Showing posts with label Libertarian Parties (Latin America). Show all posts
Showing posts with label Libertarian Parties (Latin America). Show all posts

Thursday, October 10, 2019

Argentina must reform economy, libertarian presidential candidate says

Argentine libertarian running for president says country must ‘detonate’ political past | Vancouver Sun - Nicolas Misculin, Walter Bianchi; Adam Jourdan, Grant McCool, Reuters:

October 9, 2019 - "Argentina needs to make radical changes including trimming back big government and freeing international trade to avoid slipping into disaster, presidential candidate and libertarian economist José Luis Espert told Reuters. The fringe runner ahead of the Oct. 27 election, who won around 2% of the vote in an August primary, said Argentina needed to replace what he saw as a broken political and economic system over the last half century.

“'If Argentina doesn’t detonate what it has done in the last 50 years and do something radically different, then there is no economic plan that will work. Everyone will fail, everyone,' Espert said at Reuters’ office in Buenos Aires.

"Argentina, in and out of recession for decades, is battling an economic crisis amid steep inflation, a volatile currency and mountainous debts that threaten to tip the country into default. Poverty levels, meanwhile, stand at above 35%.

"As elections near, Peronist center-left candidate Alberto Fernández is the distant front-runner ahead of conservative incumbent Mauricio Macri, whose administration has been hit by the economic woes as voters face rising hardship.

"Espert believes that both Fernández and Macri represent parties that have not implemented sufficient structural reforms that the economy needs to get out of its slump. His Awakening Front party has 13 proposals to drive 'real change,' including total free trade, a much reduced state spending to help cut the fiscal deficit, an education overhaul and labor reforms taking power away from powerful unions.

"Espert said that even though he’s likely to make little impact on the final vote this year, it has helped put him on the map and he will run again for a Congressional role in 2021 and in the next presidential election in 2023.

"His prediction for the vote this month?...  'The most likely scenario is that we have a new president on Oct. 27 and that it will be Alberto Fernández,' he said. 'But let’s see'"

Read more: https://vancouversun.com/pmn/elections-pmn/argentine-libertarian-running-for-president-says-country-must-detonate-political-past/wcm/6517ac79-7625-4a24-bdfc-0b7bde87e8ff
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Friday, February 22, 2019

Libertarian enters Argentine presidential election

The Libertarian Calling for an End to Argentina’s ‘Decadent’ Ways | Bloomberg - Carolina Millan and Jonathan Gilbert:

February 22, 2019 - "After a century of economic disarray in Argentina, Jose Luis Espert is making the case for radical change. The fringe right-wing presidential hopeful is running on a platform of liberal economic policies never before tried in one of South America’s most protectionist nations. The 57-year old economist and television pundit says President Mauricio Macri’s administration has been tame on trade, fiscal and labor policies....

"Espert brings unconventional ideas to the region’s second-largest economy, which is struggling with a second recession in three years and the weakest currency in emerging markets. Macri, who faces reelection on Oct. 27, has struggled to turn around a country known for capital controls, unpredictability and contempt for foreign investors.

"Running for the Libertarian Party, Espert aims to end 'a century of decadence' through free trade, slashing the public sector and revamping labor laws based on 1940s workers’ champion President Juan Domingo Peron.

"While he’s likely to capture just a small percentage of votes -- by his own estimates he has seven percent of public support -- the self-proclaimed fan of Milton Friedman and the Chicago school of economics says his candidacy will serve to ingrain the need for a political overhaul.

“'I’d feel happy enough if common sense ideas are put back on the table,' Espert said....

"Espert says he can fire 1.5 million government employees, about 40 percent of the public workforce, without facing a backlash. That’s because the private sector, enjoying a lighter tax burden, would step in, he said.

"With many voters disillusioned by Macri but unwilling to turn back to his predecessor, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, other candidates sense a chance. 'A huge distrust in traditional politics has opened the biggest window of opportunity in 15 years,' Espert said.

"Espert, who’ll formalize his candidacy when elections are officially called in a few weeks, will face an uphill battle: He has limited political machinery and will rely on volunteers in a campaign expected to cost as much as $20 million."

