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Former President Arias High
Popularity Suggests He'll Be
Re-Elected Today
Oscar Arias Sanchez, was the
Nobel laureate who stood up to
Ronald Reagan and drafted the
peace plan that ended Central
America's civil wars. Now, two
decades later, Arias is back,
looking to retake Costa Rica's
highest office.
Thinner, grayer and not quite
the superhero he was when he won
the Peace Prize in 1987, Arias
is still the favourite to win
today's elections. The now 65
year old Arias governed from
1986 to 1990.
Polls this week have been up and
down, projecting an Aria win
with 43% to 49% of the popular
vote in a field of 14 contenders
for the presidential chair, but
only a handful are known to most
Costa Ricans.
To be declared a winner, Arias
needs to earn at least 40% of
the vote, failing which a second
round election will be held in
April. The same occurred in 2002
that elected Abel Pacheco.
Many Costa Ricans are weary of
the corruption scandals that
have plagued the conservative
Partido Unidad Social Cristiana
(PUSC) and perhaps the reason
why Ricardo Toledo is so low in
the polls - 5% - along with the
low popularity of President
Pacheco. ROledo was a minister
in Pacheco's administration
until last year when he
resigned to run for the
presidency.
Costa Ricans are also worried
about the stagnant economy,
rising violence and the fraying
of their cherished social safety
net. For some, Arias represents
a time when their leader was
respected on the world stage and
Costa Rica's relative peace,
stability and prosperity made it
the envy of the region.
If Arias wins, the presidency
will go back to the
left-of-center Partido
Liberación Nacional (PLN),
making Costa Rica the latest in
a string of Latin American
nations to elect a leftist
leader.
Analysts caution against lumping
the bookish, temperate Arias
with firebrands such as
Venezuela's Hugo Chavez or
Bolivia's new president, Evo
Morales, an indigenous former
coca farmer who has described
himself as the Bush
administration's "worst
nightmare."
A critic of U.S. foreign policy,
Arias has likewise chastised
Fidel Castro for squelching
democracy in Cuba, and he is
disdainful of Chavez's polemics
against free trade. He is
popular among Costa Rica's poor
for championing social spending
and higher taxes for the rich,
yet he has gained favor among
elites and business interests
for his support of market
economics. That includes backing
the Central American Free Trade
Agreement, known as CAFTA or
Tratado Libre de Comercio (TLC)
locally.
But at a time when Costa Ricans
worry that their country is
adrift, the confident Arias
represents for many the veteran
captain who will right the ship.
The campaign slogan "El barco
necesita capitan" (the ship
needs a captain) is fitting for
the times. One billboard
features the smiling candidate
with a loosened tie and
rolled-up sleeves promising
voters that "Costa Rica's
best days are still ahead."
Arias, a lawyer and economist,
has made it clear that economic
development will be the focus of
his administration if voters
return him to office.
Costa Rica abolished its army in
1949 and directed those
resources into education,
universal health care and other
programs that have paid huge
dividends over the decades,
earning the nation the nickname
"Switzerland of Latin America."
The nation of 4 million boasts
the highest literacy rates and
standard of living in Central
America. International
companies, including Intel, have
set up operations in Costa Rica,
attracted by the nation's
stability and skilled workforce.
But economic growth has been
sluggish for years, government
debt has exploded, unemployment
is high, poverty remains
entrenched, and income
inequality is growing. Arias
wants to shake the country out
of its malaise, using free trade
and foreign investment to
stimulate job creation. Costa
Rica is the only country in the
CAFTA alliance that has not
ratified the deal, and Arias has
pledged to get the pact through
the legislature if he is
elected.
Costa Rica profile
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