Libertarians are in accord with Arias on some measures
The Arias administration has a lot in common with the policies of the Movimiento Libertario, according to Rodrigo Arias, the minister of the Presidencia.
Arias had lunch Tuesday with Otto Guevara, the former lawmaker and presidential candidate who continues to be the president of the Libertario party. Óscar Arias Sánchez, the president, won election as the Partido Liberación Nacional candidate.
Rodrigo Arias said that he and Guevara are in agreement on the urgency to approve the free trade treaty with the United States, to approve the so-called complimentary agenda that puts the treaty into practice and to break the monopoly now held by state telecommunications agencies and the Instituto Nacional de Seguros, the nation’s only insurance company.
“We agreed that the TLC is not an end in itself,” said Rodrigo Arias, using the acronym of the treaty’s Spanish name (CAFTA in US). “But it is an opportunity given the country to participate and be more intensive in its foreign trade.”
Rodrigo Arias also said that Casa Presidencial Tuesday was sending a proposed law to the Instituto Costariccense de Electricidad for review by its board of directors. This is a measure that is supposed to strengthen the state entity so that it can compete with private firms that might appear if the treaty is approved.
If the board of directors agrees with the measure, the proposal will be forwarded to the Asamblea Legislativa.
President Óscar Arias Sánchez has predicted that the assembly would vote on the free trade treaty sometime in December. Opponents of the agreement disagree, and some are mounting a series of street protests against the measure.
Costa Rica is the only one of five Latin nations that has not approved the pact.