No menu items!

COSTA RICA'S LEADING ENGLISH LANGUAGE NEWSPAPER

HomeNewsletterCosta Rica's Solís prepares for his 16th trip abroad in a year

Costa Rica’s Solís prepares for his 16th trip abroad in a year

President Luis Guillermo Solís just returned from a 10-day tour of the United States last Friday, where he held several meetings hoping to attract investment. On Wednesday, he confirmed he will travel from June 3-11 to Paris, Geneva and Brussels.

The European tour will be Solís’ 16th trip since taking office a year ago.

In France, Solís’ will meet with President François Hollande; in Geneva he will hold meetings with U.N. officials; and in Brussels he will participate in a summit by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean.

Among other goals, Solís will lobby for Costa Rica’s joining of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

Citing “international commitments,” Solís said during a public event on Wednesday that he wouldn’t commit to fewer trips, and “would travel as much as needed in order to serve the country.”

The president’s reaction angered some lawmakers. National Liberation Party lawmaker Antonio Álvarez Desanti said he believes Solís’ trips are “presidential tourism”and undermine his presidential image.

Christian Democratic Alliance lawmaker Mario Redondo presented a report stating that frequent trips abroad are not exclusive to the president. The legislator said he has evidence that “officials from 13 ministries have taken 1,654 trips during the first year of the current administration.”

Among them Redondo reported that Public Security Ministry officials have traveled 345 times, and Planning Minister Olga Sánchez Oviedo left the country on 13 occasions and spent a total of 77 days abroad. Sánchez visited the United States, Mexico, Guatemala, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Spain, France, Moldova and China.

“She even visited some of these destinations twice,” Redondo said.

Solís justified Sánchez’s trips by saying they were job-related and that she was representing the country before international organizations. Redondo argued that international commitments should be handled by the ministers of foreign trade and foreign relations.

On Thursday, the lawmaker filed a draft bill “to improve transparency in visits abroad by public officials.” The proposal seeks to improve control and transparency for trips abroad by public officials and proposes mechanisms to evaluate the achievements of each trip.

Trending Now

Four Arrested in Costa Rica for Suspected Murder of ‘Gringo Tico’

Authorities in Costa Rica have detained four people linked to the robbery and suspected killing of Daniel Francisco Vargas Salas, a 71-year-old man who...

Costa Rica Pesticide Use Harms Soil Life, UNA Study Finds

Costa Rica is one of the countries that uses the most agrochemicals, which has a series of negative repercussions in various areas. A recent...

Costa Rican Hotels Warn of Job Risks Amid Drop in Tourists

Hotels across Costa Rica face mounting pressures as tourist numbers dip and a sluggish dollar exchange rate eats into their earnings. From January to...

Guatemala Accepts First Honduran Deportees from US

Guatemala has started accepting deportees from other countries as part of its deal with the United States, with the first group of Hondurans arriving...

Back North from Costa Rica: An Expat’s Culture Shock

I am presently away from Costa Rica. I am in a foreign country. I was born here, but it is now a different place...

Cost of living in Costa Rica from a U.S. Expat

Paradise doesn’t come cheap. Cars, gas, appliances, phones, TVs often cost more in Costa Rica. But not everything. Here’s a simple, like-for-like look at...
L. Arias
L. Arias
Reporter | The Tico Times |
spot_img
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Travel Insurance
Costa Rica Rocking Chait
Costa Rica Travel

Latest News from Costa Rica