Costa Rica CAFTA update ... The Tico Times

[CRH]

The Tico Times
Friday, March 2, 2007 - San Jose', Costa Rica

CAFTA Fast-Track Approved
By Katherine Stanley

What began as a good week for opponents of the free-trade pact with the United States ended as a good week for its supporters, as a Supreme Court decision gave boost to a fast track procedure that would allow the Legislative Assembly to speed up its vote on the agreement.

The ruling from the court's Constitutional Chamber (Sala IV) came just days after the largest march ever against the Central American Free-Trade Agreement with the United States (CAFTA), which brought tens of thousands of protesters to downtown San Jose' Monday to urge the government to withdraw the agreement from the assembly.

snip

The Sala IV, which had been evaluating whether it's constitutional for legislators to set a deadline for voting on international trade agreements, ruled Wednesday the procedure can be applied to CAFTA, but must first be returned to commission so dissenting legislators' opinions can be heard.

Pro-CAFTA legislators erred in discarding opponents' appeals in the special commission that approved the fast-track reform, according to the court. Mayi Antillo'n, who heads the leading National Liberation Party (PLN) in assembly, told The Tico Times yesterday this process could take a couple of weeks; discussion of CAFTA would then take anywhere from 3-7 weeks.

snip

This is from the hard print article and no link can be provided because it is by subscription only on the internet.

Other tid bits from the story are, that although a set back for anti CAFTA activists, the wording of the ruling indicates the judicial opinion that the fast-track reform had procedural defects and bodes well for an appeal against the method the agreement was handled in commission.

The article also disclosed that pro-CAFTA legislators believe that though close, they have the necessary 38 votes for a two-thirds ratification majority. The opposition party, Citizen Action Party (PAC), is hoping with more discussion and citizen demonstration (a planned nation wide one day strike), perhaps a vote or two will wander astray. Time will tell.

[niceypoo]

1. Costa Rica is third world.....but....

they have universal health care, the longest life expectancy on earth and a social security system.

[BayCityProgressive]

2. wow

so even though the vast majority oppose it..it will pass anyways. Sounds like our government. Good thing we are all so free.

[CRH]

3. A late reply to your post ...

'so even though the vast majority oppose it..it will pass anyways.'

This is not accurate. The polling suggests 47% support the pact, with 34% against, and the rest with no opinion.

However, the polling in Costa Rica, as in the US, can vary widely or be downright wrong.

During the presidential campaign the polls had Arias and his party in the lead by double digits up to and including the final day. The election was so close, it took weeks to determine the winner after a recount. So the first question might be how accurate and/or scientific this poll is, and a second question might be how well informed the general public is with the issues of CAFTA, and the possible future consequences to the country's economic autonomy.

Another issue of discussion that might deserve some debate, is, if 47% of the voters support the pact, how is the representation in the assembly obtaining a 66% majority? And should the possible far reaching consequences and social impact of CAFTA, to small un-protected businesses, the resources, labor, and the environment, be determined, by un representational votes in assembly cast in behalf of a minority of the electorate at large?

I am not suggesting anything illegal is occurring, only questioning the wisdom behind the politics, of the corporate privatizing of a society with a minority of true support. Most of the citizens have not a clue of the effect of Walmart, Target, Home Depot, and mega supermarkets, on the many family owned tiendas and ferreterias. In ten years it would be sad to see the regrets of effects these super stores have on local business and economy, and then realize a true majority were unaware, when the minority decided their fate. But, such is the tale of history and globalization. Hindsight is 20-20, and 'if I'd only known', the lasting lament.