Keeping an Eye on the Election: Paul Durand (left) is heading up a mission of the Organization of American States (OAS) here to observe the referendum on the Central American Free-Trade Agreement with the United States (CAFTA) Sunday. Yesterday, he talked to the press alongside Supreme Elections Tribunal (TSE) president Luis Antonio Sobrado.

Costa Ricans who want to live in the United States can try their luck in a lottery for residency visas held by the U.S. State Department.

Inflation last month clocked in at 0.63%, slightly lower than the previous month, but placing accrued inflation so far this year at 7.04% -- identical to inflation at this point last year, when inflation for the year reached 9.43%.

El Circo de las Señoritas Sarracenia
Dance show by Metamorfosis, today through Saturday, 8 p.m., also Sunday, 5 p.m., Teatro de la Danza, National Culture Center (CENAC), San José.

“Urban Excitement”
Collective exhibit by Ale Ramírez, Antonio Franco, Gaspar Acebedo, Rolando Caldera, José Rosenblatt, through Oct. 15, Jacob Karpio Gallery, Ave. 1, Calle 13-15, San José. Info: 257-7963.

For the first time, a poll is showing a majority of Costa Ricans opposing the Central American Free-Trade Agreement with the United States (CAFTA), according to the daily La Nacion.

The paper yesterday reported that 55% of the 1,202 Costa Ricans polled will say no to CAFTA during Sunday's referendum, while 43% will vote yes and 2% are undecided.

Support for CAFTA has eroded during the past few weeks, hurt by a scandal surrounding former Second Vice-President Kevin Casas and National Liberation Party legislator Fernando Sánchez. Both men sent an e-mail to President Oscar Arias encouraging a campaign of fear to gain support for the trade agreement (TT, Sept. 14).

Casas resigned last week, and Sánchez stepped down from his posts on legislative commissions although he continues serving in the Legislative Assembly.  

The poll, conducted by the agency Unimer for La Nación, also found that 27% of those interviewed made their decision to vote no this past month. Moreover, 7% said the memorandum directly affected their decision.

Last week's polls showed a virtual tie; this is the first time in the more than two years of campaigning that the “no” vote has taken the lead.

The poll has a margin of error of 3.3 percentage points and was conducted between Sept. 27 and Oct. 2 throughout the country with people 18 years and older.

-Tico Times

Torrential rains washed over the eastern province of Cartago yesterday, wiping out four bridges and flooding 130 houses, according to a statement from the National Emergency Commission (CNE).

Water rushing down from a mountainous area of Llano Grande de Cartago caused Reventado River to overflow and damage everything in its path.

The CNE opened a shelter in Quircot for six families whose homes were severely damaged. Emergency commissions were also activated in the Cartago areas of Guarco and Llano Grande, and teams of geologists and engineers were dispatched to assess damage to bridges in La Lima, Quircot, Llano Grande and Taras.

In Quircot, 90 houses flooded, while 35 flooded in Lima and five flooded in Llano Grande.

The National Meteorological Institute (IMN) predicts heavy rain will continue to fall over the Central Valley. The commission could possibly evacuate more residents as a preventive measure, the statement said.

-Tico Times

Costa Ricans who want to live in the United States can try their luck in a lottery for residency visas held by the U.S. State Department.

Inscription for the lottery opened yesterday at 1 p.m. at www.dvlottery.state.gov. This Web site is the only way to enter the lottery or get information about visa requirements; the U.S. Embassy and Consulate in Costa Rica are not involved in the lottery process.

Each person interested should submit only one request; submitting more could result in automatic disqualification, according to a statement from the U.S. Embassy.

Through this lottery, about 50,000 U.S. residency visas are granted yearly to people from countries around the world that have small amounts of migration to the United States, of which Costa Rica is one.

Online registration is free and open until 11 a.m. on Dec. 2, 2007. The U.S. State Department will notify the winners from May to July 2008.

In 2007, about 82,000 people from 175 countries won visas through this lottery; some 5.5 million entered.

Inflation last month clocked in at 0.63%, slightly lower than the previous month, but placing accrued inflation so far this year at 7.04% -- identical to inflation at this point last year, when inflation for the year reached 9.43%.

Leading the inflation growth were health-care costs, restaurant prices and transportation, the cost of which has risen 9.48% so far this year, according to the National Statistics and Census Institute.

Though inflation is on course so far to tie with last year's numbers, inflation in the past 12-month period is down 1.81%.