Publication

Projections regarding the elections scheduled for February 2010 in Costa Rica point to a victory for the ruling Partido Liberación Nacional (PLN) and its candidate Laura Chinchilla. However, President Arias' popularity has shown signs of a decline that could undermine his party's performance at the polls. A few months ago, the official candidate had a wider advantage over the rest of the field, but the gap has been closed by a combination of a negative campaign by rivals and the decline of a government that has been active in pursuing controversial objectives, such as the Free Trade Agreement with the US.