President of Costa Rica (1986?1990, 2006?2010)
In this
Spanish name
, the first or paternal
surname
is
Arias
and the second or maternal family name is
Sanchez
.
Oscar Arias Sanchez
(
Spanish pronunciation:
[?oska?
?a?jas]
; born 13 September 1940 in
Heredia, Costa Rica
) is a Costa Rican activist and
Nobel Peace Prize laureate
. He was
President of Costa Rica
from 1986 to 1990 and from 2006 to 2010.
Arias was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1987 for his proposal of a negotiated solution to the
Central American crisis
. He sought the support of the Contadora group for his plan, which involved the removal of all foreign powers from the region, an end to aid for antigovernment guerrillas in El Salvador and Nicaragua, and the implementation of democratic principles and a compromise peace for social reconstruction. Although his plan was not officially adopted, its key concepts were later reflected in the settlements in El Salvador (1990-1993) and Nicaragua (1989-1990).
[1]
He was also a recipient of the
Albert Schweitzer Prize for Humanitarianism
and a trustee of
Economists for Peace and Security
. In 2003, he was elected to the board of directors of the
International Criminal Court
's Trust Fund for Victims.
[2]
Early life
[
edit
]
Arias was born into an upper-class family in the province of
Heredia
.
[3]
Arias concluded his secondary schooling at the Saint Francis College in the capital city of
San Jose
. He then went to the United States and enrolled in
Boston University
with the intention of studying medicine, but he soon returned to his home country and completed degrees in law and economics at the
University of Costa Rica
. In 1967, Arias traveled to the United Kingdom and enrolled in the
London School of Economics
. He received a doctoral degree in political science from the
University of Essex
in 1974.
[
citation needed
]
First presidency
[
edit
]
Arias joined the
National Liberation Party
(PLN), Costa Rica's main
social democratic
party. In 1986 he ran successfully for president on that party's ticket. Arias's presidency saw the transformation of Costa Rica's economy from one based on the traditional
cash crops
(
coffee
and
bananas
) to one more focused on non-traditional agriculture (e.g., of exotic flowers and
fruits
) and
tourism
. Some within the PLN criticized his administration for abandoning the party's social democratic teachings and promoting a
neoliberal
economic model. He is now often regarded as a neoliberal although he is a member of a nominally social democratic party.
[4]
Arias received the 1987 Nobel Peace Prize with the help of John Biehl, his peer in England, and Rodrigo Madrigal Nieto for his work towards the signing of the
Esquipulas II Accords
. This was a plan intended to promote
democracy
and peace on the Central American
isthmus
during a time of great turmoil: leftist guerrillas were fighting against the governments in
El Salvador
and
Guatemala
, which were backed by the United States under the auspices of the
Cold War
; the
Contras
, supported by the United States, were fighting an insurgency against the
Sandinista
in
Nicaragua
;
Honduras
, only recently wresting political power from its military, was caught in the middle as a base for U.S. military forces; and on Costa Rica's other border,
Panama
faced the oppression of
Manuel Noriega
's military dictatorship. With the support of Arias, the various armed conflicts ended within the decade (Guatemala's civil war finally ended in 1996).
Arias then called for a higher level of integration in the Central America region and promoted the creation of the
Central American Parliament
(
Parlamento Centroamericano
). During his current administration, Arias has declared that Costa Rica will not enter the Central American Parliament. Arias also modified the country's
educational system
. The most notable action in this respect was the reintroduction of standardized academic tests at the end of primary and secondary school.
Second presidency
[
edit
]
The Costa Rican constitution had been amended in 1969 to include a clause forbidding former presidents to seek re-election. Arias challenged this at the Sala IV, the Constitutional Chamber of the
Supreme Court of Justice of Costa Rica
, which initially rejected his application in September 2000. In 2003, a group of Arias supporters presented an unconstitutionality challenge against the 1969 constitutional amendment forbidding re-election, and this time the ruling in April 2003 struck down the prohibition against non-consecutive re-election.
[5]
This decision was denounced as a "state blow" or "coup d'etat" by ex-president
Luis Alberto Monge
.
[6]
[7]
Arias announced in 2004 that he intended to run again for president in the
February 2006 general elections
. By then, he was the only living former president who was not either in jail, under indictment or facing an investigation. Though for years private polling companies and several news media published polls predicting Arias would win by a wide margin, the election was initially deemed too close to call. A month later, on 7 March, after a manual recount, the official results showed Arias beat center-left contender
Otton Solis
by 18,169 votes (1.2% of valid votes cast), and finished just a few thousand votes over the 40 percent threshold required to capture the presidency in a single round. He took the oath of office at noon on 8 May 2006 at the
National Stadium
. In his speech on 15 September 2008, he admitted that he was tired because of the criticism of his opponents.
