Gustavo Araya, one of the first entrepreneurs notified by the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Commerce (MEIC) to remove promotions for Uber users, filed an objection against this warning.
Araya is the general manager of the Wyndham Herradura Hotel and the Hard Rock Café restaurants.
On August 17th, Araya received a notification from MEIC, where they requested the removal within of the promotion to celebrate Mother’s Day with a 10% discount at a gastronomic festival for users who arrived in Uber.
We filed a revocation appeal with a subsidy appeal to the MEIC. The idea is to review the regulations they are using. The minister (Carmen Geaninna Dinarte) has insisted that we are launching misleading advertising. But, the question here is who we are fooling? Because the publicity was directed at Uber users, those who have that app,”
said Araya.
President Luis Guillermo Solís ordered five institutions to monitor, review and punish those who provide illegal transport services, including Uber.
According to Article 4 of his guideline, MEIC will be responsible for carrying out legal actions related to promotions and offers on illegal services of remunerated transportation of people.
Araya was not the only one notified the previous week. There was a large group of local businessmen who received the ministry’s warning. He unsuccessfully tried to get them to join him.
Moreover, the billboards that promote Uber as an official sponsor of an international football match were removed. Apparently, at the request of the MEIC.
For the hotel entrepreneur, MEIC makes a strange interpretation on the matter, since they indicate Uber is illegal although it has a legal office in the country that even provides services to Central America.