Read more: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-02-22/this-libertarian-calls-for-an-end-to-argentina-s-decadent-ways

Monday, October 15, 2018

Libertarian political prisoner exiled from Venezuela

Libertarian prisoner Lorent Saleh released from cell, exiled to Spain – Instituto Mises-Mambí de Cuba via Boundless Liberty:

October 14, 2018 - "The 2017-2018 crisis in Venezuela is far from the first time there was popular opposition to the PSUV’s one-party dictatorship.... 2014 was the most recent protest cycle before the current one. During the 2014 cycle, ... student and dissident organizer Lorent Saleh had fled to Colombia. He was arrested and extradited by the friendly Santos government to Venezuela, where he spent the next four years in a cell at the National Intelligence Service HQ.

"Saleh was released from solitary confinement on Friday and immediately put on a plane to Madrid, where other Venezuelan exiles waited to give him a hero’s welcome.

"Venezuelan dissidents widely claim that this is the regime trying to keep the lid on public anger after the October 8 murder of a Caracas city councilman that the National Intelligence Service covered up to look like a suicide.

"'It’s important to mention that Saleh was "freed" by orders of the National Constituent Assembly almost immediately after the assassination of Fernando Albán,' says Adriana Flores Márquez, a heroine living in exile in Argentina, where she still directs Venezuelan dissident operations. Like Saleh, Márquez had to flee in 2014....

"María Oropeza, National Youth Coordinator for Vente Venezuela, has spent years denouncing her friend’s arrest and illegal imprisonment in what Venezuelans call 'The Tomb.' Regarding Saleh’s release, Oropeza said...
I know you finally saw the dawn after 4 years and 1 month of unjust imprisonment. Today you can see the night, breathe fresh air, and talk with your fellow citizens and partners in the struggle. Today you’re free in other borders, but fighting intensely as the first day. It won’t be long before you, Villa Fernandez, and all who have emigrated [or been] exiled against their will, can return to this land and begin the function of freedom and prosperity.

Let there be not one more political prisoner. Not one more murdered dissident. Not one more slave. Not one more exile....
"Oropeza has long since been sharing Saleh’s unjust imprisonment.

"While the Institute celebrates that Lorent Saleh is out of danger, we would like to remind the world of three political prisoners in Cuba: ... libertarians Ubaldo Herrera and Yanet Padrón, and ... innocent bystander Lianet Guerra, who is the niece of a libertarian." 
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Friday, July 27, 2018

Facebook shuts down Brazil Libertarians' pages

Brazil: Facebook Censors Pages and Profiles of Libertarian Political Party - David Unsworth, Pan-Am Post:

July 27, 2018 - "As presidential elections loom in Brazil, Facebook has closed multiple political pages, ... with undue scrutiny being placed on the libertarian Movimento Brasil Livre (MBL) party.

"Through a statement, on Wednesday, July 25, Facebook closed '196 pages and 87 profiles in Brazil that violated our authenticity policies'....  Facebook alleged an alleged 'rigorous investigation” by which it justified intervening in the freedom of expression and access to information of countless Brazilians....

"Most of them were part of the Movimento Brasil Livre network, which the mass media has deemed 'extreme right', despite being supporters of the legalization of drugs and civil unions for people of the same sex. The party’s national coordinator, Fernando Holiday, is black and gay.... Holiday leads the party along side, Kim Kataguiri, grandson of Japanese immigrants and pre-candidate for federal deputy, whose actions and protests were key to achieving the impeachment of ex-president Dilma Roussef. Currently MBL is protesting outside the offices of Facebook in Sao Paulo....

"In the words of Ricardo Almeida, MBL coordinator, in the state of Bahia.... 'Of course it is false that we spread fake news.... First, in general, the news shared by sites linked to the MBL are also disseminated by other means. Second, the indictment does not include any evidence of the alleged false news. Third, an expressive part of the content is opinion and analysis, not news. And fourth, several personal profiles were also shut down, which were not false accounts....

"'We have evidence that Facebook has anti-right-wing orientation. And not exclusively in Brazil, but in other countries such as the United States.... Facebook is using its discretion in order to reduce the influence of right-wing parties, especially of the MBL, in the presidential election....

