Costa Rica is the one nation that has yet to ratify the CAFTA free trade pact with its Central American neighbors and the U.S. Six other nations have, including Nicaragua, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and – after a bruising domestic battle – the U.S.

But Costa Rica has not.

The fact that Costa Rica’s a more advanced economy, like the U.S., might have something to do with it. The three weakest economies of the CAFTA alliance – Dominican Republic, Guatemala, and Nicaragua – passed the pact with the highest margins of victory, signalling their knowledge that free trade helps the very poorest countries the most of all through its new jobs, its increased efficiencies and its attraction of new products and new investments. That’s the beauty of free trade.

But the margin of passage was very thin in the U.S., just two votes. The smokestack unions as well as their allies among the sugar, grain, and other agricultural subsidy cartels – err, I mean, lobbies, – here were determined, vengeful and bitter, fighting like rats to make sure free trade never happened. They almost succeeded.

The situation seems to be parallel for highly educated, advanced Costa Rica, and their free trade pact ratification with the U.S. & Central America has hit a snag due to – again – trade union pressure and business cartels intent on preserving their privileges at the expense of free trade.

Guess who we’re hearing from now in Costa Rica?

Shouting ‘Yes To Jobs’ – the people themselves of Costa Rica have taken to the streets to demand free trade, in a vast demonstration of support! These are the people we haven’t heard from in the media coverage – until now – and now that they are too numerous to ignore. Too often the only coverage out there was of anti-free trade rentamob demonstrations. This time, things are different. Costa Ricans have stepped forward to demand free trade!

As up and comers like El Salvador advance in this world with their free trade strategy, Costa Rica’s highly competitive people are making it clear that they don’t intend to be left behind. The train leaves for the enactment of the pact on Jan. 1, but the Costa Ricans have two years to get the pact passed. Do they want to lose two years? Doesn’t sound like it to me.

Source: The Tico Times

Here is a news roundup:

ASSOCIATED PRESS reports that 5,000 demonstrators marched in the streets of San Jose, saying their march was a bid to create jobs. There have been anti-free-trade pacts, but this is the first one that’s pro-free trade. Most of the marchers were factory workers and other kinds of workers, anxious to have more jobs created (note: this sounds a lot like this Bolivian free trade demonstration we covered here).

VOICE OF AMERICA says that the marchers wore special white t-shirts and came from many different sectors of society. Their march follows an anti-free-trade demonstration a week earlier.

THE TICO TIMES reports that the size of the march was estimated between 18,000 and 35,000, in the largest demonstration for free trade in Costa Rica’s history. It was a party scene, with salsa and reggaeton music blasted away at the event. The reporter says other reporters told him the march was smaller than the anti-free trade march the week earlier, but given that Central America’s press is leftwing and in the pocket of news cartels, I am not sure I believe that. Also, anti-free-tradesters said the workers were coerced but the organizers denied that, saying the charges insult the intelligence of the workers.

UPDATE: INSTAPUNDIT has found an incredibly good blog called THE COLOSSUS OF RHODEY that tells us the real deal on Costa Rican sentiment about its shiftless, powerful, trade unions who run the place and thus Costa Ricans’ feelings about free trade. Thanks, Glenn! The Colossus writes:

I can tell you that the average “tico” (what Costa Ricans refer to themselves as) is pretty darn fed up with the monopolies that many sectors of the country have embraced. The largest, ICE (Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad, or Costa Rican Institute of Electricity) single-handedly runs the power industry and virtually all communications (telephone, Internet). Tales of absolutely brutal customer service, non-caring employees and constant strikes and strike threats have made the calls for privatization louder over the years. One of the most common anecdotes I’ve heard time and time again was people going to the main ICE office (quite close to where my in-laws live, by the way) to either pay or dispute bills, and having to wait interminably — sometimes for almost an entire day — while the ultra-unionized ICE employees fulfilled their “contract” to a tee: breaks seemingly every 15 minutes, drinking coffee and/or reading the newspaper while people wait in line right in front of them, and disappearing to do some “chore” after every second or third person in line is served.

The rest of it is really good, too, so read the whole thing.

DAILY PUNDIT promises some insight too, soon as his computer is fixed, so keep an eye on his fine blog today, too.