If inaugural promises become policy, oil drilling and open-pit mining are not in the cards for Costa Rica under new President Abel Pacheco. “Before we become an oil enclave, before we become a land of open-pit mining, I propose we launch a sustained effort to convert Costa Rica into an ecological power,” Pacheco said at his May 8 swearing-in. “...We declared peace with ourselves and peace with all nations; now we must declare peace with nature.” Pacheco’s statements follow prolonged jousting here between environmentalists and U.S. and Canadian oil and mining interests. For a time, it was a battle oil and mining advocates had appeared to be winning. In 1994, for instance, Costa Rica enacted a Hydrocarbons Law dividing the country into... [Log in to read more]