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Daily Edition: San José, Costa Rica, February 15, 2005

SCULPTOR at work: Luis Arias, a resident of Barva, a mountain town northwest of San José, works on a sculpture in the town's Central Park as part of the Second Annual National Sculptors' Symposium. The event features nine sculptors from across the country, who are given identical prime materials – this year, they are using blocks of marble that measure 190 x 70 x 50 centimeters – and have 14 days to complete their sculptures in the park. The work began Sunday, when Barva residents turned out to watch the artists at work, and will end Feb. 27. Arias, also one of the symposium's coordinators, said his sculpture will represent the spirit of women's liberation.
Tico Times/Mónica Quesada

Free-Trade Advocate Criticizes
CAFTA Opponents' “Romanticism” Strangely enough, love was in the air as U.S. economist Russell Roberts gave his two lectures on trade and economics in San José yesterday. The university professor gave his material a Valentine's Day twist, criticizing free-trade opponents for creating a “dishonest romance” to build support for protectionism, and simultaneously promoting his new book, “The Invisible Heart: An Economic Romance.”
(Click for more)

U.S. Eases Restrictions on
Tico Meat Exports
Costa Rica's beef industry has proved itself sanitary enough for U.S. standards, the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock announced yesterday. Beef will now go directly from Costa Rica to consumers in the United States without a U.S. inspection.
(Click for more)

5.0 Quake Hits Southern Zone,
No Damages Reported
An earthquake that registered 5.0 on the Richter scale struck the southern Pacific coast Sunday night at 9:31. Though it was felt as far north as San José, emergency officials received no reports of damages.
(Click for more)

U.S. Golfer Becomes Champion
Of the Costa Rican Open
Kyle Dobbs, from the United States, defeated Argentina's Sebastian Fernández in a one-hole playoff to become the new champion of the Costa Rica Open 2005 American Express, presented by BETonSPORTS.com, a golf tournament billed as one of the most important in Costa Rica.
(Click for more)

February 15

Film Shows at Museum
Watch “ Del Crepúsculo al Amanecer ,” by Robert Rodríguez, today at 6 p.m. at the Museum of Contemporary Art and Design, CENAC. Info: 257-7202.

Talk for Parents-to-Be
Tonight at 6:30 p.m., psychologist Pilar Fernández will present the talk “Stimulating My Baby from the Womb to The First Steps.” All parents-to-be and new parents are welcome. The class is at the Equipo de Atención Multidiciplinario (EQUIAMU), 50 m. north of La Galera, Curridabat, Registration fee is ¢5,000 per person and ¢8,000 per couple. Info: 271-2803.

Free Origami Workshops
Workshops are today at 10 a.m. for kids 6-9 and 2:30 p.m. for adults; tomorrow 10 a.m. for kids 10-12, at the National Gallery, at the Children's Museum in San José. Workshop presented in Spanish by two Japanese experts. Info: 296-1650.

Edited By Katherine Stanley
Tico Times Staff
kstanley@ticotimes.net

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Free-Trade Advocate Criticizes
CAFTA Opponents' “Romanticism”
By Katherine Stanley
Tico Times Staff
kstanley@ticotimes.net

Strangely enough, love was in the air as U.S. economist Russell Roberts gave his two lectures on trade and economics in San José yesterday. The university professor gave his material a Valentine's Day twist, criticizing free-trade opponents for creating a “dishonest romance” to build support for protectionism, and simultaneously promoting his new book, “The Invisible Heart: An Economic Romance.”

Roberts, a professor at George Mason University in Washington, D.C., spoke to assembled business executives at a morning event sponsored by the Costa Rican-American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) and at an afternoon seminar for journalists.

He advised both groups to be straightforward about the potential drawbacks of the proposed Central American Free-Trade Agreement with the United States (CAFTA), and expressed his own wholehearted support for free trade.

“Never lie,” he said. “Never say, ‘CAFTA is going to be great for everybody.' It's not. It'll be great for most Costa Ricans… and certainly for most within the next few generations.”

Roberts also argued that CAFTA's opponents, both in Costa Rica and the United States, appeal to the heart with emotional arguments he finds illogical, building up nostalgia for lifestyles that free trade often eliminates, such as farming. People often want to preserve their old way of life for their children, he said, even if that way of life has significant disadvantages.

“If you have a dream to be a corn or sugar farmer in Costa Rica under CAFTA, forget it,” he said, adding that some factories and small businesses, both in Central America and the United States, would certainly close down because of increased competition if CAFTA were ratified. However, he maintained, “by allowing (those factories) to die, we open up new opportunities for the kids.”

He said the idea that free-trade agreements create or destroy a significant number of jobs in the long term is simply wrong. The agreements “change the kind of jobs that a nation has,” he said.

