Nearly eight out of 10 Costa Ricans registered to vote abroad in Sunday's presidential elections decided to stay home. This is the first time Ticos could vote from other countries, and the turnout was less than stellar.
The attention on Costa Rica’s presidential election has focused mainly on four political parties, but 13 candidates participated, many of them knowing their chances of victory were slim to nil. Now, minority parties are hoping for a shot at gaining seats in the next legislature.
President Laura Chinchilla Miranda cast her vote Sunday at 11:30 a.m. at Joaquín García Monge school in the canton of Desamparados, south of the capital.
Two bridges currently under construction on a southern section of the Circunvalación – a belt route around the center of San José – were built with flawed cement, experts from the University of Costa Rica’s National Structural Materials and Models Laboratory announced following a much-anticipated inspection on Wednesday.
Political campaign messages disappeared from mass media at midnight Wednesday, the official start of an electoral campaign ban ordered by Costa Rica’s Electoral Code. The ban includes airing or printing of paid propaganda in newspapers, radio, television and on the Web.
The National Tourism Chamber wants to eliminate a law that allows municipalities to ban alcohol sales during Election Day next Sunday (also Super Bowl Sunday).
Construction of a new cargo dock in the Caribbean port of Moín faced yet another delay over the weekend when union members disrupted a public hearing to discuss details of the project with local residents and dock workers. The meeting was suspended for a second time in less than two months.
MADRID – Arthur Budovsky, founder of the electronic payment platform Liberty Reserve, in a court appearance Monday denied committing any crimes and said he would fight U.S. efforts to extradite him from Spain. Spanish prosecutors, however, appeared in favor of granting the U.S. request.
