ON May 1, International Workers’ Day, representativesof the country’s labor unions, environmentalgroups and several left-leaning politicians plan toestablish a new political party – one they say will offervoters a “real political alternative.”“This movement is being founded by citizens fromdifferent walks of life – union members, environmentalists,representatives of women’s groups and communityleaders – concerned about the real needs andstruggles of the country’s social sectors,” explainedJosé Merino, one of the movement’s founders.During their founding meeting, to be held after the annual workers’ parade in San José, supporters will decide on an official partyname and define a basic political platform.“THE country is governed by theextreme right,” said Fabio Chávez, presidentof the Costa Rican ElectricityInstitute’s (ICE) ASEDEICE workers’union and a supporter of the new movement.“The two large conservative parties[governing Social Christian Unity andNational Liberation] have forged a strategicalliance. The extreme right is alsopresent in the Libertarian Movement.There is a weak opposition by CitizenAction Party, which was further weakenedwhen it was fractured into two factions,”he explained.ALTHOUGH details of the platformstill must be discussed, Merino said themovement would oppose the CentralAmerica Free-Trade Agreement (CAFTA)with the United States, the opening of thecountry’s telecommunications and insurancemonopolies, and the proposed U.S.International Law Enforcement Academy(ILEA), among other issues.However, the movement hopes to serveas more than just an opposing force. It alsowill offer concrete proposals on how tomake Costa Rica a better, more equal andmore environmentally sustainable country,according to Merino.The party hopes to offer voters “analternative to the neo-liberal developmentmodel and Washington consensus policiesthat have governed the country since the1980s,” Merino said.IN the past, the left has played anactive role in Costa Rican politics.Although none of the leftist parties thathave existed in the past 20 years –Popular Vanguard, Socialist Party, UnitedPeople, Revolutionary Movement Partyand Democratic Force, for example –have held more than a handful of seats inthe Legislative Assembly, they served asopposition to the political establishment.Their concerns filtered into the mainstreamlegislative agenda.Today, while there are five major factionsin the Legislative Assembly, no self proclaimedleftist parties are represented.The members of the new leftist movementhope to change this by taking part in the2006 elections.A lack of political representationprompted many left-leaning leaders andintellectuals two years ago to create thePolitical Action Forum for AnotherPossible Costa Rica, an informal thinktank in charge of discussing the country’sproblems and offering potential solutions.From that forum rose the idea for apolitical movement, which on Saturdaywill begin the long journey towardsbecoming a political party.ENVIRONMENTALIST GabrielRivas, who also plans to collaborate withthe movement, believes in the need for anincreasingly belligerent leftist movementthat represents the interests of the majorityof the country’s population.He said he hopes the movement willserve as a counter-balance to the governingminority and the interests of big capital.“I see a real intention to include thepositions of the different social sectors,including not only the traditional left butalso gender rights groups and environmentalists,”Rivas explained.“As an environmentalist, I am attractedby the movement’s proposals. I see a leftwilling to update its proposals; a left thathas thrown out a vision based solely onproduction and economics and is openingitself to environmental proposals.“The movement has great potential,”he said. “It aims to fill a large vacuumthat has been created in the country’spolitical process.”“THIS is a necessary movement,”explained Merino, who served as deputyfor Democratic Force between 1998 and2002. “There are no parties in theLegislative Assembly that represent thereal needs of social groups. There is a needfor an alternative and a modern left thatbelieves in creating an alternative to theneo-liberal capitalism that dominates us.”Union leader Chávez agrees on theneed for a renewed leftist political movement.“The country’s social movements havebeen left without representation,” Chávezexplained. “Different social actors havebeen talking about the need to establish aninstitutionalized movement that truly representsthe country’s social sectors in theLegislative Assembly.Other union leaders supporting themovement include Jorge Gamboa of theNational Learning Institute (INA) unionand Freddy Solórzano of the NationalAssociation of Public and PrivateEmployees (ANEP).MERINO said he prefers not to referto the movement as a political party in thetraditional sense. Ideally, he says, differentsocial movements should be allowedto propose their own candidates fordeputies.However, the current political systemis centered on party politics and the onlyway to achieve political representation isthrough a party. For that reason, the movementis becoming a party, while still tryingto maintain its original identity, he said.“Over the next six months, we hope tohave constituted a nationwide organizationwith branches in every province and canton,”Merino said.“WE hope to have an electoral presenceduring the next elections as part of abroad front,” he said. “Our movementwill seek to stop the advances of the oligarchsled by [former President 1986-1990 and presidential hopeful] Dr. OscarArias, which are threatening the country’s democracy.”The meeting to define the party platformis scheduled for May 1 at 1:30 p.m.,in the Edificio Cooperativo behind the SanPedro Mall.How Is a Political Party Created?1) After a group decides to create a newpolitical party, its representatives need tocollect 3,000 signatures of Costa Ricanvoters willing to support the party.2) The party must then hold assemblymeetings in the country’s 465 districts, 81cantons and seven provinces to elect localrepresentatives. Next, it must hold its firstnational assembly.3) Once that is done, it must submit itspaperwork to the Supreme ElectionsTribunal to be officially registered as a party.4) Candidates for the president anddeputies for the 2006 elections must beelected by August 2005.

