Evangelical singer’s vote victory reveals right-wing backlash
SAN JOSE, COSTA RICA — Religious and social conservatives in Costa Rica have found a lot to object to from President Luis Guillermo Solis’ government.
A decision to allow in-vitro fertilization. A plan to recognize civil unions for same-sex couples. The publication of sex education guides by the Education Ministry, and the announcement of courses that would include discussion of sexual diversity.
In 2014, less than a week after Solis took office, the rainbow flag was raised over the presidential residence for the first time ever to mark the International Day Against Homophobia.
This week, religious conservatives flexed their muscle at the ballot box. Angered by a ruling by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights telling Costa Rica to allow gay marriage, they helped evangelical candidate Fabricio Alvarado finish first in the country’s presidential election and put him in the pole position for an April 1 runoff against a candidate of Solis’ party.
“The opinion of the Inter-American Court was just the spark that ignited the powder keg, with the wick already dry and ready to be lit,” said Gustavo Araya, a specialist in political communications at the University of Costa Rica.
Alvarado, 43, is the only lawmaker currently in the Legislative Assembly representing his National Restoration Party. Though lacking major party backing, he enjoyed high name recognition, especially in evangelical circles, as a preacher and Christian singer, some of whose songs are listed on Spotify.
He is a journalist by training and is known for his impassioned speaking style. Analysts say his background working for one of the country’s main TV newscasts afforded him an ease on the campaign trail in front of cameras and during debates, helping voters to see the relative outsider as a viable candidate.
A backlash had been brewing for some time to socially liberal policies under Solis, which also included Costa Rica’s social security institute letting gay people insure their partners just like other couples.
Conservatives slammed the in-vitro fertilization measure, saying discarding unused embryos was an offense to life. The sex education courses provoked a movement with the slogan, “I educate my children myself.”
The so-called Christian bloc in congress gained influence by stymieing a plan that sought to recognize civil unions for same-sex couples and winning the election of a pastor, Gonzalo Ramirez, as the body’s president.
Tens of thousands flooded the streets of the capital, San Jose, in December to join a “march for life and the family.”
“The march ... seems to me to have been an inflection point,” Araya said, “because it showed that this issue can summon the people and become a social motivator.”