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Costa Rica: Carlos Alvarado wins presidency in vote fought on gay rights Costa Rica: Carlos Alvarado wins presidency in vote fought on gay rights
(about 11 hours later)
The centre-left’s Carlos Alvarado Quesada has decisively defeated a conservative Protestant singer in Costa Rica’s presidential runoff election by promising to allow gay marriage, protecting the country’s reputation for tolerance. A centre-left former cabinet minister and successful novelist has won Costa Rica’s presidential election, decisively defeating a conservative evangelical pastor and singer who shot to political prominence by campaigning against same-sex marriage.
A former minister and fiction writer, Alvarado Quesada, 38, had 61% of the vote with results in from 95% of polling stations, a far bigger lead than predicted by opinion polls that foresaw a tight race. Polls before the runoff on Sunday put the two men almost neck-and-neck, but with 95% of ballots counted Carlos Alvarado Quesada of the ruling Citizen Action party had nearly 60.8% of the vote against 39.2% for the National Restoration party’s Fabricio Alvarado Muñoz.
“My commitment is to a government for everybody, in equality and liberty for a more prosperous future,” he told thousands of cheering supporters blowing horns and waving Costa Rica’s red, white and blue flag. “Costa Rica once again delivered a beautiful democratic message,” Alvarado Quesada, 38, told cheering supporters blowing horns and waving the country’s red, white and blue flag. “My commitment is to a government for everybody, in equality and liberty. There is much more that unites us than divides us.”
“There is much more that unites us than divides us.” Alvarado Muñoz, a 43-year-old former TV journalist, readily conceded defeat but said he had fought for “principles and values”. Sinking to his knees, his arms raised, he told tearful voters not to be upset “because we made history, because our message touched the country’s deepest nerve”.
His rival, Fabricio Alvarado Muñoz, a 43-year-old former TV journalist known for religious dance songs, quickly conceded, sinking to his knees, arms raised, in front of supporters, some of them crying. Alvarado Quesada, who was also a singer – in a college prog-rock band – before turning to politics and writing, will be Costa Rica’s youngest modern president and joins, with France’s Emmanuel Macron and New Zealand’s Jacinda Ardern, the small club of national leaders elected before the age of 40.
“We didn’t win the election,” he said, adding that he had congratulated his opponent in a telephone call and, in another sign of Costa Rica’s cordial politics, promised to help him resolve the country’s problems. His unexpected 20-point victory followed a poll showing seven out of 10 voters opposed gay marriage, and it should hold out hope for fellow progressives in Latin America, where a conservative backlash is under way in several countries that have backed same-sex unions and are holding elections this year.
The election had exposed divisions in the Central American tourist destination known for laid-back beach culture and pristine rainforests, but where some rural communities remain socially conservative. Alvarado Muñoz, who was elected an MP in 2014, leapfrogged to the fore of the presidential race after seizing on a decision in January by the inter-American court of human rights that its signatories – including Costa Rica – must guarantee same-sex couples equal rights to marriage and property ownership.
It could also reflect the mood elsewhere in Latin America, where elections are being held this year in several countries that have backed same-sex unions, provoking a conservative reaction. While Uruguay, Colombia, Brazil and Argentina have legalised same-sex marriage, many other countries in the region have not. Calling the ruling a violation of traditionally Catholic Costa Rica’s sovereignty and values, Alvarado Muñoz pledged to pull the country out of the court and the Organisation of American States if he was elected.
Alvarado Quesada, until recently a minister in the outgoing government, will be the youngest president in the modern history of Costa Rica when he takes office in May. He also promised to restrict women’s access to abortions, end sex education in schools and fight “gender ideology”, the theory advanced by conservative Christian groups, including in Europe, that gay- and feminist-led movements are determined to destroy the traditional family and “natural order” of society.
Also known for his student prog-rock band, he used the campaign to appeal to his country’s centrist streak. His vice presidential candidate, Epsy Campbell, will be the country’s first Afro-Costa Rican to serve in that role. Alvarado Quesada, who has a master’s degree in development studies from Sussex University, pledged to implement the court’s same-sex ruling. In pre-election interviews, he said he saw his rival’s campaign as part of the broader picture of western democracies facing fundamentalist movements.
Alvarado Muñoz had vowed to restore what he called traditional values by preventing gay marriage and restricting women’s access to abortions. “I think it’s a reflection of what’s happening in the region and the world,” including Brexit in Britain, he said. “People are experimenting across the world with movements that push single-issue or populist agendas.”
In the campaign’s final debate, Alvarado Quesada called his opponent’s comments homophobic. Alvarado Quesada will take office in May. His vice-presidential candidate, Epsy Campbell, will become the country’s first Afro-Costa Rican to serve in that role.
Costa RicaCosta Rica
LGBT rightsLGBT rights
AmericasAmericas
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