by Rod Hughes

Still, the Transparency International poll is far from being an exact measure, since it surveys only public perception of corruption. (The Costa Rican public holds public officials to a high standard, even if, individually, the critical commentators do not practice what they preach.) It does measure public opinion of various sectors of life including business, government and the courts. (In no fewer than 10 countries in this region, about 73% of persons surveyed felt their courts to be unreliable or dishonest.) In all sectors, New Zealand and Denmark come out on top in world ranking of honesty.

by Rod Hughes

A former executive for the French telecommunications company Alcatel was sentenced this week to 30 months in jail after pleading guilty to paying $2.5 million in bribes to Costa Rican officials. Christian Sapsizian, 62, was Alcatel’s vice president of Alcatel’s Latin American section in 2001 when he obtained a contract for 400,000 cell phone lines of the GSM system.

The investigation in Costa Rica resulted in the arrest of former Costa Rican President Miguel Angel Rodriguez (1998-2002) and former official of ICE, the country’s phone company, Jose Antonio Lobo on corruption charges. Lobo was an important witness in the Sapsizian trial and a key witness against Rodriguez but the Costa Rican trial has yet to be set. Lobo has admitted to disbursing the $2.5 million bribe to various officials.

Miami Federal Judge Patricia Seitz reduced Sapsizian’s sentence to one year and three months after the French ex-executive struck a plea bargain with the Justice Department’s prosecutors for his guilty plea. He was prosecuted under the so-called “Lockheed law,” U.S. legislation stemming from the aircraft company’s having paid bribes to European officials to buy their F-104 jet fighter. The law prohibits bribes to promote sales to foreign officials. U.S. courts had jurisdiction since Sapsizian was working out of a U.S. subsidiary of Alcatel.

The ICE-Alcatel contract was for $149 million and Lobo claims that Rodriguez demanded 60% of the $2.5 million “commission” for letting the contract. Costa Rican prosecutors allege that the ex-president received some $820,000. Sapsizian offered to testify about the Costa Rican side of the case in exchange for a non-prosecution agreement with Costa Rican courts and on June 5 Costa Rica’s Prosecutor General Francisco Dall’Anese met with him in Miami. No details of that meeting have emerged.

Ed. Note: The Alcatel case has not been tried here and the accusations against Lobo and Rodriguez are not proven. Only the courts can decide guilt or innocence.

by Rod Hughes

“It was,” Saprissa head coach Jeaustin Campos ruefully told a Radio Colombia sportscaster in an after-match interview, “a night to forget.” The big purple “S” was fresh from a respectable victory over D.C. United but they played like, in the words of an Al Dia sportswriter, a caricature of themselves, a cartoon club bearing no resemblance to the country’s First Division champions.

Remember when we wrote that Saprissa was “hardly the soul of consistency?” We didn’t realize we were merely sending them a comic valentine. It was the worst defeat in international play for the Costa Rican club in recent memory. Not even the acrobatics of Saprissa goalie Keylor Navas could stem the Mexican club’s torrent of shots on the goal, although he tried valiantly. Despite it all, Saprissa is still tied with Cruz Azul and Marathon for the leadership pf Group A in the regional Concacaf version of the “Champions’ League.”

That always-dependable midfielder Walter Centeno found he had no one to pass to and Cruz Azul’s goal area appeared enclosed by a glass dome. But the handwriting on the wall was writ in capital letters, boldface, when Cruz Azul’s Miguel Sabah scored at minute 24. Then Gerardo Torrado added to it at minute 54, Pablo Zeballos added to it at 61 on Sabah’s pass and Cristian Riveros rubbed it in on a pass from Edgar Lugo at 66.

And to add another humilliation, Cruz Azul did not even put in all of its stars. Forward Alejandro Alpizar, who was as shackled as the rest of the Saprissa offense, told Radio Colombia that “we had a bad night and nothing worked. We thought the match would be ours but our rival managed the ball well and confused us a little.” (If you didn’t recognize that, it’s a classic example of Costa Rican understatement.)

