The “Left” in Costa Rica without quota for the second electoral round
Once the pro-Government candidate Johnny Araya and the centrist opponent Luis Guillermo Solís (Citizen Action Party, PAC for its Spanish acronym) will move on to the second round of the elections of Costa Rica, the expectations of power of the left were stagnant in their first real attempt.
For the second time in its history Costa Rica, a Central American country of stable democracy and open economy, fails when none of the candidates reaches the minimum 40% to win in the first round.
Solis obtained 31% of valid votes, just one percentage point above Johnny Araya, who three months ago was the favorite.
In this way, the rebel candidate José María Villalta, (Broad Front), took advantage of the discomfort towards traditional politics to grow in the polls, to the point that conservatives were worried that Costa Rica could be added to the list of countries comprising the “new left” in Latin America, bringing the “chavismo” or “communism” to this country.