Another hitch has developed with lawmakers approving the free trade treaty with the United States.

The Centro para el Desarrollo Indígena says that Costa Rica is bound by a 1992 international labor convention to consult Indian tribes about the measure.

In Costa Rica international treaties and conventions trump the Constitution and other laws.

The Indian group, based in Buenos Aires de Puntarenas said that the Departamento de Servicios Técnicos of the Asamblea Legislativa has confirmed that such consultation is obligatory. The legislative experts were asked about the matter by Janina Del Vecchio Ugalde, president of the Comisión de Relaciones Internacionales y Comercio Exterior, which is studying the treaty, said the center.

The treaty contains matters that directly affect the Indian groups, the center said.

It is not clear how such consultation needs to be done. The commission is holding hearings for a broad cross section of Costa Rican society. The center is associated with the Boruca Indians of southwest Costa Rica. There are other tribes.

The executive branch has sent legislators 38 law proposals to be considered and perhaps acted upon during the so-called extraordinary session that begins Aug. 1

Among the proposals, according to legislative sources, is an executive branch proposal for changes in the income tax law and a law to create new taxes for the elimination of slums. Two other pressing issues are a change to stop the new immigration law from going into effect and the approval of a number of loans, including one for $130 million from the government of Japan to help redo the Central Valley sewer system.

The Costa Rican Constitution says that the Asamblea Legislativa may only meet from May 1 to July 31 and from Sept. 1 to Nov. 30. In order to keep the legislature working, this administration as well as previous ones have called the lawmakers into extraordinary session, which also is permitted by the Constitution.

During these special periods, lawmakers may only consider matters brought before it by the executive branch.
In an announcement Thursday, Casa Presidencial listed some 20 laws that the executive branch has endorsed. The announcement came after Rodrigo Arias, the minister of the Presidencia, met with legislative leaders.

But Casa Presidencial briefly mentions the free trade treaty with the United States and the two tax laws, but there were no details. The proposals are expected to be for an increase in the tax rate and a surcharge on homes and properties to eliminate slums.

There was no mention of a value added tax, which the executive branch supports, although creation of such a tax in place of the existing sales tax could be within one of the tax laws.

The administration is expected to change the tax laws to put more burden on those who earn more while increasing the number of workers who pay no taxes.  And also expected is what amounts to a national tax on real estate that will be used to clear slums.

In addition to the Japanese loan, the executive branch is seeking approval for loans from the World Bank to finance a project for efficiency and equality in education, a contract with the Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo to finance a program to aid competitiveness and a loan from the Banco Centroaméricano de Integración Económica to beef up the nation’s tax collections.

The immigration law, passed by the previous legislature, is due to take effect Aug. 19. The executive branch says it does not have the resources to enforce it and wants the effective date put off to December 2007.

Lawmakers will not meet Monday because it is a national holiday.

A 2-year-old experiment in the commercial production of hay has resulted in significant income for farmers in the  Bagaces areas. They are growing a high-protein mix of two tropical grasses.

More than 140,000 17-kilo (37-pound) bales have been shipped in two years resulting in an income of 800 million colons, about $1.6 million, said a summary from the Ministerio de la Producción, the former agriculture ministry. The hay is being marketed through the  Asociación de Productores Agroindustriales de Bagaces under the trade name of Nutriheno. Heno in Spanish means hay.

Some 25 farmers in the areas of La Soga, Falconiana, Tamarindo and Bagatsí have allocated 100 hectares (about 247 acres) and are netting about 400,000 colons per hectare, about $775, said the ministry. The program was promoted as an option for farmers of the region.

The hay is a combination of pinto peanut or  maní forrajero (Arachis pintoi ) and pangola grass (Digitaria decumbens), called trasvala here. The maní forrajero is a perennial herb and pangola grass stays green though wet and dry seasons.

Both crops are highly digestible by cattle and have been used for years elsewhere in the tropics. They can even be found in the subtropical United States.