José.
Tico Times/ Alex Roach

Costa Rica Rejects Conditional
Nicaraguan Support for OAS Candidate
Four days after Nicaraguan President Enrique Bolaños chided Costa Rican President Abel Pacheco for allegedly forgetting an agreement they had made, triggering tit-for-tat bickering through the newspaper pages of both countries, Costa Rica appears to have given up on Nicaraguan support for ex-President Miguel Angel Rodríguez (1998-2002) in his bid to become Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS).
(Click for more)

Head of Insurance Institute
Resigns Over Elevator Controversy
Germán Serrano, Executive President of the National Insurance (INS), on Tuesday sent a letter to President Abel Pacheco announcing he was resigning from his post.
(Click for more)

April 21

Rain of Stars
Tonight’s meteor shower can be observed from the Santa Ana Conservation Center between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. The Cientec Foundation offers binoculars and telescopes so participants can better observe the “shooting stars.” Entrance fee is ¢ 1,500. Info: 256- 0012, 233-6701 or see the Web site www.cientec.or.cr/astronomia.html

Beach Party in San José
The Wine Club of Costa Rica invites everyone to its Beach Party on Sun., April 25 at Henry's Beach Cafe & Grill in San Rafael de Escazú. Tickets must be purchased by tomorrow. The menu features Calypso ceviche with mango and avocado, and a choice of blackened tilapia or chicken served with yellow rice and vegetables, dessert and of course selected summer wines. Meal with four glasses of wine: ¢ 7,000; meal with two glasses of wine: ¢6,000; meal without wine ¢5,000; additional charge of ¢ 1,000 per person for non-members of the Wine Club. Tickets will not be sold at the door. Info: 257-2223, 279-8927.

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Costa Rica Rejects Conditional
Nicaraguan Support for OAS Candidate
By Robert Goodier
rgoodier@ticotimes.net

Four days after Nicaraguan President Enrique Bolaños chided Costa Rican President Abel Pacheco for allegedly forgetting an agreement they had made, triggering tit-for-tat bickering through the newspaper pages of both countries, Costa Rica appears to have given up on Nicaraguan support for ex-President Miguel Angel Rodríguez (1998-2002) in his bid to become Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS).

Rather than capitulate to Nicaragua’s conditions (TT Daily Page, April 19) for its support of the Tico candidate, Costa Rica has decided to forego the dream of a unanimous vote.

Foreign Minister Roberto Tovar sent a letter to that effect yesterday to the Nicaraguan Embassy in San José to forward to Nicaragua’s Foreign Minister, Norman Caldera. Tovar told the Nicaraguan government to consider its support for Rodríguez “not delivered.”

“The fundamental reason is because Costa Rica can not and will not accept a conditional vote for our candidate…” Tovar explained. “Costa Rica is worth a lot, Rodríguez is worth a lot, and that is why we have already received the votes of 32 of the 34 American states (in the OAS). So if Nicaragua decides not to take part in a hemispheric consensus, the consensus of all the Americas, that is a sovereign decision that only Nicaragua can make and that is its right.”

Tovar said relations with Nicaragua will continue developing normally in bilateral areas, “but we won’t request a vote from Nicaragua anymore.”

At his weekly Cabinet meeting yesterday, Pacheco tried to clear the air between him and his northern neighbor, saying, “We are brothers… we don’t have to fight. Let’s see the positive side. We are Siamese twins who can’t be separated. I beg the press to foster friendship and understanding between us.”

Read Friday’s Tico Times print edition or digital PDF version for the full story.

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Head of Insurance Institute
Resigns Over Elevator Controversy
By Fabián Borges
fborges@ticotimes.net

Germán Serrano, Executive President of the National Insurance (INS), on Tuesday sent a letter to President Abel Pacheco announcing he was resigning from his post.

The decision came as a result of a dispute between both men over the proposed construction of two panoramic elevators at INS’ main offices in downtown San José, estimated to cost approximately ¢1.2 billion ($2.82 million).

Pacheco has blasted the proposed elevators in recent months, calling them an unnecessary expense, particularly at a time when the government is attempting to convince deputies to approve a tax plan considered of vital importance for the country (TT, April 16).

“We can’t spend that kind of money,” Pacheco said during yesterday’s weekly cabinet meeting. “My government is asking congressional deputies, practically on its knees, for a fiscal plan to save the country.”

Pacheco called the elevator expenditure an “atrocity,” and said a poll reported 94.5% of people surveyed said they were against the construction of the elevators.

Serrano defended the elevators, calling them an investment in “culture.”

According to Pacheco, his administration had asked Serrano if it was possible to cancel the construction, and Serrano said that it was not possible. However, the government conducted an investigation and discovered it was possible to cancel the project.

“I asked him [Serrano] to pull back the project,” Pacheco explained. “I asked for a report. He said there was no turning back. It turns out the Comptroller General’s Office had not finished approving the project. There were ways to stop it.”

That’s why Serrano was asked to resign, Pacheco said, adding that his administration is canceling the elevator project.

Pacheco called Serrano a “friend of 62 years” and thanked him for the role he played last January helping Costa Rica negotiate the gradual opening of INS’ insurance monopoly during bilateral trade talks with the United States as part of the Central America Free-Trade Agreement (TT, Jan. 30).

A new executive president of INS will be named early next week, Pacheco said.

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Poll Finishes 200-Meter French Open
Seconds Behind Olympic Performance

Costa Rican swimmer Claudia Poll swam the 200-meter open yesterday in two minutes and .71 seconds – two and a half seconds slower than her gold-medal-winning time of one minute 58.16 seconds at the 1996 Olympic race in Atlanta, Georgia.

Poll was competing yesterday in the French Open Championship in Dunkerque, France. Her time gave her 21st place in the world ranking for the 200-meter race. In yesterday’s race she came in third place.

She also placed third on Monday during the first day of the French Open Championship, when she claimed the 11 spot in the worldwide ranking for the women’s 400-meter open with a finishing time of four minutes, 11.91 seconds (TT Daily Page, April 20).

The French Open is Poll’s first competition since the end of a two-year ban from public competition imposed after she tested positive for an anabolic steroid. Poll maintains her innocence and has filed a case with the Court of Arbitration for Sport and brought a case against the laboratory in Montreal that conducted the steroid test (TT, April 16).

In a Sunday interview with AFP wire service, Poll said she trained the entire two years of her suspension (TT Daily Page, April 19).

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Thursday October 27, 2005