Costa Rica Digest, Oct. 6

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>>Costa Rica News Digest<<
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TODAY'S CONTENTS
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*Commentary: Pacheco Feels Betrayed?
*Calendar
*News Digest

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*Commentary: Pacheco Feels Betrayed?
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Politicians so often act like spoiled little brats. And
when they get caught with their hands in the cookie
jar, it
can be even more fun, provided that you first apply a
clothespin
to your nose!

Yesterday, Pacheco was shrieking very shrilly about
he and Costa
Rica being "betrayed" by an alleged commission being
paid to his
predecessor in Office by Alcatel, supposedly as a
"reward" for
them winning the ICE contract. Rodriguez supposedly
received
$140,000.00, an ICE board member's wife received over
a million
-- AND, PACHECO'S ELECTION CAMPAIGN RECEIVED
$100,000.00, AS DID
HIS ELECTORAL RIVAL, ROLANDA ARAYA.

Now, of course, when Pachco receives one of these
illegal "gifts," as
he also allegedly did from a Middle Eastern man on
the US terrorist
watch list,by the way, in about the same amount, it
is simply a case of

"everyone's doing it."

I thought it was so instructive when a reporter asked
about this "gift"
from the same source as Rodriguez apparantly received
his, that our
"brave anti corruption fighter" brushed off the
question, since he was
too busy, obviously, DISCUSSING HIS ADMINISTRATION'S
"ANTI CORRUPTION"
EFFORTS!

Indeed. We must also bear in mind that both
Rodriguez and Calderon, who
is currently embroiled in another scandal, despise
Pacheco and would not
even endorse or campaign for his election. This was
the first time that
leaders of a party in Costa Rica refused to help one
of their own.

So one wonders if this "anger and betrayal" goes
deeper than is apparant?

To us, the extra $40,000.00 allegedly received by
Rodriguez shouldn't be
enough to throw such a tantrum over, but I suppose
Pacheco must feel
slighted that he didn't get "his fair share."

It is nothing but blatant hypocrisy that the
Legislative Assembly is not
at this very moment drawing up articles of
impeachement for El Presidente
right now, or that the TSE is not moving to void the
last election for
fraud on both sides.

But then, that may be asking too much. I mean, both
major parties in Costa
Rica have been caught red handed receiving massive
amounts of illegal
campaign contributions, but NOBODY wants to talk
about THAT! All anyone
wants to discuss is the selected scapegoats and fall
guys of the day --
who, coincidentally, are also Pacheco's two main
enemies in life. If one
were of a suspicious mind, one might think that El
Presidente had concocted
the release of this information himself, depending on
his immunity from
prosecution [IMPUNITY] as President to cover his
Presidential backside
should things go wrong, and also depending on the
support of National
Liberation not to complain too loudly should their
culpability in this
matter have a spotlight shone on its campaign
"donation" practices too.

And, they are no doubt hoping and praying that we
won't notice.

Well, we are.


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CALENDAR
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October 06


*Baroque Concert
Europa Galante Baroque Ensemble will perform tonight
at the National
Theater in San José. Info: 221-5341.

*Seminar about Japan
Free seminar entitled “Eastern Asia Security and the
Economical and
Political Perspectives of Japan,” begins at 8:15 a.m.
at the Hotel
Herradura. Info: 283-1847.

*Christmas Calendars and Cards for Charity
The Association for the Welfare of Escazú has
announced its Christmas

calendars and cards are on sale in its offices in
front of the Red
Cross in Escazú. Proceeds support the kids who attend
the nutrition
center. Info: 228-0279.

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NEWS DIGEST
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*Ericsson Contract Gone

The Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE)
said Tuesday it
would no longer seek to push through a contract with
Ericsson after

confirming that the Swedish telecommunications giant
paid for two
officials of the state-run entity to travel to Prague
last year.


The decision by ICE, Costa Rica's state electric and
telephone
monopoly, means the voiding of Ericsson's $130
million contract for

installing 600,000 GSM cellular telephone connections.

The government's comptroller's office (Contraloría
General de la
Republica) opposed the Ericsson contract and in late
September made
a final decision, saying it would not approve the
contract that ICE
had worked on negotiating for some time.

The comptroller's office, said that there had rumours
of payoffs and
perks given to ICE employees and that the company had
delivered
equipment before the deal was concluded.

Without the approval of the comptroller's office, the
contract could
not enter into effect.

