The percentage of children working in Costa Rica has dropped to 8.7% this year compared to last year's 10.9%, according to a statement released yesterday by the U.N. Children's Fund (UNICEF).

6th Rural Community Tourism Fair
Today through Sunday, behind Costa Rican Art Museum, Sabana Park, west of San José. Info: 832-6278, 293-9339.

Ballet Show
By the Russian Classic Ballet Academy, today and tomorrow, 8 p.m., National Auditorium, inside National Children's Museum, San José.

Rally Mapache 2007
Today and tomorrow, schedules and route at www.rallycostarica.com.

Artists Encounter
Each artist will donate a piece of art to benefit the Cancer Association of Barva, 8 a.m.-4 p.m., Barva Park, Heredia.

Oxcart Parade
10 a.m.-noon, downtown San José.

Children Gala Concert
By the Preparatory Camerata and the “Manitas Musicales” (music students ages 4 to 6) program of the National Music Institute, 5 p.m., National Auditorium, inside National Children's Museum, San José. Info: 240-0333 ext 211.

Tai Chi Festival
10 a.m.-noon, María Auxiliadora gym, San Pedro, 200 meters west 100 meters south of park. ¢500 entrance (about $1).

By Gillian Gillers
Tico Times Staff | ggillers@ticotimes.net

In a meeting in San José yesterday, Costa Rican President Oscar Arias and Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega agreed to work toward an elusive consensus on immigration, debt relief and the border region – long thorny issues for the two countries.

Arias said Costa Rica could forgive “an important part” of Nicaragua's $630 million debt, while the Presidents will seek help from developed countries in paying the rest.

Arias and Ortega also agreed to meet in Nicaragua in January to discuss tourism and the environment, among other issues. Despite previous appeals from Ortega, Arias said he would not drop a case over navigation rights to the San Juan River, now under consideration in the International Court of Justice in The Hague.

Arias greeted Ortega yesterday morning at the Juan Santamaría International Airport in Alajuela, west of San José, after the Nicaraguan President arrived more than two hours behind schedule.

The Presidents then met at the Foreign Ministry in downtown San José, accompanied by Ortega's wife, Rosario Murillo, and the ambassadors and foreign ministers of both countries. Arias and Ortega signed a list of general accords at a press conference yesterday afternoon.

Among them was a pledge to work on improving conditions for Nicaraguan immigrants here. Both Presidents said they support a bill, now in the Legislative Assembly, that would allow foreigners to apply for residency from Costa Rica, instead of from their home country. Ortega added that a group of Nicaraguan politicians would visit Costa Rica to speak to legislators here about immigration issues.

Personal and ideological tensions go back more than 20 years for Arias and Ortega, who were Presidents of their respective countries in the late 1980s.

By Peter Krupa
Tico Times Staff | pkrupa@ticotimes.net

The Central Bank made the surprise move Wednesday night of dropping the floor of its “crawling band” exchange rate system by 4%, or ¢20 (about $0.04).

Technically, that means the value of the colón against the dollar has a wider space to fluctuate in the Costa Rican market without the Central Bank intervening to influence it by buying or selling dollars.

Practically, however, it means the value of the colón will likely go up against the dollar, as the colón has been pushing against the floor of the band for some time. A drop in that floor means the colón is likely to follow.

Central Bank President Francisco de Paula Gutiérrez said he expects exchange rates to vary – possibly widely – from bank to bank while the market adjusts to the change.

At press time, Banco Nacional was buying dollars at ¢495 and selling them at ¢500, while private bank BAC San José was buying dollars at ¢497.37 and selling them at ¢506.

Stay tuned to the Daily News page for updates on this story.

The percentage of children working in Costa Rica has dropped to 8.7% this year compared to last year's 10.9%, according to a statement released yesterday by the U.N. Children's Fund (UNICEF).

These statistics were released during an international meeting in San José called “Programs of Conditional Monetary Transfers and their Impact on the Prevention and Elimination of Child Labor from a Rights Perspective.”

According to several studies, payments made to families under the condition that they keep their children in the education system help reduce the number of children and young people who enter the workforce every year.

In Costa Rica, the program “ Avancemos ” (“Let's Get Ahead”), which started one year ago, gives about $100 to poor families under the condition that they keep their kids in school.

UNICEF regional representative Marcela Massnatta said one of the objectives of this program is to respect children's rights.

“It's important that projects recognize … the rights of children and adolescents, recognizing them as deserving of rights and not just passive receivers of benefits and assistance,” she said.

Present at the event were Hamid Tabatabai, representative of the International Program for the Eradication of Child Labor in Switzerland and experts from countries including Chile, Colombia, Argentina, Bolivia, Panama, El Salvador, Honduras, the Dominican Republic, Paraguay, Ecuador, Peru, Brazil and Mexico.