A Just Costa Rica ( es, Costa Rica Justa; CRJ) is a Costa Rican

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or p ...

. It nominated engineer Rolando Araya Monge as a presidential candidate for the 2022 Costa Rican general election.

History

Costa Rica Justa was founded by the deputy Dragos Dolanescu Valenciano, originally president and elected deputy for the

Social Christian Republican Party The Social Christian Republican Party is a Costa Rican political party founded in 2014 by former president Rafael Ángel Calderón Fournier and his group of supporters as a splinter from the historical Social Christian Unity Party The Social Chri ...

. He resigned from the party when the Executive Committee denounced him before the Public Ministry for alleged irregularities in the handling of funds. Dolanescu announced in social media that he will be meassuing the level of popular support in order to decide whether he will be presidential candidate. After completing the registration process, the presidential candidacy was offered to former minister and two-time previous presidential candidate Rolando Araya, who lost the 2021 National Liberation Party convention, finishing second. Araya was elected not only presidential candidate but as head of the list for the

Legislative Assembly of Costa Rica The Legislative Assembly ( es, Asamblea Legislativa) forms the unicameral legislative branch of the Costa Rican government. The national congress building is located in the capital city, San José, specifically in Carmen district of the San J ...

Ideology

Some controversy was generated by the fact that Dolanescu comes from a conservative party and his positions as a deputy and on social media have been described as

right-wing populist Right-wing populism, also called national populism and right-wing nationalism, is a political ideology that combines right-wing politics and populist rhetoric and themes. Its rhetoric employs anti- elitist sentiments, opposition to the Establ ...

and

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

. Araya, on the other hand, comes from a

democratic socialist Democratic socialism is a left-wing political philosophy that supports political democracy and some form of a socially owned economy, with a particular emphasis on economic democracy, workplace democracy, and workers' self-management within ...

tradition, was vice president of the

Socialist International The Socialist International (SI) is a political international or worldwide organisation of political parties which seek to establish democratic socialism. It consists mostly of socialist and labour-oriented political parties and organisations ...

and has held various positions in the organization, also being known for his progressive positions on economic and social policies. Araya defended himself stating that the helm of the party and therefore his ideological orientation would be defined by him.

History

Ideology

Electoral performance

Presidential

Parliamentary

References