"'Facebook, although it is a private company, has contractual obligations and its policy is intended to be transparent... Zuckerberg himself was very clear when he was testifying before the US Senate to say that Facebook is a politically neutral forum.... If people go on Facebook to use it as a tool to disseminate ideas, and then Facebook makes it impossible to do that, the minimum that can be determined is that a breach of contract has been committed.'"

Read more: https://panampost.com/david-unsworth/2018/07/27/brazil-facebook-censors-pages-and-profiles-of-libertarian-political-party/?cn-reloaded=1
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Wednesday, July 12, 2017

Social Liberty Party goes libertarian in Brazil

Brazil's Rand Paul: Can Libertarianism Fix Crime and Corruption? | Rising Stars | OZY - Anna Jean Kaiser, Daily Dose:

June 28, 2017 - "Fabio Ostermann ... 32, is a key player in Brazil’s growing libertarian movement, which has risen against a backdrop of the country’s collapsing left. He’s led youth groups on college campuses, co-organized some of the country’s largest-ever protests — which may have helped impeach the country’s leftist president, Dilma Rousseff. Now, he’s the president of the Social Liberty Party in his home state, which he is reforming to defend classical libertarian ideals.

"He ran and lost for mayor of his hometown of Porto Alegre, but now has his eye on a lower house seat in 2018 — and on launching a larger campaign in next year’s presidential and congressional elections to occupy the political vacuum created by the left’s disintegration with a rebranded, youthful, American-influenced libertarianism. Ostermann’s brand of libertarianism calls for widespread privatizations, deregulation of the economy and open trade markets. He’s pro marijuana legalization and favors gay marriage....

"Ostermann was trained by the United States’ most influential libertarian organizations — the Cato Institute, the Atlas Network and the Charles Koch Foundation.... He took a course on libertarian theory with Cato and earned a Koch summer fellowship to work at the Atlas Network. Newly evangelized, Ostermann returned to Brazil in 2009, where he co-founded Estudantes pela Liberdade — the Brazilian chapter of Students for Liberty, another U.S.-based libertarian group....

"From that came the Free Brazil Movement. They started rallying hard to impeach Rousseff. On March 15, 2015, Free Brazil and other organizations mobilized 3 million people to protest in 229 cities across the country — the largest protest since the fall of the military dictatorship in 1985....

"If elected, Ostermann’s first policy order of business would be the mass privatization of Brazil’s $70 billion-plus social safety net. He supports voucher systems for private schools and health care. 'I don’t think the government has the competence or capacity to manage these services in a country as chaotic as Brazil,' he says, though he’s happy to let the government spend on sanitation, security and 'basic infrastructure.' (That doesn’t include soccer stadiums, he adds, in sardonic reference to some $25 billion spent on the World Cup and the Olympics in 2014 and 2016 — though that number is frequently contested in Brazil.)

"When talking marijuana legalization, he situates his pro stance in response to Brazil’s bloody drug landscape, where drug crime causes near-constant violence in urban centers. In 2015, Brazil had more than 56,000 homicides, landing it the world’s highest murder rate in terms of absolute numbers, which in large part is due to drug-related crimes. In turn, Brazil also has the world’s fourth-largest prison population. 'To leave drug traffickers and cartels to have a monopoly over marijuana is a crime against society and an ineffective way to spend taxpayer money,' he says.

"Ostermann defends this latter stance despite the fact that it may have lost him his race last year. It’s his obsession with ideological purity that might keep him and his party from finding success."

Read more: http://www.ozy.com/rising-stars/brazils-rand-paul-can-libertarianism-fix-crime-and-corruption/77161
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Monday, June 5, 2017

More arrests of Libertarians in Cuba

Castro Regime Arrests Cuban Libertarian Party Members - Being Libertarian - Nicholas Amato:

June 2, 2017 - "All of the present activists at Cuba’s Libertarian Party HQ were arrested late Wednesday evening for 'illicit association.' Cuban law states that “anyone belonging to an unregistered association can be fined or imprisoned for between one and three months'....

