On 11 August Costa Rica’s attorney general’s office launched an investigation into President Carlos Alvarado for alleged illicit enrichment.
Analysis:
The investigation relates to a holiday Alvarado took from 7-10 August, travelling by helicopter to a luxury hotel in Nandayure canton, Guanacaste province, together with coordination and productive sector minister, André Garnier, their wives and Alvarado’s child. Alvarado maintains he did nothing wrong and it was not paid for with public funds. However, the question marks over the trip, which has attracted particular public anger due to it taking place amid the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, come as his government’s pandemic response continues to draw criticism.
- The attorney general’s office said the investigation’s aim is to determine the possible existence of a “crime of conduct”, although it failed to give further details.
- President Alvarado tweeted that “there was no crime to investigate” and described the investigation as “excessive”. A statement by the presidency, circulated in the local media, said Alvarado took the holiday respecting all “sanitary protocols”. In Costa Rica hotels are permitted to operate with sanitary protocols in place and at 50% capacity although the local media report that the hotel in question, Punta Islita, has been closed to the public since 1 April.
- The trip has been slammed by figures such as Albino Vargas, the secretary of the Asociación Nacional de Empleados Públicos y Privados (Anep) union. Vargas tweeted that the “presidential…holiday” was a “toxic mixture of half-truths”, involving “personal, public and private funds”. He also complained of “a total lack of respect for the suffering of pandemic victims” and “inconsistencies in explanations which foment mistrust”.
- The controversy over the trip comes as Alvarado continues to face criticism over his government’s pandemic response – with unions demanding more economic relief and the private sector pushing for the economy to be opened further.
Looking Ahead: In one sign of pressure from the private sector, the government was forced to relax restrictions announced on 29 July as part of its roadmap for a staggered reopening of the economy. Initially non-essential services in orange alert areas (where infections are high) were due to be shut from 10-21 August. However, under private sector pressure, the government has allowed them to remain open at 50% capacity during the week.