Costa Rican presidential election heads to runoff


Two candidates seeking Costa Rica's presidency, an ex-president and a former finance minister, advanced to the April 3 runoff election after the first round of voting Sunday, the Buenos Aires Times reported Monday.
Pollsters expected a runoff. To avoid a second round of voting, the first-place candidate needs to receive at least 40 percent of the vote, a highly unlikely outcome in a crowded field of 25 candidates.
Still, there were a few surprises when the ballots were counted.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Former President José María Figueres, who led Costa Rica from 1994 to 1998 and was polling at around 17 percent, won 27 percent of the vote.
According to The Associated Press, "Figueres is nothing if not well-known to voters in Costa Rica; his father was three-time president José Figueres Ferrer," who abolished Costa Rica's army in 1948 and is "probably the country's most important political figure of the last century."
Economist Rodrigo Chaves, who served as the country's finance minister from 2019 to 2020, finished second with nearly 17 percent of the vote, despite having polled in fourth place.
Both candidates are centrists.
Per the Times, both are also "tainted by scandal: Figueres was investigated for alleged financial misdeeds, and Chaves for sexual harassment. Both denied wrongdoing."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Grayson Quay was the weekend editor at TheWeek.com. His writing has also been published in National Review, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Modern Age, The American Conservative, The Spectator World, and other outlets. Grayson earned his M.A. from Georgetown University in 2019.
-
Trade war with China threatens U.S. economy
Feature Trump's tariff battle with China is hitting U.S. businesses hard and raising fears of a global recession
By The Week US
-
Corruption: The road to crony capitalism
Feature Trump's tariff pause sent the stock market soaring — was it insider trading?
By The Week US
-
China Shock 2.0
Feature An overflow of Chinese goods is flooding the global market. Tariffs won’t stop it.
By The Week US
-
Hegseth reportedly shared war plans in 2nd group text
Speed Read The defense secretary sent information about an attack in Yemen to a Signal group chat that included his wife and brother
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Judge threatens Trump team with criminal contempt
Speed Read James Boasberg attempts to hold the White House accountable for disregarding court orders over El Salvador deportation flights
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US
-
Biden slams Trump's Social Security cuts
Speed Read In his first major public address since leaving office, Biden criticized the Trump administration's 'damage' and 'destruction'
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
El Salvador refuses to return US deportee
Speed Read President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador said he would not send back the unlawfully deported Kilmar Ábrego García
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Trump says electronics tariff break won't last
Speed Read The tariff exemptions on smartphones, laptops and other electronic devices are temporary, the administration says
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Man charged in arson attack on Pennsylvania's Shapiro
Speed Read Governor Josh Shapiro and his family were sleeping when someone set fire to his Harrisburg mansion
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
White House pushes for oversight of Columbia University
Speed Read The Trump administration is considering placing the school under a consent decree
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US
-
Supreme Court backs wrongly deported migrant
Speed Read The Trump administration must 'facilitate' the return of wrongfully deported migrant Kilmar Ábrego García from El Salvador, Supreme Court says
By Peter Weber, The Week US