With the new Oscar Arias government about to take office it has become apparent that the influx of female seats to be taken in the new government has increased to a rate where more females are in the Costa Rican government than any other country in Central America and Costa Rica is also in the top 5 in the world!! Together, the 22 congresswomen make up 38.6% of the total 57 legislators and this has put a smile on most Costa Rican faces. Also of the 4 legislative assembles they are all headed by women!! The world leader is female governments is Rwanda due the lack of men after the genocide in the 1990's.

Costa Rica, which established a quota that requires 40% women in the internal structure of all political parties, should celebrate the achievement of climbing to third place, according to newly elected Vice-President Laura Chinchilla.

Even though this sounds good there are some that say that the fight for equality within the government is far from over. It was stated that even though there is a 40% quote many parties often place female candidates for the assembly at the bottom of their nominee lists where normally they will not win their post. One thing that differs from voting in Costa Rica is that you do not vote for individuals, you vote for parties. This way based on a % of total votes will deem what percentage of legislators will deem who takes seats in the assembly.

There has been heated debate between men and women within the government on whether they feel that they are given less of a chance to progress in Costa Rica politics. Many say that the 40% quota is there to keep Costa Rican women happy and to keep them on a short leash. Whatever the outcome it is apparent that Costa Rica is making more of an effort than most countries!!

The constant increase in oil prices in Costa Rica has led Unionists to ask the next Costa Rican President Oscar Arias to seek an agreement with Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez to purchase cheaper fuels. At a press conference the Unionists asked Oscar Arias to put his differences aside and ask Chavez for an agreement that would stop the fluctuating oil prices in Costa Rica. Chavez last week responded saying he would be at Arias's inauguration on May 8th and the Unionists asked Arias to take advantage of this.

An agreement with Venezuela, plus a law to reduce the excessive fuel tax in Costa Rica, would be a great relief to Costa Rican workers as the constant fluctuation makes budgeting and pricing very difficult. it is estimated that the petrol in Costa Rica is Central America's most expensive.

Last year, Venezuela was the main provider of gasoline to Costa Rica, representing 37.4% of the country's total sales, followed by France (13%), Aruba (12%), Brazil (11%) and the United States (11%).

Costa Rica spent $1 billion on petroleum in 2005, marking a 45.2% increase over 2004's $700 million, according to official data.