Founded 2000 | ||
 | ||
President Margarita Bolaños Arquín Secretary-General María Gabriela Saborío De la Espriella Vicepresident Kattia María Martín Cañas Treasurer Anthony Francisco Cascante Ramírez Ideology Christian socialism
Social democracy
Progressivism
Cultural liberalism | ||
The Citizens' Action Party (Spanish: Partido Acción Ciudadana; commonly abbreviated as PAC) is a left-leaning political party in Costa Rica. In 2014, PAC presidential candidate Luis Guillermo Solís earned the most votes in the general election, causing his main rival to cease campaigning, making Solís the president.
Contents
- Founding and 2002 election
- 2006 election
- 2010 election
- 2014 election
- Platform
- International relations
- References
Its platform is based on encouraging citizen participation and involvement in politics. One of its guiding ideals is to fight against corruption, arguing that it is one of the main causes of under development and voter apathy. The party took a leading role in the failed campaign against Costa Rica's membership of the Central American Free Trade Agreement.
Founding and 2002 election
PAC was founded in December 2000 by several dissidents from Costa Rica's two traditional parties, the National Liberation Party and the Social Christian Unity Party. Originally an anti-corruption party, it startled the Costa Rican political arena with a very strong showing in the 2002 general elections. In the presidential vote, party founder and candidate Ottón Solís was able to secure 26% of the votes – an unprecedented amount for a third party in Costa Rica – and force a runoff between the PLN and PUSC.
The party won 21.9% of the popular vote and 14 out of 57 seats in the Legislative Assembly, making it the third strongest political force in the legislature. A few months later, however, after a series of internal disputes, six of the party's 14 deputies resigned from the party, leaving PAC with only eight seats.
2006 election
In the February 5, 2006 parliamentary election, the party won 17 out of 57 seats. Ottón Solís ran for president again, losing to the PLN's Oscar Arias Sanchez by less than .2% of the votes. Arias only won by a few thousand votes over the 40 percent threshold required to avoid a runoff. The number of spoiled ballots was larger than the margin between Solís and Arias.
After the 2006 election, Ótton Solís took a year away from politics to teach in the United States. Former PLN Secretary General Luis Guillermo Solís' name began being circulated at meetings of the "ungroup," an informal gathering of PAC officials, led by former deputy Alberto Salom. Several PAC officials wanted Luis Guillermo Solís to run as a deputy in San José and as a vice presidential candidate in 2010.
Future President Luis Guillermo Solís joined the party in 2009. and attended meetings of the "ungroup" shortly thereafter in anticipation of the 2014 election.
2010 election
In the 2010 election, Ottón Solís ran for his third and final time as president. Laura Chinchilla of the PLN won, but Ottón Solís finished with 25.2% of the votes. PAC won the second fraction in the Legislative Assembly with 11 deputies elected. Six candidates won municipal elections in the rural communities of Aserrí, Matina, Hojancha, Cañas, Los Chiles y Guatuso.
2014 election
In 2013, PAC held its second national convention. It was an open convention in which any citizen could vote, despite party affiliation. Four candidates vied for the primary to represent PAC in the 2014 national elections: Epsy Campbell Barr, Juan Carlos Mendoza, Luis Guillermo Solís, and Ronald Solís Bolaños, with Luis Guillermo Solís winning 35% of the votes.
On 6 April 2014, Luis Guillermo Solís became the president elect of Costa Rica. PAC candidates won 13 seats in the Legislative Assembly.
Platform
While cleaning up corruption has been one of PAC's main goals since its creation, Solís has added to the party's platform. He wants to build infrastructure, bolster Costa Rica's universal health care and social security systems and push for environmentally friendly policies. Historically, PAC has opposed free trade agreements such as CAFTA, which Solís claims is improperly implemented. In addition, PAC claims that the country's tax system is inadequate, saying that more "progressive" system is needed.
International relations
Unlike other Costa Rican parties, PAC is not affiliated with an international organization. Nevertheless, it maintains informal relations with other progressive parties. Ottón Solís has independently met with Ricardo Lagos of the Socialist Party of Chile during a visit to Costa Rica, Cristina Fernández, and members of the Democratic Party of the United States.