Arias Gains Costa Rican's
Confidence
Angus Reid Global Monitor -
The past few months have seen an increase in the popularity of Costa
Rican president Óscar Arias, according to a poll by Unimer published
in La Nación. 49 per cent of respondents say Arias has done a good
or very good job as head of state, up 20 points since September.
Arias won the February 2006 presidential election with 40.92 per
cent of all cast ballots as the candidate for the National
Liberation Party (PLN). Arias had headed the government from 1986 to
1990, and was able to run again after the Costa Rican Legislative
Assembly opted to bring back presidential re-election in 2003. He
was sworn in for the second time in May 2006.
Last year, the government was hit by two major scandals. On Sept. 6,
Costa Rica’s Constitutional Court ruled in favour of La Nación in a
case involving the Finance Ministry. The Court ordered the
government to disclose information on the sale of bonds worth $300
million U.S. to China in January 2008. Costa Rican finance minister
Guillermo Zúñiga had refused to grant any information on the sale to
the newspaper.
In 2007, the Arias administration controversially broke its
long-standing ties with Taiwan in order to do business with China.
La Nación found that the transaction of bonds was part of the deal
with China.
The other scandal is also related to Taiwan. In August 2008, Costa
Rican housing minister Fernando Zumbado—who handled most of the
government’s social policies—tendered his resignation amidst
accusations of corruption. Zumbado had stepped aside from his duties
in July as authorities investigated his handling of a $1.5 million
U.S. donation from Taiwan for the country’s poor. The sum was sent
through the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (BCIE).
Last month, the Arias administration began talks with the central
government of China to implement a free trade agreement. Costa Rican
negotiator Fernando Ocampo declared: "We’re going to make a road map
[for the treaty]."
Polling Data
How would you rate Óscar Arias’s performance as president?
| |
Jan. 2009 |
Sept. 2008 |
Mar. 2008 |
| Good / Very good |
49% |
29% |
50% |
| 50% |
17% |
28% |
14% |
Source: Unimer / La Nación
Methodology: Interviews with 1,225 Costa Rican adults, conducted
from Jan. 20 to Jan. 27, 2009. Margin of error is 2.8 per cent.
|
