by Rod Hughes

President Oscar Arias, in a special ceremony at the Casa Presidencial, announced that from now on, 5% of all job openings in the central government will go to handicapped persons. Civil Service will continue the policy until the overall percentage of workers who are physically challenged, a figure that shows how few of them are currently employed in such work.

Especially invited to the International Handicapped Day ceremony was Legislative Assembly deputy Oscar Lopez who originally proposed the change in hiring policy. This well could be a peace offering to the representative of the minuscule Access without Exclusion Party, who bitterly opposed the passage of the CAFTA free trade treaty with the United States and has stalled the passage of an important immigration bill in congress by throwing amendments in its path.

This will not mean opening new posts but as jobs open, one in 20 will be given to a physically challenged person. This portion of the population has a disproportionate rate of unemployment. With this policy, the government hopes to encourage private enterprise to follow suit, according to Minister of Labor Francisco Morales.

The paper La Nacion today observed the change in Lopez’s attitude toward the president. His opposition to CAFTA led him to acid criticism of the Administration and parties that favored the treaty, criticism that often strayed into the realm of fantasy, such his statement as that increased traffic in transplant organs would endanger the native population.

This time, when Arias complimented him on being at the forefront in the fight for the 400,000 handicapped in this country, he replied, “No let me thank you for permitting me to find myself at the forefront with you. I’m at your service.” To La Nacion, however, he warned that, although the success for the handicapped had been achieved with dialog, “I’m still the same Oscar Lopez.”

Although the new policy applies mostly to the physically handicapped, the intelligence-challenged in the country, as is true with all nations,have never had trouble being elected to public office.