Toledo Presidential Aspirations Official
With his family by his side, Ricardo Toledo Carranza, launched his candidacy for the presidential nomination for the Partido Unidad Social Cristiana (PUSC).

The event was held at the Tobogán, where a number of PUSC party members from all over the country participated, giving Toledo the green light to possibly lead them into the upcoming presidential elections.

Toledo was Ministro de la Presidencia until his resignation before the end of last year and perhaps the closest to president Abel Pacheco and is considered the front runner for the party nomination. He is also a Legislative Deputy and says he will continue in that post during the campaign.

Toledo resigned his post in the Pacheco administration after last year's demonstrations by various action groups against the government on many issues, including the Tratado Libre de Comercio (TLC) - free trade agreement - with the United States and the proposed Plan Fiscal.

"Yo soy el candidato de la Unidad", Toledo told the crowd.

Toledo in his speech did not refer to the former leaders of the party, former presidents Miguel Ángel Rodríguez and Rafael Ángel Calderón, who are currently under house arrest.

Toledo will face Oscar Arias Sanchez of the Partido Liberación Nacional (PLN)as his main rival for the presidential chair in the February 2006 elections.

In the past, Costa Ricans had a choice of two candidates every four years - one from the PUSC or 'red' party and the other from PLN or 'green' party. Now, there are more than 20 parties, many will be fielding a presidential candidate.

The 2002 election was the beginning of political change in Costa Rica when neither of the traditional parties - PUSC and PLN - were able to gain the necessary majority vote, where Otton Solís and his party, the Partido Acción Cuidana (PAC),  forced a run-off election, the first ever in Costa Rica's history.