Residents of the town of Puerto Limon are currently fearing the worst, as the governments proposal to open the nations to largest ports, Limon and Moin, to private concessionaires builds steam.
When this happened in Caldero, it resulted in nearly 1000 government staff being laid off in order to reduce costs and maximize profitability.
The thought of this being repeated in Limon and Moin has sparked off protests from both residents and port workers alike. A week of slowed productivity in the ports, which is believed to have cost in the region of $10 million in lost revenue due to backed up trucks and boats full of cargo and deteriorating fruit. This was then backed up with a protest march from both workers and residents of the two ports.
Oscar Arias, last week, put up a strong statement of intent to proceed with his plans, by sending out hundreds of national police to break up the march in the streets of Limon. Arias then appeared on TV to make it clear to the nation that he believes in his decision and will stick with it by opening up the two ports to private concessionaires. |
