Confident and elated. That is how José María Villalta, a presidential candidate of the Wide Front (Frente Amplio) party and current deputy of the Legislative Assembly, appeared on Friday, October 11th in the auditorium of the Coopealianza company in Nicoya, in front of 200 people.
He was joined by Guanacaste’s deputy candidates Carlos Zapata, for Santa Cruz, Ronald Vargas, for Liberia, and Wilmar Matarrita, for Nicoya.
Meanwhile, residents of Carrillo, La Esperanza, Nosara, Ostional, Sámara , San Juanillo, Santa Cruz, and Nicoya were present at the activity and presented their complaints regarding problems such as neglect and lack of government support for ASADAs, the poor state of roads, unemployment, poor conditions of EBAISs and the unfulfilled promise of the medical tower at the Hospital La Anexión.
In addition, other complaints made by attendees included the problem faced by more than 100 farmers from La Esperanza in Nicoya after declaring that their farms are part of the Diría national park, as the government has not paid compensation for the land. Also, the effects on dozens of families affected by the chemical Nemagon while working on banana plantations in past decades, as so far they have not received compensation from the state, as well as gulf fishermen and families affected by the earthquake of 2012.
Villalta began his speech by acknowledging that “Guanacaste is the province that produces more wealth for the country and yet it is the most neglected and impoverished.”
He then referred to the lack of representation in the plenary session by the Guanacaste’s current deputies in the Legislative Assembly: “If we want this to change, then it is not enough to have a deputy in the Legislative Assembly; we have to have the majority of deputies and win the government.”
The candidate referred to how his political rivals have tried to find flaws or corruption claims against him, to which said: “We have no tail which they can step on. They have investigated and dug into me and they have not been able to get anything.”
The legislator touched on the Community Coastal Territories (TECOCOS – Territorios Costeros Comunitarios) issue which is pending in the Legislative Assembly, explaining that the project was drafted separately for the community of Ostional so as not to delay the rest of the project.
“It is the same TECOCOS proposal, only that it will be dealt with as an independent project while presenting environmental studies required by the Constitutional Court (Sala IV) in order to complete the process faster,” said Villalta .
On the viability of the project’s approval, Villalta mentioned it is already drafted and being reviewed and that this week it will be presented to the current Legislature. “I hope it will be ready for a vote before the end of November, and it is feasible to vote on it this year if we hurry and there is support from the community,” he explained.
The meeting ended with a march by Villalta and his supporters to the party’s new campaign house.
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