On 1 June 2007, he switched Costa Rica's diplomatic recognition from the
Republic of China
(Taiwan) to the
People's Republic of China
, making Costa Rica the 167th nation in the world to do so. Subsequently, under diplomatic and financial pressure from Beijing, he induced the
Dalai Lama
, a fellow
Nobel Peace Prize
laureate, to postpone indefinitely a proposed and much anticipated visit during Beijing's suppression of controversial riots in
Tibet
.
[8]
At the
5th Summit of the Americas
in
Trinidad and Tobago
, on 18 April 2009, Arias gave a speech on the topic "We've been doing something wrong". Directed at fellow Latin American leaders, he decried Latin America's lack of development compared to other parts of the world, calling for pragmatism, and more resources directed at education rather than militaries.
[9]
Mediator in 2009 Honduran Constitutional Crisis
[
edit
]
In 2009, the
Supreme Court of Honduras
issued an arrest warrant for Honduran President
Manuel Zelaya
because of violations of the constitution and laws.
[10]
[11]
Two days later, the
National Congress of Honduras
(in which Zelaya's own party held 62 out of 128 seats, more than any other party), also voted to dismiss Zelaya.
[12]
[13]
[14]
Zelaya fled to Costa Rica. The Honduran constitution mandated that the head of Congress,
Roberto Micheletti
, who was next in the presidential line of succession, becomes the provisional head of state since
Vice President
Elvin Ernesto Santos
had resigned in December 2008 to run for president. Micheletti's term ended 27 January 2010.
[15]
Arias began serving as mediator between Zelaya and Micheletti in the
2009 Honduran constitutional crisis
. Representatives of the two Hondurans met with Arias on various occasions but so far have failed to reach any kind of agreement. As described above (with factual citations), Arias himself was initially prohibited by Costa Rica's constitutional court from another term, due to constitutional
term limits
, but this was reversed using legal means, with the consent of the Costa Rican Sala IV court, unlike in Honduras. New elections in Honduras are planned for 29 November 2009. Micheletti's government stated on 2 July 2009 that it is willing to hold this year's presidential election early. Arias presented a seven-point agreement, which calls for the return of Zelaya as president ? a condition deemed unacceptable to the interim government. Zelaya's representatives accepted the Arias proposal "in principle" but Micheletti's representatives balked at the key point of Zelaya returning to power in Honduras.
[16]
Health
[
edit
]
In August 2007, Arias was affected by
tendinitis
, and in April 2008 he canceled some activities because of muscular pain in his
lumbar region
. Subsequently, due to increasing difficulty in speaking over the course of several weeks, Arias went to the Philadelphia
Ears, Nose and Throat
Associates medical center in the United States on 20 May 2008, where it was determined that he had a nonmalignant cyst on his vocal cords. As a result, it was announced on 21 May that doctors advised him not to speak for one month, saying that if this did not help, surgery would be considered.
[17]
On 11 August 2009 Arias was diagnosed with
H1N1
Influenza, but he recovered.
[18]
Controversy
[
edit
]
Some of Arias’s actions have generated controversy:
- In 2004, in response to a rival candidate (Antonio Alvarez) for his party's nomination challenging him to a debate, Oscar Arias said: "Eagles live in high places, and make a serious mistake if they go down to the mud to fight with snails."
[19]
- In 2010, during the closing weeks of his second term, he inaugurated various unachieved projects with ribbon-cutting and bronze plaque ceremonies:
- The new National Stadium, despite the fact that it was only about 75% finished.
[20]
- The "new presidential offices" despite the fact that these offices do not exist yet. In fact, the land is still for sale and the Legislative Assembly has allocated no funds yet in order to buy it, let alone build anything on the vacant lot.
[21]
- The new Juan Santamaria International Airport installation, despite the fact the project was only 82% completed.
[22]
Further controversies followed him even after his role as a president had come to an end. The route from Escazu to Caldera built by the Spanish company Autopistas del Sol has undergone heavy criticism over the years for its high tolls and dangerous roads (which had to undergo heavy maintenance to prevent further rock slides). Oscar Arias was also blamed for having invited a Canadian corporation to perform heavy mining which could potentially compromise the local biodiversity. Their permissions were revoked during the Chinchilla Miranda administration which gave the impression of Arias-Chinchilla enmity following his sudden criticism of then president Laura Chinchilla Miranda who was popularly regarded as a successor.
