PRESIDENT OSCAR ARIAS'S INAUGURAL ADDRESS OF MAY

UNCLAS SAN JOSE 000980

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL CS
SUBJECT: PRESIDENT OSCAR ARIAS'S INAUGURAL ADDRESS OF MAY
8, 2006

REF: SAN JOSE 979


1. On being presented the presidential sash on May 8, 2006,
Oscar Arias delivered his inaugural speech entitled, "I
Choose Life, Democracy and the Challenge of Peaceful Change."
Below is the full text of the speech in English. The
translation was provided by the Arias Foundation, an NGO
founded by Oscar Arias after being awarded the Nobel Peace
Prize in 1987. See reftel for Embasy's summary and analysis
of the speech.


2. Bgin Text:

Honorable heads of state; esteemed memers of the Supreme
Authorities of Costa Rica, oficial government
representatives; winners of theNobel Prize for Peace, my
dear friends:

We hae come here today to celebrate an act that renews ur
faith in the creed of democracy and in the spiit of the
people of Costa Rica. Today, once more a President whom
Costa Ricans freely elected wil transfer his authority to
another President wh was also chosen through the votes of
our citizens. And just as the repetitive nature of the sun,s
rise every morning does not detract from the miracle of
light, the repetition of this ceremony does not diminish its
value, but rather confirms its transcendent character.

This act embodies the most profound truths our nation has
learned, truths to which we are guardians and heirs. Today we
relive the beautiful historical journey of this nation, which
over the course of almost two centuries has built a way of
life defined by love of liberty and solidarity, respect for
our institutions and complete dedication to living in peace.

Today we confirm that whatever challenges we confront as a
society, whatever disputes temporarily separate us, the
people who call this country their home are determined to
live under the one political system that makes possible the
peaceful transition of power, equal justice under law, and
the basic right of all human beings to define their own
destiny. This is the creed that this nation professes.

Today more than ever we should anchor ourselves to the values
that encourage and sustain us. These convictions*especially
the conviction that it is possible to construct societies
that are ever more just, without extremism and in peace*are
the only ones capable of guiding us in these turbulent times.


These are times of change, and times of definition. As human
beings, as Latin Americans and as Costa Ricans we cannot
afford the luxury of indecision. We have reached a crossroads
and we must make decisions.

As human beings, we cannot blindly trust the immense
scientific and technological changes of our era to
automatically resolve the great dilemmas of humankind. We
cannot trust them to preserve our planet, increasingly
threatened by greed and lack of foresight. We cannot trust
them to make possible the peaceful coexistence of
civilizations, civilizations which are increasingly
endangered by political and religious fundamentalism and by
the weakening of international law. We cannot trust them to
promote the principle that we are all children of God and
equal in His eyes. This principle is undermined by rising
levels of inequality on a global scale, and by certain
outcroppings of misery that continue to be incompatible with
all we claim to profess.

None of these problems will resolve themselves, because it is
clear that neither economic progress nor scientific progress
necessarily entails ethical progress on the part of humanity.
Ethical progress is not inevitable. We cannot wait for it
like we wait for the passing of a comet. It requires that we
desire it and build it with all our strength.

As Latin Americans we must decide if we are to continue
seeking utopias and blaming others for our misfortune, or if,
on the contrary, we will acknowledge that our destiny depends
on what we do today to create societies that are better
educated, more productive, more just, and more dedicated to
building solid institutions than to listening to the
passionate words of politicians.

We must decide, for what we have today is a Latin America
that is confused about its role and its relevance in the
world, that is less and less definite in its adherence to
fundamental democratic values. The great historical
achievement of the current generation of Latin Americans )
that of having left behind the interminable night of military
rule) is beginning to founder, in part because of the

refusal of our political elite to confront the secular
afflictions of inequality and exclusion, and in part because
of the chronic incapacity of many of our politicians and
intellectuals to see the world as it is, and not as they wish
it were; because of their incapacity to read the world in
prose and not in poetry.

We must decide, then, if the democratic adventure which the
region launched in the past three decades will be only a
parenthesis of rationality in a history marked by
intolerance, violence, and frustration, or if it will be the
beginning of our long-postponed journey to modernity and
development.