U.S. Congressman Dan Burton, a Republican from Indiana, is also visiting Costa Rica this week. Burton is the chairman of the Western Hemisphere Subcommittee of the International Relations Committee, and said he will meet with Vice-President Lineth Saborío and officials from the Foreign Ministry and Trade Ministry. He also said he would meet with ex-President and 2006 presidential candidate Oscar Arias (1986-1990) during his stay.

Burton told business leaders at the AmCham breakfast that while he had had certain reservations about previous U.S. trade pacts, “I don't have many concerns about CAFTA.” He did not specify a time frame in which he expects U.S. President George W. Bush to send CAFTA to Congress for ratification, saying only that the legislature has a packed agenda.

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U.S. Eases Restrictions on
Tico Meat Exports
By Rebecca Kimitch
Tico Times Staff
rkimitch@ticotimes.net

Costa Rica's beef industry has proved itself sanitary enough for U.S. standards, the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock announced yesterday. Beef will now go directly from Costa Rica to consumers in the United States without a U.S. inspection.

Costa Rican beef was previously subjected to such inspections.

The decision will further open the U.S. market to Costa Rican beef producers, said Trade Minister Manuel González. In addition, for the first time, packaged meat products from Costa Rican meat giant Montecillos will enter under the company's brand name, said Carlos Campos of CoopeMontecillos.

“We expect to see even more growth in the short term with this accreditation, and the Central American Free-Trade Agreement with the United States (CAFTA),” González said.

Officials estimate Costa Rica will export14,000 kilograms in beef, valued at $32 million, in 2005. Beef exports to the United States and Puerto Rico fell from 13,000 kilograms in 2003 to 9,500 in 2004, after Montecillos lost its accreditation for direct export.

The stricter standards stemmed from the closure of the U.S. market because of the Mad Cow disease scare in 2003.

Costa Rica as a country has not been accredited to export beef directly since 1995. At that time, inspections of beef for export were left in the hands of the private sector. Countries are now returning to the idea that governments should guarantee the products they put on the market, Agriculture Ministry officials explained.

The new accreditation means the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Animal Health Department will be responsible for inspecting and certifying all Costa Rican beef for export.

“This reflects the capacity of our professionals and our system of animal health,” said Agriculture Minister Rodolfo.

The change will benefit three plants: Coopemontecillos, Planta El Arreo and Procesadora de Carnes El Rey, which exports to U.S. food chains including Burger King.

Animal-health officials will also have authority to certify other plants that wish to export to the United States.

Campos said Montecillos has always met international standards of quality. Sanitation has improved with the new accreditation, but the greatest improvements have been made to tracking capabilities. In the event authorities find that meat is contaminated, they can trace it back to its source, he said.

Ministers Rodolfo and González championed the new accreditation as an example of the success that is possible when ministries work together with the private sector.

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5.0 Quake Hits Southern Zone,
No Damages Reported
By Robert Goodier
Tico Times Staff
rgoodier@ticotimes.net

An earthquake that registered 5.0 on the Richter scale struck the southern Pacific coast Sunday night at 9:31. Though it was felt as far north as San José, emergency officials received no reports of damages.

The epicenter was 30 kilometers underground in the Pacific, 60 km south of the central Pacific coast town of Quepos. It was caused by the subduction of the Coco tectonic plate under the Caribbean plate, according to Universidad Nacional geologist Jorge Brenes.

Tremors were felt throughout the Southern Zone and as far north as Heredia, north of San José.

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U.S. Golfer Becomes Champion
Of the Costa Rican Open
By Gregory Villalobos
Tour de las Americas

Kyle Dobbs, from the United States, defeated Argentina's Sebastian Fernández in a one-hole playoff to become the new champion of the Costa Rica Open 2005 American Express, presented by BETonSPORTS.com, a golf tournament billed as one of the most important in Costa Rica.

The two players battling on this event's fourth consecutive playoff finished the 72-hole competition tied at 212, 1-under par.

Argentina's Rodolfo González and Miguel Carballo shot 69 to finish in a tie for the third spot, three strokes behind the leaders. The winds abated Sunday, allowing the best scores of the week. In fact, eleven players were able to break 70. Among them, Englishman Paul Streeter, who shot 66 to join Sebastian Fernández and Raymond Floyd as the record holders at Cariari's 6,577-yard par-71.

“It feels awesome,” said Dobbs, who started the day one stroke behind co-leaders Sebastian Fernandez and Michael Hoey. He was able to catch them by making a birdie on the 3rd, and took absolute control with four birdies in a row between the 6th and the 9th.

As he made birdie at the 11 th to get to 5-under par and take a four-stroke lead, he just seemed unbeatable. A comfortable win and a new course record were in sight.

“I was very fortunate that I putted well today. I struggled all week, but today the putts started dropping. I feel lucky to be here,” Dobbs said after securing a $20,000 check.

For final results visit www.tourdelasamericas.com .

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