by Rod Hughes
“The truth is out there,” promised the old TV series, X Files.
But finding out the whole truth about the 2,000 page Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) is going to be a monumental task if the pro and con propaganda does not get a little more realistic, according to an exclusive in-depth story in the English-language newspaper, The Tico Times.
And the truth is vital to voters if the Oct. 17 referendum on the trade pact comes about. (The pact is currently under review by the Supreme Court’s Constitutional Chamber and the referendum could be derailed if the court panel finds fatal flaws in it. The court decision is expected in July.)
But so far, both sides of the controversy have given out little more information than to repeat the slogans on the placards they carried during street demonstrations, such as the sign that said, “My heart says NO. And yours?”
A Tico Times reporter, for example, asked for supporting data to several Ministry of Economy “studies” that indicated dire results if the voters rejected CAFTA, echoing the Arias Administration’s pro-CAFTA stance. It was never forthcoming and Melissa Molina, ministry spokesperson, explained lamely, “It’s not an in-depth study. It’s more of a logical study,” according to the paper.
Both sides claim, for example, that the small farmer will disappear if the pact is or isn’t approved, take your choice. But neither source offers hard data.
The newspaper’s June 15 edition published several sources of information, although most were linked to pro or con interest groups and must be weighed with care.
The Supreme Elections Tribunal, an independent governmental body which organizes and supervises all voting in the country, may hire an independent monitoring group to watch advertising. But in 1997, the Constitutional Chamber ruled that the Electoral Code’s truth in election advertising supervision was in conflict with the constitution’s freedom of expression articles, so the Tribunal’s power to ensure truthfulness is severely limited.
Editorially, The Tico Times accused both sides of “crazy exaggerations and misleading comments designed to prey on voters’ emotions.” Some political analysts interviewed by the paper suggested that, until Costa Ricans themselves demanded the facts in an outcry, the country would continue to be inundated with alarmist misinformation and “studies” that were all conclusions with little factual foundation.