Costa Rica: the second coming

 WHAT Ex president José Maria Figueres seems ready to start his campaign for re election, possibly as soon as next month. His party may want to nominate him. More than anything, it wants to choose a candidate quickly, which is why it has moved up its convention, to April, 2013.

WHY National Liberation (PLN, using the Spanish initials) is Costa Rica’s most popular party. But its image has suffered lately from what is widely seen as poor management by the current administration of President Laura Chinchilla, many of whose most important ministers have been forced to resign, for reasons that include incompetence, corruption and failure to comply with laws, which they are charged with enforcing.

WHAT’S NEXT The son of a former president and national hero, Figueres has been rising in the polls, since the beginning of last year. The fact that he has spent the last decade working for internationally-known organizations outside Costa Rica, far from making him seem remote from local issues, instead has given him a statesmanlike aura. In addition, his absence has isolated him from the low opinion, which Costa Ricans have of most local politicians. For its part, the PLN needs an attractive candidate for elections, to he held in 2014, to divert attention from the performance of the current government.

For more information, please contact Esteban Alvarez, at [email protected]