by Rod Hughes

For once, the Legislative Assembly put an important bill on the floor for its first vote so fast, everyone was surprised and one delegation, the Libertarians, was not even there. The bill was the annual budget for 2008 and it passed first reading with the requisite 38 votes, mostly from the president’s National Liberation party and the Citizen Action Party.

Only 42 of the 57 deputies were in attendance. Lawmakers favoring the bill say it will be nearly 70% met with normal tax revenue and incur less debt than in recent years. Another plus, they said, was that the method of accounting will allow keeping track of spending during the year instead of “by autopsy” as Silvia Charpentier, chairperson of the congressional Financial Affairs Committee, terms it.

Detractors mainly criticized the low amounts budgeted for social, educational, scientific and technological programs. Congressional gadfly Jose Merino was especially unhappy with cuts in the University of Costa Rica support.

Final reading and vote is scheduled for Wednesday. Constitutionally, congress must approve a budget before the end of November to avoid paralyzation of many public services.