Accusations of corruption, shady handling of electoral financing and allegations of sexual harassment and dirty campaign They have marked the weeks prior to the second round of elections on April 3 in Costa Rica and have become influential issues in the support of the candidates Rodrigo Chaves and José María Figueres.
(Read here: Elections in Costa Rica: the country is at stake to maintain its social stability)
After the first round concluded on February 6, Figueres, president of the country between 1994 and 1998; and the economist Chaves have exchanged remarks and accusations, which has removed prominence from the proposals of the Government plans. Both candidates have had to go out to put out fires due to controversies about the financing of their campaigns.
campaign finance
Chaves has had to explain the origin and operation of a trust of about 135,000 dollars that operated between February and September 2021 and that, according to local media publications, it was used to pay political campaign expenses, which would be illegal.
The Supreme Electoral Tribunal is investigating the matter, while Chaves, of the Democratic Social Progress Party, described as “smoke” the journalistic information about the trust and the possibility of a parallel financing structure.
“Why do I jump so much if the ground is level? There are the usual media making scandals out of pure smoke to confuse you. Madam, sir, don’t buy smoke,” said the candidate.
The party reported that the trust was created as part of a “group of thought and action, of study, analysis and discussion of national problems”, of which Chaves was the “spokesperson” and that it was dissolved when he was appointed as presidential candidate. .
For its part, Figueres, from the National Liberation Party, had to go out and give explanations for a trip he made to the Dominican Republic in early Marchwhere he met with the president of that country, Luis Abinader, other government officials and businessmen.
(You may be interested in: Costa Rica: second round between former president Figueres and economist Chaves)
The candidate explained that the expenses of the stay in the Dominican Republic were at his own expense and that the trip on a private plane was a donation in kind to the campaign by businessman Alberto Esquivel Volio.
Figueres explained that he made the visit in his capacity as former president of Costa Rica and not as part of his proselytizing activities, and that the objective was to analyze the international reality.
The latest controversy that has arisen in the campaign was caused by a series of videos against Chaves.
One hints at signs of pedophilia and another shows people jumping from a building in allusion to the phrase frequented by Figueres that indicates that voting for Chaves is “a leap into the void.”
Chaves described these videos as a dirty campaign, while various organizations and professional associations strongly criticized the production and publication of the short related to suicide. Figueres denied that the videos were part of his campaign, while Chaves blamed him.
sexual harassment and corruption
Local and US media reported during this political campaign on the complaints of sexual harassment filed against Chaves by World Bank workers, when he was an official of the entity in the United States.
Chaves has harshly criticized the press for the publication of this information and assures that he was never convicted and has tried to minimize the complaints..
The World Bank did apply administrative measures against Chaves, who later worked for the entity in Indonesia. The past of former president Figueres has also been a theme of the campaign, since in 2004 the Prosecutor’s Office carried out an investigation into advice provided by the French firm Alcatel, which later obtained public telecommunications contracts in Costa Rica.
Figueres, who was outside Costa Rica for around 7 years at that time, was not charged by the Prosecutor’s Office and the case was filed.
However, in the population that episode remained in the memory and continues to be a factor when it comes to giving the vote to the former president, as shown by a survey by the Center for Research and Political Studies of the state University of Costa Rica published at the beginning of March.
47% of those surveyed said that this matter influences “a lot” in their decision and 32% said that it does not influence “at all”. In the case of Chaves, 45% of those surveyed said that her history of sexual harassment influences “not at all” her decision to vote and 38% said that it influences “a lot.”
On April 3, 3.5 million Costa Ricans will be summoned to the polls to choose the president who will govern the country between 2022 and 2026.
EFE
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