On Sunday February 7th, while the New Orleans Saints and Indianapolis Colts were kicking off for Super Bowl XLIV, Costa Rica was in the final processes of voting for their newest president. As in all elections for the past several decades, the election went off without protest or problems. In fact, this was Costa Rica's first presidential election where bars and restaurants were not forced to close at midnight the night before (an old 'blue law' that was rescinded this year).
As Drew Brees was lifting up the Lombardi Trophy for winning the Super Bowl, Laura Chinchilla was celebrating her win as the President-elect of Costa Rica. This marks the first time that Costa Rica has elected a female to be President of the Republic. She won over 46% of the general population vote (Costa Rican law mandates that the winning candidate has to win at least 40% of the population vote. If it is less the top two would have a run-off) and will take office on May 8, 2010.
Costa Rican elections are always held on Sundays and are cause for celebration and rest for all. Although Costa Rica is not known for government efficiency or processes (which government is?), their voting system is very efficient and fast. I was in San Isidro del General for this election and there were plenty of voting stations and no long lines. The atmosphere was much more relaxed than the CAFTA (TLC) vote of October 2007 where emotions were running high on both sides. It was predicted for some time that Laura would win the election - it was just a matter by how much and if she could garner the necessary 40% on the first vote.
The last four years have been very good to most Costa Ricans. Their economic policies of the Arias administration and the central bank, prevented a large recession felt by most other countries of the world, they enjoy relatively high salaries, are highly literate and educated and enjoy the longest life-expectancy in Latin America. Therefore, there were no strong feelings to change anything.
From a land owner and developer standpoint, the last four years have brought many changes and new regulations that must be followed. Not only that, but the enforcement of the regulations has increased tremendously. Under Oscar Arias and his party, the government now has a much better grasp of the country, its unique and incredible resources and is better positioned for the future than it was four years ago. Some of these changes have given myself and others in the real estate developing industry headaches, but I am convinced that in five years we will be thrilled with their decisions. That is when we will start to see the benefits of the new real estate development laws. Sustainability, water treatment centers, enforced zoning codes, etc. are now all enforced. It is expected that Laura's administration will continue these improvements.
One interesting campaign tactic her opponents did was to take a lie detector test on live national TV. Ms. Chinchilla refused. I can't imagine too many politicians, especially those in a winning position, agreeing to that.
Ms. Chinchilla was one of outgoing President Oscar Arias' Vice Presidents and a former minister of justice. She will continue to focus on improving the country's infrastructure and has promised to increase security spending by 50%. Within the political spectrum she is a social-conservative, but center-left on welfare policies.
The 50 year-old is a mother of a teenage and has a master's degree from Georgetown University. I'm not sure who, if anyone, she was cheering for in the Super Bowl, but she surely had a "Super Sunday".
Here's a link to some photos of Costa Rica's Presidential election I took that day in/around San Isidro del General.