A Christian singer and former preacher is leading the presidential polls in Costa Rica. Fabricio Alvarado Munoz might just beat the ruling party's candidate as voters elect a new leader come Easter Sunday.
The 43-year-old songwriter, who has previously expressed his opposition to gay marriage, has enjoyed a lead in the polls since February. In particular, the conservative from the Christian group, the National Restoration Party, has received immense support coming from neo-Pentecostal churches in the rural areas, with his stand against political corruption also strongly resonating with the underprivileged.
Alvarado Munoz's closest rival is the 38-year-old Carlos Alvarado Quesada, who once served as Costa Rica's labor minister. Alvarado Quesada has the support and the machinery of the ruling administration's left-wing group, the Citizens Action Party. He also backs gay marriage and proposes a platform for curbing government spending, education and environmental protection.
At the start of the campaign, polls revealed that the candidates, who are poles apart when it comes to their beliefs, background and education, almost had an equal share of the votes.
Alvarado Munoz's campaign in the last few weeks of the elections, however, has been trying to reach new demographics. He has expanded his platform to cover plans on infrastructure, economy and sports.
The former preacher has also vowed to end the secular mindset when it comes to gender ideology. He wants to remove sex education in schools, as well as restrict abortion laws.
His views aren't popular with everyone. One voter, Julia Ruiz, who called Alvarado Munoz a fundamentalist threat, told reporters that she and her friends were planning to dress like characters on "The Handmaid's Tale" to protest against the preacher. Alvarado Quesada, on the other hand, has his own critics and detractors, especially from sectors that have grown tired of the unpopular administration's governance.
Voters in Costa Rica will head to the election precincts on April 1.
