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DE RUEHSJ #0443/01 0552058
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 242058Z FEB 06
FM AMEMBASSY SAN JOSE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4364
INFO RUEHZA/WHA CENTRAL AMERICAN COLLECTIVE
RHMFISS/HQ USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL

C O N F I D E N T I A L SAN JOSE 000443 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR WHA/CEN 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/22/2016 
TAGS: PINR PGOV PREL CS
SUBJECT: BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION ON OSCAR ARIAS 
 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Mark Langdale for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
¶1. (U) Oscar Arias Sanchez was elected on February 5, 2006, 
as the first repeat president in Costa Rica since 1970. 
Winning by a 1.12 percent margin (18,000 votes out of 1.62 
million cast), Arias comes to office without the sweeping 
mandate he expected.  He was permitted to run for president 
because of a controversial 2003 Supreme Court ruling that 
overturned a ban on reelection.  Arias's enemies consider his 
reelection to be illegitimate.  Fiercely independent, 
patriotic, egotistical and idealistic, Arias will face 
enormous economic challenges as he attempts to reverse the 
damage done by years of ineffective governance.  He will 
assume office on May 8, 2006, and is clearly looking forward 
to returning to the international stage where he will pursue 
a "moralistic" foreign policy.  Arias speaks fluent English. 
 
Upbringing 
---------- 
¶2. (U) Arias was born into one of Costa Rica's wealthiest 
coffee-producing families on September 13, 1940, in the town 
of Heredia, near San Jose.  The Arias family had been heavily 
involved in politics for several generations at the Cabinet 
and Legislative Assembly level.  Arias attended a public 
primary school and then attended a private high school (Saint 
Francis).  He briefly enrolled at Boston University where he 
intended to study medicine but instead returned home to study 
law and economics at the University of Costa Rica, receiving 
a bachelor's degree in 1966.  At the university, Arias began 
his life-long involvement with the National Liberation Party 
(PLN).  Arias continued his studies in England at the 
University of Essex and the London School of Economics.  His 
graduate thesis, "Pressure Groups in Costa Rica," earned him 
the 1971 National Essay Prize. In 1974, he received a 
doctoral degree in Political Science at the University of 
Essex.  While in England, Arias participated in protests 
outside the U.S. Embassy against the Vietnam War. 
 
¶3. (U) Arias taught political science at the University of 
Costa Rica and married Margarita Penon on April 27, 1972. 
They had two children (Sylvia Eugenia born in 1975, and Oscar 
Felipe born 1979) before divorcing in 1990.  Due to his 
rising status within the PLN and work in the third successful 
presidential campaign of Jose Figueres, Arias was offered the 
Ministry of Planning and Economic Policy in 1972--a post he 
retained under the Oduber Administration until stepping down 
in 1977 to run successfully for a seat in Congress in 1978. 
Arias became Secretary General of the PLN in 1981.  In 1986, 
Oscar Arias was elected to his first term as president of 
Costa Rica. 
 
¶4. (U) In 1987, President Arias drafted a peace plan to end 
Central America's multiple armed conflicts.  Widely 
recognized as the Arias Peace Plan, his initiative culminated 
in the signing of the Esquipulas II Accords by all the 
Central American presidents on August 7, 1987.  In that same 
year he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.  In 1988, Arias 
used the monetary award from the prize to establish the Arias 
Foundation for Peace and Human Progress.  Under the auspices 
of the Foundation, three programs were established:  The 
Center for Human Progress to promote equal opportunities for 
women in Central America; the Center for Organized 
Participation to foster change-oriented philanthropy in Latin 
America; and the Center for Peace and Reconciliation to work 
for demilitarization and conflict resolution in the 
developing world. 
 
Family 
------ 
¶5. (C) Arias relies heavily on his brother, Rodrigo, who 
managed his campaign and is the only person who has 
faithfully remained at his side since he left office 16 years 
ago.  The brothers are often referred to as one unit, "Los 
Arias," even by the likes of Laura Chinchilla, who shared the 
ticket with Oscar, and by many of Oscar's handpicked 
candidates for the Legislative Assembly.  The brothers take 
pride in never disclosing differences.  According to Rodrigo, 
their only difference is that he is more patient and 
conciliatory whereas Oscar is more aggressive.  A campaign 
insider summed up the relationship as, "Oscar reigns and 
Rodrigo governs."  In a recent interview, Oscar called 
himself a dreamer while his brother is the one who "gets 
things done."  (In the same interview, Oscar claimed that he 
and Rodrigo had much in common with JFK and Robert Kennedy.) 
Rodrigo will serve as Minister of the Presidency which is 
similar to Chief of Staff but with control of the 
intelligence service.  This was the only cabinet-level 
appointment Oscar would acknowledge before the elections. 
According to one well informed source, Oscar's dependence on 
his brother has grown significantly since the death of his 
mother and his divorce deprived him of the constant 
protection and encouragement he seems to require. 
 
