Referendum for governance. In a letter by José María Figueres to the country, sent first to President Laura Chinchilla, the most influential figure of the Costa Rican Way proposes a referendum for reforms that would initiate the recovery of a good dose of governance.
Speaking of influence, I must say that I have been impressed to see Figueres’ respect, prestige and leadership. It is time for more to be known of his dimension in the world, which he travels as if it were a handkerchief. In the last three weeks alone he moved from New York to Denmark, then to Turkey and then to Aruba. Back in New York he traveled to Washington DC (where I accompanied him to the G-50), then flew direct to Seoul, Korea. Then to Beijing for a brief stopover and today he is in Singapore, learning about the social security system. Now if the travels are amazing, you have to look at the issues that motivate his travels, such as CEO of the Carbon War Room. I would not survive such an itinerary, and for what it is worth, at every stop he is connected to the future we must build in the world, and of course, in Costa Rica.
Well, and as the former president rightly says, here it is a matter of adding and agreeing, to ensure that we can unravel our country, manage to define a shared vision of the future and run with the luck we deserve. Without further delay, here is the letter circulating today.
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(Letterhead)
José María Figueres Olsen
October 16, 2012
Towards a Democracy that Works: A National Crusade to Improve our Governance
Like many compatriots, I am concerned about the loss of governance in our country. In the ‘Vía Costarricense – Proyecto País’ we seek solutions to situations like this, to facilitate decision making in the next four or five governments.
The same problem is also suffered in other regions of the world, such as the European Union. There they are making important decisions that will help improve their governance in order to get out of the economic crisis they are going through.
It is time that we Costa Ricans also make an effort to improve our governance, so that our democracy yields better results. I propose three actions that allow us to begin that work:
1. 2. 3.
Organize a referendum to approve the necessary reforms to the law that created the Constitutional Chamber.
Modernize the Rules of Procedure of the Legislative Assembly so that our parliament functions better.
With broad support from civil society, ask the current government to become the standard bearer for these transformations.
In my speech to the Legislative Assembly on May 1, 1995, I warned about the ungovernability that was beginning to affect the proper functioning of our democracy. At that time, few paid attention to the call I made. Today, there is not a Costa Rican with whom I speak who does not talk to me about this issue. They almost always express their concern about the functioning of the Constitutional Chamber and the Legislative Assembly.
The creation of the Constitutional Chamber during the first government of Mr. Oscar Arias is something we should be proud of. Today we have the experience of its operation throughout these years, with which we can work – together with the Chamber itself – to improve the law that created it.
The same happens with the Legislative Assembly, where it is necessary to reform the Internal Rules of Procedure. Just one example of many: it is disrespectful to democracy that a single deputy can delay almost indefinitely the processing of a bill by introducing hundreds of motions.
None of these reforms will be achieved only in Congress. There, all political parties use the current circumstances to their advantage – even if they criticize them – to hinder and delay the ideas put forward by their opponents. Therefore, a greater, much more powerful effort is required.
That is why I propose to call for a national referendum to change the legislation regarding the Constitutional Chamber. For this we require one hundred and fifty thousand signatures of Costa Ricans that together we could obtain. Some constitutionalists tell me that by means of a referendum the Regulations of the Legislative Assembly can also be modernized. If so, so much the better. If not, let the jurists tell us how to get Congress to change it.
This is something we can organize from the civil society. However, our legal system allows the government to call a referendum without the need to collect signatures. It would be much better for the current government to raise these flags.
Throughout these months I have been asking that we support the President. Mrs. Laura is a well-intentioned woman who wants the best for this country. She recently appointed a Commission of Notables, which will surely be studying how to improve our governance, because in achieving this is to be able to implement solutions to our national challenges.
Don Rodrigo Arias and Don Fernando Berrocal, with their government experience and legal training, have groups of lawyers working on these reforms. Mr. Rolando Araya leads another group that has dedicated itself with care to review these issues. Other groups are doing the same, some of them politically oriented and others of citizen participation, such as the study group coordinated by Mr. Jaime Ordoñez and the group chaired by Mr. André Garnier and Mr. Gastón Monge. I have met with all of them. All these initiatives are valuable, and from them we must extract the best for our country. The point is to add, never to subtract! What it is about is to agree, never to divide!
That is why I think it is convenient that Mrs. Laura takes the lead in this National Crusade. In addition to the political agreement, it is essential to involve relevant leaders of the civil society. Together we can make these important changes.
By achieving this in this administration – and I see no reason to wait for the next one – Mrs. Laura would earn a well-deserved recognition as the reformer who contributed in an important way to recover our governability.
These are the issues of Politics with a capital P, which we want to help solve in the ‘Vía Costarricense – Proyecto País’. I am convinced that it is possible to do what I mention here, so that our democracy works better.
(Signature)
José María Figueres