On Bended Knee: Rafael Araya was one of the thousands who yesterday made their way on foot to the Our Lady of the Angels Basilica in Cartago, east of San José, to pay tribute to the country's patron saint. Making the final stretch of the journey on his knees, he carried his eight-day-old son, who was born with his right hand paralyzed, to ask for the Virgin's help.

More than half (51.5%) of Costa Ricans who plan to vote in the upcoming Oct. 7 referendum will vote in favor of the Central American Free-Trade Agreement with the United States (CAFTA), surpassing the 42.1% who said they will vote no in this historic election, according to the results of a poll carried out by the firm Unimer for the daily La Nación.

U.S. Embassy and Consulate Closed
In observance of the national holiday today to honor Our Lady of the Angels, the U.S. Embassy and Consulate will be closed and will reopen tomorrow with their normal office hours, 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. 

Celebration of Our Lady of Los Angeles
Special mass, 9:30 a.m., Our Lady of the Angels Basilica, Cartago. Also, fair including horse parade, cimarronas, concerts, food sales, through Aug. 5 at the Nursing Home Reina de Los Angeles , San José de la Montaña, Heredia.

Used Car Fair
Today through Aug. 12, Fábrica entertainment center, 800 m west of the Shell station, Grecia. Info: 495-6000.

By Blake Schmidt
Tico Times Staff | bschmidt@ticotimes.net

After years of investigation, the Prosecutor's Office has finally filed formal charges against former Costa Rican President Miguel Ángel Rodríguez (1998-2002) and 10 others for their alleged involvement in a high-reaching corruption scandal.

The Prosecutor's Office has prepared formal charges against Rodríguez, which, the daily La Nación reported this week, include one count of aggravated corruption and four counts of having accepted illegal payments. The Prosecutor's Office is accusing Rodríguez of receiving $800,000 from the French telecom firm Alcatel in connection with a government contract, according to La Nación.

Judicial Branch spokesman Fabián Barrantes couldn't officially confirm the charges, since they still haven't been presented before a judge, he said. He did confirm that the Prosecutor's Office has begun filing charges against Rodríguez.

The Prosecutor's Office has been investigating Rodríguez on suspicion of corruption since 2004, when La Nación broke a series of stories that implicated him and two other ex-Presidents in corruption scandals.

The charges come nearly three years after the scandal broke over alleged payments government officials received in exchange for awarding Alcatel a $149 million contract. Investigative reports La Nación ran in 2004 prompted state prosecutors to probe Rodríguez and other officials.

Barrantes told The Tico Times the Prosecutor's Office has informed the civil parties affected in the case – the Costa Rican Electricity Institute (ICE), the state telecom monopoly, and the Government Attorney's Office – that they have until Friday to decide whether they want to file a private case that would be added onto the state's criminal charges, or a civil complaint for monetary damages.

By Amanda Roberson
Tico Times Staff | aroberson@ticotimes.net

More than 10,000 police officers in Costa Rica are about to get a raise, according to a statement released yesterday by the Public Security Ministry.

Officers in 32 of the lowest paying positions will receive an additional ¢8,000 ($15) per month, according to the ministry's spokesman Jesús Ureña.

“Rather than calculating the raise with a percentage, we gave a ¢8,000 monthly raise across the board,” he explained.

For example, the country's 48 policemen who work on horseback will earn ¢163,150 ($313) per month, up from ¢155,150 ($298), while 410 police sergeants will earn ¢166,050 ($319) per month, up from ¢158,050 ($298). These raises are expected to go into effect Aug. 16.

Public Security Minister Fernando Berrocal said the pay increases were made financially possible by scaling back in other areas.

The ministry's long-term goal is for these officers to earn a minimum of ¢241,000 ( $463 ) monthly by next year, when the Public Security Ministry's budget will increase 17%, also allowing for 700 new officers to be hired, the statement said.

More than half (51.5%) of Costa Ricans who plan to vote in the upcoming Oct. 7 referendum will vote in favor of the Central American Free-Trade Agreement with the United States (CAFTA), surpassing the 42.1% who said they will vote no in this historic election, according to the results of a poll carried out by the firm Unimer for the daily La Nación.

These results include the 53% of those questioned by Unimer who said they definitely plan to vote in the referendum, the nation's first. A minimum of 40% of eligible voters must turn out in order for the results of the election to be binding, according to a decision by the Supreme Elections Tribunal (TSE).

The poll questioned 1,300 people older than 18 from July 18-26. They were interviewed by phone from their homes after being selected at random.

Those who said they will vote in favor of CAFTA said they believe it will benefit the country economically, while those who said they'll vote against it said it will harm Costa Rica, the daily reported.

Fifty-six of every 100 men polled said they'll vote yes while 38 said they'll vote no, while 46 of every 100 women said they'll support the agreement and 47 said they'll vote against it.

Those from lower economic classes mostly said they'd vote yes, while those of higher incomes tended to answer negatively.

The poll claims a about a 3% margin of error.