¶6.  (C) Arias's famously bitter divorce from Penon has 
apparently become less bitter over the years.  He now speaks 
highly of her, and she says they have a cordial relationship. 
 Nevertheless, she supported Otton Solis, Arias's political 
opponent, for president.  Arias is very proud of his son whom 
recently graduated summa cum laude from Harvard and is now 
studying at the London School of Economics.  He also claims 
to have a close relationship with his daughter. 
 
Personality 
----------- 
¶7.  (C) Though intelligent and literate, Arias has always 
been socially awkward and uncomfortable making public 
appearances.  He is the antithesis of the gregarious and 
back-slapping politician.  We suspect he is happiest thinking 
deep thoughts in his library/study or plotting political 
strategy alone with his brother.  A self-described nerd, he 
loves books and opera.  While waiting for election results, 
he said he read Dostoevsky.  His heroes include Churchill and 
Mother Teresa.  If not a politician, he said he would have 
like to have been a poet, violinist, or pianist. 
 
¶8.  (U) Asthmatic from birth, Arias has publicly acknowledged 
that his personality reflects his mother's constant concern 
for his health.  Arias has said that he grew up "reading 
books and wearing sweaters rather than playing football with 
other children."  Since childhood, his ambition was to become 
president.  Arias's daughter and members of his previous 
cabinet describe him as persistent, ambitious, idealistic, 
cultured, but perfectionist and arrogant.  He has low 
tolerance for those he believes are talking nonsense or 
wasting his time. 
 
¶9.  (C) Arias has the voice and movements of a man much older 
than his 65 years.  He often slouches when sitting and is 
unexpressive.  He is slow to respond to questions.  What he 
says seems to be carefully measured.  He sometimes exhibits 
wry and even self-deprecating humor, but with a thin smile, 
not a laugh.  He often refers to his Nobel Prize and his many 
honorary doctorate degrees.  He is also a notorious 
name-dropper and loves to be linked to the rich and famous, 
e.g., Jane Fonda, Paul Newman, Robert Redford, Whoopi 
Goldberg, the entire Kennedy family, John Kerry, Felipe 
Gonzalez, and fellow Nobel laureates.  Despite his phlegmatic 
and lugubrious bearing, Arias enjoys a reputation as a lady's 
man. 
 
Attitude Towards the United States 
---------------------------------- 
¶10.  (C) Arias is both an admirer and critic of the United 
States.  He travels frequently to the United States and has 
many contacts there in government, academia, and NGOs, as 
well as personal friends.  He speaks frankly to USG 
interlocutors and does not hesitate to criticize U.S. foreign 
policy.  His most frequent criticisms concern U.S. 
"unilateralism," the "unacceptable and illegal doctrine of 
preemptive war," U.S. opposition to wholesale disarmament, 
and insufficient generosity to developing countries.  On the 
other hand, he approves of U.S. efforts to negotiate free 
trade agreements that provide developing countries with 
greater access to the U.S. market.  He calls himself a 
"fierce believer" in the importance of a strong private 
sector and foreign investment in order to generate 
employment.  Regarding his friendship with several prominent 
Democrats in the U.S. Congress, he expressed disappointment 
to us about their position on CAFTA:  "They supported my 
peace accords because they were against Reagan.  Now they 
don't support CAFTA because they are against Bush." 
 
Wealth 
------ 
¶11. (U) In the wake of the 2004 corruption scandals that 
eventually tainted all Costa Rican ex-presidents since Arias, 
many voters seemed attracted to Arias because he presumably 
has no need to steal public funds and apparently did not do 
so last time he was President.  Arias's enemies searched 
diligently for evidence of corruption throughout the campaign 
without success.  In addition to coffee, the Arias family has 
large holdings in several sugar plantations and a sugar 
refinery (El Tabagon).  Arias's personal wealth lies in his 
investment portfolio, the true value of which is unknown. 
Arias resigned from the board of Grupo Sama, a major 
investment firm, before launching his campaign, but still 
owns 14.75 percent of the firm.  Arias also owns stock in a 
number of other investment firms according to the campaign 
declaration he was required to file with the Comptroller 
General's office.  These firms are:  Adral Corporation (100 
percent), Inversiones La Lillyana (33.3 percent), Montaras 
del Norte (33.3 percent), and Futuros Oras (50 percent). 
Futuros Oras currently holds an investment account with 
Morgan Stanley worth USD 579,000 according to Arias's 
declaration.  Missing, however, from the declaration is the 
value of Arias's house, a local landmark near the U.S. 
Embassy.  Arias receives roughly USD 2,650 per month in 
pension payments plus a dividend of USD 40,000 per year from 
his investment in El Tabagon. 
LANGDALE