Liberal leader repudiates Cuban interference in a Costa Rican referendum about the TLC

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Liberal leader repudiates Cuban interference in a Costa Rican referendum about the TLC
By Directorio Democrático Cubano

Otto Guevara, President of the Liberal Network of Latin America

San José, Costa Rica - Otto Guevara, President of the Liberal Network of Latin America, denounced Fidel Castro’s statements in reference to the referendum on the commercial agreement.

The President of the Liberal Network of Latin America, Otto Guevara, denounced Cuban dictator Fidel Castro’s statements in reference to the referendum as unacceptable. The referendum, which Costa Rica will hold next September, is aimed at explaining the future of the TLC Free Trade Agreement between Dominican Republic, Central America, and the United States.

In remarks printed in the Cuban newspaper, Granma, Castro called for the defeat of the TLC in Costa Rica, while denouncing the “fraudulent intent” of the popular consultation in September.

“Just let Fidel Castro and his minion Hugo Chávez attempt to interfere with a decision that solely corresponds to the Costa Ricans. It should come as no surprise, being that it has been his modus operandi this past decade. What ends up being unacceptable at his level of cynicism is a dictator that is a violator of the basic human rights and one who questions the democratic institutions of one of the most consolidated democracies in the American continent,” said Guevara.

Additionally, Guevara expressed his concerns over the Cuban dictator’s call made so that “social and popular organizations go to Costa Rica as international observers.” One month ago in Venezuela, representatives of the Bolivian Alternative of the Americas (Alternativa Boliviana de las Américas) called for the mobilization of solidarity in the battle against the TLC.

“It is clear that Costa Rica is the next battle ground for the leftist, radical forces of Latin America, and that Havana and Caracas plan on moving their pawns in order to guarantee the defeat of the TLC agreement with the United States,” said Guevara.

However, Guevara emphasized that “the decision is still the Costa Ricans’: whether we want our country to advance towards economic development through the opening of markets and a free economy, or whether we move backwards towards the neo-socialist model of Hugo Chávez and Fidel Castro.”

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