GRANADA, Nicaragua – Costa Rica’s Immigration Director Marco Badilla this week adamantly defended his institution’s treatment of Nicaraguans, following a series of explosive articles in the Nicaraguan press accusing the Costa Rican government of mistreating emigrants flocking south in search of work.

In a week of reports covering the massive movement of Nicaraguans crossing the Costa Rican border during Semana Santa (Easter Holy Week), the Nicaraguan daily El Nuevo Diario, a newspaper born in the early 1980s with the support of the left-wing Sandinista government, accused Costa Rican Immigration officials of launching a “war” against impoverished Nicaraguan immigrants.

One rather alarmist headline, published in El Nuevo Diario April 6, blasted the Costa Rican government for treating Nicaraguans like members of the Taliban – Afghanistan’s former extremist clerical government.

ARTICLES in the daily La Prensa, the country’s most well-established daily, highlighted the large number of Nicaraguans detained by Costa Rican authorities for attempting to cross the border illegally, and questioned the Tico government’s treatment of thousands of Nicaraguans living in the squatter settlement known as La Carpio, outside of San José.

A full-page report published Monday in El Nuevo Diario detailed in tedious first-person narrative the alleged mistreatment of a reporter by Costa Rican Immigration agents, who reportedly expressed anger that the Nicaraguan press always reports the same sob story about immigrants being treated unfairly at the frontier.

BADILLA defended Costa Rica’s handling of the weeklong immigration flux, and insisted that Immigration officials and bilateral relations would not be adversely affected by the Nicaraguan press reports.

“We are complying with Costa Rica laws; this is a national matter of security that has nothing to do with international relations,” Costa Rica’s Immigration Director said in a telephone interniew.

Badilla stressed that Immigration officers at the Peñas Blancas border crossing do not take the Nicaraguan press reports personally and do not let the headlines affect the professional manner with which they approach their job.

According to Costa Rican Immigration statistics, a total of 2,433 foreigners – mostly Nicaraguans – were detained or denied entry into the country during Holy Week, in a Tico police campaign called “Semana Santa Segura.”

Official numbers show that more than 13,000 people – mostly Nicaraguans – crossed the northern Peñas Blancas crossing April 1-11, a time when Nicaraguan immigrants typically return home to spend the week-long Easter vacation with their families before returning to Costa Rica for work.

An additional 338 Nicaraguans were detained in Costa Rica’s northern zone area of Los Chiles, where they were picked up by police for crossing the border at unauthorized entry points, according to the Ministry of Public Security.

IN Nicaragua, the reports of mistreatment at the border are viewed as based in truth.

Rene Vargas, a Nicaraguan political analyst and long-time journalism professor at Managua’s University of Central America (UCA), claims the reports – albeit a form of emotive protest – are based in fact and represent an established pattern of xenophobia in Costa Rica.

He said the media comparison to the Taliban is an example of the unsophisticated language used by the Nicaraguan media to reach readers, rather than a word usage indicative of anti-Tico sentiments to sell papers in Nicaragua.

Francisco Chamorro, sub-director of El Nuevo Diario’s newsroom, denied the reports represented “yellow journalism,” but admitted he didn’t know if they were even-handed.

“I don’t know if they were balanced, but we have to trust our correspondents,” he said.

VARGAS said he believes the Nicaraguan media reports are intended more as a criticism of the Nicaraguan government than an attack on Costa Rican authorities.

The analyst slammed the Nicaraguan government for failing to recognize the immigration phenomena as a national social issue, rather than a Costa Rican problem or a dilemma facing individual Nicaraguans.

Vargas pointed to the fact that Nicaragua has not established a consulate in the northwest Costa Rican province of Guanacaste, even though most Nicaraguan immigrants in Costa Rica live and work there.

The fact that Nicaraguan immigrants in Guanacaste have to travel some four to seven hours to San José to have any access to consulate legal recourses in instances of injustice, demonstrates the Nicaraguan government is not taking the problem seriously, Vargas charged.

Vargas said he thinks the media reports are intended to call the Nicaraguan government’s attention to the systematic problem facing so many of its citizens.

Badilla, meanwhile, said Costa Rican immigration authorities have a meeting scheduled with their Nicaraguan counterparts next week in Managua to discuss the immigration issue further.

