The National Power and Light Company (CNFL) plans to build a wind energy plant with the capacity to generate 850 kilowatts for 30,000 people living in the Central Valley, the daily La República reported Saturday.

The plant will be located in Santa Ana, west of San José, and will house 18 windmills to produce energy for 5,700 homes, CNFL director Marvin Céspedes told La República. The $21-million project will be financed by CNFL and the Central American Economic Integration Bank.

Companies have begun bidding on the project, and CNFL hopes to choose a company and send the contract to the Comptroller General’s Office within the next two months.

Wind energy plants are the ideal complements to hydroelectric plants, which produce most of Costa Rica’s energy, because their capacity increases during the summer, when river levels drop, Céspedes said.

Another advantage of wind energy is that it does not harm the environment with carbon dioxide emissions, unlike traditional thermal energy. Wind energy is also cheaper than thermal energy, considering the escalating price of fuel on the international market.

-Tico Times

By Amanda Roberson, Tico Times Staff

The Public Works and Transport Ministry (MOPT) has begun painting lane dividers along some San José roads, according to MOPT spokeswoman Carolina Arrieta.

“This is an important project to avoid drivers’ confusion and prevent accidents,” Arrieta said.

On Wednesday, workers began painting 18 kilometers of the Circunvalación highway that loops around San José, and they plan to finish this job in 30 days. Workers are painting from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m., and stretches of this road are closed during this time. Drivers should use caution and take alternative routes, according to a statement from the ministry.

Reflective lights, yellow tape and signs have been posted to let drivers know which stretches of the road are closed. Transit police are also stationed to help drivers choose alternative routes, the statement said.

During the next few months, lane dividers will also be painted on roads in areas surrounding San José, including Tibás, to the north; Pavas, to the west and Sabanilla, to the east, and along the road from San José to the Caribbean port city of Limón.

Nicaragua Friday agreed to use friendly means to resolve complaints of xenophobia and discrimination it filed against Costa Rica before the Inter-American Human Rights Commission in February.

Nicaraguan Foreign Minister Norman Caldera stated in a letter to Commission Secretary Santiago Cantón that “ Nicaragua officially accepts the invitation” to find an amicable solution to the dispute, as the Commission suggested July 18.

“Nicaragua is in agreement with initiating procedures to reach a friendly, open solution in good faith,” Caldera said.

Nicaragua filed complaints of xenophobia and discrimination before the Commission Feb. 6 over the death of two Nicaraguan citizens in Costa Rica : Natividad Canda, who was attacked and killed by dogs while attempting to enter a warehouse on Nov. 10, 2005 (TT, Nov. 18, 2005), and José Ariel Urbina, who was lynched by a group of Costa Ricans last December.

In Canda’s case, Nicaragua argued Costa Rican police and firefighters watched the attack and did nothing to stop it.

-ACAN-EFE and Tico Times

By Katherine Stanley, Tico Times Staff

Confusion and conflict continue to surround the new Immigration Law, but one thing became clear this week: foreigners aren’t likely to notice any difference after it goes into effect next week.

The Executive Branch, which has criticized the law passed by the previous administration, submitted a bill to the Legislative Assembly that would delay it until December 2007.

Legislators say there’s no way they can approve it in time, but that might not matter.

Immigration Director Mario Zamora told The Tico Times that regardless of whether the law’s start date is postponed, Immigration simply cannot comply with the law because officials don’t have ¢7 billion ($13.6 million) for the new police, infrastructure and administrative reforms the law demands.

“No one’s obliged to do the impossible,” he said.

These developments were met with relief from critics of the law, who say it’s extreme and potentially violates human rights. Others say the country desperately needs the new measures.

“I’m absolutely against the administration’s position,” said Oscar López, the only legislator from the Access Without Exclusion Party (PASE). “There’s no room for any more immigrants here… Costa Rica is for Costa Ricans.”

A Change of Direction

The General Law of Immigration, approved in 2005, has been years in the making. First proposed in February 2001 by the administration of President Miguel Angel Rodríguez (1998-2002), the bill was designed to update Costa Rica’s 1986 immigration codes by giving police greater freedom to find and deport illegal immigrants.

The law allows police to enter companies and review payrolls and documentation related to the hiring of foreigners; levy increased penalties for companies that hire illegal workers, ranging from $600-$3,600; and fine people who provide housing to people living here illegally. It also includes administrative changes within Immigration to boost its efficiency.

