by Rod Hughes

Two university student journalists have won a coveted prize for publishing the leaked memo that led Vice President Kevin Casas to resign and exiled a former Legislative Assembly deputy to the political wilderness last year. Lorna Chacon and Vinicio Chacon of the weekly Semanario Universidad received the Jorge Vargas Gene Award for defense of the public right to know.

In the confidential memo, the two National Liberation Party advisers recommended to President Oscar Arias withhold municipal funds to canton mayors who did not bring in a majority of “yes” votes in the October, 2007, referendum to ratify the controversial Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA).The two party officials also urged the pro-CAFTA president to raise fears for the economy if the measure did not pass. The identity of the person who leaked the e-mail was never revealed and the two Chacons, like good journalists, never revealed their source.

The news story was picked up in the press and created a political firestorm that set the Ministry of the Presidency scrambling to emphasize that the President had rejected the advice. Politicans opposed to CAFTA immediately sent up a cry of “foul” and much of the public thought Casas and former deputy Fernando Sanchez had crossed the ethical line, especially withholding public funds for political purposes and trying to fool the Supreme Electoral Tribunal that had prohibited the Arias Administration from using public funds to promote CAFTA.

A year later, the former vice president defended his role in the memo, during an exclusive interview with the English-language weekly, The Tico Times. It was, Casas maintained, simply politics as usual. “Politics is a nasty business,” he told the paper. Asked what advice he would offer someone going into politics, he said, “Think a lot, talk little—and write nothing.” A once-rising star bursting on the political firmament, Casas said he was deserted by nearly all of those he had considered political friends, although the president remained supportive.

In granting the award, judges lauded the two Semanario Universidad reporters for exercizing the “highest standards of journalistic quality” in publishing the confidential information. Certainly, their report had a great impact on the Oct. 7 referendum in which pro-CAFTA voters had led by a comfortable margin before the story was published. Late polls showed that the margin suddenly shrank and, indeed, the measure passed by a bare majority.

Other journalistic awards went to Alvaro Murillo of the daily paper La Nacion for his series revealing the donations of the Central American Economic Integration Bank (BCIE) and the uses to which the Arias Administration put the $2 million. Another reporter for that paper, Hazel Feigenblatt, was awarded a prize for best financial reporting for her series on deficiencies in local Internet banking security that allowed hackers to strip bank accounts of their funds. Despite initial denials by the nationalized banks (and their refusal to take responsibility for customer losses), most have strengthened their security somewhat since her series came out.

Feigenblatt was also mentioned by the judges for her Internet blog in defense of the consumer on nacion.com. Internet blogs are not yet generally recognised by journalistic awards committees as valid publications, so the judging panel was avant gard in even recognizing the blog. Other journalists for the month magazine Campus (National University at Heredia) were also awarded for their social reporting, as was the TV channel 15 for a coverage of the CAFTA controversy and the historical referendum Oct. 7.