Nov 25, 2010

Big is My Country

With much joy, today Costa Rica woke up to Hope in its Legal System. Industrias Infinito, a Canadian Goldmining enterprise found its outrageous demands halted by the Court, as after their pretentious behavior, daring to disregard the judges, disrespecting them, confronting their rulings and behaving in manners proper of kinder garden children, their earlier obtained permits were revoked, and found themselves fined to pay for the environmental damage dealt to a protected primal forest.

Their bullying didn't work here. Big shot lawyers didn't do the trick. The judges weren't awed with the big names and big signatures that backed them. If anything, this process stripped down the State to its most shameful facts. Dodging questions, pretending to get out of trouble simply by the volume of their shouting, disregarding facts, trying to hide them under their screaming.

A well prepared team of environmentalist lawyers brought donw the facts brick by brick, exposing the lack of studies, lack of due procedure, the lack of the minimal requirements, the outrageous disregard of the Law, where the head of the concerned Ministry had the nerv to say she had no knowledge of the ban on all mining activities, ruled two years before.

Over the head of the former President of Costa Rica, Oscar Arias Sánchez, looms now this charge as well, for the Court ruled the Public Ministry shall consider opening a procedure against him for signing a National Interest Decree to favor the Goldmining company.

Crucitas, the case of bribing the Caribbean Port workers and illegally deposing the head of the Union, and maybe even the case of Autopistas del Sol and their poorly built and managed road to the Pacific. Oscar Arias, who dared to claim that Hell would freeze before anyone could prove a case of corruption in his Administration may need an anorak on his way downstairs. It seems this is the time when snowflakes have a good chance in Hell. :-D

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