Amongst the seven Central American countries, Costa Rica has an international reputation for social progress, environmental harmony and sustainability that outstrips the other six countries. In fact Costa Rica has been named by the Happy Planet Index report as the most sustainably happy country in the world.[i] In our experience, Costa Rica deserves many plaudits and is full of really interesting examples of harmony and sustainability; but it is not without its problems and conflicts. We have included here a short opinion piece written in the Costa Rican weekly newspaper Semanario Universidad to illustrate that not all Ticos share this happy perspective.

By Luis Morice (UCR) Sep 20, 2016

Reproduced by kind permission of Luis Morice

From Semanario Universidad, Costa Rica, 21 September 2016

In our country there is no army but there is a machinery of repression that operates in defence of the interests of the major capitalists, in defence of monopolies and of the transnational corporations. They repress people who they say they are defending and they follow the orders of the supposedly ‘progressive’ PAC [Citizen Action Party] government, aiming to intimidate and silence all types of protest and movements of popular discontent. The vilification of social protest becomes ever more frequent through the intensification of the current government’s repressive policies as a bewildering continuation of previous administrations, as well as through various ‘communication’ media which focus and intensify their campaign against it, seeking to demonise mass actions such as the protests and strikes of diverse social movements.

What they are unable to stop by any existing political means, they seek to prevent by means of violence against the people in the street, intimidating the movement of masses of people, intent on delivering the authoritarian message that sees the right to protest as a ‘sin’. This strikes fear into the masses and the working people and instils in them a deep and fierce hatred against this right, undermining the unity of social forces and silencing their denunciations, the discontent, the protest against the rotten and the degenerate. These anti-popular measures and reactions seek to impose a ‘progressive’ government of ‘change’ in holy alliance with global financial entities and with them the national bourgeoisie.

It is shameful to consider as a great example of ‘heroism’ and as a great achievement of the repressive apparatus of the government blue shirts, the ‘re-establishment of order’, or, in other words, the disintegration through violence of whatever struggle the social movement is undertaking. Examples include what happened to the taxi drivers in their struggle against Uber; what happened at the beginning of the year with the displaced families from Finca Chánguena who were protesting against their removal but were brutally repressed by the police force; the same that happened recently with the animalist demonstrators who were protesting for the closure of the Simón Bolívar prison (the zoo for those who consider it as such); or as happened years ago on 8^th November when demonstrators from diverse political and social movements took action in defence of the CCSS [Social Security Office] and who were later beaten by police agents. By violence and by nothing more than violence, they stripped them of and fenced them off from their legitimate right to express by means of mass action their rejection and discontent against unjust situations. Faced with this ‘progressive’ government’s repression and with the PAC’s filibustering, [we need] unity and a permanent struggle of the workers.

[i]   The Happy Planet Index report, published by the New Economics Foundation, seeks to move away from purely economic measures of happiness and instead ranks countries by how much happiness they get from the amount of environmental resources used. Happiness is calculated by measuring a country’s happiness in relation to the wellbeing, life expectancy and social inequality and then dividing it by its ecological footprint.

De los siete países de América Central, Costa Rica disfruta una reputación internacional para el progreso social, armonía ambiental y sostenibilidad mucho en delante de los otros  seis países. De hecho,  se nombra Costa Rica por el Index del Planeta Felíz como el país lo más sosteniblemente felíz en el mundo.[i]De nuestra experiencia, Costa Rica merece muchos aplausos y es lleno de ejemplos de armonía y sostenibilidad muy interesantes; pero no es un país sin problemas y conflictos. Aquí hemos incluido un artículo de opinión corto escrito en el periódico costarricense  Semanario Universidad para ilustrar el hecho que no todos los Ticos comparten esta felíz perspectiva.

By Luis Morice  (Estudiante UCR) Sep 20, 2016

Producido aquí con autorización de Luis Morice

En nuestro país, no existe ejército pero sí una máquina represora en defensa de los intereses de los grandes capitalistas, en defensa de los monopolios y grandes transnacionales. Reprimen al pueblo que dicen “defender” y cumplen al dedillo las órdenes del gobierno dizque “progresista” del PAC, con el fin de amedrentar y silenciar todo tipo de manifestación y movimiento de descontento popular. Es cada vez más frecuente el envilecimiento de la protesta social producto de la intensificación de la política represiva del actual gobierno como una perpleja continuación de las anteriores gestiones, además de algunos medios de “comunicación” que agudizan e intensifican su campaña en contra de esta, que busca satanizar la acción de masas, entre ellas las protestas y las huelgas de diversos movimientos sociales.

