Workmen position a supermarket sign in growing Playas del Coco at the Pacifico Commercial Plaza. The store is supposed to be 17,000 square feet with an additional 3,000 square feet of commercial space. One tenant will be Hands Care Center.

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Arias tells television viewers
he will favor the poor in crisis


President Óscar Arias Sánchez, with a husky voice, went before the country Sunday to explain why he is favoring the poor in the petroleum crisis. He defended his plan to drop the tax on diesel, increase the tax on gasoline and make private owners of diesel vehicles pay double for their annual road tax.

The televised speech was the first public comments by Arias since physicians diagnosed him with a cyst on his vocal cords. He has tried to remain silent since the first week in May.

Costa Rica does not live in a bubble, Arias said, as he explained the implications of the global petroleum crisis.

Costa Rica will have to pay twice as much this year as it did in 2007 for petroleum, he said. Nearly all the money generated by tourism, the exportation of bananas and the exportation of coffee will go to buy petroleum, he said. Costa Rica imports all its petroleum.

As president, he said he had decided to help those who have less in this crisis in spite of the counsel from some to treat all citizens equally.

He said the government would not sacrifice student scholarships, school lunches, pensions for the elderly or the creation of more health clinics. Nor, he said, would the government sacrifice the construction of housing or the development of schools of music or community computer centers or more police or help for small and medium producers.

In short, he said he would not sacrifice any of his social programs.

"I will not permit the effects of this energy crisis to be distributed equally," said Arias. "If for someone with money the increase in the price of petroleum means changing his luxury car for a more economical automobile and for a person of the middle class it means keeping his vehicle and travel by bus, for those who live in poverty it means to have to choose between using money to go to work or to buy food for the home."

Arias explained the executive branch is sending to the legislature the measure to eliminate the tax on diesel and place the same taxes on gasoline. Arias reasons that diesel is used for the transportation of goods, of the public and in agriculture.

In addition he is seeking a budget measure to help the poorest of families and farmers. In addition a measure will seek to double the road tax on private vehicles that use diesel. He called these diesel luxury cars. Administration officials said this increase is designed to lessen the advantage of the elimination of diesel fuel taxes.

In addition to other uses, petroleum is used extensively by the Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad to generate power.

Costa Rica has declined to allow offshore drilling although major companies wanted to explore for possible petroleum reserves.