A driver sits on the roof of his car while others stand in the middle of Second Avenue in downtown San Jose Costa Rica Thursday to watch a rally for the "yes" campaign. People for the approval of the Central American Free-Trade Agreement with the United States (CAFTA) blocked the main street for more than an hour around lunch time to voice their favor for the free-trade pact that will be put to a vote Sunday in the country's first ever referendum.
The gathering, which some simply considered a traffic nightmare that worsened the already messy transportation situation in the city, was a last-ditch effort by the "yes" campaign to swing opinions and rally voter turn out.
Student body president Ricardo Solis is the leader of an anti-CAFTA campaign at the University of Costa Rica.
Recent poll results released by Costa Rica's La Nacion newspaper Oct. 3 revealed that 55% of the more than 1,200 Costa Rican polled were against CAFTA, while only 43% said the will vote yes. Many attribute the declining support for the agreement to the recent scandal involving leaked emails between high-ranking government officials who proposed questionable campaign tactics.
— Christopher
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