Costa Rica: Netizens Discuss Wikileaks Cables

This post is part of our special coverage WikiLeaks and the World.

Several months have passed since WikiLeaks flooded media with the release of diplomatic cables containing information related to political and social issues in many countries around the world. Newspaper La Nación [es] of Costa Rica is the first Central American media outlet to receive the cables –most sent from the US Embassy in Costa Rica– directly from WikiLeaks. The content of these cables has provoked different reactions in Costa Rican blogs and social networks; opinions are as diverse as the topics covered in the cables.

Cristian Cambronero from Fusil de Chispas [es] notes the achievements of digital media:

El caso de la organización WikiLeaks es fascinante por muchos aspectos, y desde muchos puntos de vista. Pero hay uno que me apasiona en particular: el ver materializado el potencial que la tecnología y las redes ofrecen hoy, para que ciudadanos comunes, e iniciativas civiles, consigan incidir a una escala hasta ahora inimaginable.

The case of WikiLeaks is fascinating in many ways and from many points of view. But there is one in particular that I love: the materialization of the potential that technology and networks offer today, so that ordinary citizens and civil initiatives, achieve impact in an, until now, unimaginable scale.

Adriana Naranjo writes in Revista Amauta [es]:

La sorpresa de las publicaciones de los cables esta semana no produjo una grata confirmación de algo que ya sabíamos; sino una profunda indignación ante la reacción/no reacción del pueblo, de las organizaciones civiles, de los grupos políticos no oficialistas… de un pueblo indolente y pusilánime que al parecer se merece que la clase política (nacional e internacional) se burle de él en su propia cara.

The surprise of the publications of the cables this week did not cause a pleasant confirmation of something we already knew, but rather a deep indignation at the reaction/no reaction from the people, civil organizations, opposition political groups … of a country indolent and coward who apparently deserves that the political class (national and international) make fun of it in its face.

Dean Cornito, in his blog La Suiza Centroamericana [es], says:

Los cables diplomáticos pueden contener información interesante, pero hasta ahora lo que hemos visto son, efectivamente, chismes diplomáticos y nada que nos sorprenda ni nos deba causar indignación.

The diplomatic cables may contain interesting information, but so far what we have seen is, indeed, diplomatic gossip and nothing that should cause surprise or outrage us.

Xinia Ch delivered a summary of the main topics revealed in the cables so far in her blog Con derecho al abucheo [es]. She concludes that,

Aunque muchos de los cables confirmen “lo que ya sabíamos” y aunque ejerzamos nuestro sagrado derecho a la chota y al “basureo”, sí es importante que en algún momento saquemos algunas conclusiones acerca de lo que queremos y no queremos a futuro, principalmente con lo que a elección de nuevos líderes políticos se refiere.

Although many of the cables confirm “what we already knew” and although we exercise our sacred right to criticize and “mock”, it is important that at some point we draw some conclusions about what we want and don’t want in the future, mainly with what the election of new political leaders is concerned.

Julio Córdoba appeals for the publication of cables as a sign of transparency in his blog Ciencia Ficción [es]:

Los cables que wikileaks han compartido al mundo representan la forma en que Estados Unidos mira sus intereses (porque ningún país tiene amigos ni enemigos). A diferencia de quienes consideran negativo que estos contenidos se compartan soy de la idea que ningún Estado debe tener secretos por una sencilla razón: los secretos pertenecen a las personas.

The cables that Wikileaks have shared with the world represent the way that the United States looks at its interests (because no country has friends or enemies). Unlike those who consider the disclosure of these contents as something negative, I think that no State should have secrets for one simple reason: the secrets belong to the people.

As a result of the release of the cables, and as an effort to maintain transparency and make sure the information they contain reaches as many readers as possible, a group of Costa Ricans is using a website [es] to upload cables translated into Spanish. This is their motivation:

¿Por qué traducimos? La filtración de cables de Wikileaks es un ejercicio de transparencia. La información que se difunde en esos cables debe servir para alertarnos sobre la influencia y en algunos casos, intromisión de gobiernos extranjeros en las decisiones internas del país. Traducir esos cables es un ejercicio de democracia y defensa de la soberanía. Difundir en nuestro idioma la información que filtra Wikileaks es ejercer nuestro derecho al libre acceso a la información y documentar para la memoria histórica.

Why translate? The cable leak by Wikileaks is an exercise in transparency. The information published in these cables should serve to warn us about the influence and in some cases, foreign government interference in the internal decisions of the country. To translate these cables is an exercise in democracy and defense of sovereignty. To share in our language the information that Wikileaks filters is an exercise of our right to free access to information and to document for historical memory.

On Twitter, discussions and opinions regarding the cables can be followed by searching the hashtag #Wikileakscr [es].

This post is part of our special coverage WikiLeaks and the World.