[Anti-CAFTA] Solis concedes defeat in Costa Rican presidential race

[arcos]

SAN JOSE, March 3 (Xinhuanet) -- Otton Solis of the Citizens' Action Party of Costa Rica (center-left) on Friday night conceded defeat in the Feb. 5 presidential election, and recognized that Oscar Arias, a former president, is the president-elect.

Arias, the 1987 Nobel Peace Prize winner from the center-right National Liberation Party, and Solis ran neck-and-neck in the election, with Arias taking a narrow lead.

Arias received 40.92 percent of the votes, leading Solis by a mere 1.12 percent, results of a manual count of the votes showed on Feb. 22.

<snip>

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2006-03/04/content_4255743.htm

:cry:

[burrowowl]

1. DAMN!

:cry:

[IndianaGreen]

2. This won't end well for the winner, Arias

Arias is a globalist at a time when the people of Latin America are rejecting globalism in mass protests across the continent. He will fail!

[Judi Lynn]

3. I'm really looking forward to it. It would be spectacular to see Bush's

choice losing ground quickly. It's surely sounds possible. His National Liberation Party also failed to gain a majority.

I'd like to see some info. when it's possible about how deeply and expensively _Bush involved U.S. taxpayers's funds in getting this man elected, to keep U.S. right-wing control in this hemisphere alive.

posted March 1, 2006 (web only)
CAFTA's Corpse Revived

~snip~
A new wave of dissent in Central America, however, is creating fresh difficulties for CAFTA defenders. In Costa Rica, the only country that has yet to ratify the deal, former president and Nobel Peace Prize winner Oscar Arias was expected to win back the presidency by a landslide in early February. In a surprise turn, his opponent Ottón Solís surged in the polls at the last minute, carried by his objection to Arias's strong pro-CAFTA stance. The final contest was so close as to warrant a lengthy recount to identify the winner.

Based on the current tally, it appears almost certain that election officials will declare Arias the winner. Still, Solís's opposition party will likely carry enough seats in the legislative assembly to make it very difficult for Arias to pass CAFTA. Contending that the treaty would "bankrupt Costa Rica's agricultural sector," Solís vowed this week that, regardless of the election's final outcome, he would continue championing the demand for CAFTA's renegotiation.

As the experience of other Central American countries shows, controversy can reignite even after CAFTA is ratified. In Guatemala and El Salvador, the Bush Administration's advocacy on behalf of US special interests has sparked new disputes during the implementation phase of the treaty. There, US Trade Representative Rob Portman has tried to squeeze even more concessions out of the Central American partners before agreeing to certify their inclusion in the deal. Governments in Guatemala and El Salvador have cried foul, saying that the White House's current agenda for reforms goes beyond the terms of the agreement.

According to the journal Inside US Trade, Portman has pushed for changes to Guatemalan intellectual property law that would extend the life of patents on many name-brand pharmaceuticals. Already, the United States has compelled Guatemala to repeal a law designed to expand access to generic drugs. Organizations such as Doctors Without Borders have denounced CAFTA's impact on the Guatemalan AIDS epidemic, arguing that limits on generic antiretrovirals amount to a death sentence for many patients. The White House's demands only worsen the restrictions.

In response, Guatemalan Vice President Eduardo Stein has blasted the Bush Administration's hardball tactics: "It's an affront to Latin America when a government says it wants to be a 'partner' but then is only interested in our money and commodities," he told the Associated Press in December.
(snip/...)

http://www.thenation.com/doc/20060313/engler

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Isn't it sad that only the slimeballs who will benefit directly from _Bush's schemes are also the ones who are able to manipulate the governments in Central America? The people don't stand a chance until they can become organized, and you can be sure a world united is the LAST thing Republicans really want.