The Broad Front (''Frente Amplio'') is a

left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...

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 political ideology ...

Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...

, the main component of the front is the Alternative of the Lefts Movement (''Movimiento Alternativa de Izquierdas''). They are defined by progressive,

socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

and

social justice Social justice is justice in terms of the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society. In Western and Asian cultures, the concept of social justice has often referred to the process of ensuring that individuals fu ...

ideas. The party is a member of the

Foro de Sao Paulo Foro ( ar, فورو, ti, ፎሮ) is a town in the Northern Red Sea region (Zoba Semienawi Keyih Bahri) of Eritrea. Overview A small city located near the coast, Foro was built at the confluence of the Haddas, Aligide and Comaile rivers. In ...

, part of the international Latin American Left Movement (pink tide) of

democratic socialism Democratic socialism is a Left-wing politics, 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- ...

History

In the 2006 general elections, they won 1.1% of the legislative votes, and won one seat in the legislature, occupied by

José Merino del Río José Merino del Río (September 12, 1949 in Burgos, Spain – October 8, 2012) was a Costa Rican politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians ...

. In the 2010 general elections they kept their seat, occupied by

José María Villalta Florez-Estrada José María Villalta Florez-Estrada (born August 13, 1977) is a Costa Rican attorney, environmentalist and politician. He was the only representative in the Costa Rican Parliament of the leftist party Frente Amplio (Broad Front) for the perio ...

. Their presidential nominee was Eugenio Trejos Benavides, then the rector of the

Costa Rica Institute of Technology The Costa Rica Institute of Technology (TEC) ( es, Tecnológico de Costa Rica) is a university in Costa Rica specializing in engineering and advanced science and research, modeled as an institute of technology. Its main campus is located in the Du ...

. For the 2014 election the party’s nominee was then congressman Villalta, who was receiving a lot of support according to the polls, something unusual in Costa Rica for a left-wing candidate, and even appearing in some as the frontrunner. Nevertheless lost momentum after a very negative campaign especially from

right-wing Right-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position on the basis of natural law, economics, authorit ...

party Libertarian Movement and PAC's recovery after the party's candidate

Luis Guillermo Solís Luis Guillermo Solís Rivera (; born 25 April 1958) is a Costa Rican politician and educator who was the 47th President of Costa Rica from 2014 to 2018. He is a member of the Citizens' Action Party (PAC). Solís led the field in the 2014 pre ...

improved his image in the debates attracting votes from the more moderate leftist electors. Villalta ended third in the presidential race with 17% of the votes, below PLN's nominee

Johnny Araya Johnny Francisco Araya Monge (born 29 April 1957) is a Costa Rican politician. He was the mayor of the country's capital San José from 1998 to 2001 and again since 2003. He was also the co-president of the United Cities and Local Government ...

and PAC’s

, but increased its parliamentary representation from one to nine seats. It also won one mayor in the 2016 municipal elections in the Barva canton and in alliance with PAC in Acosta and Montes de Oca. During the 2014-2018 legislative period the party suffered several minor scandals involving its deputies including Guanacaste’s representative and former

Catholic priest The priesthood is the office of the ministers of religion, who have been commissioned ("ordained") with the Holy orders of the Catholic Church. Technically, bishops are a priestly order as well; however, in layman's terms ''priest'' refers only ...

Ronal Vargas's resignation after being accused of

sexual harassment Sexual harassment is a type of harassment involving the use of explicit or implicit sexual overtones, including the unwelcome and inappropriate promises of rewards in exchange for sexual favors. Sexual harassment includes a range of actions fro ...

, deputy Ligia Falla’s use of her parliamentary office for alleged romantic encounters of her advisors, and

domestic abuse Domestic violence (also known as domestic abuse or family violence) is violence or other abuse that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage or cohabitation. ''Domestic violence'' is often used as a synonym for ''intimate partner v ...

accusations against two parties' deputies.

Electoral performance

Presidential

Parliamentary

References

2004 establishments in Costa Rica Democratic socialist parties in North America Foro de São Paulo Green parties in North America Political parties established in 2004 Political parties in Costa Rica Progressive parties {{CostaRica-party-stub