Dr. Rodolfo Hernández pulls out of Costa Rica’s presidential race

UPDATED at 4:00 p.m., Thursday, October 3

Dr. Rodolfo Hernández Gómez, the Social Christian Unity Party’s presidential candidate announced Thursday that he was no longer running for office, according to a statement from the former candidate, as provided by Semanario Universidad.  

Dr. Hernández described a campaign riddled with party infighting, where he faced “backstabbing” from his own party, comparing himself favorable to the Biblical story of Cain and Abel.

The former-PUSC candidate said he never imaged that he would face so much “intrigue, envy, egoism, betrayal and disloyalty.”

“This is not the democracy I dreamed of, this is not the party I always defended. This is not what I wanted for Costa Rica,” Hernández wrote in his jeremiad.

The doctor said that he plans to return to his previous position as director of the National Children’s Hospital.

Hernández came in second place in a national poll of the candidates by the daily La Nación, behind frontrunner Johnny Araya of the National Liberation Party and former mayor of San José.

The PUSC candidate’s resignation from the race comes one day after the 2014 election season started on Wednesday.

Hernández was the only candidate from a major party not to attend the kick-off event at the Supreme Elections Tribunal in San José. Victor Vargas, the candidate press chief, told The Tico Times then that Hernández had a previous meeting schedule with his erstwhile vice presidential candidates.

“The motivation has left me, and I don’t think it will come back before Feb. 2,” he concluded.

This story is developing. Follow updates at ticotimes.net.