Top 10 Incredible Facts about Oscar Arias Sanchez

Óscar Arias by MadriCR from Wikimedia Commons

Top 10 Incredible Facts about Oscar Arias Sanchez

Costa Rican activist and Nobel Peace Prize winner Scar Arias Sánchez was born on September 13, 1940, in Heredia. From 1986 to 1990 and again from 2006 to 2010, he served as the country’s president.

For his efforts to end the Central American crisis, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1987. A trustee of Economists for Peace and Security, he was also the Albert Schweitzer Prize for Humanitarianism’s laureate. He was chosen to serve on the board of directors of the Trust Fund for Victims of the International Criminal Court in 2003.

Here are 10 other things you probably didn’t know about him.

1. He has a degree in Law and Economics

His next step was to move to the United States, where he enrolled at Boston University with the idea of studying medicine. However, he quickly left and returned to Costa Rica, where he eventually earned degrees in law and economics from the University of Costa Rica.

When he arrived in the UK in 1967, Arias enrolled at the London School of Economics. In 1974, the University of Essex awarded him a doctorate in political science. Awarded almost fifty honorary degrees, including doctorates from Harvard University, Princeton University, Dartmouth College, Oberlin College, Wake Forest University, Ithaca College, and Washington University in St. Louis, Arias’ academic accomplishments span a wide range of academic fields.

2. Arias successfully ran for president in 1986

Óscar Arias by Ricardo Stuckert/PR from Wikimedia Commons

The biggest social democratic party in Costa Rica, the National Liberation Party (PLN), welcomed Arias as a member. On that party’s presidential ticket in 1986, he ran and won. During Arias’s administration, Costa Rica’s economy changed from being dependent on conventional cash crops like coffee and bananas to one that is more focused on non-traditional agriculture (including the production of exotic fruits and flowers) and tourism.

His administration came under fire from certain PLN members for rejecting the party’s social democratic ideals and pursuing a neoliberal economic system. Despite belonging to an officially social democratic party, he is today frequently considered a neoliberal.

3. Arias received the 1987 Nobel Peace Prize

With the assistance of Rodrigo Madrigal Nieto and John Biehl, two of his peers from England, Arias was awarded the 1987 Nobel Peace Prize for his contributions to the Esquipulas II Accords. During a period of intense unrest, this strategy was designed to advance democracy and peace on the Central American isthmus. Leftist guerrillas were waging war against US-backed governments in El Salvador and Guatemala under the guise of the Cold War; US-backed rebels, the Contras, were waging war against Nicaragua’s Sandinista government;

As a base for American military forces, Honduras was forced to act as a middleman while Panama, on Costa Rica’s other border, suffered under Manuel Noriega’s military dictatorship. Panama had only recently wrested democratic control from its military. The different violent conflicts were brought to an end within a decade with Arias’ assistance (the Guatemalan civil war was ultimately put to an end in 1996).

4. Arias promoted the creation of the Central American Parliament

The Central American Parliament was then advocated for by Arias, who then asked for a greater level of integration in the region (Parlamento Centroamericano). Arias has affirmed that Costa Rica will not participate in the Central American Parliament during his current term in office.

The nation’s educational system was also altered by Arias. The reinstatement of standardised academic assessments at the conclusion of primary and secondary education was the most important development in this regard.

5. Arias challenged a clause forbidding former presidents to seek re-election 

Guiterrez Arias Seated by Department of Commerce from Wikimedia Commons

A provision barring previous presidents from running for office again was included in the Costa Rican constitution in 1969. This was contested by Arias before the Sala IV, the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice of Costa Rica, which initially denied his application in September 2000.

The 1969 constitutional amendment prohibiting re-election was challenged in 2003 by a group of Arias backers, and this time the verdict in April 2003 struck down the restriction against non-consecutive re-election.  Ex-president Luis Alberto Monge blasted this move as a “state blow” or “coup d’état.”

6. Arias was reelected as President in 2006

In 2004, Arias declared his intention to run for president again in the general elections in February 2006. He was the only former president still alive at the time who wasn’t either incarcerated, facing an accusation, or the subject of an investigation.

Although numerous news outlets and private polling firms had predicted for years that Arias would win with a significant lead, the election was first declared too close to call. After a manual recount, the results were made public a month later on March 7. Centre-left candidate Ottón Sols was defeated by Arias by 18,169 votes (1.2% of the total valid votes cast), just missing the 40 percent barrier needed to win the presidency in a single round. At 12 p.m. on May 8, 2006, at the National Stadium, he took the oath of office. He said that the criticism of his opponents had worn him out in his speech on September 15, 2008.

7. Arias served as a mediator in the 2009 Honduran constitutional crisis

Honduras political crisis by eduardoferreira from Wikimedia Commons

During the 2009 Honduran constitutional crisis, Arias started acting as a middleman between Zelaya and Micheletti. Arias spoke with representatives of the two Hondurans on numerous occasions, but no deal had yet been reached.

Due to constitutional term restrictions, Arias was initially barred from serving another term by Costa Rica’s constitutional court; but, in contrast to Honduras, this was overturned through the use of legal procedures with the permission of the Costa Rican Sala IV court. On November 29, 2009, Honduras will hold fresh elections. 

On July 2, 2009, Micheletti’s administration declared its willingness to hold this year’s presidential election early. The interim government judged Arias’ seven-point proposal, which demands Zelaya’s restoration to the presidency, unacceptable. Zelaya’s team agreed to the Arias proposal “in general,” but Micheletti’s representatives objected to the crucial element of Zelaya regaining control of Honduras.

8. Arias was affected by tendinitis

Arias experienced tendinitis in August 2007, and in April 2008, lumbar muscle problems forced him to cancel some workouts. After several weeks of progressively worsening speech difficulties, Arias visited the Philadelphia Ears, Nose, and Throat Associates medical facility in the United States on May 20, 2008, when it was discovered that he had a nonmalignant cyst on his vocal cords.

It was therefore revealed on May 21 that physicians had recommended he refrain from speaking for a month, warning that if this did not help, surgery might be considered. Arias received an H1N1 influenza diagnosis on August 11th, 2009, but made a full recovery.

9. At some point Oscar was blamed for compromising the local biodiversity

Even after his tenure as president came to an end, he continued to be the subject of controversy. The Spanish firm Autopistas del Sol’s route from Escaz to Caldera had received harsh criticism over the years for its exorbitant charges and perilous routes (which had to undergo heavy maintenance to prevent further rock slides). Oscar Arias was also accused of inviting a Canadian company to do extensive mining that would jeopardise the local ecology.

Following Arias’ abrupt criticism of the then-president Laura Chinchilla Miranda, who was widely regarded as a successor, their licences were cancelled under the Chinchilla Miranda government, giving the perception of Arias-Chinchilla animosity.

10. Arias was accused of rape

Alexandra Arce von Herold, a psychiatrist and anti-nuclear activist, made a formal rape allegation against Arias at the Public Ministry in 2019. Three additional women have since come forward to accuse Arias of sexual assault and harassment as a result of her claim. Arias refuted the accusations. Arias was cleared of all allegations of sexual harassment in December 2020.