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Latin American Program in the News: "Analysts see Luis Guillermo Solís as a sign that politics as usual is (almost) over in Costa Rica"

Eric L. Olson

Eric L. Olson, Associate Director of the Latin American Program, is quoted in this article about what the results of the first round of the presidential elections in Costa Rica mean for politics in the country.

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At the final count, Solís received 30.95 percent, followed closely by PLN candidate Johnny Araya, with 29.59 percent. Villalta, long favored to enter a runoff election with Araya, won only 17.4 percent, ahead of the Libertarian Movement Party’s Otto Guevara with 11.19 percent.

“The emergence of Solís, who doesn’t come from a strong party background, is a further indication of the erosion of traditional political parties in the region,” said Eric Olsen, associate director of the Woodrow Wilson Center’s Latin American Program.

“That said, (Costa Ricans) are looking for a government that worries about the middle class, poor people, the inequality issues, education, access to health care – a pretty strong left of center agenda. Costa Rica clearly was not looking for a complete redirection, but one that looks like it included a strong alternative to what Liberación Nacional has been offering for the last several decades,” he told The Tico Times.

But the desire for changed stopped short of a candidate perceived by voters as more extreme, such as Villalta.

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About the Author

Eric L. Olson

Eric L. Olson

Global Fellow;
Director of Policy and Strategic Initiatives, Seattle International Foundation
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Latin America Program

The Wilson Center’s prestigious Latin America Program provides non-partisan expertise to a broad community of decision makers in the United States and Latin America on critical policy issues facing the Hemisphere. The Program provides insightful and actionable research for policymakers, private sector leaders, journalists, and public intellectuals in the United States and Latin America. To bridge the gap between scholarship and policy action, it fosters new inquiry, sponsors high-level public and private meetings among multiple stakeholders, and explores policy options to improve outcomes for citizens throughout the Americas. Drawing on the Wilson Center’s strength as the nation’s key non-partisan policy forum, the Program serves as a trusted source of analysis and a vital point of contact between the worlds of scholarship and action.  Read more