But it is, above all, as Costa Ricans that we must make
decisions. For years, out of fear and out of convenience, we
have been postponing the solutions to our most pressing
problems. We have preferred to believe, against all
evidence, that not deciding does not carry any cost and that
the indisputable achievements that we have realized as a
society guarantee our success in perpetuity.

We have chosen to adopt indecision as a way of confronting
life. For many years now, we as a country have lost our
energy and direction, and on a steep path this can only
result in backsliding.

We have gone as far as this route can take us. We cannot
continue wandering without a compass, discussing endlessly
among ourselves, pursuing the mirage of unanimity, consuming
the best of our days and our efforts as if time did not
exist, as if the march of history had stopped to wait for
little Costa Rica to decide someday to lift anchor.

"If one does not know to which port one is sailing, no wind
is favorable," Seneca correctly wrote. I am convinced that
Costa Rica has all that it needs to arrive at a proposed
destination, but first it must know where it wants to go.

That is the task that begins today: that of defining a course
for Costa Rica and beginning to sail towards it.

If we must define this course, it is necessary that we
recover the courage to agree; the capacity to recognize the
opportunities that we have; the humility to know that our
vision of the world is not the only one; and the nobility to
place the interests of the country above our personal
interests.

We must recover the wisdom to discern what is essential and
what is secondary in our nationality; to separate those
traditions and values that are worth conserving in this
search for our destiny from those that have simply become
heavy burdens.

Above all, we must recover our disposition to innovate, to
change, to explore new paths. And in this, it seems to me,
we are agreed: for all of the political and social sectors in
the country the status quo has ceased to be an option.

From this day forward, Costa Rica must recover the confidence
that it has all it needs to move forward, that it can think
on a grand scale and look to the future, beyond the small
disputes that today consume our energies. It is time that we
return to having a historic purpose worthy of our exceptional
past.

That, friends, is the mission that we have: that Costa Rica
might once again see the future with optimism, that it might
again believe in itself, that it might become convinced that
it can change.

That is what we must do and that is what we will do.

From this day forward we will forge a clear path in the
struggle against poverty and inequality.

We will not remain passive before the pain of millions of
Costa Ricans living in misery. We will not remain passive
before the social chasms that today divide the Costa Rican
family. We will not remain passive before the discrimination
suffered by the most vulnerable groups in our society, in
particular the disabled, the elderly, ethnic minorities,
children and single mothers.

We will renew this country,s fidelity to its best
traditions, traditions that have understood the expansion of
human opportunities as the underlying thread of history,s
great adventure. Such is the legacy of solidarity bequeathed
by Flix Arcadio Montero, Omar Dengo, Alfredo Gonzlez
Flores, Jorge Volio, Manuel Mora, Rafael Angel Caldern

Guardia, Jos Figueres, and all of those who throughout our

history have helped us to understand that Costa Rica is not
simply a group of individuals, but a community and a family
that must never abandon its weakest members to fate.

The social policies of this administration will emphasize the
strengthening of universal public services, above all
education and health care provided by the Costa Rican Social
Security system. These must continue to be supported by all
Costa Ricans, for the benefit of all Costa Ricans.

We will work to coordinate anti-poverty programs, making
possible a clear and progressive assignment of social
investment, and a rigorous evaluation of its results.

We must understand that effective social policy cannot be
created in a vacuum: it takes significant resources.
Therefore, I want to emphasize the following: in this
administration we will resolve the state,s perennial fiscal
crisis, making possible the social investments that Costa
Rica needs.

We cannot advance towards the future without a great
qualitative and quantitative boost in social investment.
Without it, we will have neither development, nor social
justice, nor peace. The creation of an appropriate,
progressive tax system is vital for our future.

From this day forward, we will forge a clear path for the
productive sector of Costa Rica.

We will promote policies for sustained improvements in
competitiveness; for a gradual opening of the economic
structure; for the sustainability of our productive
processes; and for an intelligent alignment with the global
economy. We will not resign ourselves to watch impotently
while this country slips ever lower in the most important
measures of competitiveness.

We will strive towards the most important goal that any
economic policy can have: the creation of more and better
jobs for Costa Ricans, and especially for youth. Beyond
social policy, our first task in reducing poverty in Costa
Rica is to stimulate the creation of formal jobs in the
private sector.

