Daily Edition: San José, Costa Rica, September 30, 2005
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Finance Minister Steps Down,
Denies Political Pressure
Finance Minister Federico Carrillo announced yesterday, his 41st birthday, that he is resigning effective today. Vice-Minister David Fuentes will succeed him – becoming the fourth Finance Minister since President Abel Pacheco's term began in 2002.
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Costa Rica Summons
Artillery for World Cup Bid
The head coach of Costa Rica 's national soccer team, Alexandre Guimaraes, summoned all of his artillery yesterday in the country's bid for its third ticket to the World Cup. Costa Rican players will return to their homeland from all over the world to compete in the remaining World Cup qualifying matches against the United States and Guatemala.
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Court: Firm Must Reinstate
Fired Employee with Cancer
The Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court (Sala IV) has ordered a company to reinstate an employee who was fired allegedly because he has cancer, judicial sources said yesterday.
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September 30
The Wonder Years
Covers of musicians such as Santana, Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Credence, The Kings, The Beatles, etc. Oct. 4, 8 p.m., Bar La Cantina, Hotel Best Western Irazú.
The Little Prince
A puppet show telling the classic tale written by Antoine De Saint-Exupery, Oct. 2, 11 a.m. and 3 p.m., Teatro Atahualpa del Cioppo, Universidad Nacional, 800 m. north-east of Burger King, Heredia. Info: 277-3386, 838-8875.
“Hoy No Es un Buen Día Para Ir al Cielo”
Dance show by the National Dance Company, Oct. 2, 5 p.m., Teatro de la Danza, CENAC. Info: 256-4838, 223-6128.
Edited By Rebecca Kimitch
Tico Times Staff
rkimitch@ticotimes.net
Finance Minister Steps Down,
Denies Political Pressure
By Leland Baxter-Neal
Tico Times Staff
lbaxter@ticotimes.net
Finance Minister Federico Carrillo announced yesterday, his 41st birthday, that he is resigning effective today. Vice-Minister David Fuentes will succeed him – becoming the fourth Finance Minister since President Abel Pacheco's term began in 2002.
Carrillo, the 18th Cabinet member to resign during that period, said he is leaving the Finance Ministry to take the position of Executive Vice-President at the Central America Bank of Economic Integration (CABEI).
“I leave satisfied with the opportunity that the President has given me to work and to have been able to empower the people (who work in the Finance Ministry) to achieve what they had to achieve,” Carrillo said.
Carrillo has been under fire from social movements and legislators for his fiscal austerity measures since he took the office in September 2004 (TT, Sept. 17, 2004), after his predecessor, Alberto Dent, stepped down amid similar pressures. In late August, Legislative Assembly president Geraldo González said that he would halt any work on the Permanent Fiscal Reform Project – the tax plan Pacheco has been insisting on for more than three years – if Carrillo did not step down.
Carrillo was also shouted down as he presented the proposed 2006 budget Sept. 1 by a mob of Legislative Assembly workers angry with his assertion that new buildings for the assembly are not a priority for this administration. (TT, Sept. 2).
However, Carrillo denied yesterday that his resignation had anything to do with disagreements or political pressure, saying that a “cycle” had come to a close with his submission of the budget and recent trips abroad on behalf of the government, and he was now moving on to a new position.
“The position at CABEI will not wait. The train is leaving, and I'm not on it. I want to be there,” Carrillo said, adding that he wanted to spend more time with his wife and children.
Costa Rica Summons
Artillery for World Cup Bid
The head coach of Costa Rica 's national soccer team, Alexandre Guimaraes, summoned all of his artillery yesterday in the country's bid for its third ticket to the World Cup. Costa Rican players will return to their homeland from all over the world to compete in the remaining World Cup qualifying matches against the United States and Guatemala.
The national team, La Selección, will receive the United States on Oct. 8 in the Ricardo Saprissa Stadium in San José and will visit Guatemala on Oct. 12. Costa Rica needs two points, or a win over Guatemala, to qualify for a trip to the World Cup in Germany in 2006.
To get the invitation, Guimaraes will use the styles of his long-established star players, including Paulo Wanchope (who plays for Al-Gharrafa, Qatar ), Winston Parks (Saturn Region, Russia ), Gilberto Martínez ( Brescia, Italy ), Douglas Sequiera ( Chivas, United States ) and team captain Luis Marín (Alajuela).
The list also names two players who have been called for the first time to center stage – Randall Azofeifa, of Costa Rica 's Saprissa, who was a world Under-17 challenger at Trinidad and Tobago in 2001, and Mario Vízquez, a left wing from Puntarenas.
Nevertheless, Costa Rica will be playing with two significant absences, as starting center Christian Bolaños and starting left wing Roy Miller will be scratched from the two games due to injuries.
– ACAN-EFE
Court: Firm Must Reinstate
Fired Employee with Cancer
The Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court (Sala IV) has ordered a company to reinstate an employee who was fired allegedly because he has cancer, judicial sources said yesterday.
In March, Lanier de Costa Rica laid off Mainor Murillo amid a labor reorganization, but he took the matter to court alleging that his dismissal was because he suffers from lymphatic cancer, a malady that had been diagnosed six months earlier.
In its ruling, the court ordered the stationery firm “to pay the costs... and damages caused by the actions serving as the basis for this complaint,” although it did not specify the amount to be paid.
Murillo, who has worked for the firm for 29 years, is undergoing treatment for his illness – in its terminal phase – in a San José hospital.
His wife, Dora Nigro, told local reporters, “I hope this cheers him up and we can recover a little from the damage caused, because the disease really took off when he was fired.”
This is the first time a Costa Rica n court has ruled that an employer discriminated against an employee because that person had cancer.
– ACAN-EFE
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