Giant Anti-CAFTA Demonstration Peaceful
By Tico Times Staffeditorial@ticotimes.netSporting flags, banners, buttons and even pig disguises, thousands came out to march against the Central American Free-Trade Agreement with the United States (CAFTA) yesterday in downtown San José. Though the march was one of the largest in recent memory, drawing tens of thousands to the Legislative Assembly, the event was overwhelmingly peaceful.
Shouts of “ No al TLC, No al TLC ” (“No to CAFTA, No to CAFTA”) rang out intermittently as protestors made their way from La Sabana Park, on the western edge of the city, down Paseo ColĂłn and Avenida Segunda to the Legislative Assembly, where the controversial trade pact will soon be discussed on the legislature’s main floor.
The colorful crowd was made up of union members, students, teachers, environmentalists and others, some of whom traveled from outside San José to march under the hot summer sun.
Former presidential candidate and leader of the Citizen Action Party (PAC), OttĂłn SolĂs, led a group of PAC politicians and party faithfuls, including the party’s president Epsy Campbell, a former legislator, and one of its most outspoken legislators Alberto Salom.
“This march is organized to influence the Legislative Assembly process; it has been called together on these terms, so it seemed appropriate to us to be here,” SolĂs told The Tico Times. He explained his absence during previous CAFTA protests by saying “sometimes marches have been called to substitute the Legislative Assembly process.”
Jugglers, dancers and music entertained the crowds, and speakers on a makeshift platform in front of the assembly included legislators José Merino, of the Broad Front, and Elizabeth Fonseca, of PAC, who expressed their joy in seeing so many Ticos speaking out against CAFTA in a peaceful manner.