PAC Grows with Unity Support
By Rebecca Kimitch
Tico Times Staff
rkimitch@ticotimes.net

Traditional party lines continued to disappear Friday as two long-time loyalists of the Social Christian Unity Party (PUSC) announced their adherence to the Citizen Action Party (PAC).

Victor Morales and Oscar Aguilar, who both once sought the presidency under the Unity flag, said Friday they will throw their support behind PAC presidential candidate Otton Solís in the Feb. 5 elections.

The two politicians are the latest in a wave of changing party alliances, as traditional party loyalties have faded away in recent years. PAC in particular has been the recipient of various former leaders of the two traditional parties that, for decades, made up Costa Rica's now faded two-party system – Unity and the National Liberation Party (PLN). Solís, himself, was a member of Liberation until forming PAC in 2000.

Only months ago, Morales was fighting to be the Unity presidential candidate and later a Unity legislator, both of which he was denied. He was Labor Minister under the administration of former President Miguel Angel Rodríguez (1998-2002).

Despite his efforts to attain leadership positions under Unity, Morales denied that he joined PAC for political aspirations. He said in PAC there is no room for personal aspirations, only room to construct the party's vision for the country.

Morales said his party switch was based on PAC defending the social Christian principles he has always defended.

“I am of the belief that parties should be in the service of the country, of the people. I had to do something when (PUSC) switched to serving only its leadership,” he said. “There is room in PAC for everyone, everyone who wants to construct a Costa Rica for the people.”

“I'm not leaving (Unity), they are throwing me out because they have thrown out the ethical principles of their politics,” Morales continued.

For his part, Aguilar said ethics also motivated his switch to PAC.

He told the press his decision to leave the ruling Unity party was made when President Abel Pacheco said, while defending Costa Rica's official support of the Iraq war, that if forced to chose, he would prefer the mass death of Iraqi children over the mass death of Costa Rican children.

Aguilar was a Unity leader for 22 years, served as a legislator under Unity and recently became the first Costa Rican to head the PanAmerican Institute of History and Geography, an entity of the Organization of American States (OAS).

Solís called both Aguilar and Morales “honorable” leaders and said many Costa Ricans are turning to PAC because they are frustrated with the traditional parties.

“I'm making a call to all the people of Unity and Liberation who are undecided,” Solís said.