Holiday Recess Leaves Four
Months in Legislative Term
By Rebecca Kimitch
Tico Times Staff
rkimitch@ticotimes.net

Legislators voted Monday night to give themselves a 45-day recess for the Christmas holiday, meaning they have only four months left to discuss a series of highly controversial bills before their terms end.

Legislators will break from Dec. 23 to Feb. 5 – the day of the national elections for a new President and legislators, who will take office May 8.

President Abel Pacheco said yesterday during his weekly press conference that legislators deserve the extensive break, because of the difficulty of their jobs and the responsibilities they face, including pending bills such as the Permanent Fiscal Reform Package and the Central American Free-Trade Agreement (CAFTA).

“Maybe they will return rested, with new energy, and maybe speed things up, not like now,” Pacheco said.

However, rather than resting, many legislators have said they want the break to participate more actively in the campaign. At least six are running for President or Vice-President in the elections.

Legislators are now meeting in extraordinary session, which means the Executive Branch will define their agenda until April. At the top of that agenda is the fiscal plan, which would overhaul Costa Rica 's tax system and has been in the legislature for three years. Vice-President Lineth Saborío said yesterday that the Executive Branch just wants legislators to vote on the plan so other issues can be discussed.

Legislators would then be able to focus their attention on CAFTA and its complementary and implementation agendas, she said.

Pacheco said he believes it is possible for legislators to hold one month of sessions and then approve CAFTA. The International Relations Committee began defining last night the schedule of meetings and the methodology of the CAFTA discussion.