The names of Costa Rica's President Luis Guillermo Solís and former National Liberation Party presidential nominee Johnny Araya were among several prominent figures listed on a handwritten note allegedly redacted by José Aldemário Pinheiro Filho, the president of Brazilian contractor OAS and a target of an ongoing corruption investigation in the South American country.
President Luis Guillermo Solís seems to have figured out that the key to flying in a jet with a tainted history is to do so after the police have seized it and given it a fresh coat of paint, and not while its owner is suspected of having links to drug cartels, an oversight that rocked former President Laura Chinchilla (2010-2014).
With 16 votes in favor and six against, Supreme Court justices on Monday afternoon re-elected Jorge Chavarría Guzmán as Costa Rica's chief public prosecutor for another four-year term.
During President Laura Chinchilla's term from 2010-2014, administration officials and lawmakers passed nine pieces of legislation and one executive decree aimed at helping middle-income Ticos buy homes. Yet despite the effort, little was accomplished toward the goal of increasing the number of homeowners nationwide.
Last Friday, President Luis Guillermo Solís and Environment Minister Edgar Gutiérrez signed a decree eliminating a 15 percent sales tax on national park entrance fees. The act reverses a controversial decree that went into effect last week, angering business owners in the tourism sector.
While the court ruled in favor of the defendant, freedom of expression experts said the preliminary ruling does not necessarily signal a free-for-all when it comes to criticizing public officials.
Former President Laura Chinchilla (2010-2014) appeared at a criminal court in San José Monday morning for a defamation lawsuit she filed in June 2013 against businessman Alberto Rodríguez Baldi.
Costa Rica’s consumer confidence index in May reached 49.8 percent, its highest since February 2011 when it was 50.3, according to a new study by the University of Costa Rica. But a UCR expert says a boost in confidence is normal during electoral cycles.