Some of the same immigration issues and allegations of mistreatment were raised during the past Christmas holiday season, when Costa Rican immigration officials took what Badilla called “very drastic measures” and rejected more than 6,600 Nicaraguans trying to enter Costa Rica at the Peñas Blancas border post (TT, Jan. 9).

PUERTO LIMÓN – The Caribbean port city of Limón is betting on tourism from cruise ships to jumpstart its struggling economy and create much-needed jobs for local residents.

During the current Caribbean cruise season, which started in October and runs until May, 175 cruise ships, carrying approximately 350,000 foreign tourists with money to spend, will arrive at Limón’s docks.

Each tourist will spend an average of $110 during a short one-day visit to Costa Rica’s Caribbean coast, according to the Costa Rican Tourism Institute (ICT).

AS soon as they set foot on the docks, visitors are greeted by smiling tour operators and cabbies offering to take them on tours of the city, the Tortuguero canals to the north, the beaches of Puerto Viejo and Cahuita to the south and rafting expeditions on the Pacuare and Reventazón rivers to the west.

An artisan market awaits tourists just steps from the docks. There, limonenses offer foreigners everything from “Pura Vida!” Imperial beer T-shirts and bags of Costa Rican coffee to handmade arts and crafts. Traditional Caribbean hair braiding also is on offer.

Local and national government officials say they are convinced tourism is the key to a prosperous future in Limón.

“We have opened our hands and our hearts to tourists,” Limón Mayor Roger Rivera told The Tico Times last Friday.

“There are many beautiful things here. We’re betting on tourism – a great generator of opportunity and distributor of wealth.”

ONE of the largest cruise ships to ever dock in Limón, Royal Caribbean International’s Brilliance of the Seas – a 293-meter-long, 14-story-high, 9,900-ton German-built vessel – visited Costa Rica last Friday.

The Brilliance carried 2,501 tourists, most whom got off the ship and proceeded to explore what Limón and the country’s Caribbean coast have to offer.

The number of cruise ships arriving at Limón has been increasing steadily each season. Cruise ship arrivals are expected to increase by 32% this season compared to last, from 118 to 175.

“Cruise ships bring many tourists,” said Raymond Tang, Royal Caribbean’s General Manager of Central American Operations. “They benefit the entire country.

They create jobs for those who provide transportation, artisans, small businesses and restaurants. Many passengers get off the boat and take day trips around the area and all over the region.”

Gloria Gart, who works at the dockside artisan market, agreed.

“They come and they buy,” she said. “They create more jobs for people. We’re doing better than before. When the cruises come, there are more jobs. When they leave, there’s nothing to do. When the season ends, we sit and wait until October.

Unemployment is still the biggest problem here.”

UNEMPLOYMENT has long troubled the Caribbean coastal region of Costa Rica. According the most recent Household Survey, released in November by the National Statistics and Census Institute (INEC), 7.9% of the region’s residents are unemployed, compared to 6.7% nationwide.

The Caribbean’s economy continues to be greatly dependent on the banana export sector, which employs 91% of the workforce in Limón province, according to President Abel Pacheco’s Economic Council (TT, March 26).

One in five limonenses (19.4%) lives below the poverty line, earning less than ¢30,828 ($72.50) per person per month, according to INEC (TT, Nov. 18, 2003). Although it is a growing industry, tourism in the Caribbean region remains limited.

The region’s infrastructure – roads, airports, hotels and attractions – is decades behind that of the Pacific coast.

NOWHERE is this lack of infrastructure more evident than in the city of Limón.

Mayor Rivera believes part of the problem is people have the wrong idea about Limón.

“People have a bad image of Limón. There are many beautiful things here,” he said. “The crime problem is greatly exaggerated.

Many people don’t visit us because of these false stereotypes. I’d like to invite all Costa Rican and foreigners to visit the country.”

Guillermo Alvarado, General Manager of the ICT, hopes tourism from cruise ships will jump-start the city’s tourism industry and the local economy.

“Cruise ships provide Limón with a tourism product that stands to strengthen the local hotel and restaurant business,” Alvarado explained. “If better hotels and restaurants can open, they will make the city more attractive to a larger number of local and foreign tourists, which generally stay in the city much longer than tourists from cruise ships. The benefits will spread and a strong and thriving tourism industry will develop.”

THE ICT, the Municipality of Limón and the Atlantic Port Authority (JAPDEVA) say they are working hard to make the city more attractive to tourists.

