• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

CORRECTED: Costa Rica eyes Arias for new term

Posted on: Thursday, 2 February 2006, 16:25 CST

(Correcting name in next to last paragraph.)

By John McPhaul

SAN JOSE, Costa Rica (Reuters) - Upset at a rash of corruption scandals, Costa Rican voters are likely to usher Nobel laureate and former president Oscar Arias back into power in elections on Sunday.

Polls give Arias, a 65-year-old free market moderate, a commanding lead in the presidential race in a nation that prides itself on being a cut above the rest in Central America.

Costa Rica, which does not have an army, was stable while many of its neighbors were convulsed in civil conflicts in the 1980s, but it has been knocked sideways by bribery scandals in recent years.

Former presidents Rafael Angel Calderon and Miguel Angel Rodriguez were both jailed in 2004 for taking kickbacks from foreign companies. A third former leader is refusing to return from Europe to face questioning on similar allegations.

Voters are seen turning to Arias, a national icon untouched by the scandals, in the hope of recovering some dignity for a country better known for pristine jungle and quality coffee than corruption.

"All the candidates in this campaign have made a huge effort to win back the confidence of the people for the country's institutions and politics," Arias told a news conference on Thursday.

Arias won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1987 for authoring a peace plan that helped end civil wars elsewhere in Central America. Overnight he became Costa Rica's only international star.

Arias is widely recognized for putting the country's economic house in order and creating a tourism boom. But his critics say that he is arrogant and heavy handed, and that he did little for Costa Rica during his 1986-1990 presidency.

Despite the criticism, Arias is well ahead of his nearest rival Otton Solis, a former planning minister from the Citizen Action Party.

"I'm voting for Otton because he is the most honest guy," said Francisco Lopez, a 67-year-old agronomist. "Arias had his chance and did not do anything."

Less than 100,000 party faithful turned up at his closing campaign rally, less than normal in Costa Rica.

JOINING CAFTA?

Arias wants the country to join the Central American Free Trade Agreement with the United States. Costa Rica's congress has yet to ratify the accord, the only country in the region still dragging its feet on the CAFTA pact.

CAFTA critics say the accord does not adequately protect small farmers, labor groups or the environment. Opponents have threatened strikes and demonstrations if Arias tries to push it through Congress.

Analysts say Arias' party must win a majority in the Legislative Assembly for smooth passage of CAFTA through congress and other economy-boosting initiatives.

"When he was president before he kept his promises and he created jobs," said Carlos Hicks, 43, a security guard, who is set to vote for Arias.

Opinion polls show Arias winning more than 40 percent support, the minimum required for a first round victory. If none of the candidates win the first round, the top two would have a run-off on April 2. A poll on Thursday gave Arias 42.6 percent support, barely enough for a first round victory.

Leftists have won a string of recent election victories in Latin America but the left in Costa Rica is split into several factions. Arias is more of a social democrat, who likens himself to former U.S. President Bill Clinton.

Costa Rica's cozy two-party system has been shaken up by the bribery scandals.

The Social Christian Unity Party, of President Abel Pacheco, is barely registering any support in polls. Upstart parties are the main challengers to Arias' National Liberation Party.

"Those scandals were the straw that broke the camel's back," said Carlos Sojo, a political analyst with the San Jose think tank, the Latin American Social Science Faculty.

"They came after years in which the two major parties governed together, ignoring the interests of social sectors," Sojo said.

Source: REUTERS

More News in this Category