Founded May 1994 Colours Red | Regional affiliation None Legislative Assembly 4 / 57 | |
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Ideology Classical liberalism
Social conservatism
Catholic social teaching Political position Centre-right to Right-wing | ||
The Libertarian Movement Party (Spanish: Partido Movimiento Libertario; PML) is a political party based on classical liberalism in Costa Rica. It was founded in May 1994.
Contents
History
Founded by partyless liberals from the Academy and liberal defectors of Social Christian Unity Party, contested the 1998 election with Federico Malavassi as candidate receiving only 0.4% of the vote but succeeding in getting attorney Otto Guevara elected as member of the Legislative Assembly. In this time the party was strongly libertarian and was in favor of minimal government (something quite polemic in a Welfare State like Costa Rica when even the right-wing parties as the Social Christians tend to accept social programs and government intervention), legalization of recreational drugs, same-sex marriage, abortion and the like.
In 2002, Guevara ran for president (unsuccessfully, 1.7% of the vote), and the party at the legislative elections won 9.3% of the popular vote and 6 out of 57 seats. A few weeks after taking office, one Congressman left the party and became independent, leaving PML with five seats. In 2006, Guevara again ran for president (unsuccessfully, 8.4% of the vote), and the party at the legislative elections won 9.1% of the popular vote and 6 out of 57 seats. In the 2010 general election Guevara was again the PML's presidential candidate and received 20% of the popular vote, it also increased its number of deputies to nine (even so three of these deputies defects from the party before the end of the legislatie period). At the municipal level the party obtain one mayor in 2006 and two in 2010.
In its 2014 electoral campaign, the party took a more socially conservative position, totally opposing the legalisation of abortion and rejecting homosexual couples' right to a marriage license.
The party suffered a debacle in the 2014 election, as was relegated to fourth place after PAC, PLN and FA parties, and reducing its congressional representation to less than half (four seats), also was unable to elect any mayor in the 2016 mid-term municipal election. This electoral debacle was also costly, as the party was unable to pay some of its campaign debts to both workers, Social Security, loaners and Banks. As previously, in 2015 another deputy defects; Carmen Quesada, who declares herself independent.
Also in 2015 several party members went to trial after been accused of fraud by the State, apparently trying to trick the Electoral Tribunal in paying for trainings that were already cover by the Friedrich Naumann Foundation. Judges sentenced party’s vice president, treasurer and accountant to eight years in prison.