ICT promotes Limón at Seatrade, a yearly maritime trade show attended by all the major cruise lines, and at other conventions around the world, Alvarado said.

The Municipality has worked to improve garbage pickup, increase public street lighting, repair sidewalks and aqueducts and repave rural roads. It has worked with tour operators, cab drivers and business owners to promote a customer service-oriented culture toward tourists, Rivera said.

JAPDEVA, which built the city’s cruise ship dock and operates the artisan market, has plans to transfer all cargo vessels to nearby Port Moín so that Limón’s docks can be used solely by cruise ships.

Port managers also aim to make the port capable of handling up to four cruise ships at once.

By 2012, officials hope to double the number of cruise ships that visit Limón each year.

THE Executive Branch also has plans big plans for Limón. Last September, President Abel Pacheco announced his government would develop an eight-year urban-renewal plan aimed at creating new jobs, attracting tourism and improving the quality of life in Limón.

In February, the President announced that the port city would have its first soccer stadium – an approximately $1 million project that will seat about 4,000 – by year’s end. He also said the government has allocated about $190,000 to repair Limón’s Big Boy baseball stadium.

Additionally, the government has plans to repair and expand Limón’s airport, according to Labor Minister Ovidio Pacheco.

“For Costa Rica it’s basic – it’s fundamental– to develop Limón,” Minister Pacheco said. “We’re working hard to turn Limón into the city we all want it to be.”

Héctor Marín, who plays the marimba on the docks for tourists, said he is in favor of anything that will bring more ships to Limón.

“I think it’s good,” Marín said. “More cruise ships is a good thing. They bring us more job opportunities. Our wages come from tips. We have no salaries.”

COSTA Rica’s thriving but controversial online gambling industry may soon face increased government regulation.

Legislators have proposed four different bills that aim to tax and regulate the country’s sports wagering firms, known as sportsbooks.

Congressional Deputies in favor of regulating online gambling see the sportsbook industry as an important generator of employment, particularly among young people, and a large source of potential tax revenue for the government.

Owners and representatives of online gambling firms who favor regulation see the bills as an opportunity to cement their rights as lawful businesses operating in Costa Rica.

In fact, The Tico Times this week was unable to find anyone opposed to sportsbook regulation.

“THERE’S a clear trend toward regulating the industry,” said Eduardo Agami, president of the Costa Rican Association of Data-Processing Centers and CallCenters and president of SBG Global, one of the country’s first sports wagering firms.

“We are legitimate businesses,” he said. “There are companies more than willing to stand up and be counted. Companies are willing to work alongside the government in favor of regulation.”

All four bills seek to establish a permanent tax regimen for online gaming, although they vary on the types and amounts of taxation proposed and on the specific conditions businesses would have to meet to be allowed to operate.

THE first bill, and the one with the highest chances of being approved in the coming weeks, is President Abel Pacheco’s proposed Permanent Fiscal Reform Package (TT, March 12).

The fiscal plan would transform a onetime licensing fee sportsbooks were charged in January 2003 as part of the government’s Emergency Tax Plan into a regular yearly operating license.

The maximum cost of an operating license under the current plan would be $55,000.

CONGRESSIONAL deputy Federico Vargas of the Social Christian Unity Party has proposed a bill that would create an online gambling call center hub in the province of Heredia.

Under his bill, all sportsbooks and online casinos would be required to transfer their operations to the outskirts of the city of Heredia.

“What I propose is a special district for sportsbooks, much like a free zone,” said Vargas, who represents Heredia in the Legislative Assembly. “I propose the location that I think is best suited, but it’s open to discussion.”

Sportsbooks also would be required to transfer one cent of every dollar they generate to the Finance Ministry to pay the government’s fiscal deficit.

“First, it would ensure these companies pay taxes. Second, it would secure the future of the thousands of young people employed by the industry,” Vargas explained. “It provides strong regulations. This benefits the country and the industry.”

LUIS Pereira, legal representative for BoDog.com Group, which runs a sportsbook in western San José, said he is not convinced that bill is a good idea.

“The creation of an electronic wagering district is not viable,” Pereira explained.

“The investment online gambling firms have made to be able to operate where they are located now has been large, and is practically impossible to transfer. … From a technological standpoint, it would require companies to restart their operations.”

Another attempt at regulation is part of a larger bill that aims to set up a general law to regulate all types of gambling-related activities in the country.

