A.M. Costa Rica photo
These young supporters of Ottón Solís, although younger
than most, have plenty of energy and displayed it in Jacó Sunday.
Solís legacy
By Jay Brodell
Ottón Solís, the third-party presidential candidate, has a bright future, some future or maybe no future, according to speculation by politically involved Costa Ricans and foreign observers. Solís didn’t make the presidential runoff because he came in third in a three-way race, but Solís banners still were in evidence Monday in the streets of San José. His anti-corruption message seemed to hit home among young professionals. "He’s going to be the president in four year," said one supporter as he hawked his wares in the downtown. Later he agreed that the future of Solís hinges on what happens in the next four years. Few people said that Solís would suffer the same fate as U.S. third-party candidate Ross Perot, who dropped off the political charts after pulling in 19 percent of the 1992 presidential vote. Solís got 26 percent here, some 360,000 votes. One U.S. observer of the Costa Rican scene said that Solís managed to get 14 of his Partido Acción Ciudadana National Assembly candidates elected. That’s the swing block in the 57-member body. The deputies and their votes will continue to keep Solís a national force, this observer said. A tour through western and central Costa Rica Sunday showed many more Solís banners than had been anticipated. His supporters were generally younger, raising the possibility that the youth that he attracted to politics will remain a force. Such was the case in the United States with antiwar Sen. Eugene McCarthy, who attracted similarly minded political activists in 1968 when he challenged the leadership of his Democratic Party. McCarthy’s legacy was thousands of politically savvy young people who have been a force ever since in national politics. McCarthy helped unseat President Lyndon B. Johnson. But McCarthy never got the U.S. presidential nomination himself. That went to Hubert Humphrey, then-vice president. The same may be true in Costa Rica in future years. Solís might have managed to involve in politics thousands of persons who might never have done so on their own. They now know the ropes, and even if his party fragments, as some third-parties do, each politically active individual will owe Solís a certain amount of thanks. In a country with 31 percent abstentions from the voting Sunday, that
would seem to be a substantial contribution.
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Nosara gets serious
about
better road The town of Nosara wants the government to put in a 30-km. asphalt covering on its access road to protect the health of the citizens and to give tourism a boost. Two of the town’s major associations have prepared a petition to the government, and the petition contains 82 names. The town leaders say they are sick of the runaround they are getting from officials in charge of road construction. The Ministerio de Obras Publicas y Transporte just announced road work on the Pacific side of the Nicoya Peninsula, and Nosara was selected for annual grading work and not much more. Tamarindo and Sámara are going to get more investments in roads, including asphalt toppings. The Nosara petition was put forward by the Asociación de Desarrollo de Nosara and the Asociación Local de Desarrollo Turistico Sostenible de Nosara. The petition said that during the winter season the residents have to suffer with muddy roads and that during the dry season the problem is heavy dust. The road is about 30 kms. (about 18 miles) from a hard-surfaced road near Sámara to Nosara center. Despite contacts with many officials "we are left without a decent road that would let many international and national tourists come and enjoy the beautiful places here," said a letter seeking help from the two groups. Nosara is one of Costa Rica’s better beach areas and the beaches slope gently into the Pacific. The area is comprised of several beaches which can accommodate surfing but are not known for dangerous undertows. Some residents in Nosara have said they prefer dirt roads to keep down the number of tourists, but this petition from the two associations raises the issue of the environmental and physical damage that can be done by heavy dust. The road was featured in an A.M. Costa Rica report Dec. 17 when the road, hard hit by heavy rains, was difficult to travel, effectively isolating the town. Costa Rica and Panama
By the A.M. Costa Rica staff Costa Rica and Panamá have asked for help from the U.N. Food and Agricultural Organization to prevent an infestation in the coffee fields from moving south. The coffee pest was detected in early 2000 in the Central Valley, and specialists said the insect had spread south from Nicaragua. Some 200 hectares (nearly 500 acres) in San José and Heredia were found to be infected, and an aggressive program of fumigation of trucks was begun to keep the insect from spreading to other coffee plantations. The bug eats into the coffee bean. The integrated management to control the pest is likely to result in an increase in the use of insecticides in an agricultural pursuit where not much pesticide was used in the past, according to officials in Panamá and Costa Rica. The alternative is an infestation that can cut coffee harvests by 80 percent. Alfredo Robert Polini, minister of agriculture and livestock in Costa Rica, is expected to announce new methods to control the insect outbreak Wednesday morning in a conference in the ministry in Sabana. He will be accompanied by Iván Angulo Chacón of the Food and Agricultural Organization in the two countries. The pest, the coffee bean borer (Hypothenemus hampei) lays eggs that develop into larvae that eat all or part of the bean, sometimes making the fruit fall to the ground. |
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