Likewise, we will reform and appropriately regulate the
telecommunications, infrastructure and energy sectors to make
them internationally competitive. Our efforts will
immediately turn to the formation of an integral energy
policy, one that reduces our dependence on fossil fuels and
promotes the use of renewable energy sources. Costa Rica must
rethink the current energy model, for its continuation would
be nothing less than a grave risk to our future economic
growth.

We will deepen Costa Rica,s ties to the world economy. We
will continue to vigorously attract foreign investment and to
be resolute in our commercial policy, which permits the
greatest number of Costa Rican producers to integrate into
export markets.


Turning our backs on economic integration, returning to
commercial protectionism, and disdaining the attraction of
foreign investment at this time constitute the surest ways to
condemn Costa Rica,s youth to unemployment and Costa Rica to
underdevelopment. They also constitute the surest ways to
waste the human and institutional capital that the country
has accumulated over the past 50 years and that has allowed
us to successfully integrate ourselves into the global
economy.

In this, I want to be very clear: sovereignty is not defended
with prejudices and slogans, but rather, with work and
concrete plans for creating prosperity in Costa Rica. A
country that is afraid of the world and is not able to adapt
to it inexorably condemns its youth to seek a livelihood
beyond its borders. If it does this, it is less sovereign,
less just and less of a country.

Favoring the isolation of Costa Rica from the great phenomena
of the modern world is a reactionary cause and a betrayal of
our youth. It will not be my government that, out of fear
and prejudice, isolates Costa Rica from the international
economy.

From this day forward we will chart a clear course for public
education. This should once again be one of the motors of
our productivity, an instrument for reducing inequalities and
reproducing our best values.

Over the next four years, we will spare no effort to dedicate

8% of Gross Domestic Product to educational investment. We
are going to work to ensure that the profession of educator
is well compensated so that our educational system attracts
sharper and sharper minds with a greater focus on service.

Above all, we are going to work every day to universalize
secondary education, providing economic support from the
state to the poorest families so they keep their adolescent
children in the classrooms. We will not allow the lack of
access to education to reproduce, generation after
generation, an infernal cycle of misery.

We will chart a clear course on fighting crime and drugs. We
are going to be tough on crime, but even tougher on the
causes of crime. We are going to take a close look at the
preventative orientation of the police force and we will
provide it with more resources.

We will improve the mechanisms for reporting crime, and, in
particular, for reporting domestic violence, the most
insidious and widespread type of crime.

We will fight without rest against drug trafficking. And not
just large-scale drug trafficking ) the kind that requires
us to patrol our seas and our airports ) but especially the
small-scale trafficking of drugs, which occurs on corners in
our neighborhoods, in parks in our communities, in doorways
and halls at our high schools. That will be one of the main
priorities in terms of the security of our citizens.

Starting today we will chart a clear course for our efforts
to modernize the state. We will focus urgently on the task
of providing the country with agile, efficient and
transparent institutions that will support the pursuits of
our citizens rather than undermine them; that will be
instruments of, and not obstacles to, democratic governance.

We will chart a clear course for national investment in
infrastructure and transportation. Nevermore will our
highways, ports and airports be a cause of national
embarrassment; nevermore will our producers be condemned to
pass through a nightmare in order to sell the fruits of their
labor; nevermore will our most remote rural communities be
relegated to isolation and underdevelopment.


From this day forward, we chart a clear course for our
foreign policy. We return Costa Rica to its leading role in
the international theater. Our foreign policy will be based
on principles and values deeply rooted in Costa Rican
history: defense of democracy, full promotion and protection
of human rights, the struggle for global peace and
disarmament; and commitment to human development.

We will again align our foreign policy with the peaceful ways
of the Costa Rican people. We will defend multilateralism, we
will strictly adhere to International Law and the founding
principles of the United Nations Charter*the most
fundamental safeguard against anarchy in the world.

As a country without an army, starting today we call on the
world, especially industrialized nations, to come together so
that, together, we might give life to the Costa Rican
Consensus. With this initiative, we seek the establishment
of mechanisms to forgive debts and provide international
financial resources to developing countries that invest more
and more in health, education, and housing for their people,
and less and less in weapons and soldiers. It is time that
the international financial community reward not just those
who use resources prudently, as has been the case until now,
but those who use resources morally.

