www.CostaRicaTicas.com

The polls were right, she won by 11% points. I just wonder where so got all the money to flood TV with all the ads, And pay for all the billboards all over the city.

Her main opponent will be Oton Solis , who barely lost to Arias in the last presidential election. He seems to have lost most of his support over the years . Being against the TLC was his main issue, now I guess he is for it. He has been involved in a few scandals also. He is a nationalist and would be far less open to the USA.

Laura faces a hard task to outlaw prostitution IMO. And even if she does not much really will change. She would have to get it passed thru the assembly which is not a sure thing. In most latin countries prostitution is illegal but the authorities tolerate it. I expect it would be like that here also as it is a deeply ingrained cultural trait.

No way she could ever outlaw gambling as too much big money is invested in it. Control and restrict it more maybe, but outlaw it, no.

She will be very hard to beat in Feb as the other parties are only fringe type parties. But time will tell as the election is a long way away.

By the way the election is on super bowl sunday. But they are talking about during away with the dry laws.

Having seen how "quickly" the legislature operates I think there is a very good chance the dry law will be repealed in time for the 2018 election and an outside chance it will be before the 2014 election.

Unfortunately unless CR changes the date of it's Presidential election or the NFL changes the date of the Super Bowl, both held on the first Sunday in February, this will happen every 4 years. In 2006 it really put a damper on SB public parties.

_________________
Pura Vida
Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all four
essential food groups:
alcohol, caffeine, sugar and fat.
Alex Levine

Zman,

A couple of corrections in your comments:

Where is she getting the money for her high profil campaign? I have said it before and I will say it again--10% of the population controlls 90% of the money (true in almost all latin countries) and the vast majority of that group are backing her because they want the reputation of their country "cleaned up". In other words they want Costa Rica's reputation as a sex destination changed; and they feel she is the candidate that will do it.

As far as I know, and have been told by insiders, she has no intentions of trying to outlaw prostitution. BUT, she needs NO new laws to cause the few sex tourists locations and their customers so much grif that mongers will quit coming here. Per example, if HDR got hit by immirgration checks 3-4 times a day, how long would it take for us to quit going there There are many other things that she could do to cause us to quit coming here.

In my opinion, she has already demonstrated what she can do. The shortening of casino hours was mainly because of her. The closing of all the MPs last July while Arias was in Brazil and she was acting president was her doing. Sure it was nothing but a political move on her part to show the money people what she could do. She, and everyone else knew that closing them because of no wheelchair ramps would not keep them closed long, but it would show that places could be harrassed with existing laws. Ironically, the MPs are not what these people want eliminated; it is the high profil places that draw in the foreign visitors.

As I have pointed out before, the argument that it is too large amount of money is just not true. Sure most mongers think so--they come here and all they see is the gulch and they think "wow, this is a hugh part of CR tourism". Truth is it is less than 10% of the total and over half that money goes to the chicas of which 75% are extranjeros and send the vast majority of their money out of the country. The people that want the sex tourism stopped are of the opinion that if it is stopped and the reputation of the country is changed, other types of tourism will increase more than offsetting the loss; that eliminating the monger will eliminate the primary target of the "ladron", thus reducing crime(????); and they could care less about the thousands of chicas (as demonstrated by the shorting of casino hours and putting thousands out of work) that would be out of a job. There is no welfare system in this country; the rich are not going to have to support these people and they could care less what really happens to them; THEY JUST WANT THEIR "BEAUTIFUL" COUNTRY'S REPUTATION CLEANED UP!!!!

_________________
Old and retired but still bang, and bang, and bang!!!

Good input BB and I agree wholeheartedly. How much would any of you pay for the "cash cow" Del Rey now? I figure that once the harassment begins (and it will) the price to buy it may drop by $100,000/day.
My book of chica's numbers is going to get more valuable every day once Laura gets in action.

