In Costa Rica a hotel entrepreneur is confronting the Solis government, after it warned that companies carrying out commercial promotions in alliance with Uber will be penalized. WOW, what stupidity!

Here is an editorial on the subject.

Can it be that businesspeople in Costa Rica now have to consult the government to validate their marketing plans and strategies for their products and services?  The strong opposition of the Solis administration to the operation of the digital transport platform has now led to an announcement of sanctions against entrepreneurs who carry out promotions and advertising in alliance with Uber.  In an interview with Nacion.com, Geaninna Dinarte, Minister of Economy, Industry and Commerce (MEIC) defended the measure, arguing that “ … We are faced with a situation in which formal companies are promoting an illegal service. That means we are exposing ourselves to advertising which is misleading for consumers.  According to Law 7472, we have a responsibility over promotions, all year we carry out verifications and we do verifications with different businesses and markets. This is not an exclusive action against Uber.” Gustavo Araya, former president of the Costa Rican Chamber of Hotels and general manager at the Wyndham Herradura hotel, explained to Crhoy.com that they have lodged “… an appeal to reverse judgment and a subsidy appeal with the MEIC. The idea is for them to review the regulations they are using. The minister has insisted that we are using misleading advertising. But, the question here is who we are fooling, because the publicity was directed at Uber users. To those who have that app within their powers.” See articles on Crhoy.com and Nacion.com: (all in Spanish) “Meic asks businessman to remove Uber promotion”  “Businessman launches legal battle against Meic for prohibiting Uber promotions“.  “Minister of Economy: The government not acting against freedom of trade of companies linked to Uber”