Wheelchair travel and politics in Costa Rica

Candy Harrington, who writes about travel for “wheelers and slow walkers,” takes on accessibility politics in Costa Rica in a recent blog post. I met Candy at a talk she gave on “Finding Your Niche” in travel publishing, and she has done just that, becoming the go-to girl for what she calls barrier-free travel. After the talk I mentioned to her that Costa Rica has a single-issue political party–Partido Accesibilidad sin Exclusión (PASE)—that focuses on physical accessibility and inclusion.

Costa Rican streets aren't kind to wheelchair users. Photo: Erin Van Rheenen

She took the ball and ran with it, writing on her blog that PASE isn’t “just a splinter group supported entirely by the disabled population; but instead a driving force in Costa Rica politics with a substantial mainstream following.” And Candy poses a provocative question: “If a relatively inaccessible country like Costa Rica can have a political party based on inclusion, then why can’t it happen in an accessible country like US? And if it did, could this type of a party actually garner a solid mainstream following?”

Two things you don't often see in Costa Rica: special parking for disabled drivers, and 'Prohibido fumar' (No Smoking) signs. These are in front of a government building in downtown San José. Photo: Van Rheenen

Of course the fact that Costa Rica has a political party that advocates for wheelchair users could also be an indication of just how how far the country needs to come in that area.

Costa Rica’s streets and sidewalks are challenging enough for able-bodied walkers, who must be on the lookout for ankle-breaking holes, deep gutters, and careening cars. Wheelchair users in this country have to be especially resilient and creative, as they won’t find many ramps to help them over curbs or lifts to get them on buses.  On the other hand I’ve seen strangers pitch in to help when a wheelchair needed to get over a high curb or a wheelchair user needed to be loaded into a car or bus.

PASE recently won 4 seats in Costa Rica’s Legislative Assembly. I’ll be curious to see if  the landscape will change for local and visiting “wheelers.”

Most bizarre campaign video ever: Luis Fishman

A middle-aged man naked except for a diaper cavorts among pregnant women singing a takeoff on the 60s classic, “I will follow him.”

No, it’s not an underground video making the rounds in fetish circles. It’s a campaign video for Luis Fishman, who came in 4th of 4 candidates in this week’s presidential election in Costa Rica.

His campaign slogan? “El menos mal es el mejor” — the least bad is the best. Come again?

Costa Rica elections — photos

Costa Ricans went to the polls yesterday and elected the country’s first female president, Laura Chinchilla.

These election photos are by Adrian Hepworth, an award-winning British photographer who lives in Costa Rica. See more of his work at www.hepworthimages.com.

Laura Chinchilla, victor in yesterday's election, ran on a platform of being "firm and honest." Photo: Adrian Hepworth

Supporters of Otton Solis in yesterday's presidential election in Costa Rica. Photo: Adrian Hepworth

Costa Ricans elected Laura Chinchilla in yesterday's presidential election. Photo: Adrian Hepworth

Costa Rica elects female President

Yesterday Costa Ricans went to the polls and overwhelmingly elected Laura Chinchilla president for the next 4 years. Chinchilla, who was Vice President in the current administration of Oscar Arias, resigned that post so she could run for president.

She ran a campaign that declared her “firme y honesta” — firm and honest — and promised more doctors in the state-run medical clinics and more police officers on the streets. She is a social conservative who opposes gay marriage and abortions.

She won 47 per cent of the vote; Otton Solis from the Citizen Action party and Otto Guevara from the Libertarian Movement party conceded defeat with 24 per cent and 21 per cent respectively.

Chinchilla, 50, is married with one teenaged son. She will take office in May, becoming Costa Rica’s first female president and Latin America’s fifth in the last two decades. The other four are Argentina’s Cristina Kirchner, who was elected in 2007, Chile’s Michelle Bachelet, elected in 2006, Panama’s Mireya Moscoso, elected in 1999, and Nicaragua’s Violeta Chamorro, elected in 1990.

Click here for election photos.

Next president of Costa Rica to be a woman?

Will Laura Chinchilla be Costa Rica's next president?

I’m not blogging from the road just yet, but wanted to share some Costa Rica news.

A few weeks ago, Demoscopía / Al Día pollsters asked 1,216 Costa Rican adults who they would choose for president if the election were held today. An overwhelming 53% chose former vice president Laura Chinchilla.

Chinchilla was current President Oscar Arias’ first vice-president (there are two) until she resigned last year to run for president. Arias and Chinchilla are members of the ruling Partido Liberación Nacional (PLN). In June, Chinchilla won the PLN’s nomination at that party’s convention, defeating the city of San José’s colorful mayor Johnny Araya Monge. Chinchilla said that if elected, she would emphasize continuity (presumably with Arias’s policies), the economy, and the environment.

Candidates Alfio Piva, Laura Chinchilla, and Luis Liberman; Photo by Manuel Vega, Al Dia

Last month, Chinchilla named Alfio Piva and Luis Liberman as her vice-presidential candidates. Piva has a doctorate in animal physiology from the University of Milan and experience in environmental conservation. Libermen holds a doctorate in economics from the University of Illinois.

Not so long ago, there was talk that another women, Elsy Campbell, from the Caribbean coast of the country and of Afro-Costa Rican descent, might win a try at the presidency. There was even talk of her ‘riding Obama’s coattails’ into power. Apparently that didn’t pan out, but I’m excited that come Feb 4, 2010, Costa Rica has a good chance of choosing a woman for its highest position of power.

There are many things about such a prospect that excite me, not least of which is how it upends cultural stereotypes. A supposedly ‘third world’ and  ‘macho’ country elects a woman, while a first world country where the sky’s supposedly the limit for all genders and races (the US of A) lags behind (at least where gender is concerned–we’ve broken new ground in the race department).

But back to the poll for a moment. Otto Guevara of the Libertarian Movement (ML) came in second with 15.7 per cent, and former economy minister Ottón Solís of the Citizens Action Party (PAC) had 12.3 per cent.

Come February, Vamos a ver! (We’ll see.)