Costa Rica, like many Latin American countries, buys a lot of oil from Hugo Chavez. Try approximately 100% of the 18,000 barrels of crude that the country refines daily. Under current financial terms, this crude has to be paid for within 8 days. However, if Costa Rica joins in with Hugo Chavez sponsored "Petrocaribe" those terms could convert drastically for the better. Petrocaribe is Chavez offer to countries of Central America and the Caribe to buy oil on very suitable terms. They still have to buy at shop rates and if those rates exceed 0 per barrel, the suitable terms kick in. Specifically, the capability to finance the buy of 60% of the price of the crude over 25 years at interest fixed at 1% (and with two years of grace). The remaining 40% of the price would be paid over 90 days. This would create gigantic savings that could be invested as Costa Rica chooses. A big debate is over what to do with this surplus.
That is what I like to call a "good problem." A bigger question in my understanding is whether to accept any such handouts from Hugo Chavez in the first place. Does this not allow Chavez, who has expressed dictatorial visions of grandeur, to get his hands around the throat of Costa Rica economically? Could this just be a ploy in his pursuit to become the czar of Latin America? Would it have been a good idea for France or Great Britain to have made such cozy deals with Hitler? Chavez is no Hitler, you might say, but are we sure about that? He has already been busy muzzling any negative press in his own country and rapidly passing laws giving himself operate over every facet of Venezuela's economy prior to the upcoming elections. Venezuela's citizenry enjoy cheap oil, but the Chavez version of leisure offered to his population seems pretty "cheap" as well. The price of any debt incurred to Chavez may ultimately prove to be very expensive.
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