"The formation of a Libertarian Party in Cuba immediately caught the eye of Raul Castro’s regime and resulted in forceful actions intended at halting the party’s growth. In a correspondence between our Managing Editor Dillon Eliassen and Libertarian Party of Cuba’s spokesman Nelson Rodriguez Chartrand, Nelson details the recent arrests....
Chartrand: At 11:00am [on Wednesday, May 31st], three members of the State Security Forces arrived at the Benjamin Franklin Libertarian Library, which is also the headquarters for the Cuban Libertarian Party. They threatened and accused us of public disorder, which is untrue from a strict perspective, because we were inside the house, completely quiet, and we were within our own private property. They said we could not leave the house nor let anyone inside. We were surrounded.

45 minutes later, more or less, a group of 15 agents specialized in murder, from the special brigade, entered our headquarters violently and attacked us while they ravished the house. Caridad (President), Heriberto (Vice-President) and Eduardo (party member) were transported to Vivac Detention, and Miguel and I were sent to Cotorro Detention Center. Written warnings were issued to each us for illicit association, which is a crime according to the criminal code. They know we are part of a political party, which is illegal. In Cuba, only the Communist Party is legal.

Caridad, Miguel and I were forced to leave barefoot. After numerous threats, we were released at 2:00 am.... Miguel and I were released 30 kilometers away from the library where we were captured. We had been fasting for four days in a row. We arrived at the party headquarters barefoot and exhausted at around 5:00....

[The government] demands we leave the party, they will not allow it to prosper. Warnings were issued, although they were not signed by any of the libertarians, for them [to] have legal effect.
"UPDATE ... From one of our sources that has direct contact with the Cuban Libertarian Party:

"The team received an indictment last night. Since 2 are on a hunger strike (the ones who were sent back walking), our president and vicepresident are paramedics, so they are being indicted for “abandonment” for not nourishing the hungry…
"They have to go to court today at 11:00am. We hope they don’t get detained. Those on hunger strike, in solidarity with our members illegaly imprisoned, offered to stop the strike tomorrow to avoid legal actions against the party itself…
"You don’t even have the right to fast in Cuba. In Cuba, dissidents can’t work legally, hence they don’t receive money. So they literally starve. The problem arises when you CHOOSE to starve, let alone choose to do it in solidarity with imprisoned dissidents."

Read more: https://beinglibertarian.com/castro-regime-arrests-cuban-libertarian-party-members/

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Wednesday, May 24, 2017

Cuban Libertarian Party spokesman disappeared

Spokesman of the Cuban Libertarian Party Kidnapped by State Police | The Liberty Conservative - Diego Rivera, Liberty Conservative:

May 24, 2017 - "Cuban Libertarian Party spokesman Nelson Rodriguez Chartrand was kidnapped by the Cuban Police ... State Security shows he is not in the records. Chartrand will either be held hostage or sent to the gulag. According to Mises Cuba, 'Chartrand was scheduled to meet up at the Benjamin Franklin Libertarian Library but never made it.'  This is not uncommon and is actually a norm for the state’s treatment of political prisoners.

"In fact, the Cuban Libertarian Party (Partido Libertario Cubano - Jose Marti) was founded after two members of Mises Cuba were arrested for promoting free markets, small governments, and freedom. According to Tho Bishop, Director of Social Media Marketing at the Mises Institute:

"''[Ubaldo Herrera] Hernandez, who also oversees the Benjamin Franklin Libertarian Library project, was charged with the crime of [assault], a common charge for political opponents. According to Mises Cuba and the PanAmPost, Hernandez was arrested after refusing to show ID to an undercover officer working for state security forces.'

"The Chair of the Libertarian National Committee has come out in defense of the two activists and said: 'Hernandez and Velazquez are political prisoners whose actions have harmed no one and damaged no property. We stand in solidarity with our fellow freedom fighters in Cuba.'

"A further message from the Libertarian Party states: 'The Libertarian National Committee of the United States condemns the arrest and detention of political dissidents Ubaldo Herrera Hernandez and Manuel Velazquez, who have been detained by the Cuban government since their arrest on February 2'....

