Costa Ricans Believe They Now Have a Leader
Costa Ricas new president, Oscar Arias, who took office on May 8th, has already shown his ability to build consensus, thereby improving the prospects for good governability conditions.

Although his party, the Partido Liberacin Nacional (PLN), did not win a legislative majority in the February 5 elections, he was able to garner support from minor parties to appoint the president of the Legislative Assembly.

The announcement of a cabinet composed of former public officers and respected businessmen, and of measures to improve public administration efficiency and reduce corruption, also have contributed to boost confidence in the new administrations prospects, at least at the outset.

A survey by pollster CID-Gallup between April 29th and May 4th indicated that 62% of the population believe that Arias, who is a former president (1986-90) and Nobel Prize laureate, will deliver on his promises.

However, opposition from the centre-left Partido Accin Nacional (PAC)whose leader, Otton Sols, came just behind Arias in the presidential ballot will prove an obstacle for the approval of reforms, especially for the ratification of theTratado Libre de Comercio (TLC) - free trade agreement with the United States.

The PLN will have 25 out of 57 representatives just short of the 29 seats necessary to form a simple majority in the Legislative Assembly. The PAC will form the main opposition force, with 17 representatives. In third place, with six seats, came the Movimiento Libertario (ML), a conservative party that campaigned in favour of the TLC. The unpopular outgoing Partido Unidad Social Cristiana (PUSC) will have five representatives down from 19 seats in the outgoing Assembly and each of the other four minority parties will occupy one seat.

Arias' ability to forge an alliance with the minority parties, which allowed him to score a victory in the first congressional vote session despite his lack of majority in the Assembly, is a positive sign for his administrations ability to govern. E

This was underlined by an agreement among the three main parties to include in congress' priority agenda two bills that are of fundamental importance for undertaking infrastructure projects and improving the efficiency of public services. The first bill envisages a reform of the Ley General de Concesin de Obra Pblica con Servicios Pblicos (Public Works Concession Law), in order to allow the use of external funding. The second bill aims to speed state agencies procurement procedures. Both bills became stalled in the Assembly during the previous government's term.

In another encouraging sign for investors, Arias announced a cabinet in which half of the 18 ministers have previous experience in public administration and the remaining nine are either well-respected professionals or prominent figures from business organizations. Guillermo Ziga, an economist who was the deputy minister of finance during Arias' first term in office and who also worked as the senior director of Fitch, a ratings agency, in Costa Rica, was nominated as the new minister of finance. Rodrigo Arias, the president's brother, is the minister of presidency, the same post he occupied during Arias' previous term of office.