By Amanda Roberson and Katherine Stanley, Tico Times Staff

Thousands of Costa Ricans finished a long journey on foot to pay tribute to the country’s patron saint, Nuestra Señora de los Angeles (Our Lady of the Angels) at the basilica by the same name in Cartago, east of San José, yesterday.

Religious groups, families and giggling teenagers filled the 22-kilometer route from San José to Cartago, with the largest crowds traveling Tuesday afternoon and evening.

The journey was a peaceful and uneventful one in terms of crime, according to a statement from the Public Security Ministry. Only two cases of robbery were reported, and three people identified by the last names Méndez, Barboza and Barboza were arrested.

One death occurred, however. Cristhian Rodríguez, 26, was hit by a car and killed while walking through Curridabat, east of San José, Sunday. A man identified by the last name Campos, 53, was also hit and injured. The driver, identified by the last name Montenegro, 26, was arrested five hours later with a blood alcohol level more than twice the legal limit, the daily La Nación reported.

Many walkers also fell victim to dehydration and/or fatigue – Red Cross officials treated 3,620 people for these and other minor conditions, Red Cross spokesperson Gelson Rodríguez said.

Efforts by event organizers to reduce noise and advertising during the pilgrimage appeared to have paid off. The route was quieter and less cluttered than last year, and two long banners from the dairy cooperative Dos Pinos that ran the length of the church in August 2005 (TT, Aug. 5, 2005) were replaced by banners bearing messages about the Virgin Mary.

Upon reaching the church yesterday morning, walkers listened to messages of peace from Episcopal Conference president José Francisco Ulloa during a mass to honor the virgin, known as La Negrita, according to the wire service ACAN-EFE. 

President Oscar Arias seconded wishes for peace in the world, particularly in the Middle East.

“I pray for the men and women in the Middle East, that the echo of love resounds over the machine gun, that the dove of peace flies higher than the missiles,” Arias said.

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission and Costa Rica’s consumer protection authority, the Ministry of Economy, Industry, and Commerce, have signed a memorandum of understanding to promote enhanced cooperation in the fight against cross-border fraud.

The agreement is an effort to crack down on telephone and Internet fraud of U.S. citizens that originate in Costa Rica. Current developments to fight cross-border crime here are based on this document that was signed earlier this year.

The memorandum facilitates greater law enforcement coordination in consumer protection matters affecting both nations. This memorandum is a  “best efforts”  agreement — it is not legally binding and does not alter either country’s existing consumer protection laws, the FTC said. The memorandum’s key provisions include:

Scope of Cooperation: The memorandum provides for cooperation in the enforcement of consumer protection laws. In the case of the United States, this means “unfair or deceptive acts or practices” embodied in laws enforced by the Federal Trade Commission (except for antitrust laws). In the case of Costa Rica, it refers to relevant chapters of the law for the promotion of competition and effective consumer protection.

Notification of Enforcement Activities: The Federal Trade Commission and the ministry will use their best efforts to notify each other of consumer protection enforcement activities that might affect the agencies’ mutual interest.

Cooperation and Coordination: The agencies will use their best efforts, where appropriate and consistent with their laws, to assist each other in gathering information and coordinating law enforcement activities.

Exchange of Information: The memorandum encourages the exchange of information for consumer protection law enforcement purposes, provided it does not conflict with existing limitations on information disclosure.

The Federal Trade Commission is working to promote international consumer protection cooperation on a global level. The agency has also signed agreements with Australia, Canada, Ireland, Mexico, Spain, and the United Kingdom.

The commission vote to approve the agreement was 5-0.

The Federal Trade Commission works for the consumer to prevent fraudulent, deceptive, and unfair business practices in the marketplace and to provide information to help consumers spot, stop, and avoid them.

The long-running drama over operations at Juan Santamaría airport took another turn Tuesday when the Contraloría General de la República rejected a change in the nation’s contract with Alterra Partners.

The decision by the Contraloría, the financial watchdog, effectively voided a deal Alterra has made with the Consejo Técnico de Aviación Civil that supervises the airport.

The net result is an additional delay in  improvements at the nation’s main airport. A new international terminal is being built, and the government has a list of other jobs for Alterra.

Even though the airport is important, the implications of the long-playing soap opera at the airport cut to the core of the current administration’s plan for development. Alterra is a concessionaire, a private firm selected to do a public function: run the airport.

The Óscar Arias administration has plans for many other concessions in the country, and a new law covering the awarding of such pacts is was passed July 25 in the new legislature.

In a concession, a private company puts up money to do a job and splits the income with the state. Costa Rica wins because it does not have to come up with front money for large projects. The concessionaire wins because it gets income that is supposed to represent a fair return on its investment.

Last May the government said that a Czech firm has made a $120 million offer to improve the nation’s railways under a proposed concession.

Concessions are being used to improve and run the nation’s docks.

Several new highways will be built as concessions, including the route from Ciudad Colón to Caldera and the Pacific. An agreement was signed March 9 that empowers the firm Autopista del Sol S.A to build the $150 millionhighway and collect tolls to pay for it over the next 25 years.

Gold mining in Miramar and in northern Costa Rica are run as concessions with the government getting a share of the proceeds.

Costa Rica already got in trouble by effectively nullifying the exploration concession it granted to Harken Petroleum for the Caribbean coast. The long-running Alterra saga has been a concern for companies that might try to bid for concessions here.

This is the third time that the Contraloría has rejected proposed changes in the Alterra contract. This time Alterra, part of the London, England-based, Alterra Partners Ltd., was going to get 65 percent of the income generated.

Alterra took control of the airport in 2001 with a concession contract that was expected to last 20 years. The government at first was going to receive 50 percent of the income.

Alterra Partners was to invest $240 million during the 20 years. About $160 million of this was to be invested during the first three years of the agreement.

Karla González, the minister of Obras Públicas y Transportes, the parent organization of the aviation consejo, further muddied the waters. She told reporters that the government would insure the airport would continue to operate up to international standards. That gave the impression that Alterra was packing its bags.

In the past the government has threatened to take over management of the airport, but the threats have not been taken seriously because Obras Públicas is the same organization that can’t fix potholes in the nation’s roads. It is unlikely the agency could generate the money to build a new control tower and extend the runways.

Meanwhile Alterra is getting squeezed by its investors and subcontractors, which have lost money and work because of the flip-flops by Costa Rica.

Not everyone favors concessions. The Partido Acción Ciudadana applauded the action by the Contraloría. The party wants the country to keep close control of its facilities. An independent legislator also opposes the idea.