Judicial accusations
[
edit
]
In 2017 Costa Rica's General Attorney office indicted Arias for the Crucitas case, a case in which former Environment Minister Roberto Dobles and Arias as president signed a 2008 decree ceding the Canadian company Infinito Gold control over a protected area near the Nicaraguan border known as Crucitas for gold mining and declaring it "national interest",
[23]
something that the Prosecution argued was illegal as protected areas cannot be granted for exploitation of any kind. Dobles was previously found guilty of the charges, but Arias was not indicted alongside him by the previous General Attorney Jorge Chavarria (often accused of being close to Arias).
[24]
The new General Attorney Emilia Navas reopened the case indicting Arias.
[24]
Also in 2019 psychiatrist and anti-Nuclear activist Alexandra Arce von Herold formally accused Arias of rape at the Public Ministry. Following her allegation three more women came to light accusing Arias of sexual harassment and misconduct.
[23]
[25]
Arias denied the charges.
[23]
In December 2020, all sexual harassment charges against Arias were dismissed.
[26]
Definitive acquittal and dismissal
[
edit
]
After more than a year of investigations, and in the absence of evidence, the cases were dismissed by the prosecution. Due to the request of the two complainants, requiring, therefore, the revocation of the instance and subsequent dismissal.
[27]
The definitive dismissal was ordered by Judge Natalia Rodriguez Solis, of the Pavas Criminal Court.
[28]
Regarding the "Crucitas" case, in October 2019 the former president was completely released from the case, according to a judicial resolution.
[29]
Recognitions and awards
[
edit
]
Arias has received over fifty honorary degrees, including doctorates from
Harvard University
,
Princeton University
,
Dartmouth College
,
Oberlin College
,
Wake Forest University
,
Ithaca College
and
Washington University in St. Louis
.
[
citation needed
]
Among the main awards received are:
Personal life
[
edit
]
Arias is descended from
Ana Cardoso
, an enslaved woman from Cartago.
[30]
Publications
[
edit
]
Books
[
edit
]
- 1970
Grupos de presion en Costa Rica
- 1976
Quien gobierna en Costa Rica
- 1977
Democracia, independencia y sociedad latinoamericana
- 1978
Los caminos para el desarrollo de Costa Rica
- 1979
Nuevos rumbos para el desarrollo costarricense
- 1984 ¿Quien gobierna en Costa Rica?
- 1984 Nuevos rumbos para el desarrollo costarricense
- 1985 Democracia, independencia y sociedad latinoamericana
- 1989 El camino de la paz
- 1990 Horizontes de Paz
- 1990 La semilla de la paz
- 1994 Nuevas dimensiones de la educacion
- 2005
Hagamos juntos el camino
(Discursos, articulos y ensayos)
- 2007 Sigamos Avanzando
- 2012 Con velas, timon y brujula
- 2023 The Power of ideas
Articles
[
edit
]
Former President Arias has written several opinion articles during his career, which have been published in different journalistic media:
- Por amor a la politica
- Carta de Oscar Arias sobre flujo de armas a Nicaragua
- A 30 anos de la firma del Plan de Paz
- To stem the child migrant crisis, first stop poverty and violence
- Lo humanamente correcto
- Consejo a los jovenes de mi pais
- Mi opinion sobre el proceso de negociacion de la paz en Colombia
- ≪The memory of a rare success≫
- Y ladrillo a ladrillo, fuimos construyendo la paz
- Es vital para el pais aprobar la reforma fiscal
Speeches
[
edit
]
Former President Arias has made a series of speeches, which can be found at
Viaf.org
:
Caracteristicas del desarrollo pasado en Costa Rica y perspectivas para el futuro
|
Con velas, timon y brujula
|
Demobilization, demilitarization, and democratization in Central America
|
Democracia, independencia y sociedad Latinoamericana
|
El camino de la paz
|
El Estado y la ensenanza de los derechos humanos: expositores, leccion inaugural, 12 de junio 1991, Universidad de San Carlos Guatemala
|
El Nobel: historia, analisis, galardonados.
|
Entrevista con Oscar Arias Sanchez
|
Esquipulas, diez anos despues: hacia donde va Centroamerica?
