Shore leave for anti-drug crews
upsetting to some Costa Ricans


Agreement by the legislature to let members of the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard dock to enjoy shore leave has generated concern among Costa Ricans and even U.S. expats here.

The legislature approved the request by the U.S. Embassy, 31-8, Thursday. Such approval is required by the Costa Rica Constitution and an anti-drug agreement between the two countries.

Many Costa Ricans are surprised by the number of ships. The U.S. sought permission for 46 ships of which 43 are warships. The ships carry 7,000 in their crews. The vessels will not come at once. The permission is from July 1 to Dec. 31. Merchants and bar owners in Puntarenas and Golfito will be the principal beneficiaries of the arrivals.

Some 1,100 individuals already have signed an online petition that asks the Asamblea Legislativa to reverse the decision. The petition says that the authorization is excessive and disportionate and cites the anti-militaristic and pacifist tradition of Costa Rica.

The petition is being promoted incorrectly as being against the installation of a U.S. military base in Costa Rica. Freddy Pacheco, a Universidad Nacional teacher, said in a cover e-mail message that 1,100 persons already signed.

The controversy developed after a Friday news story in La Nación. Expat Internet discussion lists were filled with conspiracy theories and tales of black helicopters and secret U.S. bases here.

This kind of legislative approval is routine, although lawmakers expressed their unhappiness that they got the request so late. They asked that future requests come at least a month in advance. The text of the legislative discussion and vote is HERE.

Opinion here of U.S.
generally high, poll says


The vast majority of Costa Ricans have a high opinion of the United States, according to a poll by Latinobarómetro. Here, 84 percent of respondents say they have a favorable opinion of the U.S., while 92 percent said relations between the two countries were good.

A somewhat lower percentage of Costa Ricans interviewed thought the U.S. has a favorable impact on Latin America, at 81 percent. This is still the second highest rate after the Dominican Republic.

The poll was taken in 2009 with results released last week. Latinobarómetro is a Chilean non-governmental organization dedicated to opinion polls around Latin America.

The most favorable results regionally come from Central American countries and the Dominican Republic, precisely those involved in the Central American Free Trade Agreement. This was eventually approved in Costa Rica through a referendum. Argentines declared the lowest opinion of the U.S.

Regionally the overall opinion of the U.S. was 74 percent positive, up 10 percentage points from 2008, the last year of the George W. Bush administration. That is the highest since the question was first asked in 1997.

Costa Ricans showed a low opinion of the influence of Venezuela and Cuba in the region, with favorable answers about the latter dead last in the region at 18 percent.

Pollsters also asked about economic and political integration within the region, and Costa Rican answers were similar to the mainstream of regional opinion. That still meant 72 percent in favor of economic integration, with a much lower number interested in (undefined) political integration at 58 percent. In both cases free trade countries come in lower than the regional average while Southern Cone countries show the most enthusiasm.

These numbers show how complicated the politics behind the Central American Free Trade Treaty referendum were, with high regard for the United States and willingness to consider economic integration not translating into strong support for the treaty, which only passed by a 52-48 percent margin.

In the political here-and-now, the poll also found Costa Ricans optimistic about they and their family’s future, with 84 percent saying they are headed in the “right direction.” In all countries respondents described their personal situation as better than the country’s as a whole, the famous “right track” question often asked in the U.S., with 46 percent of Costa Ricans describing the country’s future as favorable. This is about the same as the regional average.

The regional numbers for the personal and national “right track” questions are skewed by high levels of enthusiasm in regional power Brazil. The poll reviewers also noted that general opinions of foreign countries like the U.S. and others are also affected by the attitudes of the populace in general. Dominicans are the most positive and Panamanians and Argentines sourpusses.

Country to host games


Costa Rica will be the site of the 2013 Juegos Centroamericanos, an athletic competition similar to the Olympics. The announcement came Saturday from the Organización Deportiva Centroamericana, which sent a team to check out facilities here last month.

The decision brought praise from Casa Presidencial and also officials in San José. The regional sports organization is running the XXI Central American and Caribbean Games that take place later this month in the Puerto Rican city of Mayagüez.