National Integration Party (Costa Rica)

The National Integration Party (Spanish: Partido Integración Nacional) is a conservative political party in Costa Rica. The party mainly endorses perennial candidate Dr. Walter Muñoz Céspedes, a San Jose medical doctor and five times presidential candidate, normally with testimonial results surrounding 1% or less of the votes. In the past 2018 election it endorsed the candidacy of former minister and defense lawyer Juan Diego Castro reaching 9% of the vote, although Castro and the party angrily split pathways soon after the election.

National Integration Party

Partido Integración Nacional
PresidentDr. Walter Muñoz Cespedes
Secretary-GeneralMarta Floribeth Cordero Rivera
TreasurerRóger Bejarano Morejón
First vice presidentRaúl Ernesto Bermúdez Jiménez
Second vice presidentVivian González Trejos
Founded30 January 1996 (1996-01-30)
HeadquartersImagenes medicas building, 2nd floor, Calderon Guardia Square, San José
IdeologyNational conservatism
Social conservatism
Economic nationalism
Political positionRight-wing
ColorsLight blue, Blue
Legislative Assembly
3 / 57
Mayors
0 / 82
Alderpeople
9 / 508
Syndics
7 / 486
District councillors
40 / 1,944
Intendants
1 / 8
Website
Official website

The party first contested general elections in 1998, in which it won a single seat,[1] taken by Walter Muñoz Céspedes, who was also their candidate in the presidential election, where he finished fourth with 1.4%. However, the party lost its seat in the 2002 elections in which it received 1.7% of the vote. In the presidential election that year Muñoz finished sixth with just 0.4%. In the 2010 elections the party received only 0.8% of the vote and remained without parliamentary representation, whilst Muñoz won just 0.17% of the vote in the presidential elections. In that election, the party's vice-presidential candidate was the historic leftist leader and professor Álvaro Montero Mejía. However, two weeks before the election, the party stopped its campaign and endorsed Otton Solís, from Citizens' Action Party, in an effort to build a progressive alliance against Laura Chinchilla, candidate of the National Liberation Party. For the 2014 election Muñoz was, again, both presidential and legislative candidate gaining around 3000 votes (0.21%), the least voted candidate in that election.[2] In 2016 Costa Rican municipal elections, the party won the syndic of the district of Santa Cruz for its candidate Arcadio Carrera. In 2020 Costa Rican municipal elections, Carrera is running for Mayor of Santa Cruz. Incumbent Vicemayor of Golfito, Hannia Herra, elected originally by the National Liberation Party in 2016 election, joined the party and is also presenting her candidacy for Mayor of Golfito for the 2020 process. Carrera and Herra's platforms are mainly seen as progressive and even leftist, opposing domination of beach areas by big resorts in their respective cantons.

According to Muñoz the party opposes taxes, immigration, same-sex marriage and same-sex civil unions,[3] and it also supports public monopoly of fuel distribution.[4] Party supports state control of price for medicines, which are unregulated in Costa Rica.[5] It also has opposed reduction on public healthcare budget for combatting cancer disease.[6] A party's congresswoman, Patricia Villegas, has been specially known for her efforts on modernizing national law on HIV disease, in order to promote human rights of HIV positive people.[7]

References
  1. Nohlen, D (2005) Elections in the Americas: A data handbook, Volume I, p175 ISBN 978-0-19-928357-6
  2. Resultados Electorales: Total General Tribunal Supremo de Elecciones. 2014-02-17. (in Spanish)
  3. Arrieta, Esteban (8 June 2017). "¿Qué piensa el PIN de migración, impuestos y matrimonio gay?" (in Spanish). La República. Retrieved 1 November 2018.
  4. https://www.elmundo.cr/costa-rica/pin-eliminar-monopolio-recope/
  5. https://www.elmundo.cr/costa-rica/proponen-controlar-precios-de-medicamentos/
  6. https://www.elmundo.cr/costa-rica/aprueban-proyecto-que-reduce-en-un-5-recursos-para-el-programa-de-lucha-contra-el-cancer-de-la-ccss/
  7. https://www.diarioextra.com/Noticia/detalle/404675/dejan-en-firme-reforma-a-ley-de-vih
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