Church Leaders to Meet With President Pacheco Over the TLC
The Catholic church is now getting in the Tratado Libre de Comercio (TLC) - the Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA)  controversy that has prompted marches and protests.

Today, the presidents of the Conferencia Episcopal de Costa Rica, monseñor José Francisco Ulloa; the Archbishop of San José, monseñor Hugo Barrantes Ureña, and the Bishop of the Diócesis de Ciudad Quesada, monseñor Ángel Sancasimiro, will meet with president Abel Pacheco, to ask him not to send the TLC to the Legislative Assembly.

The church group have decided to make the call to the president, they say after exhaustively studying the agreement and coming to the conclusion that it will affect small and medium producers and stall modernization of some state institutions.

Businessmen and union leaders have been meeting with the members of the church to express their concern over the effects of the TLC on small and medium agricultural growers and how some state institutions will lose their incentive to modernize in the post TLC climate.

The group argues that Costa Rica is a developing country while the United States is a developed nation and this is worrisome.

The TLC has been polemic for the president Pacheco and his government and as such, the president announcement of a creation of a commission of "notables" to study the TLC before it is sent to the Legislative Assembly.

So far, Pacheco has announced only Costa Rican, turned NASA astronaut Franklin Chang Díaz. Critics argue that Chang is a U.S. citizen and is not in touch with Costa Rica. The other members of the commission have yet to be announced.

Last Monday the Comité Cívico Nacional summoned the country's unions and it's members to a general strike in an attempt to paralyze the country. That day, a few thousand joined the protest around the country, far short of the 15.000 - 20.000 that had been expected.

For his part, president Pacheco is still remaining strong that the TLC will only go to the Legislative Assembly after the Plan Fiscal (tax reform) is approved.