While the assembly discussed the law, various migrant rights groups asked legislators to consider changes. The Catholic Church proposed changes to the law in December 2003, and the Forum on Migrant Populations – a group led by the Ombudsman’s Office – followed suit with a 45-page document suggesting modifications.

“Our suggestions were paid little attention,” said Angel San Casimiro Fernández, president of the Church’s social outreach organization, Caritas. “Unfortunately, the same occurred with the contributions made by public universities, the Ombudsman’s Office and organizations of civil society.”

The law was approved in October and published Dec. 12 of last year in the official government daily La Gaceta, with the provision that the government had eight months to put the law into effect. During those eight months, however, a new President, Oscar Arias, and 57 new legislators were elected and took office. In June, Rodrigo Arias, the President’s brother and spokesman, confirmed the administration would ask the assembly to approve a 16-month delay to discuss possible changes to the law.

Fernando Berrocal, who, as Public Security Minister, oversees the General Immigration Administration, said in late June that the Executive Branch would probably form a commission with representatives from various sectors to discuss modifying the new law. However, the primary reasons given for the delay were economic.

“It’s absolutely impossible for this administration to put (the law) in practice,” Berrocal said. “The money doesn’t exist. The corresponding budgetary preparations weren’t made.”

According to Berrocal and Immigration Director Zamora, the primary expenditures the law requires include building detention centers for illegal immigrants, hiring at least 565 addition Immigration police (an increase from 35 to 600), buying additional vehicles and improving the organization’s infrastructure.

Zamora said the law passed last year indicated it is up to Immigration to draw up a special budget for the extra funds needed, which he did upon taking office in mid-May. However, the Finance Ministry informed him Immigration wouldn’t get any so many funding this year or next, Zamora said.

He compared the situation to passing a law making university attendance mandatory, but not taking into account the fact that the country’s universities don’t have room for so many students.

“It puts us between a rock and a hard place,” he said. “If the previous government wanted this law to be applied, why didn’t they leave (funds)?”

Earlier in the week he told the daily La Nación, “It’s one more case of a law that’s not complied with.”

Rodrigo Arias said yesterday that the government will “do whatever is possible” to comply with the law while waiting for the delay to be approved.

Pros and Cons

Monsignor San Casimiro said the Church considers the government’s attempt to delay the law “not only correct, but opportune,” because it will allow the government to “obtain the necessary resources for its implementation” and “open the discussion of some significant changes to the content of the law.” He said the country does need a new immigration law, but the version set to take effect Aug. 12 “does little for the country’s traditions of respect and promotion of human rights.”

Gustavo Gátika, Caritas’ director of immigration affairs, said Zamora’s comments about the difficulties of applying the law are “prudent and sensible” and “in tune with what the President has said about the law: that it has omissions.”

According to Martha Isabel Cranshaw, coordinator of the Nicaraguan Migration Network, the law would have dire effects for both Nicaraguans and Costa Ricans. An estimated 150,000 Nicaraguans, 45,000 of whom are minors, are living illegally in Costa Rica, according to Cranshaw.

“ Costa Rica has to accept that Nicaraguans working in Costa Rica are a reality. It fills an economic need for both countries,” she said. “No one benefits from mass deportation. It violates the rights of the Nicaraguans, and it would be economic suicide for Costa Rica.”

Business owners in the construction and agricultural sectors often depend on Nicaraguan laborers to support their industries. Gabriela Lobo, director of the Coffee Growers’ Chamber, told The Tico Times she’s pleased by the government’s actions. Last year, part of the coffee harvest was lost because of a worker shortage, she said.

“We agree there should be legislation that regulates immigration, but we think (the government) should look for more flexible mechanisms,” she added.

However, legislators such as López and José Manuel Echandi, of the National Union Party (PUN), oppose the government’s stance. Echandi, a former Ombudsman who criticized the Immigration Law during his term as the “defender of the inhabitants,” as the post is literally translated from Spanish, says it may have flaws, but economic reasons are not a valid reason to ignore it. According to Echandi, legislators should study whether the law violates the Constitution or international treaties and, if so, take those issues before the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court (Sala IV), but simply delaying or failing to implement the legislation is not the answer.