The article is in today's www.amcostarica.com Page 3 ( I guess it's not THAT important) Read it and weap

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: BB makes a LOT of sense, but the Ticos who believe that don't. Improving the image of the country makes sense, but IMHO there are much bigger issues facing CR. The link between Gringo-oriented Prostitution ("GOP") and the other more serious problems facing the country seems highly questionable to me. Mainstream tourists do not avoid CR because of its image as a sex destination. They avoid CR because of its increasing reputation as a place where crime affects tourists of ALL types. Tico's like to blame foreigners for all their country's problems, but eliminating foreign monger VICTIMS will not eliminate the criminals, only force them to shift their focus to other targets, which to a large degree they've already been doing. If CR wants to really do something about crime then they should focus on the drug trade, which few mongers are involved in, and in providing some better economic opportunity for its citizens other than robbing tourists (and fellow ticos) or turning tricks.

BB57,
I think EVERYTHING you just wrote is 100% correct. It just makes a lot of sense. Or it least it sounds like the sort of thing that would make a lot of sense to most ticos and particularly the few wealthy ones that hold the real power. What I would question, and I've questioned this at least twice before, is the portion of your statement that I've just quoted above. And I think you really question it too, based on the (????) that you added to your statement.

I can understand why tico's, of all economic levels, would want to clean up their country's reputation. If I were them I would too (and I say that as someone who lives in a city that is known as the "lap dance capital of the USA"). Its not so much about what goes on in your city behind the scenes. It is about being known everywhere else for something that is considered disreputable by most people. So, for that part, I can't really fault the ticos. However, I have faulted the priority some of them have put on it given all the other problems that they have going on.

That brings it down to a question of the linkup that some of them are trying to make between sex tourism and those other larger problems like rising crime. To me that link seems extremely spurious.

"... if it is stopped and the reputation of the country is changed, other types of tourism will increase ..."? I seriously doubt many mainstream tourists are not coming to CR because of it also has a reputation as a sex tourism destination. If tourism in CR is off for any reason (aside from the worldwide recession), it is because of CR's reputation for rising crime. I read mainstream travel forums on CR and there is virtually no discussion about prostitution in CR, but there is A LOT of discussion about such things as pickpocketing in SJ, rental car break-ins at the Tarcoles bridge, items being stolen that have been left unguarded on the beaches, and sometimes even far more serious crimes against tourists THROUGHOUT the country, not just the Gulch that most tourists avoid anyway.

"... that elimination the monger will eliminate the primary target of the "ladron" ..."? More twisted logic. I'm not so sure mongers really ARE the primary target as there is PLENTY of crime being committed against other targets, but let's say there is. Let's get rid of those primary victims instead of the perpetrators, and dream that those perpetrators won't just find a new primary victim. CR would rather turn home-grown tico criminals loose if they even capture them at all than accept blame for their own problems. They would rather blame their problems on foreigners, particularly if those foreigners are engaging in activities that they feel brings shame on their country, even if those activities are legal and practiced by most of them as well. You see this sort of denial in other ways as well. If you ask a tico, the problems in the economy are ENTIRELY due to the poor nicaraguan illegal aliens and the problems in crime are ENTIRELY due to Colombiano narco-traffickers and deviant Gringo sex tourists. And SOME of those problems ARE due to SOME of those things. But, IMHO, MOST of the economic problems are TICO corruption and inefficiency and the inevitable collapse of a bloated TICO social welfare programs and MOST of the crime is TICO on TICO.

If eliminating the innocent targets of crime will eliminate crime, then why stop at just the easily vilified monger. Its easy to predict the "ladrons" will just pick a new primary target and, in fact, they already do often attack other targets. Why not eliminate other classes of foreigners who have money to spend and who have also been targets of the crooks? For example, why not get rid of all the rich gringo expats in Escazu too? Crooks are ALREADY committing home invasions in wealthy suburbs and their targets are not just mongers, or even wealthy expats but anybody tico or gringo who they think has anything worth stealing.

There have been gang and drug related shootings and crimes all over SJ, and even other parts of the country. Some were in the Gulch area but most were in tico neighborhoods far off the tourist track and few involved any gringo monger. Removing mongers from the scene will do nothing about these.

