by Rod Hughes

An open pit gold mine operation called Las Crucitas is going ahead here and even some environmentalist have given the project a grudging pass. It is only a few miles south of the Nicaraguan border and has already raised a formal protest by the Nicaraguan Foreign Ministry.

The mine is owned by Industrias Infinito, a subsidiary of the Canadian Vanessa Ventures which seems to have dotted every environmental “i” and crossed every bureaucratic “t.” It even has changed some of its procedures to comply with environmental concerns. Bit many local residents (and the Nicaraguan government) are wary of what damage may be found to its surroundings when it reaches its projected depth of 215 feet.

Some residents point to the fate of the Bellavista mine where, destabilized by mining, a landslide destroyed the processing plant and raised fears of causing even more damage. The mine was opened before the 2002 moratorium on mining put into place by President Avel Pacheco and removed by current-President Oscar Arias.

Local residents are still wary despite company accommodations, pointing out that deadly chemicals are still used in the gold refining process. But Industrias Infinito plans to used a 6-step closed circuit process, recapturing the cyanide for reuse and reducing other contaminants to their harmless component parts before release.

by Rod Hughes

You may not be a chicken, but look out for the “hawks” if you are going to the Immigration headquarters to apply for or renew your residency visa. So don’t heed the siren call of those preditors outside Immigration’s gates who will allegedly run your paperwork through for an extra fee.

This was the important message from Central America’s leading English-language newspaper The Tico Times recently. The paper revealed that those gavilanes (the Spanish word for hawks), the people who gather at the gates of the Immigration compound to “help” you go through the process of of obtaining or renewing your cedula, may not only rip you off but actually put you in peril of deportation.

They are also the bane of the existence of Immigration director Mario Zuniga who has been trying to clean up his department of corruption and bring order to a red-tape-bound process. He warned that some of the “gavilanes” are linked with human smuggling and identity theft, using information obtained ostensibly to process papers. And the “document” they obtain for you may be a worthless forgery. Zuniga told the paper that foreigners have come in waving these documents proudly for renewal only to find that Immigration has no file on them.

Zuniga told the newspaper that the gavilanes have so infiltrated the system that they actually enter the working area where legitimate employees toil. “When I first got here,” Zuniga confessed to the paper, “I didn’t know who was who.” Gradually he began to identify his employees and weed out the intruders but the process is far from complete. So far Zuniga has whittled down the estimated 350 gavilantes who had infiltrated his department when he took over in 2006. He has also fired 10 regular employees for corruption, filed 50 on-going prosecutions against others. An on-going investigation into 22 officials suspected of falsifying exit and entry stamps continues.

A bill, partly written by Zuniga, languishing in Congress, would speed up and smooth out the complicated bureaucracy leading up to a legitimate visa. That, more than anything else, would take the temptation out of the siren call to have runners take care of the paperwork.

by Rod Hughes

A gripping three-way battle in GT-1 class had the crowd at La Guacima on its feet yesterday as the Mustang of Ernesto Rodriguez took the checkered flag ahead of the Toyota Supra of Javier Quiros with Luis R. Mendez’s Ford breathing on the heels of the leadeers.

After the flag dropped for the start, Quiros blasted loose in the Supra but hotly pursued by Mendez (Domincan Republic). By the third lap, Quiros was still out front but Menez was nearly chewing on Rodriguez’s rear spoiler. An interlude with the safety car followed when Amadeo Quiros Jr. pranged his Toyota Altezza of the GT-3 class. Thereafter, Mendez remained in third but the lead changed hands, first Rodriguez and then Quiros.

Mendez passed Quiros for second place when the latter’s left rear tire began to give off a suspicous plume of grey smoke. Quiros ignored this and soldiered on into first again. Even when the Supra began throwing oil, the two diced at full speed. On the long straight-away they were side-by-side at about 140 mph but Quiros finally gave way and pulled into the pits with fading brakes a broken differential.

by Rod Hughes

Hernan Medford was fired as head coach of Costa Rica’s national soccer team and Costa Rican Rodrigo Kenton appears the favorite to succeed him, lacking only an official announcement. Medford’s departure Friday came as no surprise after a long string of matches in which the best the national team could do was to tie.

Medford, never the soul of calm, took poet Dylan Thomas’s advice and did “not go softly into this good night.” Instead, in interviews with the press after his ouster he criticized Eduardo Li, head of the country’s soccer organization (FEDEFUT) for letting him know of his dismissal through third parties instead of in a face-to-face interview.

He also said that many on the board of FEDEFUT do not understand soccer. Despite the criticism, he appeared relaxed, even relieved, as he talked to the press and admitted that the pressure on him as field director of the Seleccion (All Stars) had been intense. He blamed the failures of the national team on the FEDEFUT hierarchy for the general condition of soccer in the country.

At this writing, Kenton has already resigned his position as head coach of Guatemala’s under 20-year-old soccer organization where he racked up an enviable record. He admitted to Radio Monumental that he had already received an offer from FEDEFUT. He will have to pick a physical trainer and assistant coaches since FDEFUT’s broom swept them out along with Medford.