TALK of proposals that would dramatically change the system under which most North Americans and Europeans apply for residency in Costa Rica has sparked concern andconfusion among foreigners here.If proposed changes become law, it would require a complete overhaul of the current residency system, according to Ryan Piercy, general manager of the Association ofResidents of Costa Rica (ARCR).He said the changes, if approved, also could decrease the number of foreigners who become legal residents here, which he said could hurt the country economically.FOREIGNERS with legal residency and those in the process of obtaining residency will not be affected by the proposed changes because Costa Rica prohibits laws from being enacted retroactively, Piercy explained at a meeting organized by the Newcomers Club earlier this month to set the record straight.“I’m not even sure what the new rules are or if they’ve even gone through,” said newcomer Steve Boisvert before Piercy’s discussion began. “As I understand it, theyhaven’t… but it’s confusing.”MANY North American and European residents apply for residency under the immigration categories of pensionado (a retiree) or rentista (a person not yet of retirement age who has a substantial enough income or savings on which to live).To apply for residency as a pensionado under current requirements, a person must prove a retirement or disability pension of at least $600 a month. Rentistas must prove they have a continuous source of income (minimum $1,000 per month) from abroad.Rentistas or pensionados are not allowed to work in Costa Rica, although they may start and administratively run businesses.THE proposed “Law of Pensionado and Rentista Residents,” sponsored by legislative deputy Aida Faingezicht and being reviewed by a congressional commission, sparked criticism last year (TT, Nov. 7, 2003.)Opponents say the proposal would alienate many potential residency applicants because it calls for an increase in the required monthly income, from $600 to $3,000 for pensionados and from $1,000 to $6,000 for rentistas, along with establishing minimum age requirements of 55 for pensionados and 45 for rentistas.However, the proposal would allow rentistas and pensionados to bring in household goods and appliances for three years tax free and import one vehicle for personal use free of taxes up to five years after becoming a resident – restoring some of the benefits cut in 1992 when the residency law was amended.ANOTHER proposal, which has yet to go before the Legislative Assembly, is supportedby the Immigration Department. It would eliminate rentista status altogether in an effort to attract more foreign capital to Costa Rica, according to Immigration Director Marco Badilla.“It’s not about eliminating the rentista status,” Badilla told The Tico Times. “It is really about bringing in more people as inversionistas.”Inversionistas (residents who invest money in Costa Rica) are required to spend at least $50,000 in a tourism or import-export business in Costa Rica to qualify for residency.Badilla said the proposal is not about denying people residency, but about the possibility of bringing more money into the country. Pensionados also are valuable to Costa Rica and its economy, he added.“There is a lot involved,” Badilla admitted. “We have to analyze the situation and make decisions on what needs to be changed.”According to the ARCR, the majority of residents investing in businesses are rentistas, who are able to do so without the major investment asked of inversionistas.THE ARCR is fighting to prevent these proposed changes and to set the record straight for residents who have expressed concern about the potential changes, according to Piercy.“If you haven’t applied for residency, your goal, in my opinion, is to apply now before they make any changes,” he said, recommending that anyone wanting to spend more than four months of the year in Costa Rica apply for residency.“These proposed changes are unlikely to affect those who have residency, except when applying for permanent residency,” he continued. “However, the proposed changesare likely to affect those coming in.”Some people at the Newcomers Club meeting said they wanted to complete their paperwork for the residency application process as soon as possible.“My paperwork was lost, and I can’t apply until it gets straightened out,” saidKaren Mendoza. “I’m concerned and want to do it now because I know how long theprocess takes and things can change.”PIERCY said he is concerned that if either of these proposals is successful, alarge number of people who might have otherwise come to Costa Rica will lookelsewhere to retire, taking their money with them. This, he said, would be a seriousblow to the economy.He also emphasized that many foreigners are under the erroneous impression thatthese proposals have already passed. “There have been no changes in the law,” Piercy stressed. In the past, “a numberof immigration proposals have been submitted to the Legislative Assembly thatnever passed.”Some changes have been made in recent years, Percy pointed out. He explained thatin the past, pensionados and rentistas could apply for permanent residency after twoyears. That is no longer an option.Until three years ago, use of the Social Security System (Caja) did not require residency,and now it does, Piercy said.ACCORDING to Piercy, the problems people should be concerned about are not the proposals, which he said are not likely to pass, but changes in the application of the bylaws of existing laws, which are subject to interpretation with each new governmentadministration.“Laws in Costa Rica cannot be retroactive, but the bylaws can be,” Piercy said.“This is what the ARCR is trying to fight. It doesn’t make any sense.”In the past year, the ARCR has taken a greater role in lobbying for members’ rights and trying to ensure residency laws are clear – not subject to interpretation.“A lot of things have never been specified, and so it is up to whoever is in charge,”Piercy said. “We’re trying to change that.”

