I was very active in the administration end of the University. The country's two main parties, Liberation and Unity, have encouraged people who are dissatisfied with the government to send a message by abstaining from voting, Thomas said. By doing so, the parties hope to assure themselves 40 percent of the vote necessary to win the election. In the past, Costa Rica has had a more than 90 percent voter turnout, said Tony Andersen, honorary Costa Rican consul to Minnesota. In contrast, the U.S. voter turnout was only 49 percent in 1996.
Election day is almost a fiesta.
Costa Rica has a grand history of democracy that goes back 150 years or more. It is the longest standing, real democracy in Latin America. Though Thomas talks little of his days at the University, he says he has fond memories of his professors and his college experience. Andersen, who met Thomas on a trip to Costa Rica, said Thomas would be a very capable candidate. Always dig deep, there's always much more underneath.