There have been robberies and hold-ups ALL OVER SJ, not just in the Gulch but also in poor tico neighborhoods where few mongers ever go either. Sure the Gulch has gotten more than its share because it has more than its share of rich targets, but there are many other parts of SJ that are equally if not even more dangerous than the Gulch. If the gringos in the Gulch were to completely disappear tomorrow, the crooks would still need to eat (or get money for their fix) and would just turn their sights elsewhere in the city. Removing mongers from the Gulch will do nothing about most of the crimes which occur elsewhere.

Removing victims whose only "crime" is bringing in money that crooks want to steal will do nothing about the REAL sources of crime in CR. The underlying causes of crime in CR is not gringo-oriented prostitution, it is the flow of illegal drugs through the country and an economy that does not provide its citizens enough other sufficient legal means of supporting themselves and their families.

Prolijo,

Though I agree with everything you just said;
I hope you know that you are "preaching to the choir"

and yes, you are right about the reason for the "????"s. I was mearly stating how the Ticos look at this.

_________________
Old and retired but still bang, and bang, and bang!!!

I'm sure you're right there too. I'm mostly venting as I often do when confronted with such ridiculous lapses in logic. But I don't think it hurts to organize and lay out the key arguments. Who knows? Maybe being on the same page and using the same talking points if any of us ever discusses this with some tico voter, might change a mind or two.

I have read many times on this web site that Costa Rica is known for its Sex Tourism. I am not in total agreement. For those of you have been in the hobby for many years, this is your life and you are well aware of it and you hear from people who are well aware of it.

Prior to December of last year, I hardly knew anything about Costa Rica and had vaguely heard of the eco tourism in Costa Rica. I only became aware of Costa Rica as a potential destination having heard that I could get my dental work done at a reasonable price. I have learned everything that I know about sex tourism and prostitution in Costa Rica FROM THIS WEB SITE (that I just happened to come across by accident and boy am I glad I did).

Firstly, Costa Rica is only a minor tourism destination for Americans (less than 2% of Americans traveling abroad visit Central America). Secondly, I don't believe that sex tourism is widely known as being available and a problem in Costa Rica. When Americans think of Sex Tourism, Thailand and Amsterdam are typically the names associated with this. I know this issue probably looms large in the minds of Costa Ricans, but, I don't think its on the "Radar Screen' for most Americans, period. When I tell my friends about my recent trip to Costa Rica, there is no mention or acknowledgment that Sexual Tourism is a major issue or problem (or even available) for this little country. They are all more curious in why I would go to this country that they have rarely even heard about. They seem more interested in hearing about the outdoor activities and culture and so on. Prostitution is legal in Mexico and most other Latin countries but that does not change the perception of a whole country in the mind of the people visiting, its just the way things are down there.

BB57 Spot on but one exception. Most of the people I read about getting robbed or killed in CR are the ego tourist or beach goers and not the experienced street smart mongers. Or am I wrong

So if the prostitution were outlawed one could make the case that crime could increase for a spell

NYG

_________________
Damm that water is cold!!!
And deep too!!!

Costa Rica, over the years, has been featured on network specials as a "sexual tourist" destination. The government of Costa Rica is acutly aware of this as evidenced by signage at the airport, warning about punishment for und***ge sex printed on various forms, etc. Private businesses in CR are also aware as evidenced by signage at some of the Best Western hotels advising prostitutes are not allowed on the premises. The FBI has run sting operations in South Florida using Costa Rica as the country for und***ge sex tourism.

While it may not be well know in certain parts of the U.S. I would submit that is for the most part well known there.

_________________
Pura Vida
Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all four
essential food groups:
alcohol, caffeine, sugar and fat.
Alex Levine

If Ms. Laura and her supporters think cutting back on 'sex tourism' will enhance other tourism, I believe she is sadly mistaken. As much as the gulch is an eyesore and an embarrassment to respectable Costa Ricans such as Ms. Chinchilla, shutting it down somehow is not going to magically lay some sort of fertile groundwork for the blooming of more 'other' tourism. Tourism is down virtually everywhere. And really, how many 'mom and pop' type tourists are scared away by (or are even aware of) the gulch and what goes on? I don't think the backpackers care one way or the other.