NUEVA VIDA, CIUDAD SANDINO– Touting the slogan “Our Sweat, OurSales, Our Success,” a small sewing cooperativeof hurricane victims in a formerrefugee camp outside of Managua is on theverge of making history.For the past two years, the CooperativaMaquiladora Mujeres Nueva VidaInternacional has been producing organic-cotton T-shirts, camisoles and qualitycrossover blouses for export to theUnited States.Now, this modest entrepreneurial businessof 45 women and men is hoping tobecome the first worker-owned free-tradezone in the world.The paperwork to apply for free-trade zonestatus was finalized this week, and thecooperative is waiting for the green lightfrom the government of President EnriqueBolaños, which has aggressively sought toattract free-trade zones to Nicaragua.Free-trade-zone status would streamlineimport and export procedures for thecooperative, as well as ensure continuedtax exemptions on property and trade.HAVING complied with all of therequirements for application, the cooperative,which recently formed the company“Zona de Comercio Justo, Fair-TradeZone” for legal purposes, likes itschances for approval.The prospect of becoming the firstworker-owned free-trade zone is alreadybeing celebrated by activists as a grassrootscoup against the establishment ofglobalization.“We are using the system to turn thetables; we are using the rules of global tradeto our advantage, rather than always being adollar short and a day late,” said MikeWoodard, founder of the Nicaragua-basednon-governmental organization JubileeHouse Community, which played an instrumentalrole in forming the cooperative.“This will change the image of sweatshopsbecause the women will be workingfor themselves, not a foreign owner,”he said.THE worker-run maquiladora hasalready set base wages at 40% higher thanother free-trade zones in Nicaragua, and hasestablished a democratically elected directoratethat answers to the employee-owners.The cooperative members – includingpregnant women and several handicappedemployees – are free to move about thefactory, joking with other workers andgoing to the bathroom without the permissionof a floor boss.Quotas are set depending on order volumes,but employees are not punished ordocked pay if they are unable to meet theirdaily expected output.THE cooperative’s market in the UnitedStates is clothing wholesaler Maggie’sOrganics, a Presbyterian Church associationand several university bookstores, such asthose at Boston College in Massachusettsand Bucknell in Pennsylvania.With the help of a recent $187,000low-interest loan from the Washington,D.C.-based Inter-American Foundation,the women’s co-op is now able to buyorganic cotton directly from Peru. As aresult, the cooperative now offers “full-package”services, rather than the “cutand-sew” services it once offered when itwas dependent on buyers to purchase andsend primary materials to complete orders.The shift to the full-package model hasresulted a 2004 first-trimester productionincrease of 160% from last year’s totals,according to Rosa Davila, the cooperative’sadministrative director.The cooperative this year has exportedmore than $320,000 worth of clothing.If production levels maintain for theremainder of the year, the cooperativewill turn its first profit, which will bedivided among its members based ondays worked, Davila said.ALTHOUGH the sewing cooperativeis being hailed as a pioneer in breaking themold of globalization, blazing the trail hasbeen tough.For the first two years after forming in1999, members of the cooperative did notreceive any pay while they labored to buildtheir cinderblock factory.Neighbors ridiculed the foundinggroup of women, saying they were beingmanipulated by the Gringos of JubileeHouse, Woodard recalls. Consequently,the first two groups involved in the co-opdissolved before construction was completed.But a small and dedicated base ofwomen stuck it through.When the factory was done, the membersremaining in the cooperative agreed toplace a value of $350 on their 640 hours ofconstruction labor. In fairness to thesewomen, new employees who are allowedto join the cooperative must pay an admittancefee of $350. The money goes into ageneral fund controlled by the co-op.THE success of the cooperative, albeitnoteworthy, is still relatively modest.Cooperative president Zulema Mena, aformer vegetable vendor in Managua wholater worked briefly at another maquiladoraoutside the capital, said the working conditionsand pay at the Nueva Vida co-op aremuch better than what she was used to.However, as women such as 52-yearoldcooperative founding member DeliaUrban point out, the average monthly payof $120-180 is not enough to meet the risingcosts of living in Nicaragua.The monthly cost of basic food staplesalone is about $128, and does not includemoney for electricity and water bills, educationexpenses for children, medicines orany form of entertainment or diversion.Yet despite the harsh economic realitiesof Nicaragua, the Nueva Vida co-op is demonstratingto the world that a socialistmovement based on workers’ rights andequality can still offer the promise of changein a world governed by the neoliberal capitalistorder.

