05-04-2018: Latin American Weekly Report

After an electoral process characterised by multiple twists and turns, Costa Rica’s presidential run-off delivered yet another surprise on 1 April – a landslide victory for Carlos Alvarado Quesada of the ruling centre-left Partido Acción Ciudadana (PAC). Up until voting day, surveys had shown him in a dead heat with Fabricio Alvarado Muñoz of the small conservative Partido Restauración Nacional (PRN), whose surge ahead of the 4 February first round (which he won) had caused a major upset [WR-18-05].