Lo que no pueden detener por ningún medio político existente lo buscan hacer a través del ejercicio de la violencia contra el pueblo en la calle, amedrentando el movimiento de masas, intentando dejar un mensaje casi que de una manera autoritaria haciendo ver el derecho a la protesta como un “pecado” para atemorizar a las masas y al pueblo trabajador e infundir dentro de ellas un odio tan profundo y tenaz en contra de esta, en búsqueda de la inevitabilidad para la realización de dicha acción de masas, para evitar la unidad de las fuerzas sociales y silenciar su denuncia, su descontento, su protesta contra lo podrido y lo degenerado que se desprende de las medidas antipopulares y reaccionarias que busca imponer el gobierno “progresista” del “cambio” en santa alianza con los entes financieros mundiales y junto a ellos la burguesía nacional.

Es una legítima vergüenza considerar como un ejemplo formidable de “heroísmo” y un gran logro del aparato represivo del gobierno, o sea los vestidos de azul, el “restablecimiento del orden” o, en otras palabras, la desintegración por medio de la violencia de cualquier movimiento social en lucha; por ejemplo, lo sucedido con los taxistas en su lucha contra Uber, lo sucedido a principios de año con las familias desalojadas de finca Chánguena que protestaban contra una medida de desalojo pero fueron brutalmente reprimidas por la fuerza policial, al igual como sucedió recientemente con los manifestantes animalistas que desarrollaban su protesta por el cierre definitivo de la cárcel (zoológico para quienes así lo consideran) Simón Bolívar o como ocurrió años atrás un 8 de noviembre cuando manifestantes de diversos movimientos políticos y sociales se movilizaron en defensa de la CCSS y que posteriormente fueron garroteados por los efectivos policiales. Por la violencia y nada más que por la violencia les despojaron, les cercenaron su legítimo derecho de expresar mediante los mecanismos de acción de masas su repudio y descontento contra situaciones de injusticia. Ante la represión del gobierno “progresista” y filibustero del PAC, unidad y lucha permanente de la clase obrera y trabajadora.

[i]   El informe del Index del Planeta Felíz, publicado por la Fundación de Nuevo Economía, busca evitar las medidas puramente económicas de alegría y reemplazarlas por un rango de países según la felicidad derivado de la cantidad de recursos ambientales utilizado. La felicidad se calcula por medir el bienestar, la esperanza de la vida y la desigualdad social de un país y dividirlo por su huella ecológico.

Courts are for those who seek justice, not revenge. Yet a growing number of powerful corporations are using the courts for just that — to silence those who dare to speak out against them.

The following short article refers to the use of SLAPPs in the USA, but the criminalisation of protesters and activists is a tactic frequently used in Central America against those who oppose large-scale ‘development’ schemes such as mines, hydro-electricity dams, plantation agriculture and similar. Many organisations in Central America are experiencing the same onslaught of SLAPPs as those in the USA, so it is appropriate to include this article here despite its focus on North America rather than Central America.

24th Sepember 2018

Courts are for those who seek justice, not revenge. Yet a growing number of powerful corporations are using the courts for just that — to silence those who dare to speak out against them.

These lawsuits, known as SLAPPs or ‘Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation’, aren’t meant to win in court. They often rely on outlandish claims of corruption, collusion, and conspiracy that won’t prevail in a court of law. Yet corporations with deep pockets use SLAPP suits as a way to waste the time and exhaust the resources of public-interest journalists, activists, and non-profits. These lawsuits have a chilling effect — discouraging activists, silencing critics, and limiting free speech. And they’re part of a much broader trend of attempts to shrink civil society space and shut down activism — from the adoption of anti-protest laws in states across the US, to restrictions on political rights at the upcoming climate negotiations, to the murders of environmental defenders in record numbers last year.

After indigenous groups, environmentalists, and concerned citizens protested the Dakota Access Pipeline in 2016 and 2017, Energy Transfer Partners, the company behind the project, filed a $900 million lawsuit against our partners accusing them of racketeering and corruption. The actions of one of those groups, BankTrack, consisted of sending public letters to financial institutions that were backing the pipeline — far from criminal.

Even CIEL has been the target of companies’ underhanded tactics. The day after Mr. Trump’s election, our own president Carroll Muffett was the recipient of a subpoena by ExxonMobil for our work exposing Exxon’s long-held knowledge of the climate crisis and attempts to stifle regulations that could have prevented it. The subpoena is part of a broader campaign of intimidation against climate advocates who are working to bring the truth to light.

