People Profile Johnny Araya, Costa Rica
Who is he? Johnny Araya is the former mayor of San José and current front-runner in the race to become the Partido Liberación Nacional (PLN)'s nomination for the 2009 Costa Rican elections.
Why watch him? With the two opposition parties, Partido Acción Ciudadana (PAC) and Partido Unidad Social Cristiana, well behind in early election polls, the winner of the party primaries will be in a strong position to succeed President Oscar Arias, also of the PLN.
Born: 29 April 1957
Education: Araya graduated in Agricultural Engineering from the University of Costa Rica (UCR) in 1982. In 1992 he attended a course at Harvard University designed for Latin American mayors.
Public Life: Politically active from a young age, Araya hails from the leftwing of the PLN. Like his brother Rolando, the PLN's presidential candidate in the 2002 elections, he is a member of Socialist International.
After graduating, Araya went straight into municipal politics, an area he describes as one of his passions. In the late 1980s he worked in the policy unit of the PLN, during which time he embraced the ideals of social democracy and liberation theory.
In 1991 he was elected as 'Municipal Executive' for the capital, San José, but in the Municipal Code of 1998 the position was renamed mayor and subject to direct election. Araya has since run two very successful election mayoral election campaigns.
Timeline:
1976: Elected representative of High Student Council of
UCR.
1982: Graduates in Agricultural
Engineering.
1982: Worked at the Municipal Council of San
José.
1986: Worked in the policy unit of the PLN,
representing the Professionals Sector.
1991: Appointed
Municipal Executive for San José.
2002: Elected Mayor of San
José.
2006: Re-elected as Mayor of San José.
Strengths: Within the PLN, Araya presents himself as the candidate of change, whilst his main opponent, the former vice president and justice minister, Laura Chinchilla, President Arias's favoured nominee, is seen as the candidate of continuity. With Chinchilla running as more of a centrist candidate, this has created space for Araya to run on a conventional left-leaning social democrat platform.
Heavily reliant on trade with the US, Costa Rica is enduring a difficult year in the current economic climate. However, polls suggest that the electorate trusts the incumbent PLN more on the economy than the opposition, which veers towards populist responses.
Araya has tried to differentiate himself from the Arias administration by criticising its bureaucracy and inefficiency, with particular emphasis on the tardy introduction of a series of economic stimulus measures to combat the financial crisis. As a leftist candidate, he is also more overtly focused on social issues.
He has proposed the creation of a public agency to ensure that the public investments envisaged in the stimulus package are implemented quickly and efficiently.
Weaknesses: Many commentators are sceptical of the ability of a leftist candidate to win the nomination of a party dominated by arismo (the heavy hitting political grouping centred around the current president and his brother Rodrigo Arias).
Arias openly favours Chinchilla and Araya has spoken-out against official 'favouritism' towards his opponent.
Even if his anti-bureaucratic, pro-poor message finds resonance with the electorate, in Chinchilla, Araya is facing a politician with excellent communication skills and a strong support base amongst young and urban voters. According to some polls, she is the most popular politician in the country.
Prospects: Araya has been praised by many for the strength of his anti-poverty policy promises and several PLN deputies that had originally announced their support for Chinchilla have publically switched their allegiances.
The electoral authorities have ruled to censure Arias for comments he made suggesting a woman should succeed him, making the president's explicit support for Chinchilla more problematic moving forward.
According to local pollsters Unimer, in February Chinchilla had the support of 39% of PLN members, compared to 50% for Araya. That support broadly splits along age, income and urban/rural lines, with first time/younger, urban and more educated voters favouring Chinchilla, who also attracts more of the female vote. Araya picks up the middle-aged and working class segments in the metropolitan area,
With the 7 June primaries fast approaching, it promises to be tight race.