|
Estrategia y plan global: Version preliminar
|
Friede fur Zentralamerika, 1987:
|
Green markets: the economics of economics of sustainable development
|
Hagamos juntos el camino: discursos, articulos y ensayos
|
Horizons of peace: the Costa Rican contribution to the peace process in Central America
|
La Nacion y la peligrosa concentracion de poder en el gobierno de Carazo Odio
|
La paz: una causa ganadora
|
La Paz no tiene fronteras; [Solo la Paz puede escribir la Nueva Historia]: Discursos pronunciados en Oslo, Noruega, el 10 y el 11 de diciembre de 1987, con ocasion de recibir el Premio Nobel de la Paz de 1987
|
La semilla de la paz: seleccion de discursos
|
Le traite sur le commerce des armes: genese, analyse, enjeux, perspectives du premier instrument juridique consacre a la reglementation des transferts internationaux d'armes conventionnelles
|
Leadership and global governance
|
Los desafios del siglo XXI desde America Latina
|
Nuevas dimensiones de la educacion, 1994:
|
Prospectiva del siglo XXI: Entender las mega-tendencias y la nueva globalizacion, para construir futuros desde la Prospectiva Estrategica
|
Regionalizacion de Costa Rica para la planificacion del desarrollo y la administracion
|
Ten years after Esquipulas: looking toward the future: delivered at the ACUNS Tenth Annual Meeting = Diez anos despues de Esquipulas: mirando hacia el futuro: presentado en la Decima asamblea anual de ACUNS
|
The arms bazaar: 1995 Paul G. Hoffman Lecture
|
The struggle for peace
|
Veus de pau a la Pedrera: per la Cultura de Pau, fem possible el desarmament: Barcelona, 15 de desembre de 2000
|
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Vicki Cox,
Oscar Arias Sanchez: Bringing Peace to Central America
(Infobase Publishing, 2007).
- ^
Amnesty International
, 12 September 2003,
"Amnesty International welcomes the election of a Board of Directors"
. Archived from the original on 15 April 2006
. Retrieved
1 August
2007
.
{{
cite web
}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (
link
)
. Retrieved 1 August 2007.
- ^
https://web.archive.org/web/20150524080817/http://www.genealogia.or.cr/docs/revistas/accg_revista012.pdf
Academia Costarricense de Ciencias Genealogicas.
(in Spanish)
p. 163
- ^
"He is often identified as a'neoliberal' and accused of being in the service of the big capitalists of the country and the transnationals, in spite of his being a member of the National Liberation Party, which defines itself as socialdemocratic."
"First Micheletti-Zelaya meeting since the events of 28 June will be in Costa Rica"
El Heraldo
(6 July 2009). Original in Spanish.
- ^
"Reeleccion seduce a los presidentes de America"
Archived
13 September 2013 at the
Wayback Machine
, El Nuevo Diario, Managua, 18 July 2007. Retrieved July 2009;
"Reelecion presidencial: Arias sin prohobicion para postularse"
, La Nacion, Costa Rica, 5 April 2003.
- ^
Luis Alberto Monge (20 March 2004).
Reeleccion: desafio a la Constitucion
. Nacion.com. Retrieved 2012-09-15.
- ^
Luis Alberto Monge: La violencia engendra violencia ? www.sepamosserlibres.org
. Lospobresdelatierra.org (April 2005). Retrieved 2012-09-15.
- ^
"Grupo tibetano: Arias pidio al Dalai Lama que no venga"
. 20 August 2008.
- ^
"ALGO HICIMOS MAL: Palabras del presidente Oscar Arias en la Cumbre de las Americas"
. Archived from the original on 29 April 2009
. Retrieved
29 April
2009
.
{{
cite web
}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (
link
)
. Trinidad y Tobago. Nacion (18 April 2009).
- ^
On 12 November 2008, the Supreme Court of Justice determined that the modifications to articles 239 and 240 promulgated by Congress in 1998 and 2002 were unconstitutional and returned these two articles to their state in the 1982 constitution.
Vigentes articulos petreos
. Retrieved 5 August 2009.
Archived
5 August 2009.
- ^
Articulo 239: El ciudS Congress Communique explaining why ex President Zelaya was removed. Accessdate 9 July 2009
- ^
"Micheletti podria asumir en Honduras"
(in Spanish). 28 June 2009. Archived from
the original
on 6 January 2010.
- ^
"Micheletti seria el nuevo presidente de Honduras"
(in Spanish). Diario digital de noticias de El Salvador. 28 June 2009. Archived from
the original
on 4 December 2009
. Retrieved
17 August
2009
.
- ^
"Honduran Congress names provisional president"
. CNN. 28 June 2009.
