by Rod Hughes

President Oscar Arias returned from his diplomatic trip to mainland China with his shopping bags bulging with cash for his country. Besides talking his hosts out of $20 million in immediate aid for victims of the disastrous September flooding, he received $27 million in longer-term projects.

But the list of goodies did not end there. Besides laying the groundwork for possible trade pacts, Arias and his host, strongman Hu Jintao also inked a contract with the Chinese Petroleum Corp. to refurbish and expand this country-s Recope Refinery at Limon. The refinery is getting long in the tooth, having been bought from Allied Chemical by president Jose “Don Pepe” Figueres decades ago in a flurry of nationalizations.

One hope for this trip was that China might buy up part of Costa Rica’s national debt, but so far no official word came from it. The morning daily La nacion has quoted Foreign Trade Minister Marco Vinicio Ruiz as saying that China might begin buying debt bonds as soon as early next year but probing by the English-language weekly The Tico Times was unable to turn up any confirmation.

For the president, the trip probably serves as sweet recompense for the wave of criticism that lapped at his feet five months ago when his government severed longtime ties with Taiwan in order to establish diplomatic relations with mainland China. “Certainly now China is going to show greater interest in Costa Rica than it showed before establishing diplomatic relations…” said the president.

China is currently Costa Rica’s second largest trading partner (behind the United States) and trade is up with that country 31% already this year, something on the order of $1 billion. Coinciding with the visit, Costa Rican companies attended the huge trade fair in Canton this week and, according to the Foreign Trade Ministry, brought back $140 million in contracts for such exports as tilapia, coffee, bananas and shrimp.

Nearly all the cabinet who have anything to do with trade and foreign policy accompanied Arias. And naturally they had a day off to play tourist, visiting such sights as the Forbidden City, the imperial tomb housing hundreds of life-size terra cotta warrior statues as well as the Great Wall. It was reported that the chief executive had to beg off on the latter junket when the Achilles tendon inflamation that plagued him during the runup to the Oct. 5 CAFTA referendum flared up.

by Rod Hughes

Smile, evil-doers. You’re on candid camera!

Minister of Public Security Fernando Berrocal has announced an ambitious program to place 3,000 surveillance cameras in high-crime areas. The program will cost $18 million but Berrocal says, “This will place Costa Rica on the cutting edge of Central American security.”

To answer concerns about privacy, he was quick to point out that only screened personnel would be allowed near the tapes. But he said the photographic records, although numerous and bulky to store, would be invaluable to Judicial branch investigators, for example. And signs would be placed to say, in essence, “You’re being recorded.” Finally, after a time, the tapes would be erased.

Maintenance personnel will have to be trained. Another worry is the effects of the tropical climate, with rapid temperature changes and high humidity, has on sensitive machinery. (As anyone who owns a computer or cell phone here can attest.)

The announcement came almost simultaneously with that of New York’s similar program of massive camera installation. Although vastly more expensive and extensive in the metropolis to the north, the two law enforcement agencies have high hopes for cutting down street crime. The difference is that Berrocal’s cameras will not just be installed in the capital but also in some of the major outlying cities as well.

Although Berrocal assured the press that the cameras would be installed with safety devices and high enough to foil the sticky fingered, some, including The Tico Times editorial cartoonist in today’s op-ed pagesl, suspect the expensive equipment might be more of a temptation than a deterrant.

by Rod Hughes

They were all ready in the courtroom, the alleged victim of a nurse’s error in the administration of chemotherapy, the prosecutor, the defnse counsel, the judge, representatives of the Social Security (Caja) that administers public hospitals.. The summons had been served. Everyone was present— but the defendant.

Judge Carlos Chaves then made a slightly embarrassed declaration to the waiting group: “I have to be completely sincere with you. There’s been an error in the summons.”

It was just a teensy bureaucratic misstep: The defendant had been notified to appear in court Dec. 30, 1899.

But, never fear. Costa rican justice will be served. sometime this century…

by Rod Hughes

The Alajuela defense left the door open just a mere crack and that was enough to let one of the slipperiest strikers around, Alonso El Mariachi Solis, through late in the first half to a winning goal at Ricardo Saprissa Stadium in Tibas. That was enough in this fast-moving match for Saprissa to face the second game in the regional toyurney’s semi-final. with a one-goal advantage

For dyed-in-the-wool fans of both teams (and that is the mahority of the country’s population it seems) just winning a “classic” as the matches between these two teams are term—just that is enough. That victories will lead to Cup finals at the end of the rainbow is just frosting.

Sometimes it is hard during a game of all movement to distinguish between constant attack and counterattack, the ball changing owners every few seconds, misdirected shots at the goal, to tell whether all this sturm und drang is the product or just an inability of either team to get it together for a cohesive attack or if it’s because of excellent defense. But, like last night, it makes for a match that has one on the edge of his seat. Is it our imagination or have we seen Alajuela’s midfield maneauvering much better than it was last night?

In the first half, both gtoalies had their work cut out for them. Midfielder Walter Centeno, for example, sent a shot zinging in from the near left that Alajuela’s Wardy Alfaro would not have had a prayer to stop by Centeno was a bit to the right and the ball bounced off for a heart-stopping miss. It was not until later that Andres Nunez sent in his fateful pass to Solis.

Despite Alajuela head coach Carlos Restrepo using three forwards, Saprissa’s defense held against the tactic well. Saprissa goalie Kaylor Navas was able to, if not coast, do the minimal competent job to wall off Alajuela’s attack.