The popularity of Costa Rican president Óscar Arias has increased comparing to last year, according to a poll by Unimer published in La Nación. 50 per cent of respondents think Arias has done a good or very good job in leading the Central American country, up six points since last July. Arias—a member of the National Liberation Party (PLN)—won the February 2006 presidential election with 40.92 per cent of all cast ballots. Arias headed the government from 1986 to 1990, and was able to run again after the Costa Rican Legislative Assembly opted to bring back presidential re-election in 2003. He was sworn in for the second time in May 2006.
In 1987, Arias was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his mediation in a peace deal that ended years of bloodshed in Central America. In 2007, Costa Rican voters ratified the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) in a nationwide referendum.
On Mar. 25, Arias said he received a letter from Buddhist spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, asking for his help in initiating talks with China over recent clashes with protesters in Tibet. Arias said the Dalai Lama wants to “sit down [with Chinese authorities] and talk like civilized people,” adding, “Nobody is asking for independence for Tibet. The Dalai Lama has never asked for that. What is at stake is preserving the autonomy of Tibet.”
Arias referred to the Tibetan spiritual leader as his “personal friend.” Last year, Arias severed his country’s long-standing ties with Taiwan and established diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China.
