CARTAGO, Costa Rica (AP) 鈥� Costa Rican voters choose Sunday between continuing the policies of outgoing conservative populist Rodrigo Chaves by or giving a new chance to parties seeking to shed a self-serving, establishment image.
The historically peaceful Central American nation鈥檚 in recent years could be a deciding factor for many voters. Some fault Chaves’ presidency for failing to bring those rates down, while many see his as the best chance for Costa Rica to tame the violence.
Laura Fern谩ndez, the Sovereign People鈥檚 Party鈥檚 candidate, was Chaves鈥� former minister of national planning and economic policy and, more recently, his minister of the presidency.
Promising to continue Chaves鈥� political program, she has maintained a comfortable lead in polls, but Sunday will determine whether she wins outright with 40% or more of the vote or has to face the second-highest vote-getter in a runoff on April 5.
Costa Ricans will also elect a new 57-seat National Assembly. Chaves鈥� party is expected to make gains, but perhaps not achieve the supermajority he and Fern谩ndez have called for, which would allow their party to choose Supreme Court magistrates, for example.
Twenty contenders are seeking the presidency, but Fern谩ndez is the only one who has consistently polled in double figures.
Far behind are a cluster of five candidates, including economist 脕lvaro Ramos of the National Liberation Party and former first lady Claudia Dobles, the candidate for the Citizen Agenda Coalition, who could all potentially make the second round if Fern谩ndez does not wrap it up Sunday.
Some 3.7 million Costa Ricans are eligible to vote. They began casting their ballots at 6 a.m. Sunday and voting was scheduled to continue until 6 p.m.
Ronald Loaiza, an electrical engineer, was one of the first to vote amid rain and cold early Sunday at a school in Cartago, about 15 miles (25 kilometers) east of San Jose. He came early so that he could accompany his father to vote later in another town.
鈥淚 hope that it鈥檚 a democratic celebration, that the people come out to vote,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 very important that we exercise the right that this country gives us, that we鈥檙e conscious of our democracy.鈥�
Four years ago, Chaves ran an outsider campaign that carried him to victory over the country’s traditional parties, despite the fact that he had briefly served as economy minister in one of their administrations. His framing of traditional parties as corrupt and self-interested resonated in a country with high unemployment and a soaring budget deficit.
Constantino Urcuyo, a political-science professor at Costa Rica University, said the social upheaval in the country that carried Chaves to power is not unique, mentioning similar examples of conservative populists winning presidencies in Argentina, Ecuador and the United States.
He said Chaves鈥� party has attacked the country鈥檚 institutions and wants to change the entire constitutional framework. Chaves has relentlessly criticized the judiciary and legislature for challenging his initiatives
鈥淭he election is crucial,鈥� Urcuyo said. 鈥淚t is between people who want a radical change of the system and those who want to reform the system.鈥�
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