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COSTA RICA CABINET BAILS, PACHECO PICKS WEAK SECOND TEAM.

Article Excerpt
Costa Rican President Abel Pacheco is denying publicly and acknowledging privately that his government is in crisis in the aftermath of a settlement agreement he reached to end massive protests as September dawned. He now struggles for breath in a Cabinet vacuum occasioned by the resignations of his top ministers.

On Aug. 31, Pacheco told a news conference the country was on the verge of a coup after transport workers and unions staged a long series of demonstrations to protest a monopoly the government gave a private company to conduct mandatory vehicle inspections. The protesters contended that the bid to offer the service, won by the Spanish company Riteve Syc, violates the Constitution in that a private company cannot be granted a monopoly.

Before the settlement, union officials had warned that the protest actions, which included paralyzing highway blockages, would proliferate. The threat gained weight when secretary-general of the Frente Interno de Trabajadores del Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (FIT-ICE) Fabio Chavez announced that the state electricity and telecommunications sector was prepared to strike in support of the heavy-transport and taxi drivers (see NotiCen, 2003-11-06). "And, if necessary," he said, "we will go on an indefinite strike until the government deigns to abandon this arrogant attitude."

Chavez described the monopoly as one "fostered by economic power and permitted by political power." The organizations had petitioned for reopening the bidding to allow for multiple providers. Absent that, he promised "a great national strike from border...

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