MANAGUA – Nicaraguans of allpolitical persuasions joined this week inmourning the sudden death of LiberalConstitutional Party congressman PedroJoaquín Ríos, a leading supporter of formerPresident Arnoldo Alemán and advocatefor efforts to pardon the embattledLiberal party boss of his 20-year jail sentencefor money-laundering, fraud,embezzlement and misuse of public funds(TT, Dec. 12).Ríos, a 58-year-old veterinarian turned-congressman, died of a heart attackSaturday morning while at his homeranch in the northern department ofMatagalpa. The deputy reportedly hadexperienced shortness of breath and chestpains, for which his wife of 36 years,Yadira Roque, urged him to seek medicalattention Friday afternoon in the hospitalin nearby Estelí.Ríos was treated and released fromthe hospital, but the pains reportedlyincreased throughout the night, requiringthe congressman to be transported byambulance to Managua’s private HospitalBautista.Ríos, who reportedly had a history ofcardiac problems, did not make it to thehospital alive.Congress held a special homage forRíos on Sunday morning, during whichfellow deputies remembered him as adedicated and oftentimes animated publicservant.His funeral was held in ManaguaSunday afternoon, after which his bodywas transported back to his hometownMatiguás, Matagalpa, for burial.Ríos is survived by his wife and fourgrown children. He will be replaced incongress by designated substitute deputyElvin Pineda.

MANAGUA – Two hundred tourismsuppliers, buyers and travel agents fromaround the world descended on the capitalof Nicaragua this week for the sixth annualTravel Exchange Central America(Trex) trade show – an event billed as themost exclusive and important tourismtrade show for Central America.Founded and organized annually bythe Florida-based international event managementfirm William H. Coleman, Inc.,the Trex show promotes regional tourismby encouraging smaller suppliers to sellCentral America as a multi-destinationtourism package.The three-day event offers businessmeetings between tourism serviceproviders and buyers, and training seminarsto teach travel agents how to sellCentral America to clients in other partsof the world.Trex 2004 was inaugurated Tuesdaymorning by Lucia Salazar, executive presidentof the Nicaragua Tourism Institute(Intur), who stressed that Nicaragua is thesafest country in Central America and isfast becoming the most attractive investmentopportunity in the region.Salazar noted that Nicaragua tourismlast year grew by 12% and generatednearly $150 million, surpassing the country’straditional exports of coffee, meatsand fish, shrimp and lobster.