ICE appealed the decision but, after discovering the
illicit payment of

travel expenses to key ICE managers, said Tuesday it
would not ask the

comptroller's office to reconsider terminating the
contract.

This means that ICE now has to put the contract out
to bid anew,
delaying the installation of the 600,000 new cellular
phone connections
for at least two years, the ICE's press office reported.

Questions about Ericsson surfaced months ago, when
newspapers reported
that ICE executives, had traveled to Prague last year
accompanied by
Ericsson Costa Rica country manager Ricardo Taylor.

Alvaro Retana, an ICE official, José Antonio Lobo, a
member of the ICE
board and Hernando Pantigoso de la Peña, a director
of Radiográfica

Costarricense S.A. (RACSA) attended a meeting with
Taylor in Prauge,
Czech Republic, while the trio were on an authorized
conference trip in

Geneva last October.

It was mere coincidence that they were all staying at
the same Prague
hotel and insisted that each had paid his own way.

Lobo, however, retracted his statement last week,
telling prosecutors
probing a case of corruption in the ICE-Alcatel
scandal, in which he
said that Ericsson had footed the bill during his
stay in Prague.

Lobo is under house arrest after it was learned that
Alcatel had
deposited $2.4 million into an account held by Lobo's
wife, Jean Gallup.

In early August, Álvaro Retana, considered the number
two man at ICE,
quit his position following critical internal reports
and that he would

probably be fired over the situation.

To investigate these cases, the ICE launched an
internal probe, but
executive president Pablo Cob said he intended to
take legal measures
that would keep Alcatel from obtaining new contracts.

Costa Rican law provides for sanctioning a company
for a period of one
to five years for "providing gifts, either directly
or through third
parties, to officials involved in contract
negotiations."


*Banana Pickers Allege Use of Toxic Substance by Firms

Thousands of banana pickers in Costa Rica have filed
a lawsuit in
Los Angeles against two chemical companies and three
major U.S.
fresh produce companies, claiming exposure to a toxic
pesticide
caused a range of reproductive disorders.

The suit - filed against Dole Food Co., Chiquita
Brands International
Inc., Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc., Dow Chemical Co.
and Shell Chemical
Co., a subsidiary of Royal Dutch/Shell Group -
accuses the companies of
using dibromochloropropane on bananas in Central
America after it was
banned in the U.S. in 1979.

The pesticide, a soil fumigant sold under the brand
names Nemagon and

Fumazone, is suspected of causing sterility,
testicular atrophy,

miscarriages, birth defects, liver damage and cancer
when inhaled or
absorbed by the skin, according to the lawsuit filed
Friday.

A spokesman for Cincinnati-based Chiquita said the
company had "just
become aware of this and has not had time to review
the complaint."

Representatives for Dow, Shell, Dole and Del Monte
were not
immediately available for comment.

Dow and Shell stopped making DBCP in the late 1970s
but continued
selling it to Costa Rica "in conscious disregard of
the health and
safety" of workers there, the lawsuit said.

The suit also accuses the produce companies of
continuing "to oversee
the application" of DBCP on their banana farms.

Lawyers for the plaintiffs also accused the companies
of conducting a

"settlement campaign" in which workers exposed to the
pesticide were
induced to sign releases freeing the companies of
liability.

The companies allegedly offered to settle the claims
for sterility for
$2,900 to $6,500 a piece as long as the workers did
not involve their
own lawyers.

The lawsuit requests general and punitive damages for
what it describes
as "wanton and reckless acts Â… and outrageous and
malicious conduct."
It's claims against the companies include product
liability, fraud,

negligence and conspiracy, but it did not specify an
amount.


*Pacheco to Sign Anti-Corruption Law

President Abel Pacheco is expected to sign the new
Law Against Illicit

Enrichment and Corruption today, the Judicial Branch
announced
yesterday.

The law, which was under review by the Legislative
Assembly since 1999,
and was approved in second debate last month,
establishes punishment
for new crimes such as illicit enrichment, passing of
legislation for

self-benefit, concealment of goods and trafficking of
influences.

Legislative Assembly president Gerardo González and
Supreme Court
president Luis Paulino Mora will also be present at
the signing,
scheduled for 10:45 a.m. at the Casa Presidencial today.

The signing comes as investigators and the media
continue to reveal
new information about corruption scandals in the
Costa Rican Electricity

Institute (ICE) and the Costa Rican Social Security
System (Caja).


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