ORIGINALLY proposed in 2000, the Gaming Law, if approved, would regulate the operation of everything from casinos to raffles. It would require sportsbooks to use only Internet servers located in the country and conduct all of their operations through state-owned banks.

Sportsbooks would have to be located at least 500 meters away from schools and churches, according to the proposed law, which also would create a National Gaming Commission to oversee all gambling activities.

The fourth proposal is a bill that would establish a $2,500 yearly tax for every “terminal” – telephone or computer – used by sportsbooks to take wagers. Total taxation would not surpass $125,000 a year.

WHILE these bills are a step forward, they are still rough proposals. Costa Rican legislators could learn from the experiences of the Caribbean nation of Antigua and Barbuda, a pioneer in online gaming that has developed comprehensive legislation to regulate the industry.

“The first thing we did was to classify online gaming companies as financial institutions,” said Ronald Maginley, head of Antigua’s Directorate of Offshore Gaming.

“We already had a comprehensive set of regulations on how financial institutions are supposed to operate in terms of solvency and provisions to avoid money-laundering,” he told The Tico Times on Tuesday.

“A sportsbook is essentially a deposittaking institution,” he explained. “It holds money in a trust… This is reflected throughout all our regulation.”

THE nation’s Directorate of Offshore Gaming is the regulatory body responsible for overseeing all aspects of the offshore gaming industry.

In addition to processing, awarding and revoking operating licenses, the Directorate monitors the gaming software companies use to ensure fairness, keeps track of companies’ finances, makes sure they accurately report their earnings and operates a toll-free number to assist players with complaints.

The Directorate regularly audits online gambling firms in accordance with the regulations of the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) – an international task force created to combat money-laundering, Maginley said.

“Because we do such checks and are aware of the activities of the company, we ensure they follow best practices,” he explained. “For that reason, Antigua and Barbuda is very confident in taking actions like the one we brought before the World Trade Organization (TT, March 26).

“We, as a government, are very supportive of our online gaming sector,” he said. “We are very clear and have resisted attempts by the United States to close down companies in our jurisdiction.’’

MAGINLEY stressed the importance of reaching a fair balance when drafting regulations.

“I think, if anything, the challenge to any government is to first understand the industry,” he said. “… One must balance the need of regulation issues and the practicality of running a business.

“It’s important to make sure not to impose too many barriers,” he said. “A balance is needed. Legislation must be consulted with the industry to make sure there is a system that benefits both sides.’’

INHABITANTS of the Central Valley have had to unpack their umbrellas early this year – about a month and a half early, in fact.

Heavy rains that washed over parts of the Central Valley on Sunday and again on Monday are ushering the dry season out the door.

The country is now in a transition process to the rainy season, according to Luis Fernando Alvarado, of the National Meteorological Institute in San José.

“In some regions, such as the valley where we are, it is very early for the season to start,” Alvarado said.

HE said the rainy season usually starts between May 5 and 10 in the Central Valley, and around May 15 in Guanacaste in the northern Pacific zone, and a month earlier in the Southern Pacific Zone, around April 15.

Not much of a seasonal change occurs in the Caribbean region, Alvarez said, adding, “it just rains all the time.”

The trade winds have lost their momentum, a phenomenon that paves the way for rain clouds over the center of the country, Alvarez explained.

A total of 14 mm of rain fell on San José and Alajuela during the month of March – 10 of those since Sunday.

LIBERIA, in the northwest, and Puntarenas, on the central Pacific coast, have not felt a drop this month, the meteorologist said.

Sun lovers should not despair yet, however. Alvarez stressed that dry sunny days will make additional appearances during the last act of the dry season.

He concluded his report with the easiest part of his job for this time of year – the forecast.

Expect some rain next week, he said, along with some sun.

COSTA Rican journalists have been hounded by lawsuits, two murders in the last three years and ancient press laws whose modifications are gathering dust on the to-do list of the Legislative Assembly.

A recent wave of prison sentences and fines imposed on several writers as well as perceived apathy regarding the capture and conviction of those responsible for killing two Costa Rican journalists has drawn renewed criticism of the Inter-American Press Association (IAPA).

That organization s report, issued at a meeting in Los Cabos, Mexico, last month, also scolded Costa Rica s press for the self-censorship pervasive in the country s newsrooms.

