“NO al TLC!”: Tens of thousands of Costa Ricans marched down Paseo Colón yesterday to the Legislative Assembly in downtown San José to oppose the Central American Free-Trade Agreement with the United States (CAFTA). Students, union members and politicians made up the colorful march, which transpired peacefully.

The Little Theatre Group's latest production, “Strawberries in January,” is a funny, ironic and entertaining web spun around the adventures of four singletons looking for love.

Speaker's Forum
Featuring the documentary “ America : Freedom to Fascism” by Aaron Russo (producer of “Trading Places”), 6:45 p.m.-8:45 p.m., Big Mike's, Escazú, west of San José. Info: 289-6333, 821-4708. 

Dinorah Bolandi Exhibit
Drawings, textiles, oils, through June 15, Gold Museum, San José. Info: 243-4219.

By Tico Times Staff
editorial@ticotimes.net

Sporting flags, banners, buttons and even pig disguises, thousands came out to march against the Central American Free-Trade Agreement with the United States (CAFTA) yesterday in downtown San José. Though the march was one of the largest in recent memory, drawing tens of thousands to the Legislative Assembly, the event was overwhelmingly peaceful.

Shouts of “ No al TLC, No al TLC ” (“No to CAFTA, No to CAFTA”) rang out intermittently as protestors made their way from La Sabana Park, on the western edge of the city, down Paseo Colón and Avenida Segunda to the Legislative Assembly, where the controversial trade pact will soon be discussed on the legislature's main floor.

The colorful crowd was made up of union members, students, teachers, environmentalists and others, some of whom traveled from outside San José to march under the hot summer sun.

Former presidential candidate and leader of the Citizen Action Party (PAC), Ottón Solís, led a group of PAC politicians and party faithfuls, including the party's president Epsy Campbell, a former legislator, and one of its most outspoken legislators Alberto Salom.

“This march is organized to influence the Legislative Assembly process; it has been called together on these terms, so it seemed appropriate to us to be here,” Solís told The Tico Times. He explained his absence during previous CAFTA protests by saying “sometimes marches have been called to substitute the Legislative Assembly process.”

Jugglers, dancers and music entertained the crowds, and speakers on a makeshift platform in front of the assembly included legislators José Merino, of the Broad Front, and Elizabeth Fonseca, of PAC, who expressed their joy in seeing so many Ticos speaking out against CAFTA in a peaceful manner.

At the end of the day, Ombudswoman Lisbeth Quesada concurred that the events transpired peacefully overall. Approximately 50 officials from her institution observed the proceedings throughout San José and at regional offices outside the Central Valley, and reported few irregularities. One such incident was the arrest of six protestors in the Caribbean-slope town of Siquirres when police worked to remove a blockade across the highway to the Caribbean port town of Limón.

Ombudsman's Office employees were present during the arrests to ensure the legal process was followed, Quesada said.

An earthquake measuring 4.2 on the Richter scale was felt in the Central Valley and Southern Zone Sunday night, according to a statement from the Volcanological and Seismological Observatory of Costa Rica (OVSICORI) at Universidad Nacional (UNA) in Heredia, north of San José.

The quake originated in San Marcos de Tarrazú, a coffee town in southern Costa Rica, 25 kilometers below the earth's surface. No damages were reported.

-Tico Times

By Tyler Pearce
Tico Times Staff | editorial@ticotimes.net