| President Pacheco is
truly a “humble man." He calls himself a
"humble man" and others refer to him in
the same manner. Costa Ricans know him for his non-political
background, and there are many who argue that his
charisma, trusty character and strength indeed derive
from the fact that he is not a politician. Even though
one can argue on a fact whether it is possible to
be a President and lead a country without being a
politician, his ideas to combine progress with “soft”
values reflect fresh, pioneering ideas.
For him “richness” means richness Mother
Nature gave us. This is why the Bill of Environmental
Rights is currently being evaluated in the Costa Rican
Congress, and if it passes, this will lead to a constitutional
change. President Pacheco recently informed an audience
in Washington D.C. that more changes and regulations,
in oil drilling for example, are yet to come.
According to President Pacheco, globalization has
two interwoven aspects: economic and human. When it
comes to Free Trade agreements, he is for them as
long as they will attempt to distribute and allocate
wealth evenly, and contribute to the harmony between
the nations.
Naturally, this new globalization process has to begin
first in Costa Rica. One of the domestic burdens,
at present, is the country's fiscal deficit, which
currently is 4.7% of the GDP – enough money to
help all of the 700,000 Costa Ricans currently living
in poverty. To fight this social problem, the President
has introduced a so-called “ethical accord”,
which defines limits to public expenditures and introduces
temporary taxes on companies and institutions. Better
tax-collection will be introduced, as well.
On the positive side, Costa Rica has recently made
significant reductions in the foreign debt. When in
1997 the Inter-American Development Bank-debt was
$911 million, it is today $787 million. The corresponding
figures to the World Bank-debt are $192 million in
1996 and $93 million today. For debt-transactions,
negotiations with the US on exchanging debt with environmental
protectionism continue.
Governments either create societies in which economic
interests overrule “soft values,” or where
the virtues of equality, harmony, peace, and mutual
respect come before economic ideals. For centuries,
these issues have divided governments in two, depending
on which philosophical school they believe in.
President Pacheco is enacting policies that work
towards both economic prosperity and human development.
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