The negotiations to end the strike of the workers from the public sector of Costa Rica came to a dead end this Monday, after the unions refused an agreement mediated by the Catholic Church to depose the strike.
In this episode of The Tico Times Dispatch, we talk to Costa Rican economist and journalist David Ching about what's in the controversial tax reform bill.
In a display of the movement’s continued momentum, tens of thousands of protesters once again shut down streets throughout Costa Rica’s capital Wednesday.
The dialogue between the government and public sector unions that aimed to end the general strike stalled this Monday. There were mutual accusations of intransigence between the parties, which are preparing to resume talks another day.
Representatives from the government and public-sector unions got together Wednesday in a preliminary meeting to seek an agreement to stop the general strike that has gripped the country since Sept. 10.
President Carlos Alvarado urged the Catholic Church and university presidents to serve as mediators in talks with the unions that have been protesting a tax-reform bill since Monday.
Violence broke out on the third day of tax-reform protests in Costa Rica. Protesters confronted police outside the Legislative Assembly in San José on Wednesday afternoon and students clashed with police outside the University of Costa Rica later that night.
The demonstrations began with a red wave of taxis blocking Avenida 2 in downtown San José. The protests continued throughout the capital city Monday as they did on streets throughout the country: thousands of people voicing their disapproval of a tax-reform law they believe unfairly targets the working class.
