In a 155 page document full of promises, ex-president and current candidate Oscar Arias presented his plan for governing Costa Rica again.  He has his work cut out for him, if electors believe he will do as promised:

- Create a scientific high school, and give free Internet to students. Rebuild 7,000 classrooms, 228 000 desks and 120 sports courts and fields.

- Build 16,000 new homes per year, add 4,000 police officers, build gymnasiums and pool in communities and even a new stadium in La Sabana park.

But wait, there’s more! Arias promises to restructure the government, to eliminate most executive presidents and boards of directors. He promises to fortify the development bank for small and medium enterprises, promote the purchase of supplies via offers on Internet and offer "after the fact" controls to the Comptroller.

He intends to give roadwork concessions to the tune of $1 billion and attract an additional 400 000 tourists more each year, in order to raise the capture of dollars by $400 million.

And, that’s not all!! He will also strengthen the EBAIS (Basic Units of Integral Medical Attention), have the government pay the CCSS (Social Security) what it is owed and implement "virtual hospitals".  Also, he would create an addiction treatment center for minors, put in place "significant" fines for taxis - buses - companies that contaminate the environment and even negotiate various free trade agreements.

On December 1st, 1949, Costa Rica became one of the few countries in history to abolish its armed forces.  In a symbolic ceremony at the National Museum, the former army headquarters, Costa Rica celebrated the anniversary. This is the same site where then President José Figueres Ferrer symbolically smashed a sledgehammer against the walls of the fort, before handing it over for peaceful purposes.

This action allowed Costa Rica to channel its investment into education and development, rather than wasting it on armed forces. This also helped Costa Rica avoid military coups and civil wars that were prevalent in Latin America throughout the 1970s and 1980s.  Currently Costa Rica enjoys one of the highest indexes of development in Latin America, a direct result of its investment in education, infrastructure and social services.

Happy Anniversary Costa Rica!

The Comptroller General of the Republic insisted on the realization of improvements to the Juan Santamaria International Airport. These have been stalled since March of 2003 because of a conflict with the concession holder Alterra. In a letter to Randall Quiros, Minister of Transport, the Comptroller gave 10 working days to CTAC (the Civil Aviation Technical Council) to order Alterra Partners to restart construction.

In 2001 Alterra signed a contract to manage and modernize the airport for 20 years. The company promised to build a new terminal, more boarding gates and an additional taxiway for planes.

The current dispute stems from a decision by the Comptroller to deny the inclusion of 18.6 million dollars in “financing costs” in rates paid to Alterra Partners by the airlines. This was because in the original contract Alterra stated the financing costs as $ 3.5 million. The Rodriguez administration had authorized this adjustment.

In the ultimatum, the Comptroller General bases the order on the result of an arbitration heard by the Latin American Center for Business Arbitrage. The contract establishes a procedure for the suspension of construction due to natural cause or forces beyond the control of the parties. The tribune did not find any evidence that Alterra used these procedures. In addition, CTAC alleged before the arbitrators that the lack of money for works, was not to causes beyond anyone’s control and that it was Alterra’s fault. So the Comptroller is ruling that there was no legitimate reason for Alterra to suspend the work and orders the CTAC to determine Alterra’s liability for the damages caused by the suspension.

Monica Nagel, Director of Alterra, responded that the company will not re-initiate construction until the government adjusts the financial conditions of the contract. The company will do so when a secure legal framework exists, financial equilibrium exists, and an addendum to the contract is signed. According to the company, the Comptroller modified the conditions of the contract and this caused the banks financing the project to consider that the contract was modified, so they stopped releasing funds.

On Wednesday, gas prices dropped for the 4^th time this year, only a few weeks after an earlier adjustment.

Super from 461 to 441 Colones
Regular from 439 to 420 Colones
Diesel from 339 to 324 Colones

Dollar per Gallon Conversion (Super) 461 / 493 Colones per dollar = $ 0.935 per liter
$ 0.935 per liter X 3.785 liters per gallon = $ 3.53 per gallon

LPG gas also will cost less, a 21.5 liter tank will drop from 7,633 to 7,388 Colones

RECOPE has already asked for another price cut because of falling international fuel prices.

Full of pride and hope, Saprissa left Costa Rica today en route to the World Club Championship in Japan, their first match will be against Sydney FC of Australia on December 12th.  The players and coaches expressed confidence in themselves and that they have every chance to win the title. The coach, Hernan Medford (37), said "everything is ready.  We need the support of every fan, especially the Saprissa fans, and we are going to go all out."

The title will be contested for by 6 teams, one from each area that FIFA divides the world into: Saprissa (CONCACAF - North America, Central America and the Caribbean), Liverpool of England (Europe),  Al Ittihad of Saudia Arabia (Asia), Sydney FC (Oceanía), Sao Paulo of Brazil (Suramérica) y Al-Ahly of Egypt (Africa).

The fans accompanied the team to the airport in a caravan and sang "Sale Campeon" (We Will Be Champs) as the team went from the bus to the terminal. This is the first edition of the cup, Saprissa will stop first in Korea, where they will play 2 friendly matches. 

On Wednesday, La Liga (The Alajuela team) wrapped up the UNCAF (Central American) Championship with a win in the penalty tiebreaker over Olimpia of Honduras.  Alajuela had won the match in Honduras 1-0, and the Hondurans returned the favor here.  But Alajuela won the crown in a dramatic penalty shoot out. 

Much the same script was written in the consolation match between Saprissa and Perez Zeledon.  Saprissa won at home 2-0, then gave up a 2-0 defeat to the Warriors of the South, then won in the penalty tiebreaker.  Saprissa won the right to go on to the CONCACAF tourney as the 3 rd place team in this matchup, while the lions (Olimpia and Alajuela) had already qualified by the virtue of getting to the championship match.