Omnia Mutantur

I first met Ernesto over 10 years ago, when he was running a tiny mexican food business out of an even tinier garage. He called the place Huaraches, after the mexican dish. It was impossible not to get caught up in his great attitude and fun demeanor – the fact that the food was exquisite was the icing on the cake.

Over the years, I saw Neto’s business grow while maintaining the great quality and service it was known for. He moved across the street from the small garage, into a house he rebuilt out of his own pocket, working hard to avoid even having to go to a bank for a loan; and eventually expanded to open restaurants in Costa Rica.

Since life has a penchant for moving the rug from under you, Neto is starting from scratch with a small restaurant called Tá … Kanhijo, 100 meters north of Atlas in Heredia, right next door to the Hooligan’s bar. His warm, personal service, his great hand for food and delicious salsas are all there; and as if that wasn’t enough, from Wednesday to Saturday it’s open until 2am.

My family was there last Sunday, and everyone was glad to see him in his usual high spirits, his magic touch for making you feel right at home still there. When my dad asked him if he was doing well, he replied

That’s the sort of attitude that’ll get you anywhere you want to be.

PS: I understand that you can get home delivery by calling 263-6982, but I’m guessing it’s only in the Heredia area.

Ricardo Costa Rica, Restaurants and bars

Lo bueno de cuando las cosas pasan públicamente, es que uno no tiene que confiar en la palabra de una sola persona. O dos. O dos y varios periódicos. O…

Aparte de mis comentarios, el exhaustivo análisis de Jorge Codina y las noticias en varios medios, se abrió un grupo de discusión recientemente para comentar la reciente Asamblea Nacional, y la subsecuente purga de personal libertario a nivel del partido.

Pueden encontrarlo aquí, incluyendo varias denuncias y la carta de renuncia del Doctor Álvaro Cordero, quien prefiere no ser diputado a que ir postulado por esa agrupación.

Ricardo Costa Rica, Freedom, News and politics

Like it or not, a name is one of the first impression someone gets from you. As soon as they hear it, images spring into the mind’s eye, even before they know who you are. As if that wasn’t enough, every time your name is spoken that image is conjured again, reinforced in someone’s mind.

Take the case of the Movimimiento Libertario.

That’s not a regular party, not a mere political group organized to promote its candidates for public office. No sir. It’s a movement, an organized effort by supporters of a common goal. What’s the goal of this movement? Freedom, of course, as stated clearly by that all important libertario word.

It made you think – wow, these guys are different.

Not anymore, unfortunately. As of Saturday 25, 2005, the Movimiento went from a libertarian organization to a wholly-owned subsidiary of Otto Guevara, a political party with no other apparent purpose that getting it’s various candidates into office, faster than you can push a scientist and a fly in to a telepod and press Blend.

What will they do there? Who knows. Each candidate, many of which are not even libertarians at all, will have his own agenda. My guess is that the purpose is to elect Otto at all costs, which will not happen against Arias in the 2006 election, so the idea is to get as many yes-men as possible into Congress so that they can be blandished as negotiating weapons.

In the process, each will be free to pillage, plunder and vote for new taxes (pretty much the same thing), now that they’re free of the contract the Movimiento was supposed to bind them with.

Oh, right, I hadn’t mentioned that. Libertarian-elected congress people can now do whatever the hell they want, regardless of the promises that got them elected. Business as usual.

Leaving aside all ideological considerations, they’ve just shot themselves in the foot. The single advantage the Movimiento Libertario had over the other parties was easy to sell.

They always had the high moral ground. People knew their word was good.

That’s not true anymore. To me, they’ve demonstrated that they’re more than willing to compromise their principles for an end. They’ve lost the high moral ground. They don’t have the unions like PAC does, they don’t have the history and rabid following of PLN and PUSC. On giving that up, they’ve just become the political equivalent of the Decaffeinated Diet Coke.

No sugar, no stimulants. All cancerogenics.

If you were a libertarian, the party just screwed you. If you believed in the Movimiento’s No más de lo mismo! war cry, you better look somewhere else – they are now the same damn thing as anybody else. If you had been volunteering for them, joke’s on you.

Three strikes. I’m out.

PS: If you’re interested in more detail about what went on, instead of just my venom-spewing, you can read my friend Jorge’s take here.

Ricardo Costa Rica, Freedom, News and politics

Libertad y Libertinaje

Hace un par de semanas envié un artículo al periódico nacional El Financiero, como respuesta a una persona que básicamente alegaba que los contratos atentan contra la libertad de expresión. Lo publicaron, pero solo luego de haberlo pasado por un triturador de carne. Lo encontrarán abajo en su versión completa

En vista de que a los libertarios se les tacha a menudo de anarquistas y libertinos (entre muchos otros epítetos) encuentro irónica la posición una opinión recientemente publicada en El Financiero, de alguien que reacciona decepcionado ante la intención del Movimiento Libertario de exigir una garantía real a los candidatos a diputados de que, en caso de ser elegidos por el partido, van a seguir los lineamientos ideológicos del mismo.

La relación de los diputados con un partido político es idéntica a la de una persona con una compañía: está regida por un contrato y el que acepta los términos del contrato, tiene que cumplirlos. Los lineamientos ideológicos son precisamente las guías de ese contrato.

En el caso específico de los candidatos a diputados, siempre tienen la libertad de escoger por qué partido se postulan. ¿No creen que debieran informarse un poquito acerca de la ideología del partido antes de lanzarse? Si en realidad no creen en ella, ¿no debieran estar en algún otro más afín a sus intereses?

Los que votamos por un partido político lo hacemos porque estamos convencidos de que las personas a las que apoyamos van a hacer un buen trabajo, van a seguir con la ideología que nos propusieron y, más importante, van a cumplir los compromisos que hicieron con nosotros.

La libertad trae responsabilidades, y el Movimiento Libertario nada más está tratando de que sus diputados cumplan con las suyas. ¡Enhorabuena! Ya es tiempo de que los ciudadanos de este país tengamos una forma tangible de obligar a los políticos a cumplir con los planteamientos de campaña.

Cualquier otra cosa sería seguir con el libertinaje y la anarquía que hay en el país.

Ricardo Costa Rica