No menu items!

COSTA RICA'S LEADING ENGLISH LANGUAGE NEWSPAPER

HomeArchivePresident Pledges to Donate Salary to Poor

President Pledges to Donate Salary to Poor

President Oscar Arias announced an unusual New Year’s resolution this week: starting in January 2007, he’s going to put his money where his mouth is by donating his entire salary each month to the poor.

Arias made the announcement Tuesday during a Christmas party held at a sports complex in Rincón Grande de Pavas, in western San José, according to a statement from Casa Presidencial.

“The truth is, I’m not going to live better or worse with my salary,” Arias said. “I’m going to give it to some senior citizens’ homes that need help, and… associations that have to do with kids, with the sick, with the disabled, with schools.”

Before taking office May 8 for his second term – Arias was also President from 1986-1990 – he received a government pension for his previous service, but the law required the suspension of that pension when he returned to the presidency, Casa Presidencial spokesman Esteban Arrieta told The Tico Times Wednesday.

The President told The Tico Times earlier this year that he voluntarily gave up the “exclusive dedication” bonus he is eligible to receive in his current post (TT, Sept. 8), though Casa Presidencial clarified this week that Arias donates the funds to various charities. These include the Palliative Care Foundation, the Costa Rican Cystic Fibrosis Association, the Orphans’ Hospice, the Works of the Holy Spirit Association and the Social-Productive Workshop for the Disabled, the statement said.

Arrieta said he does not have the exact amount of Arias’ salary but that it is “more than ¢4 million (approximately $7,767).”

At the Rincón Grande event, Arias handed out 15 government housing grants, or bonos, nine checks for low-income families with kids in high school and two wheelchairs.

 

Popular Articles

Costa Rica Orders Halt to Illegal Building in Protected Forest

The Osa Environmental Prosecutor’s Office has received a court order to stop a residential construction project in the Paso la Danta Biological Corridor in...

Costa Rica’s Security Crisis Threatens Tourism in Key Destinations

A report prepared by the Legislative Assembly, cited by local media outlet El Observador last week, concluded that rising insecurity in Costa Rica is...

U.S. Embassy in Honduras Issues Urgent Alert Over Mass Shooting Threats

The United States Embassy in Honduras issued a security alert warning of potential mass shooting threats targeting three locations in the capital, Tegucigalpa. The...
Avatar
spot_img
Costa Rica Tours
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Travel Insurance
Costa Rica Rocking Chait

Latest Articles