Arias was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1987 for his proposal of a negotiated solution to theCentral American crisis. He sought the support of the Contadora group for his plan, which involved the removal of all foreign powers from the region, an end to aid for antigovernment guerrillas in El Salvador and Nicaragua, and the implementation of democratic principles and a compromise peace for social reconstruction. Although his plan was not officially adopted, its key concepts were later reflected in the settlements in El Salvador (1990-1993) and Nicaragua (1989-1990).[1]
Arias was born into an upper-class family in the province ofHeredia.[3] Arias concluded his secondary schooling at the Saint Francis College in the capital city ofSan José. He then went to the United States and enrolled inBoston University with the intention of studying medicine, but he soon returned to his home country and completed degrees in law and economics at theUniversity of Costa Rica. In 1967, Arias traveled to the United Kingdom and enrolled in theLondon School of Economics. He received a doctoral degree in political science from theUniversity of Essex in 1974.[citation needed]
Arias joined theNational Liberation Party (PLN), Costa Rica's mainsocial democratic party. In 1986 he ran successfully for president on that party's ticket. Arias's presidency saw the transformation of Costa Rica's economy from one based on the traditionalcash crops (coffee andbananas) to one more focused on non-traditional agriculture (e.g., of exotic flowers andfruits) andtourism. Some within the PLN criticized his administration for abandoning the party's social democratic teachings and promoting aneoliberal economic model. He is now often regarded as a neoliberal although he is a member of a nominally social democratic party.[4]
Arias received the 1987 Nobel Peace Prize with the help of John Biehl, his peer in England, and Rodrigo Madrigal Nieto for his work towards the signing of theEsquipulas II Accords. This was a plan intended to promotedemocracy and peace on the Central Americanisthmus during a time of great turmoil: leftist guerrillas were fighting against the governments inEl Salvador andGuatemala, which were backed by the United States under the auspices of theCold War; theContras, supported by the United States, were fighting an insurgency against theSandinista inNicaragua;Honduras, only recently wresting political power from its military, was caught in the middle as a base for U.S. military forces; and on Costa Rica's other border,Panama faced the oppression ofManuel Noriega's military dictatorship. With the support of Arias, the various armed conflicts ended within the decade (Guatemala's civil war finally ended in 1996).
Arias then called for a higher level of integration in the Central America region and promoted the creation of theCentral American Parliament (Parlamento Centroamericano). During his current administration, Arias has declared that Costa Rica will not enter the Central American Parliament. Arias also modified the country'seducational system. The most notable action in this respect was the reintroduction of standardized academic tests at the end of primary and secondary school.
Arias in 2006Arias withBarack Obama on 17 April 2009
The Costa Rican constitution had been amended in 1969 to include a clause forbidding former presidents to seek re-election. Arias challenged this at the Sala IV, the Constitutional Chamber of theSupreme Court of Justice of Costa Rica, which initially rejected his application in September 2000. In 2003, a group of Arias supporters presented an unconstitutionality challenge against the 1969 constitutional amendment forbidding re-election, and this time the ruling in April 2003 struck down the prohibition against non-consecutive re-election.[5] This decision was denounced as a "state blow" or "coup d'état" by ex-presidentLuis Alberto Monge.[6][7]
Arias announced in 2004 that he intended to run again for president in theFebruary 2006 general elections. By then, he was the only living former president who was not either in jail, under indictment or facing an investigation. Though for years private polling companies and several news media published polls predicting Arias would win by a wide margin, the election was initially deemed too close to call. A month later, on 7 March, after a manual recount, the official results showed Arias beat center-left contenderOttón Solís by 18,169 votes (1.2% of valid votes cast), and finished just a few thousand votes over the 40 percent threshold required to capture the presidency in a single round. He took the oath of office at noon on 8 May 2006 at theNational Stadium. In his speech on 15 September 2008, he admitted that he was tired because of the criticism of his opponents.