“The law was approved by the assembly. It’s not acceptable that now the Executive Branch says it doesn’t have a budget to put it into effect,” he said. “This country urgently needs an immigration policy.”

What’s Ahead

The bill to delay the new law, presented July 27 by the Executive Branch, was published yesterday in the official government daily La Gaceta, meaning that the Social Affairs Commission can now begin to examine it. Rodrigo Arias said it will occupy the top spot on that commission’s agenda, but according to commission president Ofelia TaitelBaum, that doesn’t mean it will be approved next week.

She used the word of choice for the Immigration Law, “impossible,” to define the bill’s chance of being approved on time. To comply with assembly regulations, the group must wait five days starting yesterday to begin discussing the bill in their Tuesday and Wednesday meetings to give legislators time to study it. As with all new bills, the assembly’s Technical Services department must also review the text, which will take about a week.

Once discussion begins, any legislator who wishes to ask outside sources, such as the Sala IV, Immigration or other authorities, for their assessment of the bill can delay approval, she said – and “we have a ton of holidays this month; that’s one of the things going against us.”

Commission member López says he’ll do anything within his power to keep the delay from moving forward. Cases before the Sala IV, motions to reform the bill, or even lawsuits against Zamora should he fail to enforce the law are all options he says he’ll consider.

“I’ll use all possible legal means to ensure that the Immigration Law is put in practice in Costa Rica with the necessary rigor,” he said.

Asked why the Executive Branch didn’t submit the bill earlier, given the time needed to approve it, TaitelBaum was at a loss.

“I have no idea,” she said. “Maybe there was a delay.”

Nica Times Editor Tim Rogers and Tico Times reporters Leland Baxter Neal and María Gabriela Díaz contributed to this story.

The international Monetary Fund supports a decision by Costa Rica to let the colon float in a limited way.

Representatives of the fund, after a two-week visit here also supported the central government’s takeover of a $2.8 billion debt run up by the Central Bank in defending the colon exchange rate.

“Supported by prudent fiscal policy, these steps should help entrench the gradual decline of inflation to the low single digits envisaged by the authorities,” said the fund in a report released last week.

Now the colon is devalued daily, and although the amount varies in practice, the devaluation totaled 8.4 percent in 2005.

The Banco Central de Costa Rica proposes a daily range for the colon. At first the range will be limited, but some observers believe the colon eventualy will be let loose to face market forces.

The Banco Central ran up the $2.8 billion debt keeping the colon rate in check. The central bank was, in effect, subsidizing the exchange rate maintained by the state banks. The is a proposed law in the legislative hopper for the central government to assume the $2.8 million debt of the Banco Central. The central government will issue bonds to cover the debt, which is something the central bank cannot do.

The head of the fund’s mission that visited here was Dominique Desruelle, division chief in the Western Hemisphere Department. The mission also backed new taxes.

“Looking ahead, Costa Rica’s main challenge is to increase economic growth in a sustainable and balanced way,” said Desruelle in a statement. “Higher economic growth, combined with a significant reduction in inflation, would improve the living standards of all citizens and reduce poverty. The mission agreed with the authorities that a multi-pronged approach was necessary to accomplish these goals.

“At the center of this strategy is the initiative to pass a comprehensive fiscal reform, with a focus on the income tax and the value-added tax. The mission recommended a package of sufficient size to ensure medium-term fiscal sustainability, provide resources for the recapitalization of the central bank, and allow for an increase in spending on infrastructure, education, and other social needs.

“The mission agreed with the authorities’ proposal to develop a multiyear budget framework, which would allow the government to present to the public a clear medium-term economic and fiscal strategy and, hence, enhance budget transparency. The mission concurred with the authorities that an increase in the level of infrastructure investments is needed, as long as efficient and transparent mechanisms are used and these investments do not increase fiscal risks.”

While inflation in the country has remained in the double digits, Costa Rica’s “near-term” economic outlook remains favorable, the fund reported.  For 2006, the country’s gross domestic product is expected to increase by 6.5 percent, while inflation is likely to remain at 12 percent, it said.

The fund said, however, that Costa Rica’s economic outlook is not “without risks as a cooling of the U.S. economy or a further increase in oil prices could adversely” affect economic activity.

