Distrust of the two-party system, apathy, staggering public debt and rising prices appear to be moving more Costa Ricans to the left.
Presidential elections are Feb. 2, and the candidate some label a Communist is running neck-and-neck with the establishment choice.
Polls show that José María Villalta Florez-Estrada , a 36-year-old lawyer and candidate of the Partido Frente Amplio, may end up in a runoff. His party is the latest manifestation of the Communists in Costa Rica, and opponents are making much of this connection.
There are 13 presidential candidates, but early polls showed that Johnny Araya Monge, the former long-time mayor of the capital, San José, would win in a walk. The 56-year-old Araya even avoided early campaign events, and most professional politicians and many in the public figured he was the next person to occupy Casa Presidencial.
Villalta, a sitting member of the country's unicameral legislature, came on strong with a lot of help from leftist students at the University de Costa Rica from where he was graduated and hosted an environmental show for years..
His ascent in the polls reflects the discontent with the economic situation, an ineffective current president, corruption and the two major parties that have run the nation for 50 years,
Araya, the candidate of the center left Partido Liberación Nacional, is the nephew of Luis Alberto Monge, who was president in the mid-1980s. He is the brother of the party's unsuccessful 1992 presidential candidate.
The fortunes of Liberación have suffered under the current presidency of Laura Chinchilla Miranda, who decreed higher taxes and has been beset by multiple cases of corruption and bad judgment.
Araya got an early boost when a popular physician and his apparent biggest opponent from the Partido Unidad Social Cristiana quit.
Whether it is true or not, Araya is haunted by clouds of suspicion to the extent that he is called in the street 10 percent Johnny.
Villalta is an opponent of and wants to renegotiate the free trade treaty with the United State. That agreement barely survived a referendum in 2007. He is a populist who supports state ownership, higher taxes on the wealthy and price controls. He opposes privatization of resources, concessions of government facilities such as highways and economic inequality.
Recent television commercials from opponents link him to Communist Cuba and the current leadership in Venezuela and warn the public against giving him a vote. Some go so far as to label him a violent Communist due to his participation in some repeated confrontations and protests along with students at the legislature and in the streets.
Polls also suggest that about a third of the electorate will not go to the polls for various reason.
The country's public debt has been estimated at more than 4 percent of gross domestic product. Tax evasion is widespread even as the central government institutes new levies. Institutions, such as the Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social, have had financial problems. This is the institution that provides nearly universal health care. The national budget is balanced nearly 50 percent with borrowed money.
The country also has widespread immigration from nearby Nicaragua, much of it illegal.
Violent crime is rampant, and the country is a highway for drugs going north.
Public employment has spiked as the central government tries to insulate itself from the world economic situation.
Consequently there are enough problems to challenge any politician.
Villalta offers a change vague enough that each voter can define it personally. The campaign seems to be well-funded and slick with attention to social media as well as traditional platforms.
Liberación National is the party of José Figueres Ferrer, the father of modern Costa Rica and the winner in the 1948 revolution who established the country's broad social welfare policies. The party has a nationwide political network, something Frente Amplio does not. José María Figueres Olsen, the son of José and a former president himself, has begun campaigning strongly for Araya.
The party also is that of two-time president Óscar Arias Sánchez, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate, who has not given his support.
Villalta's success in the polls generated deep concern in the commercial establishment. They fear a strongly socialist leader will bring more taxes and controls as well as chase away the lucrative North American tourist trade.
Even if Villalta does not win, his popularity and presence on the ballot is likely to bring many of his party members into the legislature.
