VZCZCXYZ0000
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHSJ #1251/01 1581648
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 071648Z JUN 06
FM AMEMBASSY SAN JOSE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 5276
INFO RUEHZA/WHA CENTRAL AMERICAN COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SAN JOSE 001251 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL ECON EAID EFIN CS
SUBJECT: GOCR TROTS OUT THE "COSTA RICA CONSENSUS" 
 
REF: A. SAN JOSE 204 
     ¶B. SAN JOSE 1059 
 
 Summary 
--------- 
¶1.  The GOCR used the Santo Domingo meeting of the OAS 
General Assembly to make its proposal "to link international 
cooperation with peace, social investment, sustainable 
development, and a reduction in military spending," which it 
calls the Costa Rica Consensus.  In his speech to the OASGA 
on June 5, Foreign Minister Bruno Stagno urged rich countries 
to forgive the debts of and provide financial resources to 
developing countries that invest in people and not in arms. 
In all likelihood, the GOCR will repeat this proposal in the 
EU Summit in Vienna and other international fora.  End 
summary. 
 
Background 
---------- 
¶2.  Oscar Arias, president of Costa Rica in the late 80s, a 
Nobel Peace Prize winner, and reelected president this year, 
has for many years been calling on the wealthy countries of 
the world to be more generous in providing aid to developing 
countries, including middle-income countries like Costa Rica. 
 During his recent election campaign, Arias promised an 
"active and progressive" foreign policy that would strive "to 
overcome the enormous asymmetries between rich countries and 
poor countries" (ref A).  Two days before his May 8 
inauguration, Arias urged visiting U.S. members of Congress 
to increase assistance to deserving countries.  He claimed 
that the USG spent USD 500 billion on arms but only USD 16 
billion on development aid (ref B). 
 
¶3.  In a press interview given June 4, on the eve of a trip 
to Europe, Arias elaborated on his critique of what he sees 
as USG stinginess.  He said:  "Twenty years ago they gave us 
economic assistance.  Today we don't have any.  Twenty years 
ago I was able to renegotiate our foreign debt so that they 
took USD one billion in debt off our shoulders so that we 
could invest in roads, infrastructure, and education.  That 
doesn't exist today.  Our country doesn't qualify for aid, so 
the only path to national development is trade.  I don't 
understand that.  It's wrong, but there is no other way." 
 
Better to Receive 
----------------- 
¶4.  Addressing the OAS General Assembly in Santo Domingo on 
June 5, Foreign Minister Bruno Stagno formally introduced 
Arias's "Costa Rica Consensus."  He told the OASGA:  "My 
country's proposal is to link international cooperation with 
peace, social investment, sustainable development, a 
reduction in military spending, and the achievement of the 
objectives of the Inter-American Agenda that are included in 
the Millennium Objectives of the United Nations.  In this 
context, our organization (the OAS) is called to assume the 
leadership that these new times impose on it.  This is the 
spirit of the 'Costa Rica Consensus.'  A proposal of all 
Costa Ricans to the countries of the hemisphere and of the 
world in which we call on the rich countries to establish 
mechanisms to forgive the debts of and provide financial 
resources to developing countries that increase investment in 
health, education, and housing and reduce spending on arms 
and soldiers." 
 
¶5.  Perhaps taking a page from the Arias book, an 
unidentified member country of the System of Central American 
Integration (SICA) proposed a Central American fund for 
"social cohesion" to benefit the poorest areas of the 
isthmus.  The proposal was made at the SICA Summit in Santo 
Domingo, which immediately preceded the OASGA, and implies a 
redistribution of wealth within Central America from 
better-off countries like Costa Rica to the very poor like 
Nicaragua and Honduras.  Costa Rican Second Vice President 
Kevin Casas told the press that the GOCR had "serious 
objections" and "grave concerns" abQ66FPBNc