On 1 June 2007, he switched Costa Rica's diplomatic recognition from theRepublic of China (Taiwan) to thePeople's Republic of China, making Costa Rica the 167th nation in the world to do so. Subsequently, under diplomatic and financial pressure from Beijing, he induced theDalai Lama, a fellowNobel Peace Prize laureate, to postpone indefinitely a proposed and much anticipated visit during Beijing's suppression of controversial riots inTibet.[8]
At the5th Summit of the Americas inTrinidad and Tobago, on 18 April 2009, Arias gave a speech on the topic "We've been doing something wrong". Directed at fellow Latin American leaders, he decried Latin America's lack of development compared to other parts of the world, calling for pragmatism, and more resources directed at education rather than militaries.[9]
In 2009, theSupreme Court of Honduras issued an arrest warrant for Honduran PresidentManuel Zelaya because of violations of the constitution and laws.[10][11] Two days later, theNational Congress of Honduras (in which Zelaya's own party held 62 out of 128 seats, more than any other party), also voted to dismiss Zelaya.[12][13][14]Zelaya fled to Costa Rica. The Honduran constitution mandated that the head of Congress,Roberto Micheletti, who was next in the presidential line of succession, becomes the provisional head of state sinceVice PresidentElvin Ernesto Santos had resigned in December 2008 to run for president. Micheletti's term ended 27 January 2010.[15]
Arias began serving as mediator between Zelaya and Micheletti in the2009 Honduran constitutional crisis. Representatives of the two Hondurans met with Arias on various occasions but so far have failed to reach any kind of agreement. As described above (with factual citations), Arias himself was initially prohibited by Costa Rica's constitutional court from another term, due to constitutionalterm limits, but this was reversed using legal means, with the consent of the Costa Rican Sala IV court, unlike in Honduras. New elections in Honduras are planned for 29 November 2009. Micheletti's government stated on 2 July 2009 that it is willing to hold this year's presidential election early. Arias presented a seven-point agreement, which calls for the return of Zelaya as president – a condition deemed unacceptable to the interim government. Zelaya's representatives accepted the Arias proposal "in principle" but Micheletti's representatives balked at the key point of Zelaya returning to power in Honduras.[16]
In 2025, Arias's US visa was revoked by theUS State Department, which Arias blamed for his seeking better relations with China when he was president.[17] In a Facebook post published in February, he remarked thatDonald Trump acted like "a Roman emperor, dictating to the rest of the world what to do".
At a news conference inSan José, Arias stated that he had received a brief email from the U.S. government. The message referenced Section 221(i) of theImmigration and Nationality Act, which grants the secretary of state and consular officers the authority to revoke visas at their discretion.[18]
In August 2007, Arias was affected bytendinitis, and in April 2008 he canceled some activities because of muscular pain in hislumbar region. Subsequently, due to increasing difficulty in speaking over the course of several weeks, Arias went to the PhiladelphiaEars, Nose and Throat Associates medical center in the United States on 20 May 2008, where it was determined that he had a nonmalignant cyst on his vocal cords. As a result, it was announced on 21 May that doctors advised him not to speak for one month, saying that if this did not help, surgery would be considered.[19] On 11 August 2009 Arias was diagnosed withH1N1 Influenza, but he recovered.[20]
In 2004, in response to a rival candidate (Antonio Álvarez) for his party's nomination challenging him to a debate, Oscar Arias said: "Eagles live in high places, and make a serious mistake if they go down to the mud to fight with snails."[21]
In 2010, during the closing weeks of his second term, he inaugurated various unachieved projects with ribbon-cutting and bronze plaque ceremonies:
The new National Stadium, despite that it was only about 75% finished.[22]
The new presidential offices despite the fact that these offices do not exist yet. The land is still for sale and the Legislative Assembly has allocated no funds yet in order to buy it, let alone build anything on the vacant lot.[23]
The new Juan Santamaría International Airport installation, despite the fact the project was only 82% completed.[24]
In 2017 Costa Rica's General Attorney office indicted Arias for the Crucitas case, a case in which former Environment Minister Roberto Dobles and Arias as president signed a 2008 decree ceding the Canadian company Infinito Gold control over a protected area near the Nicaraguan border known as Crucitas for gold mining and declaring it "national interest",[25] something that the Prosecution argued was illegal as protected areas cannot be granted for exploitation of any kind. Dobles was previously found guilty of the charges, but Arias was not indicted alongside him by the previous General Attorney Jorge Chavarría (often accused of being close to Arias).[26] The new General Attorney Emilia Navas reopened the case indicting Arias.[26]
Also in 2019 psychiatrist and anti-Nuclear activist Alexandra Arce von Herold formally accused Arias of rape at the Public Ministry. Following her allegation three more women came to light accusing Arias of sexual harassment and misconduct.[25][27] Arias denied the charges.[25] In December 2020, all sexual harassment charges against Arias were dismissed.[28]
After more than a year of investigations, and in the absence of evidence, the cases were dismissed by the prosecution. Due to the request of the two complainants, requiring, therefore, the revocation of the instance and subsequent dismissal.[29] The definitive dismissal was ordered by Judge Natalia Rodríguez Solís, of the Pavas Criminal Court.[30]
Regarding the "Crucitas" case, in October 2019 the former president was completely released from the case, according to a judicial resolution.[31]
^"He is often identified as a'neoliberal' and accused of being in the service of the big capitalists of the country and the transnationals, in spite of his being a member of the National Liberation Party, which defines itself as socialdemocratic.""First Micheletti-Zelaya meeting since the events of 28 June will be in Costa Rica"El Heraldo (6 July 2009). Original in Spanish.
^On 12 November 2008, the Supreme Court of Justice determined that the modifications to articles 239 and 240 promulgated by Congress in 1998 and 2002 were unconstitutional and returned these two articles to their state in the 1982 constitution.Vigentes artículos pétreos. Retrieved 5 August 2009.Archived 5 August 2009.
^Articulo 239: El ciudS Congress Communiqué explaining why ex President Zelaya was removed. Accessdate 9 July 2009
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