EL ESTOR, Guatemala – When the Canadian International Nickel Company(INCO) departed from this small town in 1981, it said it intended to be gone for oneyear.The price of nickel had plummeted and with the promise to its approximately3,000 employees – who in a short time had come to depend on the mine – that it wouldreturn after their economically driven hiatus, INCO, which operated through Exploraciones y Explotaciones Mineras Izabal, S.A. (EXMIBAL) left the tropicallowlands of northeastern Guatemala. It never came back.More than two decades later, the Jaguar Nickel Company – which in its numerousreincarnations has most recently been known as Chesbar Inc. – has announced itsintentions to reinhabit the cobwebbed facilities at El Estor and resume mining.THIS news has been received with delight by many of the town’s residents, who hope to reap the economic benefits that are sure to come from a multinational corporation, and with dismay by various local and international environmental groups who fear the irreversible effects of strip mining on the delicate and diverse ecosystem of El Estor. Consequently, controversy has arisen.Like much of rural Guatemala, what El Estor lacks in basic infrastructure it makesup for with its natural beauty. The town, which boasts a population of 40,000, ofwhich 90% are indigenous Q’eqchi’, sits on Lake Izabal, the country’s largest freshwaterlake.The local economy is dependent on weak agriculture and fishing industries andpledges some hope for its burgeoning though fledgling tourism opportunities.BECAUSE the community was not as badly affected as other areas by the 36-yearcivil war that plagued much of the Western Highlands, the international help thatflooded into the country after the signing of the 1996 Peace Accords has been sporadic– if not inexistent – in El Estor.– As a result, the poverty and economic instability that has been the continuousexistence of El Estor has remained unchanged.One of the inklings of hope for El Estor came in 1979 when EXMIBAL, spanningan area of 150 square miles – 30% owned by the Guatemalan government, openedfor business.For two and a half years, the company mined for nickel on the outskirts of townwhile providing access to education and room and board for the majority of theiremployees.Reports that have been widely circulated link assassinations and massacres toEXMIBAL and those who opposed their mining activity.While the oft-reported massacre of as many as 200 indigenous people did occuron EXMIBAL property, it happened on May 29, 1978, before the mine opened.Many say it was more a direct result of the armed conflict than conflict over the miningoperations.WHILE the records appear inaccessible,it is acknowledged throughout the town that EXMIBAL did not pay its share of municipal taxes. However, it is also noted by residents that the company contributed to the development of the town, creating and sectioning off roads and building the central park, a school and a health center for the public, in addition to the schools, parks and medical facilities available to the employees near their headquarters.“We didn’t have electricity before they came. We didn’t even have transportationto connect us to the rest of the country. People had work and when they left, theeconomy suffered. but at the same time, with the money that people had earnedthey opened their own businesses, many of which are standing here today,” said CarlosPaz, a lifelong El Estor resident who had been employed by EXMIBAL and is nowthe owner of several hotels in town.ALTHOUGH he knows about the potential negative environmental effects that strip mining produces – topsoil erosion, deforested mountainsides and water contamination – Paz said he fully supports their return.When asked why, Paz quickly responded, “Food. People are hungry. They don’thave enough to feed their children. Yes, we need to protect the environment but wealso need to eat. There is poverty everywhere in this country. We are lucky to havethis important resource available and should take advantage of it. Of course, wehope for sustainable mining.”Not everyone shares this sentiment.“People need to know the effects and the reality. This will help or prevent a number of generations from thriving in El Estor. When this is all over, I don’t want people to be worse off than they were before,” said Eloyda Mejía, president of Friends of Lake Izabal, an area group of twelve members that has been expressing concern about the project since 2000, when the Guatemalan government granted mining exploration concession rights to Chesbar.This group was influential in organizing the community, planning protests and collectingpetitions that effectively stopped the government from granting concessions for petroleum drilling in Lake Izabal in 2002.“IT isn’t that I have anything against this (mining) company in particular. Theyare welcome to come in if they follow international environmental norms and atthe very least, I would hope and expect Guatemalan laws. Until they fulfill themthey shouldn’t even be allowed to be working at all,” Mejía said.The mining concession also grants the company the right to extract 10.5 cubicmeters per second of water from the lake to cool plant generators, Daniel Vogt, presidentof El Estor’s Association for Integral Development, told The Tico Times last year. That is enough water, he claimed, to drain the 590-square-kilometer lake in 19.5 days (TT, Oct. 10, 2003).In February, a heated open forum was held in the town hall, and numerous concernswere aired and addressed. One of the concerns included allegations that when EXMIBAL departed, it leftbehind hazardous waste.Luis Barricutos Rey, an employee at Refugio de Vida Silvestre Bocas says thatwhile this has never been proved, it is a real possibility.“We didn’t have environmental laws then,” he said. “Now we do and we hopethat they follow them.”LIVELY, peaceful demonstrations followed the forum. The press later reportedthat because of Mejía’s opposition to the mining, she had received death threats,which she denies.Although mining has not resumed and probably will not for another three to four years, EXMIBAL already employs 36 people, all Guatemalans, 75% of them of indigenous descent.“The government granted us the concessions, but we won’t know until the endof this year if they will have to take them back,” said Carlos Quim Xol, who hasspent the last four months doing public relations for EXMIBAL.“If we can proceed, then there will be at least two years of scientific study todetermine the most environmentally sound way to extract nickel,” he added.THE 36 employees enjoy benefits not available elsewhere in El Estor, such asmedical insurance and scholarships for education.The company employees work on a variety of projects, including reforestingpreviously mined areas and other neighboring lands and visiting nearby communitiesto address their needs.“Essentially, we are trying to follow a good neighbor policy,” said Abelardo Caal,the company supervisor of all that is tied to environmental issues. “We want the community to know what methods of mining we will be using.”Caal, like Quim Xol, was previously employed by Defensores de la Naturaleza,a non-governmental environmental organization in El Estor.“OUR intention is to protect the biodiversity and to allow El Estor to benefitfrom our presence,” Caal said.Can this be accomplished? Only time will tell.