Costa Rica’s main challenge, said the IMF, is to increase economic growth in a “sustainable and balanced way,” adding that higher economic growth, combined with a significant reduction in inflation, “would improve the living standards of all citizens and reduce poverty.”

The fund statement said it strongly supported the Costa Rican government’s commitment to seek ratification and implementation of a U.S. free-trade pact with Central America and the Dominican Republic.  The United States, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua signed the treaty in August 2004.  The legislatures of all those countries except Costa Rica have ratified the agreement

President Óscar Arias Sánchez will have a big day in Bogotá today. He will be meeting with the presidents of other nations and with President Alvaro Uribe who takes office again at 3 p.m. after a successful re-election campaign.

Arias is to meet with Michelle Bachelet, the president of Chile, at 9:30 a.m. and then with Carlos Lage, the vice president of Cuba.

Arias has a meeting with Uribe at 11 a.m. where he is likely to recount a summary of his meeting Friday with Colombian rebels who asked for his help in negotiating a peace in their land.

At 11:15 a.m. Arias is to meet with the presidents of the countries involved in the Plan Puebla-Panamá integration and the Mesoamerican energy initiative.

At 1 p.m. Arias will be a guest at a formal luncheon given by Uribe. At 5:30 p.m. after Uribe is sworn in, he will meet with Alan Garcia, the new president of Perú.

Arias will spend the night in Colombia and fly home Tuesday morning.

For those in the aquaculture business, the Instituto Costarricense de Pesca y Acuicultura is having a sale on rainbow trout fingerlings. The institute has 300,000 of the fry available at its Ojo de Agua facility in Dota on the Interamerican Sur at milepost 78 at Cerro de la Muerte.

The small fish are available at 32 colons (about six U.S. cents) each, the institute said.

Trout in Costa Rica are cultivated at locations above 1,500 meters (about 4,900 feet), and there are about 309 farms that grow trout, said the institute.  In 2005 the industry produced 522 tons of the adult fish, the institute said. The trout is called trucha arco iris in Spanish.  More information is available at 200-5049 and 248-1196.

The nation’s sex crimes prosecutors will be involved in a new project that seeks to attack cases of the commercial exploitation of children and youth.

The Poder Judicial said that the project will be outlined Friday in the presence of the president of the Corte Suprema, Luis Paulino Mora Mora, and the chief prosecutor, Francisco Dall’anese Ruiz.

The informational system will be installed in the eight offices of prosecutors that are specialized in sex crimes and domestic violence, said the Poder Judicial.

However, the first step is to conduct a study of the strengths and weaknesses of the country for setting up such a system, said the Poder Judicial.

The system appears to be a computerized data base that would contain the characteristics and method of operation of those who would exploit children and youth. The system also would monitor and evaluate the investigations and the court actions against those who are involved in such cases, said the Poder Judicial.

The system is being provided by the Fundación Paniamor, the Italian government, the United Nations and an international organization.

The Poder Judicial and the Ministerio Público, the independent prosecuting arm, have been embarrassed in the last two years because a special task force of the Ministerio de Gobernación, Policía y Seguridad Pública started arresting sex crime suspects and criminals who had been on the loose for years. In many cases, the individuals had been convicted but had not been delivered to prison.

Security mininstry agents tracked down some 46 fugitives in 2005 alone. These were convicted criminals who the Sección de Capturas of the Judicial Investigating Organization was supposed to collar. Some had been on the run for years. The most spectacular arrest by the special security ministry unit was of a school teacher during a student assembly in Zarcero Sept. 14.

The response of the Judicial Investigating Organization and Dall’anese was to prohibit elements of the security ministry from doing any kind of investigation. They said that investigation was the sole responsibility of the judicial police and prosecutors.

The arrest Oct. 9, 2003, of Sinaí Monge Muñoz, a madam specializing in providing women to the well-heeled, further embarrassed the Poder Judicial. As the case unfolded, it became clear that even some judicial police operatives were her customers. Some ministry cars were seen at her establishment, presumably to pick up prostitutes for delivery. Little of the evidence collected in an intensive and prolonged investigation of the woman ever was revealed in court.  Dall’anese said later that there was no customer list found. The woman got eight years, a sentence that was interpreted as a reward for silence.

The Judicial Investigating Organization is still looking into the human trafficking of prostitutes to Canada in 1999, according to the agents involved.