Kenton, 53, began his career as a player with Limon in the 1970s and retired in 1989. Only a year later he was tapped by Veilibor “Bora” Milutinovic’s assistant on Costa Rica’s All Stars in their highly successful World Cup bid where they made it through eliminations to the second round. He was again tapped by the genial Bora as assistant when the popular Czech was head coach in Jamaica’s bid in the 1998 World Cup in France. In between, he coached Limon, Puntarenas and Alajuela. He also served as assistant to Alexander Guimaraes in Costa Rica’s less-than-stunning performance in the 2002 World Cup.

The Costa Rican’s record as a trainer of young players is superb. He took this country’s under-23-year-old All Stars into the 2004 Olympics’ second round only to be beaten by the eventual champion, Argentina. In Guatemala, he worked 22 months developing the youth all star teams.

Whatever his defects, Medford will be missed if only for his personality. When head coach at Saprissa, he was booted from several matches by the referee for his combative demeanor and wound up in the stands directing action with shouts. He also had the habit of covering his shiny, shaved black dome with a flourescent pink baseball cap when it rained. (La Nacion sportswriters are certain he borrowed it from his wife.)

by Rod Hughes

Half a million residents of the Central Valley will be without water from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., reports the daily newspaper Al Dia. The one-day drought is due to work the electrical company ICE has to perform on the reservoir, its tunnels and the electical generation equipment at El Llano.

Those areas left with dry faucets will be downtown San Jose, Desamparados, Curridabat, Montes de Oca, Goicoechea, Moravia and La Union de Cartago. Moreover, the central canton of Carago province will have their water shut down between 7 a.m. and 4 p.m.

by Rod Hughes

Heredia police headquarters is cleaning house. Eleven policemen accused of being leagued with narcotics traffickers have been arrested and placed in preventative detention, reported the daily La Nacion. The charges range from criminal conspiracy and actual drug sales to protecting narcotics criminals from capture by the police.

The arrests are the culmination of six months investigation stemming from a confidential report of such illicit activity as forging bogus legal documents. Jorge Rojas, director of the Judicial Investigation organization, told the paper that in at least 10 occasions Heredia police had raided narcotics dens and confiscated drugs but had filed no reports on the raids.

In some cases, police confiscated crack and marijuana from one traffickers only to sell it to another. Moreover, their illicit activities seemed to take time away from legitimate law enforcement. Between January and May, Heredia, normally a quiet university town, suffered 375 car thefts and 1,500 assaults on businesses and pedestrians. Clearly, the criminals were on the point of taking over the town.

by Rod Hughes

A survey by University of Costa Rica researchers reveals that 90% of Tico high school and university students have at least an e-mail account, according to the daily paper La Nación. That figure contrasts dramatically with the only 3% of all Nicaraguans who have access to the Internet, according to a recent report in The Nica Times.

Among the 21-24-year-old group, the survey shows the figure rises to 99% of Tico students. The survey polled 4,000 students between May and December of 2007. But the study also revealed a serious gap between private education and public institutions. While 80.7% of private school students had computers available at school, only 56.3% had access to public school computers. As for home computers, 75.8% in private schools had them at home compared with only 29.7 among students in public education. (Of poorer students, 44.5% admit getting their e-mails at Costa Rica’s ubiquitous Internet cafes.)

If all this seems quite intellectual, it should be pointed out that an overwhelming majority of students admitted they use the Web mostly to send and download trivia, jokes and news. Still, 88.5% of those surveyed felt that computer skills had helped them with their studies.

And, finally, 80.6% of the country’s students had access within their families to a cellular phone, almost the same number as had a fixed line phone at home. Indeed, watching students between classes, the uninformed might think an epidemic of earaches was going around, but they are merely clutching their ears while they chat on their phones. A lot of that is going around with adults here as well.

by Rod Hughes

Like most Western nations including the United States, Costa Rica is wrestling with the effects of high petroleum prices and is divided on how to keep them from impacting the economy negatively. The Arias administration thought the government could best improve the nation’s balance of trade while controling inflation by taking the tax off diesel and adding it to gasoline sales. But that plan is now meeting a chorus of protest.

The latest to oppose the idea is a flipflop by the Citizen Action Party (PAC) bloc in the Legislative Assembly which initially thought it might be a good idea. But now they have backed away from the idea after having a look at the way the bill was drafted. PAC now plans to use its usual tactic of drowning the measure in an avalance of amendments. Even new PAC defector Andrea Moirales, now an independent and an opponent of using such blocking tactics, says she has her doubts that this is the way to confront the energy crisis.

Like most countries, Costa Rican stores receive their products by truck and the idea of reducing the price of diesel is to help retailers refrain from hiking the prices of their merchandise. Also, adding to the price of gasoline would stop the increasing use of that fuel, consumption of which has risen this year despite high prices at the pump. Bus transport, a big factor in this country, would also be effected and keeping the price low to passengers would encourage many to leave their cars at home and ride to work on public transport. One such government plan is now in effect, but that one does not need Legislative Assembly approval.

