Costa Ricans Choose Laura Chinchilla

Updated February 8 - Costa Ricans headed to the polls February 7, electing Laura Chinchilla as the country's first female president. President Óscar Arias' hand-picked successor won with 47 percent of the vote, roughly double that of her top rivals. "I am thankful for the good work of the outgoing government and thankful our country is again moving forward and refuses to allow this advance to stop," said Chinchilla of the National Liberation Party in her victory speech. She also attributed her victory in part to her campaign's use of social media, particularly Twitter.

Chinchilla, who served as minister of justice and vice president under Arias, secured well over the minimum 40 percent of the vote to avoid a runoff. As Arias handpicked successor, she will likely continue his administration's economic and social policies, which focus on free-trade promotion and improving public security. While her opponents accuse her of being a "puppet" of the Arias administration, a Nación profile reports that Chinchilla says she values Arias' advice but plans to make her own decisions.

Back in the running were the Libertarian Movement's (ML) Otto Guevara and the center-left Citizens Action Party's (PAC) Ottón Solís, both of whom ran in the 2002 and 2006 elections. But the National Liberation Party’s Laura Chinchilla was the one to beat. Solís, who lost by two-tenths of a percent to current President Óscar Arias in the 2006 elections, ultimately came in second with 25 percent. Though voter support for Guevara, a lawyer who served in the legislative assembly, jumped from 13 to 30 percent between September and November 2009, he took the third spot with about 20 percent of the vote. The Social Christian Unity Party’s (PUCS) Luis Fishman came in fourth with less than 4 percent.

Though Chinchilla won easily, the election had its share of the unexpected. Guevara, a libertarian who wanted to replace Costa Rica’s currency with the dollar and cut income taxes, surprised opponents in late 2009 when he bumped Ottón Solís out of the second place spot in the polls—a considerable feat given that in the last election he pulled in less than 10 percent of the vote. Guevara also stunned observers when he took a polygraph test on live television in an attempt to dispel controversy over campaign-financing sources. The libertarian candidate denies accusations that Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli, also a libertarian, donated funds to his campaign.

Meanwhile, in a last-minute attempt to offset the right-leaning lead exhibited by the polls, left-leaning political parties including the Patriotic Alliance (AP) and the National Integration Party (PIN) formed a partial alliance with the PAC to support Ottón Solís. The objective of the alliance is "either to boost Solís into second place in the presidential race or for him to amass enough supporters to be able to tip the scales if there is a second round between the frontrunners…and so exert pressure to neutralize key aspects of the conservative agenda," writes Daniel Zueras of IPS News. However, given that AP and PIN candidates remain in the race, votes cast for them cannot be passed on to Solís. Thus, such and alliance failed to muster enough support to pose a significant challenge against Chinchilla or Guevara.

Learn More:

• "Truth or Dare in Costa Rica’s Presidential Campaign," Alex Leff, AQ Blog, February 1.
• Provisional results from the Costa Rican electoral body.
• Nación's coverage of the Costa Rican presidential elections.
• La República's overview of candidate positions.
• El Financiero's interviews with the main candidates.
• Laura Chinchilla's campaign website.
• Otto Guevara's campaign website.
• Ottón Solís' campaign website.