In
the Costa Rican News - Week 18 - 25 February 2006
Complaints
about unfair balloting!!
There
were hundreds of complaints this week submitted to the
Supreme Elections Tribunal after people complained of
ballots left behind in polling places, voters stopped
from casting their vote and hasty and inaccurate counting.
With
all these complaints and the amount of work involved in
hand counting every vote it could until the end of the
month before the victor is known, however it would appear
that at the moment even though Oscar Arias was ahead by
3,000 votes, Ottón Solís after the manual
recount is 10,000 votes ahead.
One
of the main reasons why Solis popularity is so high is
based around the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the
US and Costa Rica. If Oscar Arias wins then his party
will approve the FTA and the current government monopoly
on the public services will deceases to continue and free
markets will open up. However if Solis wins then they
will not ratify the Agreement and the US will go home.
One
of the sad things about this case is that Costa Rica for
years has prided itself on a free and transparent democratic
voting system, the best in Central America it is said.
After this weeks complaints it will be hard for the Costa
Rican people to hold their head high and say this without
blushing.
The
Catholic Church stated that they are sure that the manual
recount and their faith in system will allow the true
winner to avail.
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New
Tax reform looms over Costa Rica!!!
The
new Tax reform bill that as been sitting within the Costa
Rican's governments chambers for years has finally it
looks like made some headway, however without some aggressive
negative campaigning. The current bill allows for a 'tax
paradise' for foreign paradise as people are only taxed
on their income from within Costa Rica and not abroad.
However the new reform may allow some foreigners who come
from countries without tax treaties with Costa Rica to
be doubly taxed.
After
years of debate, thousands of motions and changes, false
starts, and being proclaimed “dead” on various
occasions, the vote to accept or deny is only hours away
(Feb 17th). However there as with most Costa Rican politics
much disagreement on what votes are needed to pass the
reform, but thinking is that a 2/3 majority would be right.
If
the bill is passed and there are still a lot of hurdles
to jump then it will not become active until January 1st
2007.
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Costa
Rica rules on Shark Finning
This
week environmentalists from around the world won 80% of
the battle towards protecting the sharks of Costa Rica,
however they will not stop until it has been made illegal.
The
case arose when PREOMA alleged that the government was
not inspecting ships that were unloading sharks at ports.
Environmentalists say that shark finning, the removal
of sharks' cartilage-filled fins from their lower-valued
bodies which are then discarded, is severely depleting
Costa Rica's shark populations.
Costa
Rica has a thriving shark population with various species
such as hammer heads, white fin sharks and nurse sharks.
The
high court ordered that customs should not allow any vessel
to dock and unload unless a customs official is present.
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New
British Amabassador to Costa Rica!!
Tom Kenedy
will succeed the current Costa Rican ambassador Georgina
Butler in July of this year. Tom will also be the non-resident
ambassador to Nicaragua from Costa Rica as well.
Kennedy
currently the Consul General in Bordeaux France has years
of experience behind him and has lived in South America
for some years.
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Feb
18 - 25 Exchange Rates
The
Exchnage rates below are not accurate on a daily basis
but just an approximation for your benefit. For more up
to date exchanges rates please visit your local bank or
online witha currency seller.
Costa
Rican Colon
US
Dollar
Usually
in Costa Rica US Dollars or Costa Rica Colones can be
used. in popular areas and in larger shops US dollars
will be more widely accpeted. However in samll towns and
locally run stores only Colones will be accpeted.
For
more information on Costa Rica why not visit our Costa
Rica Holiday Forum and read through what people are
saying and asking about Costa Rica.
