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INSIDECOSTARICA.COM
| COSTA RICA
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Wednesday 02 March 2011 |
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U.S.:
Arias
Government
Knew How
The
Constitutional
Court
Would
Vote On
The TLC
WikiLeaks
On Costa
Rica:
Translated
From La
Nación
The
government
of Oscar
Arias
knew, in
advance,
how and
when the
Constitutional
Court
would
vote
on the
vital
project
to
implement
the Free
Trade
Agreement
with the
United
States,
Central
America
and the
Dominican
Republic
- CAFTA
(the
Tratado
de Libre
Comercio
- TLC in
Costa
Rica),
after
being
challenged
in a
first
review
by the
judges,
as
mentioned
in a
cable
from the
2008
U.S.
Embassy
in Costa
Rica.
The then
Deputy
Minister
of the
Presidency,
Robert
Thompson,
was the
one who
broke
the news
to U.S.
diplomats,
as
stated
in the
document,
signed
on
Wednesday
15
October
by the
then
U.S.
ambassador,
Peter E.
Cianchette
(June
2008 to
July
2009).
"Deputy
Robert
Thompson,
who is
managing
the
process
for the
presidency,
was
cautiously
optimistic
when we
met with
him on
14
October.
The
Constitutional
Court
has
given
indications
that
informal
review
completed
well
before
the 30
days
remaining
and did
not
present
new
concerns
about
the
amended
law" the
document
quoted.
Thompson,
now
mayor of
Alajuela,
denied
making
that
comment.
"If that
is
quoted
and is
absolutely
false. I
never
dared to
say
something
similar.
We have
always
been
quite
respectful
of the
process,
I never
had any
contact
with any
representative
of the
Constitutional
Court",
he
added.
Judge
Virginia
Ana
Calzada,
president
of the
Constitutional
Court,
said
yesterday
that the
judges
do not
advance
opinion
on the
subjects
they
study
and
conclusion
by
Thompson
was
speculation.
She
reiterated
that the
seven
judges
voted
without
external
influences.
In
distress.
The
project
referred
to the
cable,
which is
described,
general
multiple
pressures
in all
branches
of
government
is the
"Law of
reforms
of
several
rules
governing
matters
relating
to
intellectual
property",
which
was the
last
outstanding
approval
to
implement
the Free
Trade
Agreement
between
the
United
States,
Central
America
and
Dominican
Republic
(CAFTA).
The
enactment
of this
law
depended
on the
FTA
going
into
effect
before
the
deadline,
October
1, 2008.
However,
a month
before
Sept.
11, the
Sala had
found
unconstitutional
a part
of the
initiative
because
it
included
changes
to the
Law on
Biodiversity
that was
have
consulted
the
indigenous
communities
and was
not
done.
When the
project
came
back to
Congress,
deputies
quickly
eliminated
a
paragraph
of text
to avoid
making
the
consultation
of
indigenous
and
approved
it in
first
debate,
on
October
16.
Opposition
deputies
sent
back the
bill for
a
consult
of the
Court,
which
ruled on
October
31,
according
to the
prediction
attributed
to
Thompson
in the
cable:
in just
13 days,
with
majority
approval.
Judges
Gilbert
Armijo
Fernando
Cruz and
opposed.
Calzada
said
that
consultation
was
resolved
in a
short
time
because
the
Court
had
reviewed
the file
before.
Confident.
Luis
Paulino
Mora,
President
of the
judiciary,
who
authored
the
first
resolution
found
difficulties
in the
plan, on
September
11.
One day
after
the
ruling,
amabassador
Cianchette
described
his
surprise
at the
behavior
of Mora:
"Later,
we (and
the
Arias
administration,
no
doubt)
will
look
more
carefully
why the
Court
took
this
decision
and why
President
Mora
(who
admitted
to
Ambassador
recently
the need
to
finalize
the FTA)
was the
author".
The
Chief
Justice
has
denied
its
support
for the
FTA to
the U.S.
ambassador.
"I do
not
remember
talking
to the
ambassador,
I commit
with
anyone.
I could
not have
advanced
any
criteria",
he said.
Mora
voted in
favour
in the
second
review
by the
Court,
which
allowed
the
final
approval
of the
law. The
entry
into
force of
the FTA
was
extended
to
January
1, 2009.
The
judge is
quoted
in
another
cable of
September
12,
under
which he
advances
to the
then
Vice
President,
Laura
Chinchilla,
the
error
pointed
out by
him was
remedied.
"The
president
of the
Court
had
assured
Chinchilla
that the
correction
process
should
be
manageable".
That
text
says
Chinchilla
asked
Mora to
deliver
the full
resolution
(the
first)
by
September
16.
"I do
not
remember
speaking
with
doña
Laura in
connection
with
CAFTA.
What I
was
asked is
what was
that
would
bring
down the
project,
I can
say is
that
this was
a
correctabale
procedural
error",
said
President
of the
Court.
Chinchilla
said
that as
Minister
of
Justice,
she
maintained
contact
with the
judges.
"I
imagine
that
when we
talk of
issues
that we
talked
about
the need
to
correct
that
law,
there
was no
other
way. It
is
likely
that the
question
of was
that if
it was
correct
or not".
In
shock.
Not only
diplomats
were
surprised
by the
first
vote of
Mora and
the
Court.
The then
president,
Oscar
Arias,
was also
affected,
according
to a
cable of
October
17: "The
President
admitted
that he
and 'all
others'
were
absolutely
certain
that the
latest
CAFTA
implementation
would
easily
passed
by the
Constitutional
Court".
Chinchilla
and the
former
vice-minister
of
Foreign
Trade,
Amparo
Pacheco,
were
also
surprised
in a
meeting
with the
deputy
chief of
mission
and
embassy
officials
on
September
12:
"They
reiterated
that
they had
no
advance
information
on the
mysterious
decision
to some
degree
of Sala
IV".
Previous
pressures.
The
adoption
of the
law of
intellectual
property
reforms
was
unveiled
to
Americans
since
July.
On the
31st of
that
month,
the
diplomats
spoke to
the then
deputy
liberationist
Óscar
Núñez on
the
chances
of
rushing
it, it
said.
"Nunez
said
that
until
the
Constitutional
Court,
was
aware of
the
deadline,
you can
press
bit
more. He
said he
would
encourage
the
Minister
of the
Presidency
Rodrigo
Arias
(whose
office
has
extensive
informal
contacts
with the
Court)
for an
early
review
of two
pending
projects",
he says
in the
cable.
Arias
did not
return
two
calls to
inquire
about
the
issue
and the
former
deputy
Núñez
agreed
that met
frequently
with
representatives
of the
Embassy,
but
denied
having
said he
would
call
Rodrigo
Arias
for that
matter.
Editor's
note:
The La
Nación
provides
a link
to to
listen
to the
audio
with
reactions
on this
topic by
Luis
Paulino
Mora,
Ana
Virginia
Calzada,
Robert
Thompson
and
Laura
Chinchilla.
The link
is
incorrect
and will
update
this
page
when the
correct
link is
available.
Click
here for
the
original
La
Nación
article!
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