The CAFTA Report
Legislature rejects two telecom picks
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The CAFTA Report
Legislature rejects two telecom picks
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Legislature rejects two telecom picks For The CAFTA Report In a controversial procedure that may imperil approval of the U.S. free trade treaty, the legislature Friday rejected two of four persons proposed for the board of the new Superintendencia de Telecomunicaciones. The vote took place at an Asamblea Legislative session that may not have been legal, and multiple Sala IV constitutional court appeals are expected. Rejected were a woman who once served in the assembly and a man who has served as a legal adviser for the Authoridad Reguladora de Servicios Públicos, the entity that made the nominations. The appointments would have become final if the legislature did not act. The legislature has 30 days under the law to reject applicants, and the regulating authority gave formal notice of the nominations Nov. 13. The four candidates came from a pool of 80 that was studied by an outside advisory company. Members of the Partido Acción Ciudadana had said they were unhappy with the choice of Vanessa de Paul Castro Mora, 44, a lawyer who served in the legislature from 1998 to 2000 as a representative of another political party, Unidad Social Cristiana. Acción Ciudadana also said it was not happy with the selection of Juan Manuel Quesada Espinoza, a 30-year-old lawyer for the agency, as the panel's substitute member. The assembly president, Francisco Antonio Pacheco Fernández, said Wednesday that he wanted to hold a special session Friday to consider the nominations. The assembly usually does not meet on Fridays. Thursday the five legislators of Unidad Social Cristiana did not attend the session, and others also were absent. So a quorum was not possible, and there was no vote to meet Friday. Pacheco convened the Friday session nevertheless, and Ms. Castro only got nine votes. She needed at least 21 based on the number of lawmakers present. Ms. Castro is likely to see a judicial ruling that the Friday session was not legal. Meanwhile, the regulating agency said that it would present two more candidates to the legislature. Approved for the posts was Carlos Raúl Gutiérrez Gutiérrez, 50, a Harvard University public administration master's degree graduate and a man with 10 years experience in international projects, according to the regulating authority. Also approved was George Petire Miley Rojas, 33, an engineer with a graduate degree in business administration who has seven years in telecommunications at the international level, the authority said. Miley works for the telecommunications firm Orange Business Services. At the very least, the rejections were a move by lawmakers to assert their authority over the selection process. Some lawmakers also said that the nomination of Ms. Castro was part of some political payback by the Óscar Arias Sánchez administration. Whatever the reasons, the failure to name a full panel for the board of the Superintendencia de Telecomunicaciones may mean that Costa Rica has not done all that was required to bring the free trade treaty into force. The country's actions are subject to review by the other treaty members, including the U.S. trade representative. Casa Presidencial said this is the case. Others in the legislature disagree and said that the three-place Superintendencia board can meet with just two members. Costa Rica is working under a deadline of Dec. 31 to pass all the local laws that implement the treaty. Creating the Superintendencia de Telecomunicaciones and naming the board was one of those requirements. The deadline has been extended twice. The Superintendencia will have full control over the telecommunications field and its quality and coverage. The telecommunications law has opened that sector to private competition. The existing former government monopoly, the Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad, is not supposed to receive any preferences. |
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