Weekly review

Education, not weapons

At the Latin America and Spain Summit in Santiago, Chile, President Oscar Arias criticized the fact that Latin American spends $33 billion a year in weapons and soldiers. He remarked that there are no excuses for that immoral fact. In a summit focused mainly on the struggle against poverty, Dr. Arias insisted that education is the only way out. His statement was made in a private conference attended by the heads of state present at the summit.

Economy slows down

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The growth rate of the economy of Costa Rica slowed down during the 12 months that ended last September, according to the Monthly Economic Activity Index (MEAI) established by the Central Bank. The MEAI includes the performance of all the areas of economy, including the GDP, and it shows a 7 percent increase in September, down from 8.5 in January and 7.9 in April, for example. According to the Central Bank, the deceleration started in November 2006.

Inflation at 7.65 percent

The overall inflation for the first 10 months this year was 7.65 percent, according to the National Statistics and Census Bureau. That outcome is close to the 8 percent inflation goal set for the year 2007 by the Central Bank. The inflation goal is not likely to be attained, admitted the Bank’s chairman Francisco Gutierrez. He added that the new goal is around 9 percent. In 2005, the overall inflation was 14.5 percent and it was 9.43 percent in 2006.

Poverty among the young

During the last year, the percentage of poverty among Costa Rican young people decreased by 3.9 percent. The Vice-Minister for Social Development Isabel Garcia explained that the figures went from 26.5 percent in 2006 to 22.6 percent now. The decrease improves on the 3.5 percent recorded for poverty in general in Costa Rica, which the National Statistics and Census Bureau reported recently. According to the Vice-Minister, the state program “Avancemos” –“Let’s March Forward”–, which provides aid to poor teenagers, for them not to quit school, has played a major role in the trend.

Environmental tourism

Costa Rica ranks 10th in the world and 1st in Latin America as an environmental destination. This information was disclosed at the World Travel Market in London, one of the world’s leading tourism activities. Costa Rica also placed 9th among the most attractive places to live, and was again number 1 in Latin America in that sense.

2 million visitors

The Minister of Tourism Carlos Benavides forecast that the number of tourists visiting Costa Rica a year will reach 2 million in late 2008. He pointed out that the arrival of visitors increased by 11.3 percent (123,000) January through September this year. He added that the figure is almost double what they had set in the National Development Plan for 2007. Sources at the National Chamber of Tourism said that 1,216,000 tourists had visited Costa Rica the first nine months this year, not including land and sea arrivals.

Bush changes ambassador

U.S. President George Bush announced that the current ambassador to Costa Rica, Mark Langdale, will chair his Presidential Library Foundation as of next January 1st. A press release from the American Embassy in San Jose confirms the news, but it does not mention who the next ambassador will be. Langdale has been at the diplomatic post since late 2005.

Improved security

Three thousand cameras located at strategically chosen places throughtout Costa Rica will become a tool for the police to fight crime. Dubbed “Electronic Cops”, the cameras will record the activity of pickpockets, drug dealers, and other criminals. At $18 million, the project will be funded with a loan from the Central American Economic Integration Bank to the Costa Rican Power and Telecommunications Institution (ICE in Spanish).

11 percent of the bats

Costa Rica is home to 110, or 11 percent, of the 1,116 species of bats in the world. According to Bernal Rodriguez, founder of the Association for the Preservation of the Bats of Costa Rica, the fact represents a huge privilege for the country, because of the major role that bats –the only mammals able to fly– play in polinization, the dispersal of seeds, and the control of insects, among other characteristics of these animals.