In the latest Demoscopia poll, respondents were asked if they would pass or fail public figures.   Interviewed were 1,202 people over 18, between November 29 and December 6th, the poll has a margin of error of 2.8 per cent.

The Good:

+ 78,3% would pass Epsy Campbell legislator of the PAC party.

+ 71,6% would pass Monseñor Hugo Barrantes Archbishop of San José.

+ 62,9%  would pass once and future king Oscar Arias

+ 59,9% would pass Otton Solís of PAC, currently 2nd in the polls in the presidential race.

Also passing were Ex-president Luis Alberto Monge (59.6 %), Presidential Candidate of the Union for Change Antonio Álvarez at 57.9 % and Attorney General Francisco Dall’Anese at 57.4 %.

The Bad

- 61,6% would fail Ricardo Toledo, PUSC presidential candidate.

- 48.5 % and 46 % would fail President Abel Pacheco and First Lady Leila Rodríguez

The Ugly

- 78.4% would fail ex-president Miguel Angel Rodríguez

- 76.5% would fail ex-president Jose Maria Figueres

- 74.2% would fail ex-president Calderón

So far so good according to tourists and officials in Liberia and Alajuela.  In the peak travel week starting now, Al Dia interviewed officials and users at the airport:

Gary B. Midwinter, arrived to the LIberia airport from Canada and said "I’ve been on my feet for an hour and a half. There are enough personnel, but the service could be quicker.  On a scale of 1 to 10 I’d give it a 5."  He and his wife thought that the customs lines were long and more chairs for waiting are needed.

Adelina Geis from Panama said "the service here in Liberia was good. I would only look to improve the board system when they are charter flights"

Miguel Angel Mojic, of Mexico said " In Juan Santamaria the service is faster than before, there are more booths, and I didn’t have to go through such long lines"

Juliana Feano, from Miami rate Juan Santamaria hightly "This is my favorite airport, because the paperwork is faster than in other places."

The Liberia airport administrator, Analive Rosales, explained that on Saturdays about 1,500 people enter the country and another 1,500 leave. Now there are 25 immigration agents and more customs personnel to improve the attention.  For high season, the number of weekly flights increased from 21 to 35 by American Airlines, Continental, Delta, US Airways y United.

At least 4 skycaps and a snack seller are wealthier today after striking it big on "El Gordo".  One skycap who exchanged his tickets yesterday said that the tickets had actually been held for an airline pilot by the lottery seller hawking what turned out to be the winning sheet.  However, the luckless pilot never came back to pick up the $ 7 million prize and the ticket seller began doling out the sheet in smaller tickets on Saturday. 

Another lucky spot to be was the Jardin Cevichero Mexicano in San Sebastian on Friday night.  A couple enjoying a night out, bought tickets: "I told my wife that a ticket seller was over there, and when he was about to leave she called him over and bought 2 pieces of 03".  Another winner was a university student who studies bilingual preschool education: " I was out with 3 class mates, but only I bought tickets"  She had 3 tickets, worth 26,250,000 Colones (over $52,000).

The JPS (lottery ticket board) reported that 28 fractions of the winning ticket had been cashed in, for a total of 245 million Colones. Most winners were camera shy and would not give their names to the local press.  The JPS stressed that security measures were in place and that they offer winners a platform of services, so that they don’t have to take away cash.  The money may be deposited into local bank accounts, left in escrow accounts, or issued as a certificate of deposit.

4 police officers and 20 JPS inspectors are in and around the offices to watch for suspicious activities and the use of mobile phones is prohibited inside the cashier’s area. The JPS chief, Luis Polinaris stated that the winners of 3 large prizes deposited their money in the BCR (Bank of Costa Rica) "The winners should rest easy, knowing that we have a complete platform of services and nobody leaves here with cash. "