"You can message the Cancilleria de Cuba on Facebook or tweet them at @CubaMINREX. Right now letting them know that the world is watching could potentially help. Often it is public exposure that can stop the abuse of civil liberties or actually save lives."

Read more: http://www.thelibertyconservative.com/spokesman-cuban-libertarian-party-kidnapped-state-police/
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Tuesday, May 9, 2017

Libertarian Party founded in Cuba

Cuba's Very First Libertarian Party Is Born - Nelson Rodríguez Chartrand, Pan-Am Post:

May 8, 2017 - "On Sunday, May 7, 2017, a milestone was set in Cuban history, as well as for lovers and defenders of freedom worldwide: the Cuban Libertarian Party “José Martí” was founded.

The event was held at the headquarters of the Libertarian Library “Benjamin Franklin”.... This organization is an extension of the objectives that were first proposed by the Cuban Anarchocapitalist Club and, later, the Mises Cuba Institute. The Libertarian Library “Benjamin Franklin”, founded last December 24, will be the source of the philosophy it defends....

"The new party will have, among others, the supreme purpose of defending freedom, human and civil rights of the people, promoting and proposing the reduction of the prevailing collectivism in society and the excessive paternalism of the public administrations, affirming and strengthening individual sovereignty in all areas of life, minimizing the volume and interference of the state and supporting the establishment of a spontaneous social and economic order.

"In addition, the Cuban Libertarian Party will seek to reduce government interference in culture, education, solidarity and ethical issues, as well as establish a legal system emanating from the free will of the citizens that effectively guarantees the aforementioned goals.

“It is curious and interesting that the activity was carried out without an overshadow, at least perceivable of State Security agents”, commented one of the participants, since until now several members have been arrested (one was even burned with a cigarette in prison) and threatened. A few days ago, state security agents went to the headquarters of the library ... and took a member forcefully in order to induce fear....

"But we will not be overcome by fear. As the Greek saying goes: 'Society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in.' We do not fear reprisals.... We do not dear any attacks against our bodies, because our ideas will transcend and achieve freedom."

Read more: https://panampost.com/editor/2017/05/08/cuban-launches-libertarian-party/
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Friday, November 25, 2016

Costa Rican Libertarian praises Trump campaign

Libertarian Otto Guevara praises elements of Trump's campaign - The Tico Times - L. Arias:

November 23, 2016 - "Libertarian lawmaker and former presidential candidate Otto Guevara Guth says ... he thinks his party should learn some things from U.S. President-Elect Donald Trump’s political playbook; Guevara describes Trump’s strategy as 'telling people what they need to hear, regardless of the political cost.' He also praises elements of Trump’s position on immigration, while he criticizes other stances.

"Guevara’s Libertarian Movement Party finished fourth in the 2014 elections with 11.3 percent of votes. He now says that his party’s next presidential campaign should be 'groundbreaking and sincere,' just like Trump’s.

"Guevara, a founder of the party, told The Tico Times that he is not a Trump supporter. '“If I were a U.S. citizen I’d have voted for Gary Johnson,” he said, adding that the U.S. Libertarian’s ideas and proposals are the closest to Guevara’s vision of what Costa Rican society needs....

"If Guevara decides to run again he will have to face a primary election. Guevara’s fellow lawmaker Natalia Díaz Quintana was the first Libertarian to officially announce her interest to launch a bid to win her party’s nomination for the 2018 presidential election....

"He said one of the things he liked about Trump’s campaign strategy was that, in Guevara’s view, Trump understood that voters increasingly support candidates who speak directly and frankly; Guevara says traditional Costa Rican politicians do not do this....

"Guevara also said he agrees with Trump’s idea that the U.S. should stop being the world’s policeman and stop interfering with the internal situations of other countries, invest all those funds in the U.S. instead....

"Guevara said that he believes tightening immigration policies would likely be part of a possible campaign proposal.... 'That is the main problem with our current welfare state,' he said, adding that immigrants are attracted by the country’s social aid programs....

"Among Guevara’s main concerns about Trump are his proposals to lower corporate taxes as well as his plans to exit the North American Free Trade Agreement and other trade deals.