The negative perceptions that do exist of Costa Rica, from a touristic point of view, seem to be totally off the dear lady's radar screen: Crime, poverty, horrible traffic and bad roads, filthy streets, police shakedowns, beggars sleeping on the sidewalks, etc. etc.

She is not up to the task of confronting any of Costa Rica's real problems, so she will try to lay bandaids over some of the symptoms that most annoy her and her social class. But don't worry boys, I've walked the slums of Desamparados. They are breeding prostitutes by the hundreds, just waiting to turn 18 (or have their 2nd K*D get old enough to be left with a babysitter) and these girls will find a way to try to get rice and beans. Ms. Chinchilla may be distressed but it isn't hard to imagine the streets crawling with streetwalkers if she decides to harass the traditional venues. But I guess if it's not in her ritzy neighborhood, it won't matter, problem solved.

_________________
"The only normal people are those you don't know very well." Joe Ancis

This thread is NOTHING but political in nature in my view.

ADMIN: IF we're free to post about Costa Rican politics, please advise because I have a bunch of data which confronts the current election process underway in CR...chalk full of facts, informative, unbiased and reality based centering around FTA and what's what on "....the ground..." in Costa Rica.....it ain't all about this one woman....trust me....

Otherwise, please stop the politics from would be sages of the CRT message board....there's a lot more than what is being posted.....


thanks!

_________________
"Actual happiness always looks pretty squalid in comparison with the over-compensations for misery. And, of course, stability isn't nearly so spectacular as instability. And being contented has none of the glamour of a good fight against misfortune, none of the picturesqueness of a struggle with temptation, or a fatal overthrow by passion or doubt. Happiness is never grand."
- Aldous Huxley, Brave New World, Ch. 16

Irish,
Respectfully, I think most Americans don't even have a clue where Costa Rica is and could care less if they have prostitutes. If you stopped 10 Americans on the street you would be lucky if one could pick out Costa Rica on a map. I don't think Costa Rica has to worry about their Sex Tourism reputation.

I have to agree with ID on this one.

While most Americans don't know much about any foreign countries (or even the state next door), of those who travel I think the percentage who know something about Costa Rica's sex tourism reputation is pretty high.

Within the past year I have spoken to 4 different gringas about my trips to Costa Rica. I always say I go for the typical tourism stuff and have photos to back this up.

The first one was on the immigration line returning from Costa Rica. A twenty-something gringa backpacker started telling me about how she and her female friend had a nice dinner at the expense of two older gringos one night. "Just nice guys." (her words) The next night they saw the same gringos with "a pair of 18 year old prostitutes hanging all over them - it was disgusting!" (also her words). She then told me that she warned her mother to never let her father visit Costa Rica alone for any reason She probably told me this because I looked like a typical backpacker myself that day.

The next time was at a fancy Christmas party. A ginga was explaining her time spent at the Presidente. She said that somebody was knocking on doors with brochures of putas' photos who could be delivered for sex. I was legitimately shocked. After all, I've never known any Ticos to be this organized. I just told her that all I know of the Presidente is that it seems to be a hotel that caters to business people, not sex tourism. I think her trip there was several years ago, but either way I have a hard time believing her story.

The third time was recently when the gringa wife of a friend just blurted out to me, "Isn't there a lot of prostitution in Costa Rica?" I said that there might be, but I didn't see much of it, and the country seemed like any other improving third world country and was nothing like Thailand or Amsterdam.

Oh, the 4th gringa just wanted to know about expensive hotels near one of the beach areas. I didn't and don't have a clue...

_________________
"All them women gonna make me,
teach 'em what they don't know how..." TMIB

I have a question if it were outlawed would we see more Ticas in Nicaragua and Columbia like we see the other way around now
NYG

_________________
Damm that water is cold!!!
And deep too!!!