The association blames the courts, which have wielded legislation dating back to 1902 that outlaws statements that damage a public official s reputation.

JOURNALISTS have not fared well in the courts. Just recently, three reporters from the daily Diario Extra were sentenced to prison and charged steep fines after they were found guilty of libel and defamation of character.

Journalist Marco Leandro Camacho was sentenced to 30 days in prison and fined ¢7 million ($16,500) for tarnishing the image of a high-school principal in El Roble de Puntarenas in the central Pacific coast.

Gabriela Chávez was sentenced to 10 days in prison and fined ¢28 million ($65,000) for publishing an altered photo of several television models. Her report said fake photos of the models were being sold on the streets and circulating on the Internet. Despite the clarification, she was found guilty of defamation.

José Luis Jiménez was sentenced to 50 days in prison and fined ¢7 million ($16,500) after being sued by a female public employee accused of misusing government funds.

IAPA expressed concern over the sentences and urged Costa Rican legislators to reform the country s press laws, which it claims are not compatible with freedom of speech.

SPECIFICALLY, IAPA called for the reform of Article 7 of the country s 102-year-old Print Law, and said punishing the defamation of a person s character with a prison sentence is incompatible with democracy.

Raúl Silesky, president of the Costa Rican Journalists Association, said this week he backs the Diario Extra journalists.

On behalf of the Journalists Association, I want to propose our solidarity with Gabriela Chávez, Marco Camacho, and José Jiménez. We have an absolute commitment to continue supporting them and any journalist who faces any kind of threat, he said Tuesday at the inauguration of the educational institute José María Castro Madriz, at the San José headquarters of the Journalists Association.

A commission in the Legislative Assembly has been studying a bill that would reform the country s press law. The Assembly also has discussed a proposal to create a mixed commission of legislators, businesses and associations, such as the Journalists Association, to study other proposed laws to fortify freedom of the press and of expression, according to Legislative Assembly Secretary Francisco Sanchún.

The proposed law reform, still far from landing on the main floor for a vote, would add key freedoms to the work of journalists in Costa Rica.

It would, for example, allow journalists to report on potentially incriminating facts if the accusations are true and their publication is in the public interest.

It also states reporters will not be forced to reveal their sources, and that journalists can break their contracts with their employers if they feel obligated to do something that violates their conscience.

LAWS to protect journalists have been debated since they were introduced shortly after radio journalist Parmenio Medina was killed when he was shot point-blank near his Heredia home in July 2001 (TT, July 13, 2001, TT, Jan. 9). No one has been convicted for the murder.

Another journalist was killed at the end of last year. Economic reporter Ivannia Mora, 33, was shot at close range by two men on a motorcycle Dec. 23, 2003, at a red light in front of the Plaza del Sol shopping center in Curridabat, east of San José.

The two suspects escaped and police say their identities and motive are unknown. Two days after the shooting, police arrested Eugenio Millot, Mora s former employer (TT, Jan. 9), who has since been released for lack of evidence.

Yesterday, IAPA urged Costa Rican judicial authorities to quickly solve the murders.

JOURNALIST Mauricio Herrera, a reporter at La Nación, recently gained another ally in his struggle to overturn a defamation conviction when a delegation from the U.S.- based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) submitted a brief to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in February.

The court agreed a year ago to examine the conviction of Herrera, who was sentenced by a Costa Rican court to jail time and fines for the defamation of former Costa Rican diplomat Félix Przedborski (TT, Feb. 2, Mar. 2, 2001).

The CPJ delegation submitted the brief last month in league with CNN, Reuters, the Associated Press, The Miami Herald and the Chicago Tribune, among others.

The amicus curiae brief cites cases in other countries that could serve as precedent for the court s decision, and presents the CPJ s argument for the reversal of Herrera s sentence.

LAWS that permit journalists to be prosecuted criminally for the content of their reporting are a hazard to freedom of the press and the right of citizens to be informed, the brief stated.

Such laws have an inevitable chilling effect on freedom of expression and must not apply unless there is an obvious and direct threat of lawless violence, which was not the case with Herrera s articles, the brief said.

Herrera was convicted in 1999 for a series of articles he wrote in 1995 on his investigations into the conduct of diplomat Przedborski.

Herrera had read European newspaper reports that Przedborski was allegedly involved in tax evasion and illegal arms dealing, and he followed those up with other interviews and published his stories in the daily La Nación.