"'If Trump moves forward with his idea of lowering corporate taxes from 35 to 15 percent, that would force us to speed up the approval of all required amendments to make our country more competitive,' he said".

Read more: http://www.ticotimes.net/2016/11/23/otto-guevara-trump-campaign
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Monday, January 18, 2016

Libertarian Party forming in Mexico (interview)

Mexico's New Libertarian Party Aims to Shake Up the Political Arena - Elena Toledo, Pan-Am Post:

January 11, 2016 - "The PanAm Post recently spoke with Francisco Javier Combaluzier, spokesman for the Mexican Libertarian Party, who believes the North American country can achieve a greater level of freedom for its citizens than anyone could have previously imagined. 

Where are you in terms of legally instituting the party? 
"In Mexico, we have to depend more on the law than our own organizational capacity, because the legislation is relatively new, and it does not allow for new parties to emerge until 2020.

Nevertheless, there is a new possibility of introducing independent candidates [before the party is legally set up], and we will participate with many citizens who are joining Mexico’s libertarian movement.

What kind of positions do you expect to campaign for with these independent candidates?
"Congress, mostly. Many of Mexico’s structural problems arise from excessive legislation and disregard for the law. We not only have laws that we don’t need, but those that we do are not enforced.

"For us to have a free country, I think it’s essential that we start cutting back, and see to it that the laws we do need are obeyed. That’s why [focusing on] Congress is most important in order to ensure the rule of law.

"Nevertheless, city councils are the offices that are closest [to the people], and where good libertarian practices can be enacted.

What are the biggest challenges as libertarian politicians in Mexican society?
"There are very few of us who call ourselves [classical] liberals or libertarians, primarily because we are not taught to identify with these labels. There is little time devoted in schools to studying libertarian thinkers, philosophers, or economists.

"However, after talking to people on social media, we have realized that many agree with our views, despite not being able to identify them as libertarian. In that sense, one of our most important goals is to make people aware that their intuition of how things should be is actually rooted in libertarian principles. That way, they will understand why they shouldn’t be voting for collectivist candidates....

What is the shape of the broader libertarian movement in Mexico?
"There is the Mexican Libertarian Movement, which is very active on social media; they focus on documentation and outreach. However, they don’t believe in elections, and most of them seek to spontaneously bring about anarchism. They believe that small government is a utopian ideal, because the state has a natural tendency to grow.

"Some outlets spread libertarian ideas when possible, such as TV Azteca, where analysts Roberto Salinas León and Sergio Sarmiento work. These kinds of projects are very positive for the growth of libertarianism in Mexico.

"And then we have libertarians like myself who believe we need to get in elections to achieve a peaceful change. We can’t wait for it to happen spontaneously, or by giving lectures that people may or may not attend. We think that in the next five years we can organize a critical mass of young people who are savvy social-media users, and create a movement that can draw considerable support."

Read more: https://panampost.com/elena-toledo/2016/01/11/mexicos-new-libertarian-party-aims-to-shake-up-the-political-arena/
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Thursday, January 16, 2014

Poll shows Libertarian would win Costa Rican runoff, if he's on the ballot

Libertarian candidate Otto Guevara could become Costa Rica’s next president -The Tico Times - Corey Kane:

January 16, 2014 - "A second round of voting in April in Costa Rica’s presidential race could turn the dynamics upside-down, as current third-place candidate Otto Guevara would be favored.

"This is according to the latest poll released by the daily La Nación, the first time a public poll has examined scenarios if no candidate succeeds in getting more than 40 percent of the vote in the first round.

The poll ran three scenarios between the top polling candidates – the ruling National Liberation Party (PLN) nominee Johnny Araya, the progressive Broad Front Party candidate José María Villalta, and the Libertarian Movement Party’s Guevara.

"Guevara likely would defeat both Villalta and Araya – if Guevara makes it to the second round – while Araya would lose to Villalta, La Nación’s poll predicted.

"'I am profoundly grateful for this massive and growing support from Costa Ricans,” Guevara said in a statement. “Our message is honest and transparent and the people have understood it.”"

"Guevara has benefited in recent months from receiving support from former and current members of the formerly dominant right-of-center Social Christian Unity Party (PUSC)."