That’s why we helped to launch the Protect the Protest Task Force, joining nearly twenty other organizations to unite our knowledge and expertise to confront these threats. From experienced lawyers and journalists, to communications professionals and activists, we stand stronger together: An attack on one is now an attack on all.

As part of the coalition, we are helping to raise awareness of SLAPP tactics and expose the worst offenders, as well as providing resources and mobilizing a network of attorneys to defend against SLAPPs, especially for individuals and small organisations with limited resources.

Corporate bullying of activists threatens our democracy. All of the social progress we’ve made throughout history has depended on the ability to speak out against injustices, so we’re taking a stand.

Extracts from an interview with Berta Oliva, Coordinator of the Committee of Relatives of the Detained and Disappeared in Honduras (COFADEH), 23 August 2010, Tegucigalpa, conducted by Martin Mowforth and Lucy Goodman.

The international human rights institutions ask us: “Have you already made a denunciation to the Public Prosecutor?” By doing so we are strengthening a broken and criminally corrupt institute of the state. The worst thing for us to do is to make a serious denunciation and to name witnesses. We’ve had so many witnesses who have been assassinated.

On 30th July 2009 a teacher in a protest march was assassinated – he was called Roger Iván Murillo. There was a teacher ready to give his testimony about Roger’s assassination to the Public Prosecutor. He was a witness who knew who shot Roger because he was close to his colleague. Prior to his testimony the Public Prosecutor offered to give him protected witness status and within the month he was assassinated.

In September there was a lad who filmed when they entered the barrios and shot a union president. He went to the Public Prosecutor with his film to say that he had the proof and that if they would guarantee his safety he would give it to them because on the film you can see and identify who shot him. The event was on the 22nd September, and he went to the Public Prosecutor on the 25th September. In December his wife was killed. She was driving their vehicle and it was an attempt on his life, but they killed his wife instead.

Berta Oliva gave a number of other examples of how citizens’ resort to the Public Prosecutor gave rise to attacks on the person of those who had tried this approach.

How on earth can people go to give testimony in a legal action to the Public Prosecutor when the first thing they do is kill them? That is an indefensible situation in a failed state; that is what little hope we have in justice.

Tegucigalpa M.D.C., 9 December 2011
Mr Luis Alberto Rubí
Fiscal General de la República

Dear Mr Rubì,

COFADEH has repeatedly condemned the state of impunity for serious human rights violations committed in Honduras, which has intensified since the military coup of 28 June 2009. At the close of 2011, we would once again like to draw attention to the lack of transparency and inaction on the part of the Ministerio Público (Public Prosecution Service) in relation to these crimes.

Numerous politically-motivated human rights violations have been committed in the country before, during and after the coup, including arbitrary and summary executions, torture, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, kidnappings, mass illegal detentions and repression of peaceful demonstrations.[1] The breakdown in the due functioning of state institutions is demonstrated by the systematic denial of the right to truth and justice for the victims and their relatives. Many of these violations were committed years ago. However, in cases involving agents of the state, the investigations have not been launched and those responsible continue to go unpunished.

COFADEH is aware of numerous cases of human rights violations. Several of the reports received relate to cases of murder, apparently politically-motivated, or to people who have died as a direct result of the use of excessive force by state authorities. COFADEH has been in regular contact with the victims’ relatives, and we can attest to the fact that the Ministerio Público disregards them and fails to keep them informed of progress in investigations. When it does contact them, it is to violate their right to decide who represents them legally.

The right of the families of victims of human rights violations to know the truth has been recognised by the United Nations and by the Inter-American System for the protection of human rights. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) has declared that this right belongs, not only to the families, but to society as a whole, as knowing the truth about what occurred can prevent it happening again in the future. In view of this, the current state of impunity within Honduras is extremely alarming.

We request that you conduct, as soon as possible, thorough and impartial investigations into cases of serious human rights violations and that the people responsible are brought to justice …

Yours sincerely

C O F A D E H

(Comité de Familiares de Detenidos Desaparecidos en Honduras)

[1] IACHR, ‘Honduras: Human Rights and the Coup d’Etat’, OEA/Ser.L/V/II. Doc. 55, 30 December 2009. See also: IACHR, Annual Report 2010, Chapter IV: Honduras, OEA/Ser.L/V/II, Doc. 5 corr., 17 March 2011.