- ^
"Honduran president overthrown, new leader voted in"
.
The Sydney Morning Herald
. 29 June 2009.
- ^
"Honduras negotiations snag over unity government"
. CTV (Canada). 28 July 2009.
Archived
from the original on 1 January 2013.
- ^
"Doctors tell Costa Rican leader to rest voice"
, Associated Press (22 May 2008).
[
dead link
]
- ^
"Presidente de Costa Rica contrae gripe AH1N1"
, El Mundo (2009-08-12)
- ^
"Alvarez reta a Arias a discutir plan fiscal"
. Nacion.com. Retrieved 2018-01-05.
- ^
"China exhibe avance de 75% en construccion de Estadio Nacional de Costa Rica"
. Terra.com. Retrieved 2012-09-15.
- ^
"Arias develo placa de futura Casa Presidencial en un parqueo"
Archived
18 March 2012 at the
Wayback Machine
. Nacion.com (4 May 2010). Retrieved 2012-09-15.
- ^
"Arias inaugura el Santamaria con 82% de avance en obras"
Archived
18 June 2010 at the
Wayback Machine
. Nacion.com (29 April 2010). Retrieved 2012-09-15.
- ^
a
b
c
Robles, Francis (5 February 2019).
"Former President of Costa Rica Is Accused of Sexual Assault"
.
The New York Times
. Retrieved
7 February
2019
.
- ^
a
b
Madrial, Luis (2 November 2017).
"Caso Crucitas: Los eventos que llevaron a reabrir la causa contra Oscar Arias"
. Mundo.cr. Archived from
the original
on 6 August 2023
. Retrieved
7 February
2019
.
- ^
Cordoba, Javier (5 February 2019).
"Costa Rica ex-leader Oscar Arias accused of sexual assault"
.
The Washington Post
. Archived from
the original
on 5 February 2019
. Retrieved
7 February
2019
.
- ^
Garza, Jeffry (7 December 2020).
"Oscar Arias obtiene sobreseimiento definitivo por denuncias de violacion y abuso sexual"
.
LaRepublica.com
. Retrieved
10 December
2020
.
- ^
"Charges of rape and sexual abuse dismissed against former president Oscar Arias"
.
Q COSTA RICA
. 12 December 2020
. Retrieved
25 August
2023
.
- ^
"Oscar Arias obtiene sobreseimiento definitivo por denuncias de violacion y abuso sexual"
.
www.larepublica.net
(in Spanish)
. Retrieved
25 August
2023
.
- ^
"Oscar Arias queda libre del caso Crucitas"
.
www.larepublica.net
(in Spanish)
. Retrieved
25 August
2023
.
- ^
Lohse, Russell (2016),
"Cardoso, Ana"
,
Dictionary of Caribbean and Afro?Latin American Biography
, Oxford University Press,
doi
:
10.1093/acref/9780199935796.001.0001
,
ISBN
978-0-19-993579-6
, retrieved
18 February
2024
Further reading
[
edit
]
- Abrams, Irwin. "Behind the scenes: The Nobel Committee and Oscar Arias."
The Antioch Review
46.3 (1988): 364-373.
online
- Anglade, Christian. "President Arias of Costa Rica."
PS: Political Science & Politics
21.2 (1988): 357-359.
online
- Cox, Vicki.
Oscar Arias Sanchez: Bringing Peace to Central America
(Infobase Publishing, 2007).
External links
[
edit
]
Government offices
|
Preceded by
Marco Lopez
|
Director of the Office of National Planning
1971?1974
|
Office abolished
|
Political offices
|
New office
|
Minister of National Planning
1974?1977
|
Succeeded by
Fernando Zumbado
|
Preceded by
|
President of Costa Rica
1986?1990
|
Succeeded by
|
Preceded by
|
President of Costa Rica
2006?2010
|
Succeeded by
|
Assembly seats
|
Preceded by
Jorge Luis Arce
|
Deputy of the
Legislative Assembly of Costa Rica
for
Heredia
's 2nd Office
1978?1981
|
Succeeded by
Gerardo Vega
|
Party political offices
|
Preceded by
|
PLN
nominee for President of Costa Rica
1986
|
Succeeded by
Carlos Manuel Castillo
|
Preceded by
|
PLN
nominee for President of Costa Rica
2006
|
Succeeded by
|
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1901?1925
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1926?1950
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1951?1975
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1976?2000
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2001?present
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Prince of Asturias Award for International Cooperation
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Princess of Asturias Award for International Cooperation
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International
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National
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People
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Other
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