Transport services, fishermen, students all took the streets this week in Costa Rica to protest against the government.

Driving slow enough to cause congestion (tortuguismo) and blocking different key roads, drivers, specifically truckers, representing different transport services were the first to manifest their anger earlier this week against the implementation of the Value Added Tax (VAT) which starts July 1.

Fishermen once again decided to protest claiming they are not receiving the tools and support needed, even though the government affirms that there have been important  progress in response to the needs of this sector and with the objective of consolidating this as a sustainable activity from an economic, social and environmental stand point. Fishermen, however, are not satisfied with the proposals and are also against the taxation of their products. The Government opened dialogue with this sector once again and reached an agreement with them.

Finally, students are calling for the resignation of Education Minister Edgar Mora, in this case, the motivations are confusing and perhaps based on misinformation.

Students took the streets based on five things: 1) The supposed celebration of Pride Day – LGBTIQ at education centers: this is not true, this day has never been part of the activities or celebrations in any education center in Costa Rica. 2) Dual Education: this is a bill that has not been passed yet, and it proposes a system that combines regular education and training or internships in different companies; students claim that this would take students out of the classrooms and would put them to work for minimum payment. 3) Neutral Bathrooms, this is an initiative of the Ministry of Education which promoted the creation of neutral bathrooms for the use of male or female students, with the purpose of avoiding discrimination or discomfort for transgender students. This however was a suggestion of the Ministry of Education and not an obligation for any education center. 4) Faro tests: this tests would replace the regular “Bachillerato” tests that high school students have been doing for years, Faro tests have a different modality in which they take into consideration the grades of the last year of high school (60%) and the results of the Faro test (40%) to receive their high school diplomas, tests would be applied in fifth and tenth grade in order for students to measure their level and problem areas and they can take the test again in sixth and eleventh grade and the highest grade would be the one taken into consideration for their final result. Students claim they do not have enough information on this. Finally, reason 5) Purchase of drones: the Ministry of Education announced it would purchase drones for some technical agricultural schools, with the objective of using them for educational purposes in this area. Students claim that the resources used to buy drones could be put to better use in the building of new schools of repair of existing buildings; however, the budget used to buy the drones and the budget assigned for building maintenance and construction are separate.

President Carlos Alvarado reaffirmed their position to an open dialogue but condemned all acts of violence and forms of protests that affect the general population and the tourism sector.

Acts of violence occurred in different areas with the involvement of students. Several streets were blocked and some remain closed or partially blocked this Saturday, among them Route 32 in the communities of Siquirres, Guácimo, Guápiles, Limón 2000 and Liverpool.

The US Embassy suggests:
• Be aware of your surroundings and exercise caution if unexpectedly in the vicinity of large gatherings, protests, or demonstrations, even if they appear peaceful.
• Avoid large gatherings and rallying points for demonstrations.
• Monitor media for updates.