Saprissa will meet Alajuela next Saturday at home for the classic but even that is fraught with vexation. The 7 p,m, starting time at Ricardo Saprissa Stadium in Tibas conflicts with Channel 7″s most popular TV show, “Bailando por un Sueno,” which could cut attendance and even TV coverage. (That show is a dance tournament and the only passtime more popular than soccer here is dancing. Moreover, it could cause severe domestic strife as the wife wants to watch dancing and her husband soccer.)

CONCACAF Schedule, Tuesday Saprissa battles Marathon in Costa Rica and Wednesday D.C. United meets Cruz Azul in RFK Stadium in Washington.

by Rod Hughes

It’s apparently never too early to start running for the presidential nomination. Early maneuvering for the standard bearer of the governing National Liberation Party had the President’s brother, Presidency Minister Rodrigo Arias. volunteering yesterday in a news conference that he has no “serious differences” with Vice President Laura Chinchilla.

Rumors have been swirling around Chinchilla and her supposed candidacy, as well a resentment at indications President Oscar Arias would favor her as his successor. San Jose Mayor Johnny Araya has been especially bitter because he has an eye toward running. All the president has said was in telling the press that he would not be unhappy about a woman president.

But apparently the announcement of Finance Minister Guillermo Zuniga’s candidacy and hints that the administration officials back him caused the president’s brother to declare himself neutral, pleading that the Supreme Elections Tribunal forbids sitting cabinet officials from dabbling in party politics—at least, openly.

As the daily paper La Nacion pointed out today, Rodrigo Arias has wielded unprecedented power in his brother’s administration and from his first day in office Oscar Arias made it clear that his brother would act as his “prime minister.” Not only is he the President’s closest advisor but acts as his chief of staff, as well. Since he is so influential, it is obvious why potential candidates outside the Arias brothers’ inner circle would watch him warily.

Praise from the president for Chinchilla naturally led many to assume she had the inside track. When Zuniga made his remarks to the daily paper La Republica, it provoked tremors in the political scene and probably started rumors that Chinchilla had lost favor with the administration. Rodrigo Arias simply attempted to squelch those rumors by saying, “I have an excellent relationship with …Laura as a colleague on the cabinet. It’s not true that I have serious differences with her.” The he cut off questions.

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.

by Rod Hughes

Colombia’s Chief Prosecutor Mario Iguaran has weighed into the battle to get Costa Rican lawmakers to get serious about the Law Against Organized crime. Speaking at a conference of prosecuting attorneys in Cartagena, Colombia, last week, Iguaran warned that Costa Rica could become another Colombia–or worse.

Costa Rica’s Prosecutor General Francisco Dall’Anese had been frank with the conference in laying out his troubles trying to get the Legislative Assembly to speedily pass an effective law that would not only treat crime but also terrorism. But lawmakers here have taken their time (as is their wont), first separating the organized crime portion from the Comprehensive Crime Bill originally presented, then dawdling through in committee.

But Iguaran was blunt. “We exhort countries like Costa Rica to develop laws and instruments with which they can dismantle transnational narcotics and terrorist organizations,” he said, adding that Costa Ricans, if they do not act promptly, “will have the same horrific and difficult experiences that we Colombians have had.”

In a recent appearance before the Legislative Assembly, chief of Costa Rica’s Police Intelligence and National Security Agency, Roberto Solorzano, used nearly identical words. Dall’Anese himself has also exhorted the lawmakers, complaining that he does not have the legal tools to counteract destabilizing organized crime. Costa Rica’s criminal conspiracy statutes in particular are so weak they are all but nonexistent.

by Rod Hughes

The National Insurance Institute (INS), until recently a government monopoly, has raised it rates for workplace accidents by 10% Francisco Soto, chief of the medical division, blames inflation and the fact that the last rate hike came in 2003.