Along these same lines, starting now, the protection of the
environment and of the right to sustainable development will
become a priority of our foreign policy. Our goal is that
Costa Rica,s name becomes synonymous with basic human
values: love of peace and love of nature. That will be our
distinguishing mark as a country. That will be our calling
card to the world.

I have left my most important commitment for last. Starting
today, there will be a clear and unalterable path of honesty
in public office.

This ethical path means speaking to Costa Ricans with honesty
- always telling them what they should know, and not just
what they want to hear. I have not arrived at this position
to please any particular group, but rather to defend the
interests of Costa Rican society as a whole, according to my
abilities to understand them given my human limitations. I
could err in my decisions, and surely I will many times, but
I will never say or do anything with any criteria except

this: the wellbeing of my country.

This ethical path means keeping campaign promises, a minimum
requirement for Costa Ricans to believe in politics again.
It means being accountable to citizens for all of our
actions, as difficult as that may sometimes be. It means
requiring the highest level of integrity and accountability
from our partners. It means understanding the Presidency not
as an opportunity to seek glory or popularity, but as a space
to serve those who are most in need.

This, friends, is the path that Costa Rica embarks on today.

I would like to think that the path that I have outlined will
inevitably result in a more prosperous Costa Rica for our
children. I would like to think that the Presidential sash I
wear is the talisman that will make it possible for us to
arrive at the bicentennial of our independence as a developed
nation. But there is no certainty in this*there are only
possibilities.

I think that a good part of success will depend on the
political maturity we demonstrate at this crucial time, on
our high mindedness, on our willingness to devote ourselves
to basic rules of civility, without which no form of
democracy is possible.


For all of the political parties and social organizations of
the country, I today have a message that is also a request.
A request that we might work together for our future. A
request that we might learn that no party and no organization
has a monopoly on honesty, on patriotism, on good intentions,
and on love for Costa Rica. A request that we might
understand that the responsible exercise of political power
is much more than pointing fingers, denouncing, and
obstructing, and that it consists, above all, in carrying out
dialogue, in collaborating, and in building. A request that
we might know how to distinguish between adversaries and
enemies; that we might understand that a willingness to
compromise is not a sign of weakness, just as intransigence
is not a sign of strength. A request that we might cast aside
the meanness of our political debate; that we might raise our
heads, look forward, and think in grand terms.

Only thus will we meet the grave responsibilities that we
have before us as public officials, as political leaders, as
social leaders, or simply as citizens.

Friends:


The rare privilege of living in a critical moment in history,
when the old still has not died and the new still has not
been born, has been given to us. At this crossroads,
humanity must choose whether it will eliminate all forms of
poverty or all forms of life on the planet.

We Latin Americans must choose whether we will nourish, with
knowledge and patience, the democratic flower that has taken
root or crush it beneath the weight of stale prejudices and
our legendary tolerance of injustice.

We Costa Ricans must choose whether we will take our destiny
in our hands, whether we will take advantage of our
opportunities and create a prosperous country in which there
is a dignified place for all, or whether, on the contrary, we
will resign ourselves to seeing the world pass by at a
distance, to squandering the achievements that we have
accumulated, and to living, like that downfallen family in a
tale of Jorge Luis Borges, "in the resentment and insipidness
of poor decency."

All these paths are open, but the time in which we have to
decide is not great. For my part, I choose life, democracy,
and the challenge of changing in peace. It is time that
humanity, Latin America, and Costa Rica change, not by
chance, but out of conviction; not because there is no other
path, but because it is the correct one.

With humility I ask all Costa Ricans ) men and women, young
and old, of all political persuasions and religious creeds )
to accompany me in this undertaking. I am only the director
that you have freely and temporarily chosen for this
collective work that we begin today. But I clearly recognize
that the actors and the protagonists, today, tomorrow, and
always, will be you.

I ask all Costa Ricans to respond to fear with optimism; to
powerlessness with enthusiasm; to paralysis with dynamism; to
apathy with commitment; to small-mindedness with unbreakable
faith in the bright future of Costa Rica.


And to God Almighty I ask that, with his infinite wisdom, He
might guide our steps in this new era as we continue to build
our beautiful and indestructible nation.

Thank you very much.

End text.

LANGDALE