Read more: http://www.ticotimes.net/2014/01/16/libertarian-candidate-otto-guevara-could-become-costa-ricas-next-president
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Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Social Christian Unity economists endorse Libertarian presidential candidate in Costa Rica

Unity economists break from party and endorse Libertarian presidential candidate / News Briefs / More news / Costa Rica Newspaper, The Tico Times:

"In the latest step in the descent of the Social Christian Unity Party (PUSC), a group of party economists are now voicing their support for Libertarian Movement Party candidate Otto Guevara, saying his embrace of the free market is the only solution to the twin electoral threats of socialism and a continuation of the current ruling party's culture of corruption.

"A former president of Costa Rica’s Central Bank and previous PUSC supporter, Jorge Guardia, attacked one of the rising opposition candidates.

"'The country faces an urgent political dilemma,' Guardia said at a Tuesday press conference. 'There exists the risk that José María Villalta, of the socialist Broad Front Party, could win the February presidential elections.'

"Guardia praised the Libertarian Movement presidential nominee as having the only economic plan to solve Costa Rica’s woes, such as its 8.9 percent unemployment rate. He said he made the switch because polls have shown that current PUSC candidate, Rodolfo Piza, has no chance to even reach the runoff."

"Recent polls have shown ... Villalta and ruling National Liberation Party nominee Johnny Araya, the former mayor of San José, as the front-runners. Most polls have placed Guevara in third place. If no candidate gets more than 40 percent of the vote on Feb. 2, the top two finishers will face a runoff."

Read more: http://www.ticotimes.net/More-news/News-Briefs/Unity-economists-break-from-party-and-endorse-Libertarian-presidential-candidate-_Tuesday-December-17-2013
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Thursday, August 8, 2013

Costa Rican Libertarian Movement members charged with election fraud

Costa Rican Prosecutor’s Office charges Libertarian Movement members with fraud / News Briefs / More news / Costa Rica Newspaper, The Tico Times:

August 5, 2013 - "Costa Rica’s Chief Prosecutor Jorge Chavarría on Monday reported that he had filed fraud charges against three members of the Libertarian Movement Party (ML) for alleged fraud committed against the Supreme Elections Tribunal (TSE) during the 2010 presidential elections.

"The charges were issued for reporting false expenses totaling ₡240 million ($480,000), money that was apparently used to pay for 190 'training courses.'

"Charged are Libertarian training manager Carlos Solano, treasurer Ronaldo Alfaro and the party’s accountant, Roger Segura. Presidential candidate Otto Guevara is not on the list of persons under investigation, the chief prosecutor said.

"TSE officials said the accusations surfaced after 'extensive research on three political parties suspected of committing crimes involving ₡698 million (some $1.4 million) provided by the state for financing the electoral process.'"

Read more: http://www.ticotimes.net/More-news/News-Briefs/Costa-Rican-Prosecutor-s-Office-charges-Libertarian-Movement-members-with-fraud_Monday-August-05-2013
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Monday, November 7, 2011

Costa Rican police raid Libertarian Movement office, arrested 2

Police raid Libertarian Movement Party office, two arrested / Top Story / Current Edition / Costa Rica Newspaper, The Tico Times - AFP:

Nov. 4, 2011 - "Agents from the Judicial Investigation Police and the Chief Prosecutor's Office's financial crimes unit Friday arrested two officials from the Libertarian Movement Party, or ML, and charged them with defrauding the government of hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign fund reimbursements after the party allegedly billed the government for dozens of political workshops that never took place....

"Carlos Solano, the party’s secretary of training, told prosecutors last Monday that 194 campaign workshops, for which the ML billed the Supreme Elections Tribunal ₡210 million ($412,000), never happened.... Solano said that in order to fake the workshops’ attendance documents, he and another employee, Luis Chavarría, collected signatures and identification numbers 'at any cost' between June 2009 and January 2010, leading up to the 2010 elections. Chavarría is an adviser to congressman Adonay Enríquez."

Read more: http://www.ticotimes.net/Current-Edition/Top-Story/Police-raid-Libertarian-Movement-Party-office-two-arrested-_Friday-November-04-2011
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