Costa Rica: DR-CAFTA Trading Arguments

Truth About Trade & Technology - Trading Arguments: "He won't even need to change his slogan. Oscar Arias narrowly won election as president last year under the bland banner of 'Costa Rica, Si!' That embraced the main issue of the campaign: a free-trade agreement with the United States encompassing Central America and the Dominican Republic, and known as DR-CAFTA. Mr Arias championed this, but his chief rival, Otton Solis, who lost by just 18,169 votes, opposed it. Having faced filibustering in Congress, Mr Arias wants a referendum to ratify DR-CAFTA. Now the country's courts have given the go-ahead. The referendum will be held on October 7th and Mr Arias is campaigning again: 'I am the face of 'Si',' he says.

Costa Rica is the only signatory country not to have ratified the trade accord, which has come into force elsewhere in Central America. The referendum will be very close fought. Opinion polls give the 'Si' camp a narrow lead, but many respondents are undecided.

Opposition to the trade deal is multi-faceted. Part of it stems simply from dislike of George Bush's United States. But some of the agreement's provisions are controversial. Unions oppose a requirement to open up to competition the country's telecommunications and insurance industries, both of which are state monopolies.

Mr Solis, a minister in Mr Arias's previous government in the 1980s, insists that he is"

Labels: cafta, central america, costa rica, costarica, san jose