PRZEDBORSKI, a businessman of Eastern European descent, was acting as Costa Rica s honorary Ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Organization, based in Vienna, Austria.

According to the Costa Rican court s ruling, one of Herrera s crimes was a report that the Belgian magazine Le Soir Ilustré had linked Przedborski to Russian and Italian mafia groups.

The court also argued Herrera reportedly had access to information that he failed to include in his articles that favored Przedborski, such as the fact that the diplomat had won a case against a Belgian publication (TT, Feb. 2, 2001).

After his conviction, the Costa Rican court also ordered La Nación to remove all links to those stories from its Web site and fined the newspaper ¢60 million (about $200,000 at the time).

The Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court (Sala IV) rejected the newspaper s appeal in 2001, which prompted the appeal to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.

THE

does not have a deadline for its decision, although CPJ said it expects one in the first half of this year.

Silesky said if the court decides in favor of Herrera, it would set the course the country must take to reform its laws.

The country will adapt its national legislation to make it correspond with international norms and standards, Silesky said.

That will allow the consolidation of a press that is more free in its professional duties.

That is not to forget the urgent necessity of the media and journalists to reinforce ethical norms to ensure a more responsible society.

Inter-American Court rulings are legally binding in the 21 countries that have accepted the court s jurisdiction, including Costa Rica.

THEY may still have a wheezy laugh, but a few lucky Costa Rican smokers could line their pockets with $1,500, enjoy an all-expense-paid weekend at the beach or have their teeth stains removed free of charge – if they quit smoking for the month of May.

Costa Rica has entered Quit and Win 2004, an international competition held every other year since 1994 that pits hundreds of thousands of smokers from 100 countries against their own nicotine cravings for the chance to win the grand prize of $10,000 and six other prizes of $2,500, as well as national prizes.

This year, the contest’s internati onalorganizers, the Finnish National Public Health Institute and the World Health Organization, hope to attract a million contestants. Though the contest started with just 60,000 smokers in 1994, it grew to 700,000 by 2002.

The contest has only a few rules for those who hope to quit smoking and take home some money: First, contestants must bring someone along who can vouch for them – both that they are smokers and that they abstained for a month.

Contestants must have been smokers for at least a year, must be at least 18 years old, quit smoking for four weeks starting May 1 and be willing to take a Nic Check test to prove they have not cheated. Dippers are also eligible, by the way.

National prizes in Costa Rica are offered by the Social Security System (Caja) and the Institute of Alcoholism and Drug Abuse (IAFA): $1,500, a weekend at Punta Leona beach resort, on the Central Pacific coast, or a teeth-whitening treatment at the Latin American University of Science and Technology.

Foreigners can enter the Costa Rican contest if they can prove they have legally lived in the country for more than a year.

To enter, pick up an entry form from the central IAFA office in Barrio La Granja, San Pedro, 400 meters from the old Banco Popular, or at one of the institute’s regional offices throughout the country and other locations – IAFA has information on where they will be distributed.

For more info, call 224-6122 or see www.quitandwin.org. Forms are available by fax at 224-6762. The deadline to enter is April 30.

COSTA Rican visitors and residents who use wheelchairs or are visually impaired will now find it easier to use public phones throughout the country, thanks to changes made by the Costa Rican Electricity Institute (ICE) in the past year.

Although not every public phone throughout the country has been adjusted, ICE has lowered the height of 248 phones and clearly marked them with the universal symbol for handicap accessibility. The changes were made in accordance with the Equal Opportunity for Disabled People Law 7600, according to ICE.

To facilitate the use of public phones by visually impaired clients, ICE is now circulating phone cards with instructions in Braille.

In addition, all phone cards that must be inserted into the phone will have a groove on the upper right side to help visually impaired users properly insert the card into the optical reader.

AN injunction filed against the former Vice-Minister of Public Works and Transport for not taking her maternity leave was rejected by the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court (Sala IV) on March 26.

Retired teacher Rocío Céspedes filed the injunction March 16 against former Vice-Minister Karla González because González returned to work – with her baby in tow – before her maternity leave concluded (TT March 26).

Céspedes maintained the right of a mother to take one month of maternity leave before her child is born and three months after cannot be renounced. She said she fears if women are allowed the choice, it could leave room for pressure from employers to return to work early.

