No menu items!

COSTA RICA'S LEADING ENGLISH LANGUAGE NEWSPAPER

HomeElections 2018PHOTOS: Costa Rican presidential candidates hold debate at La Reforma prison

PHOTOS: Costa Rican presidential candidates hold debate at La Reforma prison

Seven of the 13 presidential candidates hoping to make it to Casa Presidencial next Feb. 4 debated Thursday in the gymnasium of La Reforma, Costa Rica’s largest prison.

“I hope you feel at home here,” said an unidentified inmate who welcomed the candidates to La Reforma, 15 km west of San José, on Thursday evening.

The candidates sat at an U-shaped table at the center of the space, while inmates from various prisons around the country sat in the bleachers to watch the debate, organized by the University of Costa Rica (UCR). Before the event began, candidates were able to interact with the inmates.

The unit where the debate was held houses inmates with light sentences or who have demonstrated good behavior during their incarceration.

AFP Photo / Ezequiel Becerra

The candidates who participated included frontrunner Antonio Alvarez Desanti (National Liberation Party), Carlos Alvarado (Citizen Action Party), Rodolfo Hernández (Social Christian Unity Party), Oscar López (Accessibility Without Exclusion Party), John Vega (Workers’ Party), Sergio Mena (New Generation Party) and Fabricio Alvarado (National Restoration Party).

 

 

Juan Diego Castro, a lawyer and former Security Minister who has promised mano dura against crime and is running second in the polls, was among the six candidates who chose not to attend.

AFP Photo / Ezequiel Becerra

Many of the prisoners’ questions were related to prison policies, the fight against crime and ways to improve the general population’s quality of life.

López drew applause when he opined that many prisoners in jail today should not be behind bars at all, and that the country’s biggest tax evaders should be put there instead.

AFP Photo / Ezequiel Becerra

 

Inmates are allowed to vote in Costa Rica. Justice Ministry figures indicate that Costa Rica’s total prison population is 36,038, including all of the various levels of detention. Most of its prison facilities feature inadequate conditions and overcrowding that has often exceeded 50 percent, while the current administration claims to have reduced overcrowding to 28 percent with the construction of new facilities and alternative sentencing policies.

 

https://ticotimes.net/tico_longform_post/preventive-prison

Trending Now

El Salvador NGO Flees to Guatemala as Bukele Intensifies Crackdown on Critics

The prestigious NGO Cristosal, which investigates corruption cases and denounces human rights violations in El Salvador, announced Thursday that it has been forced into...

Costa Rica Celebrates 201st Annexation Anniversary With New Nicoya Park

Nearly 200 people joined the Municipality of Nicoya this Sunday to inaugurate a new park at the Annexation Monument, an initiative that blends recreation,...

Costa Rica Shines Once Again in This High-Quality Travel Video

A new 4K video now circulating online offers a fresh view of Costa Rica’s natural settings—one that captures our country's popular as well as...

El Salvador Sees Big Gains from Bitcoin Price Surge

El Salvador has gained $443 million from the rise in Bitcoin's value, a cryptocurrency the country began acquiring nearly four years ago under the...

Cosby Show Star Malcolm-Jamal Warner Dies in Costa Rica Drowning Accident

Malcolm-Jamal Warner passed away at 54 from an accidental drowning. He gained fame as Theo Huxtable on "The Cosby Show," playing the son in...

Costa Rica Reports Surge in Human Trafficking Cases

The General Directorate of Immigration (DGME) has reported 36 confirmed victims of human trafficking for commercial or sexual purposes in Costa Rica during the...
spot_img
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Travel Insurance
Costa Rica Rocking Chait
Costa Rica Travel

Latest News from Costa Rica