SAN SALVADOR – The former presidentof regional airline group TACA,Federico Bloch, was found dead Mondayin the interior of his vehicle on a road tothe town Nuevo Cuscatlán, 13 kilometerssouth of San Salvador, the companyannounced.Police authorities found Bloch’s bodyafter they were informed by citizens aboutthe incident around 2:30 a.m.Bloch, 50, had been shot twice, oncein the torso and once in the head, accordingto the National Civil Police (PNC).Ten days earlier, Bloch had resignedfrom his position as executive presidentof TACA, of which Costa Rican airlineLACSA became a part in 1997.The airline, based in the El Salvadorcapital, also includes Aviateca ofGuatemala and Aeronica of Nicaragua.In 2000, the company registered salesof $700 million.“It is a regrettable fact, (Bloch) wasan extraordinary person, he knew how todirect the TACA group very well when hewas executive president, and we cannotexplain how this could have happened,”TACA press director Claudia Arenas toldthe AFP wire service.Bloch cited personal motives for retiring.The interim president is the presidentof the company’s board of directors,Roberto Kriete.“(Bloch) wanted to dedicate himselfto his family, to have more time withthem. He was one of the shareholders ofthe group, but no longer formed part ofthe board,” Arenas explained.A police source told AFP the institutionhad opened “an intense investigation,” tofind those responsible for the crime.Bloch’s body was taken to theInstitute of Legal Medicine in the city ofSanta Tecla, 10 kilometers west of SanSalvador, for forensic recognition.In El Salvador, an average of eight murdersa day occur. With a population of 6.6million people, it is considered one of themost violent countries of Latin America.

WHAT do ads for penis enlargements, breast augmentations, Viagra at discount prices, urgent business proposals from Nigeria and a random assortment of computer viruses have in common?

They are among the many unwanted email messages – “spam” – users of monopoly Internet service provider Radiográfica Costarricense S.A. (RACSA) have grown accustomed to receiving every time they check their e-mail accounts.

While the amount of spam each user receives varies, practically everyone who has an e-mail address that ends with RACSA’s domain name (@racsa.co.cr) gets some. Lucky customers complain about receiving only five spams a day. Really unlucky customers have reported receiving as many as 300 in a single day.

“IT’S a reality, we are flooded with spam e-mails,” said Isidro Serrano, General Manager of RACSA. “We don’t know how much we receive, but we know it’s a lot. I myself suffer from this problem. However, I can assure users RACSA has a strong policy against “spammers.” Each day, we take more drastic steps,” he told The Tico Times.

“This is a problem that affects the worldwide network [the Internet] and makes it less efficient,” he explained.