González resigned from her government position March 19, saying she did not want herself or her newborn to become the center of a national debate about maternity leave.

THE Ministry of Public Education on Monday announced another tool to combat increasing drug use and violence in the country’s schools.

The ministry said it plans to  distribute guides covering those topics, published with the help of a private donation, to high-school students throughout the country.

In 2003, administrators dealt with 5,311 students for the use of drugs, according to a statement from the ministry. While the number was similar in 2002, the ministry reported only 2,811 cases in 2001.

The new guides, which include a teacher’s manual, will bring increased structure to the discussion of drug use and prevention, Education Minister Manuel Antonio Bolaños said this week.

The guide for students of seventh, eighth and ninth grades is a revised version of a program presented to students last year. Students offered input to include more activities related to real-life situations in the new manual, the minister explained.

The guide for 10th and 11th graders focuses mainly on alcohol use, based on the premise that prevention should begin with legal substances that can lead to the use of other drugs, according to the ministry.

Bolaños said new policies allowing administrators to search students’ backpacks (TT Daily Page, Feb. 26) have had “lamentable success.”

“It is a shame that teachers and administrators have not found only weapons in students’ backpacks, but also drugs, cocaine,” he said.

UNLIKE the soil beneath a new Hipermás supermarket under construction in Escazú, west of San José, representatives of the Corporación de Supermercados Unidos (CSU) are firm in their convictions that the huge store will open next year.

After two landslides on the north side of the building in November delayed in the store’s opening and raised questions about the structure’s safety, the building’s owner, Inmobiliaria Marginal Este (IME), designed a plan to rescue the site and building.

The result will be the largest retaining wall of its kind in Costa Rica, according to IME representative Rodrigo Calvo.

It also involves consultations with an engineering firm that boasts the PetronasTwinTowers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, among its projects, according to CSU corporate communication manager Aquileo Sánchez.

IN addition to the construction of a retaining wall 110 meters long and between 2 and 14 meters tall, the builder is removing unstable land beneath the structure and creating a supportive basement.

Completion of the project – located just off the highway at the entrance of Escazú, above the Río Tiribí – should happen by the first trimester of 2005, Calvo said in an e-mailed response to Tico Times questions. However, efforts are being made to finish this year, he added.

A Swiss-Spanish consortium, Swissboring, is building the wall. Further contributing to the international effort is the North American firm Thornton Tomasetti Engineers, who is reviewing the plans to stabilize the building.

The firm worked on the construction of the PetronasTwinTowers, which at 1,483 feet are two of the tallest buildings in the world.

“I think people are going are going to understand and appreciate that the corporation has acted responsibly,” Sánchez said.

“Customers will understand that this same attitude of responsibility will be applied to the rest of the store.”

Sánchez said it is difficult to determine how much CSU has lost in the delayed opening of the Hipermás, which will be the fourth of the Costa Rican chain.

“The big loss is the opportunity cost, we missed the Christmas season, we’ll miss Semana Santa (Easter Week), Mother’s Day…” Sánchez said.

CSU has already hired more than 400 people for all levels of staffing at the new store.

The initial cost of the project was $4 million, according to Calvo. This included construction of the building, paving the area, exterior lighting and landscaping. Construction of the retaining wall is expected to add up to $2 million to the cost.

BESIDES the retaining wall, the structure will be stabilized by removal of unstable soil from below the building, which requires deconstructing part of the building.

An underground parking lot with a foundation in the stone layer of the site will be constructed and the building rebuilt on top. The weight of the building will then rest upon the rock, according to Calvo.

Stabilizing the building is only the first step in mitigating the effects of the November landslides. Once construction is complete, IME will begin an environmental recovery, Calvo said.

In December, IME sent two proposals for environmental recuperation to the Environment Ministry’s Technical Secretariat (SETENA).

Plans include removing the danger of future landslides – which is being done with the basement and retaining wall, removing the land that fell into the ravine in November to clear obstruction of the river, and reforesting, Calvo said.

“IT is necessary to reforest the damaged area, to replace the vegetation cover that would have existed,” Calvo explained.

SETENA will not approve the reforestation plans until everything else is complete, according to Calvo. Other than the retaining wall, none of the environmental recuperation can begin until the stabilizing effort is finished, he added.

“The mitigation works that are happening require the movement of people and machines that are not exactly the optimal conditions for starting the recuperation,” he explained.