No much is known in the world about what happens in Costa Rica, with its struggle to preserve peace, democracy, and the Social State of Law against the onslaught of global savage capitalism, and with its succession of neoliberal governments, allied to financial world institutions which area unhappy with our traditions and achievements as a former “Central American Switzerland”.

But what was unbelievable is that the election as president of this veritable magnate (extensive land holder, industrial, owner of radio stations and newspapers, owner of private hospitals, and banker) -a neoliberal to boot under the skin of a social democrat and Nobel Price winner-, would bring an unprecedented offensive to impose on us a trade treaty with the U. S. which dismantles the institutions of our social state of law, one which the leaders of his own National Liberation Party created in the second halve of the XX century.

Yet, there is something harder to believe.

And that is that Oscar Arias has allowed and promoted the lucrative arms trade in Costa Rica, while broadcasting internationally the need for disarmament, and even of an international treaty to regulate the arms trade, as part of his image building and public relations campaign.

It has recently been revealed that, according to data from the U. S. Trade Commission (U-S I TC), Costa Rica´s arms exports have been steadily growing since the year 2000, to reach U.S. $ 1, 479, 672 last year. While the importation of arms reached U.S. $ 2, 200, 318. These weapons go from hand guns, rifles and shotguns, to torpedoes, bombs, and hand grenades, as well as ammunitions, and are all covered by the Caribbean Basin Initiative (CBI) which exempts their production and trade from taxes here and in the USA.

Last year, several representatives of our National Assembly denounced the companies dedicated to make war weapons in our Free Trade Zones (which do not even pay income tax) with our government´s approval, and president Arias answered that this was a legal activity and the permits would not be withdrawn.

On top of this, several Arias ministers have openly defended Annex 3 of the Central American free trade treaty now under discussion in the assembly, which makes it possible to remove taxes for the production, trade and storage of dangerous weapons and substances like uranium, to provide the military –industrial complex of the U. S. , and we know the Pentagon is interested in globalization of arms trade, and in using this country with its fame for democracy, peace, and stability, to install here the productions of weapons which require high technology.; something seen by our neoliberals as a window of opportunity to place our country under the protecting umbrella of the great power.

To the shame of the Arias government in peaceful Costa Rica, the authoritarian governments of the region, backed by their powerful armies, have all rejected Annex 3 of the CAFTA treaty, which they all have recently approved.

Arias is defending the CAFTA treaty and congratulating himself with the Bush administration just like Uribe is doing in Colombia, even at the cost of sacrificing our democracy, unarmed until recently, and save from the dangers of the arms trade.

To deplete our capacity of surprise by absurd actions by our Nobel Peace Prize, sergeant Herbert Reed, a veteran of the Gulf War, and Damaso López, director of the International Depleted Uranium Study, have confirmed of their visit to Arias in the presidential house, and his apparent surprise when told that CAFTA allows the trade of uranium and other lethal substances, besides allowing local production of the fatidic uranium coated antitank shells, of which sergeant Reed was a victim in Irak; something that our National Coordinator of the Struggle against CAFTA, and others, had denounced before.

The outstanding professor Hilda Chen Apuy, winner of the Magón Award, which is our top distinction, has asked in Semanario Universidad of April 12, 2007, what is the Arias true discourse. Is it the one he preaches out of Costa Rica on the need to disarm? Or the one he preaches inside Costa Rica about tax exemptions to trade and local production of weapons? A Nobel Peace Prize is not won permanently, independently of the posterior behavior of the winner. Since we have two different personalities in Oscar Arias, we have to ask where is the Nobel Peace Prize winner, and whether he forfeited the prize.

The National Coordinator of the Struggle against CAFTA insists that the international public opinion should not allow itself to be hoodwinked by the deceitful image Arias projects internationally. It is imperative to know who the real Arias is. A man surrounded by his fellow neoliberal millionaires, all intent in the transformation of Costa Rica into an open platform favorable to their business interests, even if to do that they have to destroy our peaceful , democratic traditions, and give up our sovereignty, accepting peanuts in exchange of “free trade”, and a participation in the War and Death International

International Press Commission
NCS against CAFTA
Costa Rica