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 so ...

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 ...

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

progressive Progressive may refer to: Politics * Progressivism, a political philosophy in support of social reform ** Progressivism in the United States, the political philosophy in the American context * Progressive realism, an American foreign policy par ...

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 ...

and

social justice Social justice is justice in terms of the distribution of wealth, Equal opportunity, opportunities, and Social privilege, privileges within a society. In Western Civilization, Western and Culture of Asia, Asian cultures, the concept of social ...

ideas. The party is a member of the Foro de Sao Paulo, part of the international Latin American Left Movement (pink tide) of democratic socialism.

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. In the 2010 general elections they kept their seat, occupied by José María Villalta Florez-Estrada. 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 Negative campaigning is the process of deliberately spreading negative information about someone or something to worsen the public image of the described. A colloquial, and somewhat more derogatory, term for the practice is mudslinging. Delibe ...

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, autho ...

party

Libertarian Movement In the United States, libertarianism is a political philosophy promoting individual liberty. According to common meanings of Conservatism in the United States, conservatism and Modern liberalism in the United States, liberalism in the United St ...

and

PAC Pac or PAC may refer to: Military * Rapid Deployment Force (Malaysia), an armed forces unit * Patriot Advanced Capability, of the MIM-104 Patriot missile * Civil Defense Patrols (''Patrullas de Autodefensa Civil''), Guatemalan militia and paramili ...

'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 pr ...

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 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 Barva is the second canton in the province of Heredia in Costa Rica. The head city of the canton is the homonymous Barva district. Toponymy The name comes from Barvac or Barvak a cacique of the area around 1569, which in turn might come from e ...

and in alliance with PAC in

Acosta Acosta is a Spanish and Portuguese surname. Originally it was used to refer to a person who lived by the seashore or was from the mountains (''encostas''). It comes from the Portuguese da Costa (cognate of English "coast", literally translates as ...

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, 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