Truth or Dare in Costa Rica’s Presidential Campaign

February 1, 2010

Costa Rica's presidential campaign has become quite tense in the lead-up to the February 7 elections, but it also has turned rather goofy.

One of the latest displays of wackiness took the form of a lie detector test, which several leading candidates actually agreed to take on national television.

I was eating dinner at a Japanese restaurant here on the east side of San José, when right-wing candidate Otto Guevara popped on the restaurant's TV screen strapped to a polygraph machine.

"Have you profited in any way while carrying out your duties for which you could be legally charged?" a moderator asked Guevara, 49, of the Libertarian Movement. "Have you lied to the media during your election campaign?" she asked.

Guevara replied "No" to both, and the machine gave him a green light—Canal 7 told viewers he was telling the truth. The front-runner in the campaign, National Liberation Party's (PLN) Laura Chinchilla, refused to participate in the televised interrogation. Guevara is in second place in the polls, hovering at or under 30 percent. Not to miss the opportunity to capitalize on the polygraph test, he bought a two-page spread in national newspapers that boasted he is the only honest candidate in the race.

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Bridge Collapse Forces Accountability in Costa Rica

November 2, 2009

“Wow, a public official actually quit on her own accord.” These words of amazement are being expressed by many Costa Ricans today in response to the decision by this country's public works and transport minister to resign after a bridge collapsed and killed five people.

Perhaps Karla González' resignation shouldn’t come as such a shock. Media and residents have long accused the Public Works and Transport Ministry (MOPT) of inexcusable negligence for its failure to repair infrastructure—a necessary precaution that could save lives. But it was nevertheless stunning to see González' bold show of responsibility in a region (and a world) where officials often shirk away from admitting failure.

Unfortunately, proof of MOPT's inefficiency came during a tragedy on October 22. That day a rickety wooden suspension bridge snapped apart while a bus carrying almost 40 passengers was crossing it. The vehicle plunged into the Tárcoles River.

Never mind that the bus—and probably many vehicles before it—was over the bridge’s weight limit, a fact González quickly pointed out on the day of the accident. But González rightly remarked in her impassioned resignation speech that the passengers “had every reason” to wake up that day trusting in the state to protect them. “But this time we did fail.”

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Laura Chinchilla with Wide Margin Six Months Ahead of Costa Rica's Elections

September 2, 2009

If Costa Rica were to go to the polls today voters would elect the country’s first female to the government’s highest office, says the latest CID-Gallup poll.

Laura Chinchilla, the ruling Partido Liberación Nacional's (PLN) candidate who stepped down from her post as vice president last fall to begin a race to the February 2010 presidential election, enjoys 43 percent of voter support. That’s 17 percentage points over her closest rival, Ottón Solís, who became known for his opposition to the free-trade agreement with the U.S. (DR-CAFTA) that Chinchilla’s boss, President Oscar Arias, fought to push forward. The founder of the Partido de Acción Ciudadana party, Solís lost by a hair to Arias in the 2006 vote.

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For Nicaragua, a Russian Relations Revival

August 7, 2009

Thirty some-odd years after Moscow and Managua traded diplomatic missions, the one-time Cold War allies appear to be growing closer than ever.

Russia’s deputy prime minister, Igor Sechin, met with Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega at the end of last month—reportedly the third official Russian trip to Nicaragua in a year—signing several deals meant to make ties even tighter.

Sechin came in the company of high government officials from Russia’s energy and fisheries departments, and signed agreements aimed at boosting bilateral cooperation in both these areas. Sechin has said Russia that is particularly interested in the potential for crude oil exploration in Nicaragua.

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From Costa Rica: Arias’ 12-Step Program for Honduras Remains in Limbo

July 24, 2009

When they weren’t glued to the TV screen last night to watch their national soccer team take a lashing from the U.S., Hondurans were probably feeling the tension rise as their deposed president, Manuel Zelaya, and his entourage grew closer to crossing the border from Nicaragua.

Meanwhile, the so-called San José Agreement—which it was hoped would squelch whatever potential clash awaits Zelaya and restore his presidency after arrival—remains unsigned. Some wonder whether the 12-point roadmap proposed on Wednesday represents a failure for the chief mediator, Costa Rican President Oscar Arias. Expectations were high for Arias to build bridges once again, as he had done across warring parties over 20 years ago in a way that knocked the socks off the world and Nobel Prize judges.

But, alas, it seemed by Wednesday that the Hondurans had thoroughly humbled Mr. Arias. He appeared visibly exhausted, even perturbed that evening after presenting the plan, which it seemed the de facto government of Roberto Micheletti was destined to dismiss from the outset.

Representatives of the deposed government, of course, seemed a lot more willing to follow the map since Arias proposed a portion of it last weekend. And why not? Point 6 of the San José Agreement calls for the Honduran Congress to turn back the clock to pre-June 28—the morning when armed forces raided Zelaya’s home and booted him to Costa Rica in his pajamas—and allow Zelaya to resume his presidential term ending in January 2010.

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