Churches prepare observers for the Referendum on the FTA in Costa Rica

San José/NS by Eduardo Chinchilla

The Latin American Council of Churches (CLAI), together with the Episcopal Conference of the Catholic Church and Transparency International are making ready preparations for the observation process concerning the realization of the Referendum on the Free Trade Agreement (FTA), which will be held on September 23 of this year.

CLAI, supported by the national board for the project Global Environmental Citizenship, presented a project on April 25 to create a group of observers from the religious sector entitled, “Forum for religious observers in the referendum for the FTA” and “The FTA and its implications for the environment;” with the objective of creating a body of observers which would guarantee the execution of a Referendum on the FTA, in accordance with the values of transparency, objectivity, and equality; to lay out the importance of the implications of the FTA with regards to the environment; and to train assistants to be “observers” of the Referendum process on the FTA.

This project seeks to train 100 pastors and priests so that they can oversee the process before and during the day the Referendum is held.

Rev. Eduardo Chinchilla, Regional CLAI Secretary for Mesoamerica, reported that the Supreme Election Tribunal (TSE), in charge of constitutional policy in Costa Rica to direct the Referendum, was pleased with the initiative taken.  “This Tribunal applauds with enthusiasm this civic initiative and entrusts the Coordinator of Electoral Programs to receive those interested and grant them the greatest collaboration in this respect,” declared the TSE in their letter sent to CLAI and other organizations.

Pastor Chinchilla said that once they had received the letter from the Tribunal they went to work organizing a steering committee, made up of CLAI personnel, the Catholic Church representative, Father Jafet Peytrequin, and the Director of Transparency International, Roxana Salazar.

The Referendum will come together in June, and from now up until the date in which it will be held the committee will hold a series of meetings with different social groups, inviting pastors of evangelical churches and Catholic priests to join together to participate as observers.

The approval of the FTA has traveled a very difficult road in Costa Rica, more than anything because of the actions of social organizations that have been putting pressure for this to not happen.  Costa Rica is the only country in Central America who has still not approved this international treaty with the United States.