In light of the speeches handled by both political contenders and the context in which their campaign was conducted, the elections on February 4th reflected the orientation of a society characterized by good manners, values, progress, and social inclusion. But who will be the winner? Well, we will know it on April 1st. So far, both candidates seem to reflect the feeling of Costa Ricans.
Last February 4th, Costa Rica celebrated the presidential elections, proposing results that imply a 2nd round of elections that will be held on April 1st, 2018. For this 2nd electoral event, the contenders are the candidates Carlos Alvarado and Fabricio Alvarado.
Both political opponents obtained the highest percentage of the electors’ votes. Costa Ricans showed a tendency in their decision. During the electoral process, 24.8% of the votes were in favor of the evangelical Christian minister Fabricio Alvarado, and 21.7% was the journalist and writer Carlos Alvarado. One of these 2 politicians will be the one who will rule the future of this central-Caribbean paradise.
The results of the presidential elections reveal the concerns that make a nest in every Costa Rican’s mind today. On the one hand, the view focuses on the economic factor, something that the population is very aware of. While, on the other hand, the desires of every tico are bordering on the ambit of the ethical and moral values of the family.
These results deserve an analysis in light of the context of the campaign that each of these political contenders carried out. Well, it would help to understand the concerns of the Costa Rican society and, simultaneously, interpret why the trends.
Now it is clear that the topic of religious conservatism rebounded, at last, against the support of the ruling of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. Apparently, this marked the trend of the results of the presidential elections.
How to interpret the last elections? We can start by analyzing the journalist and writer Carlos Alvarado, who has focused on promoting the idea of a government of unity, which respects trends, colors, ideas, among other aspects. Carlos took a position in favor of the ruling of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights regarding the proposal of marriage between homosexuals.
This fact proposes Alvarado as a person with a humanistic character, as well as consistent with ideas that promote human rights worldwide. In this case, the electoral trend shows a pronounced inclination toward this issue, which suggests that Costa Ricans are a society with solid principles of respect for the spaces and the rights of others.
In the economic area, the vision of this Alvarado is represented through the slogan “believe and create the Costa Rica of the 21st century: country commitment”. The emphasis of its promotion focuses on the development of the so-called “social solidarity economy” and the reform of the Added Value Tax (IVA in Spanish). Regarding political interaction, he has proposed his candidacy as an opportunity to combine the various political currents of the Central American country.
Carlos also has proposed himself as a candidate to continue the reconstruction of the Costa Rican economy and a proponent of the rights of the LGBTI community.
The contrary stands for the candidate Fabricio Alvarado, who disagreed, during his campaign, the ruling of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. Additionally, he promised that he would remove Costa Rica from the membership of the aforementioned world organization because he considers that it violates the sovereignty of the Costa Rican region.
The position of this Alvarado refers to a theocentric idea of politics, based on social justice sponsored by ethical and moral values. In fact, after this 1st electoral round, he keeps the belief that the Costa Rican people voted to maintain good manners and Christian values.
However, Fabricio has promised to protect the homosexual community from discrimination. In this regard, he states that he is not only a defender of the family but also a defender of life.
Apart from revealing that his government will be of a politico-religious nature, he has also stated that he is convinced that Costa Rica has the capacity to overcome the fiscal deficit, as well as any other economic detail that affects the population.
According to his speeches in several interviews, Alvarado affirms that Costa Rica is in a favorable economic position to resolve its own problems. Based on this context, the most outstanding aspects and desires of the Costa Rican society were revealed and reflected in the results of the 1st electoral round, last February 4th.
These are the reasons why one of the 2 Alvarado’s will rule the Costa Rican land. The desire to continue the economic and social development of the country, the permanence of values, good customs and the rights of all, are common places within the promises of 2 different faces but with similar last names.