INS not only insures employees against job-related accidents but closely administers their medical recovery, their rehabilitation if needed, and their pension if disabled. Although a government entity, INS long ago took the first strps toward privatization, not entrusting the injured to treatment in Social Security (Caja) hospitals but subcontracts their care to private facilities (often the fine private hospital, Clinica Catolica).

But they also have their own rehabilitation and recovery facility. Unlike private insurance companies in other countries that allow accident victims to choose their own accredited medical care, the patient has no choice but the treatment is usually ranked with the best offered in the country.

But not everyone is content with the INS rates. A recent survey showed that a large portion of the population think that the recent law throwing open insurance to the free market will result in lower rates and better terms that come from competition. And the Chamber of Constructors and the Costa Rican Union of Private Enterprise Chambers and Associations specifically criticize this rate hike, alleging that INS puts too many controls on private business and asking if any cost studies back up the inflation contention.

by Rod Hughes

Residents tired of having homes flooded and seeing floating garbage in the streets after cloudbursts received an encouraging gesture from the Constitutional chamber of the Supreme Court this week when four municipal governments were given two deadlines to clean and enlarge storm drains.

This should be a no-brainer that the municipality is held accountable for such basic infrastructure. But, other than in a mayor’s neighborhood or the environs of a municipal council member’s house, local government often remains deaf to complaints by residents of frequent flooding or contamination caused by inadequate drains often plugged by plastic debris. (The homely old English phrase, “It depends on whose ox is being gored,” seems to apply here.)

In one case, the mayor of Alajuela, Joyce Zurcher, a well-known politician, was given eight days to clear an obstruction out of a drain. Or else. Two other cases in Alajuela province received varying deadlines to clean up their acts. In the Oreamuno canton of Cartago province, a mayor got two months to see that waters ran off instead of into people’s houses.

This should be a clear signal to other municipalities to mend their ways but it often seems that the political hacks that make up the councils cannot read or are catatonic.

by Rod Hughes

The now abandoned Botica Solera, once a respectable store, stands in Barrio Mexico of San Jose in the acute angle of two converging streets, like the old Flariron Building in New York City. But, although it is still a landmark despite its sign being long-gone, the charming two-story structure had become a haunt of the homeless whose improvised cooking fires were a fire hazard.

This week, the municipality, acting on its own in the absence of any interest by the owners, swept the garbage and the indigents out and boarded up the structure. Residents had objected for years about the terrible odor emanating from the building and the fact that it had also become a refuge of drug addicts and criminals.

This little jewel of a building is actually more attractive than its many-times-larger counterpart in New York, a simpler design painted a light blue accented in darker blue. It is a national patrimony and may not be torn down without special dispensation and the municipality has expressed interest in acquiring it. But that may be difficult. Neither the Patrimony Center of the Culture Ministry or the city officials are clear about who exactly owns the building.

Constructed in the late 1930s, the charming structure has had 24 owners, some of whom have been dead for decades. It is located on 11th avenue at the convergence of 8th and 10th streets.

by Rod Hughes

A U.S. ship on narcotics patrol Wednesday captured a 70-ft. semi-submersible vessel with 4.5 tons of cocaine in its hold off the Pacific coast of Costa Rica. The narcotics-laden craft was towed into Puntarenas harbor, the country´s main western seaport.

The fiberglass boat is one of a relatively new class of clandestine drug-runner known to U.S. and Costa Rican coast guard but seldom captured. Although it has been erroneously described as a “submarine” it does not actually run underwater. Instead, it resembles the U.S. Civil War Monitor without the tuna-can turret. As a superstructure, it has a simple, low one-man cabin for steering and a flat deck only a few feet above the sea.

With this low, nearly nonexistent profile, the vessel is almost impossible to detect by radar. Unlike the fast “cigarette boats” used by drug runners in the past, it is difficult to detect even by air because it is too slow to leave even much of a wake. The deck is painted light blue, making it even harder for reconnaissance planes and helicopters to detect visually.