Well I guess if you’re gonna get tapped for an ambassadorship, it might as well be in paradise.  That is what Anne Slaughter Andrew, if she knows anything about where she is headed for the next four (or could it be eight) years, should be thinking.  Obama has nominated her to be his eyes and ears here and if Senate approved, which she certainly will be, San Jose will have a new U.S. ambassador.  Andrew is an expert in environmental issues and is the founder of New Energy Nexus, LLC, a firm that consults with emerging clean energy companies.  She is the wife of Joseph Andrew, who was the national chairman of the DNC (Democratic National Committee) from 1999 to 2001.  Andrew earned her B.A. from Georgetown University and her J.D. at the Indiana University Law School.  Andrew may lack the diplomatic experience of past ambassadors, but since relations between U.S. and Costa Rica are fairly “warm and fuzzy,” Obama opted for someone he personally knew and trusted, rather than someone the Department of State may have picked for the post. And if it was a “political favor,” it was a nice ripe one! The pick may also have had much to do with Obama’s concern over environmental issues and Costa Rica is a country that is setting many trends in that area. Andrew also co-founded the medical technology consulting firm known as Anson Group.

A legislative initiative has been put in motion by Costa Rica’s Poder Ejecutivo to open up the market for production of electricity to both public and private competition.  The plan would take control of the market away from ICE (the government run monopoly).  Instead it would be placed in the hands of the to be formed, Autoridad Administradora Mercado (AAM).  The AAM would establish a “bolsa” (or exchange) where distributors (such as ICE, CNFL and others) could buy energy produced by private and public suppliers at a price that is between a “floor” and “ceiling” set by the AAM.  The country’s largest private industry players could also buy their energy needs directly from this market, as opposed to buying it from the distributors.  Distribution of electricity in Costa Rica, however, would continue to remain solely in the hands of ICE and other current regional distributors.  If the energy demand of the country were satisfied at any given point, then electrical producers could sell surplus energy on the Mercado Eléctrico Regional (MER), which Costa Rica has been a part of since 1998.  Currently the country lacks the regulatory meat for opening the energy production market.  This would all change in the form of a Sistema Eléctrico Nacional (SEN).  In addition, to bringing the prospect of cheaper energy to the Costa Rican market, it is hoped that by opening the market to private competitors, it will stimulate new innovation in the production of clean and renewable sources.

Link to Article in La Nación

Costa Rica will go to the polls to decide who will lead the country for the next four years in February of 2010.  The field has now narrowed as the two main political parties, the PLN (Partido Liberación Nacional) and the PAC (Partido Accion Ciudadana) have both held their primaries and chosen their candidates.  For the PLN, the party of current president Oscar Arias, it will be Laura Chinchilla.  For the PAC, Ottón Solís will again seek the county’s highest political office.  Chinchilla has served as one of Arias’ vice-presidents and also as the Administration’s Minister of Justice.  She will have the full support of a popular president, and that alone makes her a favorite in the race.  However, who can forget how close Solís came to defeating Arias in the election of 2006, when it was necessary to hold a recount (ala Bush versus Gore) to break a virtual tie.  However, Solís had the momentum of opposition to the TLC, or Central American Free Trade Agreement, which was a hotly debated issue in that election.  That is now history, as the trade agreement ultimately passed, with Arias’ support, via nationwide referendum.  However, much remains to be implemented and you can bet that will be a major issue with the Solís’ campaign.  Solís is the architect of TLC opposition and stands in direct contrast to Chinchilla who is an Arias’ champion of the trade accord.  To liken these candidates to U.S. politics, I guess you would have to call Chinchilla a “progressive conservative” (ala Colon Powell) and Solís a pretty far-left liberal, especially where economic matters are concerned.  There is another wild-card, however, and that is Harvard educated Otto Guevara, the libertarian candidate and head of Partido Movimiento Libertario.  In the 2006 election, Guevara captured almost 10% of the popular vote, a record for a libertarian.  Since I am not a resident of the country, I am not even legally allowed to express my own opinion on these candidates.  I only present this information for consideration of the potential impact of the election on whatever plans readers might have for Costa Rica.  Costa Rica holds its presidential elections once every four years.  The elected president is now allowed to run for two terms as a result of a constitutional change in 2003.

Three years into his presidency Oscar Arias is still popular, with almost half the population approving of his job as chief exec of Costa Rica.  That is especially surprising given that the country is suffering the effects of the U.S.-led world economic crisis.  At least this is what a recent poll by Unimer, conducted at the behest of La Nación indicates. The poll was conducted by interviewing 2,430 citizens of majority age (over 18) and in all sections of the national territory.  The poll has a margin of error of +/- 2%.  In the poll 47 of 100 believe that Arias’ performance has been good to very good and 14 of 100 bad to very bad.  Arias showing in the poll places him above his previous three predecessors entering the last year of office.  In contrast the Arias’ cabinet didn’t fare nearly as well as Arias himself, with only 30 of 100 considering their performance good or very good and 21 of 100 bad to very bad.  Those showing the highest level of solidarity in their praise for Arias were women as well as persons between the ages of 18 and 39.  Also, citizens of highest economic status and those living in urban areas gave the Arias administration high marks.  However, despite the high marks Arias received he was not able to reverse the trend of ticos who believe that the government works for the benefit only of certain sectors and not the citizenry as a whole.  In the poll 71 of 100 agreed with that idea, as opposed to 68 out of 100 in January.  Those who predominantly hold this view are persons between the ages of 40 and 49 of medium economic means and who tended to vote for Ottón Solís in the last election.

Link to Article in La Nación