Epsy Campbell, Costa Rica
Who is she?
An economist, social activist and politician,
in February 2009 Campbell stepped down as president of the leftist opposition
Partido Acción Ciudadana (PAC), a party she helped found with Ottón Solís in
2000, in order to seek nomination as its presidential candidate for the February
2010 general elections.
As a young black woman, aged just 46, Campbell is one of the highest achieving and most high profile new politicians in Costa Rica.
Why watch her?
If Campbell secured the PAC nomination,
she could potentially face another woman, Laura Chinchilla of the ruling Partido
Liberación Nacional (PLN), in the presidential race. That would be a defining
moment for Costa Rica, which has never had a female president. The fact that two
women (one of whom is black and a single mother) are seeking the highest office
in the land highlights the impact of the 1996 electoral code reform, which
requires parties to make sure that at least 40% of their candidates are women.
Campbell wants Costa Rica to reach the 50/50 threshold.
Representative of a younger generation anxious for change at a time of growing economic uncertainty, and a leading advocate of a more inclusive and socially amorphous 'next generation' type of politics, Campbell has quickly gained stature, both in Costa Rica and in the wider region. She is also increasingly visible further afield, particularly since the US has elected its first Afro-American president, Barack Obama, whom she cites as an influence.
Born: 1963, San José. Campbell is of Jamaican descent; her paternal grandparents emigrated to Costa Rica.
Education: Attended local public primaries (Las Gravilias and Ricardo Jiménez Oreamuno) in San José to 1975.
Secondary education at the Franco Costarricense Lyceum and the Colegio Superior de Señoritas, San José. A student leader and accomplished musician, she played the flute and saxophone in the Symphonic Youth Orchestra from 1976 to 1983.
Enrolled in the University of Costa Rica, before later moving to the regional
province of Limón (home to most of Costa Rica's population of African
[specifically Jamaican] descent), where she continued to work and study, and
where she first became interested in women's and black issues. She married at a
young age (20) and had two daughters during this period.
Moved to the
Caribbean for 10 years, before returning to San José.
1998 - BA in Economics, Universidad Latina de Costa Rica.
2008 - MA in Development Cooperation, Fundación Cultural y de Ciencias Sociales de España.
Public Life: Founded the PAC in 2000 with Solis. It put in an unexpectedly strong showing in the 2002 general elections, with presidential runner Solis taking 26% of the vote, forcing an unprecedented run-off between the PLN and the other traditional Partido de Unidad Social Cristiana (PUSC). Campbell took up one of 14 PAC seats in the 57-seat congress and the PAC quickly became established as the country's second party, displacing a discredited PUSC. In 2005 Campbell was voted the most popular deputy in congress in a public survey.
Campbell ran as the PAC vice presidential candidate in the February 2006 elections, when Solís, on his second attempt, lost the presidential vote by a tiny margin (of less than 2%, or some 3,300 votes).
After losing the 2006 election, Solis led the PAC into opposition against the government, and spearheaded the close fought and bitterly divisive political campaign against President Oscar Arias's move to bring Costa Rica into the US-Central America Free Trade Agreement (Cafta), which finally took effect on 1 January 2009. Campbell was firmly against the Cafta.
She has also been heavily involved in several women's and Afro-Latin American groups, including the Women's Forum for Central American Integration, the Centre for Afro-Costa Rican Women, the Alliance of Latin American and Caribbean leaders of African descent and the Black Parliament of the Americas, among others.
Timeline:
2000: Co-founds PAC
2002-2006: PAC congressional deputy
2006: PAC vice presidential nominee, the country's first ever female vice presidential candidate
2005-2009: PAC party president
January 2009: Announces bid for party presidential nomination for 2010
February 2009: Alberto Cañas Escalante replaces Campbell as PAC president
Strengths: Campbell's youth and dynamism appeal to next generation voters. She has pioneered the use of the internet and social networking sites to promote her political campaign. In January 2009, for instance, Campbell announced her intention to seek the PAC presidential nomination via the social messaging network, Twitter. A recent survey of the main presidential candidates in 2010, published in the daily La Nacion, found that Campbell had the most Facebook friends of the six main presidential contenders. Her PLN rival Chinchilla was the most active 'Tweeter'.
Formally confirming her decision to stand on 16 February, Campbell declared that “the hour has come" (her campaign slogan) and the time was ripe for “more citizen action".
She also said it was time to create new national accords and to renew the country's political leadership, in an effort to get past “post-referendum" Costa Rica. Reaching across the political divide may be Campbell's best hope of overcoming the PAC's divisive reputation and consolidating her candidacy against the traditional wing of the PAC, led by Solís.
In policy terms, Campbell's main economic and political proposals, which centre on social justice and the promotion of sustainable economic growth with equity, echo her party's inclusive centre left, social democratic ethos. Her training as an economist shows, with her 10-point plan for '21st Century Costa Rica' grounded in reality rather than leftwing radicalism.
Weaknesses: Campbell (and the PAC) have been tainted by their militant and divisive anti-Cafta stance. After a wobble last year, the electorate has swung back behind the government of President Oscar Arias. Polls show that the public trusts the ruling PLN more on the economy, and the its approval ratings have risen during the economic crisis.
Arguably, having lost the Cafta battle, the PAC has now somewhat lost its political way, and tellingly, Solis has not been able to inflict any damage on the Arias government over the crisis, which has hit Costa Rica hard due to its heavy reliance on export-led growth (the US is its main trading partner).
Her youth and inexperience in political office may also count against Campbell in these crisis times.
Prospects: The PAC convention is on 30 May. Four candidates are competing for the party nomination (Campbell, Solís, Román Macaya and Manuel Sánchez). Amid rumours of tensions within the PAC between the traditional Solis faction and a more reformist branch, headed by Campbell, the party appears to be having something of an identity crisis, and looks ill placed against the incumbent PLN ahead of the 2010 elections.
While Campbell trails Solís in PAC party member surveys, her pressure to open up the convention to new party members (who must register by 30 April to be eligible to vote in the primary) could throw open the contest on the day, which she hopes will work in her favour. Campbell's insistence that she would only run if the PAC held an open primary exacerbated the tensions with Solís.
Most polls still give Solis victory in the May primaries. Yet given her growing electoral appeal, Campbell would likely be Solís's running mate again, which might help paper over the growing splits in the party.
There is a slight chance that she might eventually opt to breakaway from Solis and PAC altogether, although this would leave her without the umbrella of a national political grouping.
Whatever the result of the May contest, Campbell will remain a figure to watch.