In the first 7 hours of the general strike called by the labor unions in Costa Rica, the most affected services are public education and public hospitals, according to information provided by the Government during a press conference this Monday.

President Carlos Alvarado along Ministers and representatives of other public institutions stated that at this point 25 public institutions are operating normally, and in fact, 13 Institutions have already made the formal request to declare the illegality of the movement, it is expected that other institutions present their request in the next hours.

The President also stated that he will not negotiate or establish a dialogue with the leaders of the movement as long as public services and roads are being affected. “We will not dialogue as long as there are movements that all they do is affect the Costa Rican citizens. The Government has always been open to dialogue but it is inadmissible to affect people on their way to work, to school or to a medical appointment”, said Alvarado.

Information offered by the government affirms that in most institutions the support to the strike reaches just about 6%, except in the Ministry of Public Education and the Social Security Service (CCSS). Close to 20% of the agencies of the Costa Rican Electricity Institute have been affected to some degree, but their services operate normally.

Close to 67% of educators, joined the strike affecting close to 481 schools.

The San Juan de Dios Hospital in San Jose and Mexico Hospital in La Uruca have been affected by the strike that has resulted in the cancelation of several surgeries that were already programmed.

The red taxis took advantage of the call to strike to protest against UBER, hoping that the Government will soon take steps to sanction the company. The taxis have caused slow traffic in several main roads such as General Cañas highway which connects Alajuela to San Jose.

Airports are working normally.