Public works and transport vice minister steps down

Public Works and Transport Vice Minister Rodrigo Rivera submitted his resignation on Tuesday, but no further details have emerged as to why.

Minister Pedro Castro confirmed that Rivera will stay in office until April 15. He said he was unaware of the reasons for Rivera’s decision, but acknowledged that he was not surprised by the move.

Silvia Bolaños, director of the National Safety Council (COSEVI), will take over the job, and Germán Valverde, a civil engineer specializing in transportation will replace Bolaños. According to Castro, Valverde has “a lot of experience and knowledge in the areas of road safety, and was ex-coordinator of the Transportation Infrastructure Program at the University of Costa Rica’s National Laboratory of Materials and Structural Models.”

Rodrigo Rivera was involved in several controversial issues, including a lawsuit filed against the government by Riteve SyC, the Spanish-Costa Rican company in charge of mandatory technical vehicle inspections.

He also was in charge of negotiations with taxi drivers and private chauffeurs, or porteadores, who have held ​​numerous street demonstrations recently.

Last week, taxi drivers refused to negotiate with Rivera, after a public protest against the ministry for an alleged lack of controls against porteadores.