Election Day 2018     

Today is election day in Costa Rica. Up for grabs are the presidency and legislators. The big difference is that they have two vice-presidents that come along with the elected president. Is this like the president having his/her own little harem of VP's? I say his/her because the president from 2010-2014 was a woman, Laura Chinchilla Miranda. Her being a woman did not keep the sneers and jeers away. In fact, she was hated just as much as her predecessors. The biggest difference is that there were no rumors of her raping the cauldrons like her male counterparts did. Or at least they have not found any proof....yet. Uncertainty reigns in Costa Rica's presidential elections, where 13 candidates hope to charm a disenchanted electorate. Known as a bastion of stability, the "Switzerland of Latin America" could be headed for crisis. But then the same thing is said about the US by many so called *intellectuals.

*“An intellectual is a person who has discovered something more interesting than sex.”              ----Aldous Huxley----

There are upwards of 15 parties in this country. The primary ones are the: Social Christian Unity Party (PUSC), National Integration Party (PIN), Social Christian Republican Party (PRSC) and the National Liberation Party (PLN). Each party has their own flags with a two-color scheme. These flags are seen flapping from cars and an occasional building. You don't see yard signs like those in the United States. However, they do erect huge signs near the roads and have the ubiquitous TV debates, but the TV ads are few. Thank you, God.      

 

A recent poll by the University of Costa Rica's Center for Political Research and Study indicates that evangelical activist and parliamentarian Fabricio Alvarado leads the crowded field with a projected 16.9 percent of the vote. He is followed by the social democrat Antonio Alvarez Desanti, with 12.4 percent. In third place is the government-backed candidate, Carlos Alvarado, with 10.6 percent and right behind him is the lawyer Juan Diego Castro, known to many as the "Costa Rican Trump," with 8.6 percent.

 

Many people are simply sad to be in a situation where they cannot fully back any of the candidates and that instead, they must choose the lesser evil. This sure sounds familiar. They have this in common with the majority of my fellow North Americans. They even have Juan Diego Castro, known to many as the "Costa Rican Trump." He is a lawyer that seems to have many of the same traits as the president. But to paraphrase Lloyd Bentsen, he is no Donald Trump! In addition to being a lawyer, he has a Doctor's degree in Meditation. President Trump has a degree in pissing people off and tweeting his thumps to a bloody nub. 

 

So may the best men win today. No women in this race. However, the general consensus is that there will be a runoff after today's election.

 

Now to a more pressing issue. Who will take home the Super Bowl trophy? My team, the Panthers, didn't make it so I prefer the Eagles. That is to say that I prefer that the Patriots get their arses kicked!! 

 

 

Laura Chinchilla Miranda. 

Costa Rica president (2010-2014)