One sticking point is that the bill would increase the price of regular and premium gasoline for cars but leave jet fuel and bunker alone. But PAC deputy Ronald Solís groused, “Why should Tico motorists subsidize the big airlines?” “Now (that we see the bill) we realize that things are not what we hoped,” he explained to the daily La Nacion.

Despite a special plea by Minister of the Presidency Rodrigo Arias to speed up passage of the energy bill, it appears it is an orphan lacking support among the opposition parties. One National Liberation party legislator told La Nacion that the administration’s lawmakers would call the chiefs of the various blocs together to see if a compromise can be hammered out.

by Rod Hughes

UPDATE: (Fri., June 27) At least 944 drivers got nicked the 5,000 colon fine yesterday, the first day of the ban on circulating in the center of San Jose during rush hours, on Thursdays applied to motorists with license plates ending in 7 or 8. Some drivers complained they could not reach their destinations with alternate routes and some truck drivers expressed angry opposition to interference with their commercial routes. But the measure did appear to eliminate traffic jams in many places furing the morning, reported La Nacion, although bottlenecks reppeared in the evening rush.)

New traffic regulations go into effect Thursday, June 26, so don’t say we didn’t warn you, Motorist. The new rules are aimed at reducing jams at traffic circles and thus saving precious fuel consumed in idling as you wait your turn. The government wants to keep your car out of the center of San Jose one day per week. The plan is based on an innovation put into effect during the term of President Abel Pacheco, who turned over the reins to Oscar Arias in 2006.

To follow the rules, keep one eye on the calendar and the other on the last number on your license plate. The prohibition applies only to peak traffic hours of 6 to 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 to 7 p.m. The Ministry of Transport (MOPT) has assigned 25 police especially to the duty of fining infractors 5,000 colones for each violation. (This is hardly back-breaking, only about $10, but repeat offenses mount up.)

The schedule is as follows: Monday the prohibition apples to plates ending in 1 or 2, Tuesday 3 or 4, Wednesday 5 or 6, Thursday 7 or 8, Friday 9 or 0. The idea, according to Deputy Minister Vivana Martin, is not for drivers to find alternate routes but for them to keep their cars in the garage for one day per week. Those who drive their cars to work may take public mass transit, taxis or car pool with fellow workers.

Drivers may want to rethink their hopes if they think that, like so many Costa Rican government “campaigns,” the authorities may relent or fail to enforce the ban after the first week. MOPT plans to evaluate the plan after it has been in practice for two weeks—not to see if it is worth it, but to see if more traffic cops are necessary or if the schedule needs to be extended. It sounds as if the Arias Administration is serious about the matter.

The prohibited area extends in a tight ring around San Jose encompassing Pavas, Hatillos, La Uruca, Alajuelita, San Sebastian, Paso ancho, Y Griega, Zapote, San Pedro, La Bandera, the Guadelupe intersection, Calle Blancos main thoroughfare, Cinco Esquinas de Tibas and the radial at La Uruca at Burger King. It would take a Houdini to plan an alternate route around this rim to cross the main metropolitan area.

by Rod Hughes

A recent blog mentioned that former Sandinista guerrilla leader Dora Maria Tellez was engaged in a hunger strike to underscore what she perceived as the danger that the Nicaraguan regime of President Daniel Ortega is turning dictatorial. The current edition of The Nica Times reports that she ended her strike on doctors’ orders after 12 days.

She has not changed her mind, however, and vows to go on to phase two of her protest. She was known in the late 1970s as “Comandante Dos” and conducted with her colleague, Eden “Comandante Cero” Pastora the daring Sandinista raid on the government “National Palace” that held many Nicaraguan congressmen captive for some days, revitalizing the revolution in danger of stagnating.

The raid made headlines around the world, showing that the revolution against 42 years of dictatorship of the Somoza dynasty was very much alive. Guerrillas cannot stay out the the headlines for long, The daring raid underscored the need for media attention if an uprising is to succeed, for without foreign support the Sandinistas could not have attracted money for arms and supplies. And succeed they did, marching into Managua triumphantly in 1979.

But the Sandinistas installed a repressive Marxist regime that mishandled the already weak economy, a victim of neglect for years by the Somozas. This led many former revolutionaries such as Pastora, to oppose them and resulted in a long civil war where counter-revolutionaries, backed by the U.S. Civil Intelligence Agency, attempted to topple the regime led by the same Daniel Ortega who was elected president in 2006.

Tellez and Pastora differ whether the bad old days are about to return, however. The Nica Times journalist Tim Rogers reports in the current edition of his paper that surprising number of young people support Tellez on YouTube and Facebook on the Internet—surprising because only an estimated 3% of Nicaraguans have access to the Internet.

(Editor’s note: Some readers may be puzzled by our quoting both The Tico Times and its offspring, The Nica Times. The Nica Times is an eight-page newspaper inserted inside the parent Tico Times when sold in Costa Rica. In Nicaragua, the parent paper is circulated inside The Nica Times. The Nica Times is written in Grenada, Nicaragua, and its editor, Tim Rogers, is given wide editorial latitude.)