To reduce the growing number of spam messages RACSA users receive on a daily  basis, the company is working to installnew software on its computers that will filter out most of the unwanted messages, according to Serrano.

“WE have a new technical tool that catalogues e-mails,” he explained. “We are in the adjustment and installation phase. We hope it will be up and running sometime between this week and next. This tool can block 85% of spam.

The new software will have four functions. First, it will work to block mass email messages that attempt to reach everyone using the RACSA domain name. It also will conduct pattern checks on the text found on the subject and body of e-mails.

Domains and specific senders that relay messages to RACSA will be crossreferenced with national and worldwide lists of proven spammers.

Even if the new software works perfectly, Serrano admitted, some spam will continue to get through to RACSA customers. “There will always be unwanted messages that can’t be blocked, and ways to get around the filters,” he said.

RACSA customers, especially those who say they receive the hundreds of spams each day, are skeptical about the provider’s promises.

“I no longer use RACSA’ s e-mail,” said Andy Gingold, a disgruntled RACSA user. “I stopped using it two months ago. I only use RACSA to log on the Internet.

“When I used RACSA, I changed my e-mail address four times,” he explained. “I used to change it every year or so and the spam stopped for a while. But eventually it increased.”

Each RACSA customer is given a user name with which to access the Internet. That login coincides with their POP3 email account name – the word that goes before @racsa.co.cr on their e-mail address. To change their e-mail address, users must change their login.

THE process of changing a user name and e-mail address is tedious. However, that is nowhere near as tedious for the customer as having to e-mail every person he or she exchanges e-mail messages with to inform them of the address change.

Gingold said he gave up after realizing that no matter how many times he changed his address, spammers would find his RACSA address and begin spamming him.

He says he does not use his new RACSA e-mail account to send or receive messages and has not shared his address with anyone, but is still receiving dozens of e-mails each day. He occasionally checks the address to delete the spams to make sure it does not fill up.

FELLOW RACSA user Elliot Greenspan also reported spam problems.

“I’ve been receiving more than 100 a day. The number has increased during the last months,” he said. “They should give us filters to stop the messages before they reach our mailboxes. We need filters so we don’t have to spend so much time downloading and deleting them.”

Both Greenspan and Gingold pointed to the possibility that RACSA could actually be hosting spammers and even be selling them lists with user addresses.

In the past, RACSA has been “blacklisted” – meaning that e-mail messages sent through its servers were being filtered out – by several foreign Internet service providers for allegedly hosting spammers (TT, Nov. 23, 2001).

SERRANO says is aware of the magnitude of the spam epidemic, and claims most of it is out of his hands.

“This is a problem that affects the entire world network and makes it less efficient,” he said.

He recommends the country pass stricter laws to punish and fine people found to be sending spams and unsolicited commercial e-mails.

Gingold is not convinced RACSA is doing everything it can.

“They’re not doing a very good job,” Gingold said. “They don’t seem to care at all. The reason is they have no competition.”

COSTA Rican Olympic champion swimmer Claudia Poll returned to competition this week after a two-year suspension from the sport.

Swimming in the French Open in Dunkerque, France, Poll placed third in both the women’s 200- and 400-meter freestyle events, catapulting her into the International Swimming Federation world rankings.

On Monday, in the 400-meter freestyle, Poll finished with a time of 4:11.91, earning her 11th place in the world rankings. She rounded out her second day of competition with another third place finish in the 200-meter freestyle with a time of 2:00.17, putting her 21st in the rankings.

In the last laps of her debut performance, on Wednesday Costa Rica’s only Olympic gold-medallist swimmer finished mere tenths of a second behind first place.

The final race of the three-day competition was a 200-meter open for foreigners. Poll finished second with 1:59.85 on the clock – nearly head to head with Melanie Marshall of Great Britain, who took first place with a time of 1:59.46.

Poll’s time landed her third place overall in the competition, behind French swimmer Solenne Figues, who finished in 1:58.36, and Marshall. She now holds the 11th spot in the world ranking for that race.

Poll was banned from competition after testing positive for steroids in 2002.

Throughout the ordeal, she has maintained her innocence (TT, Apr. 16) The swimmer and her coach, Francisco Rivas, have said their current focus is not on qualifying for the Olympic Games in Athens this summer, but on establishing Poll in the world rankings.