“There’s a big demand for hope, but a little supply,” former president of Costa Rica Carlos Alvarado said, speaking to University of Connecticut law students last Thursday, April 3.
“I do see things that demonstrate that we can work for a better future, and I like to share that vision rooted in concrete examples. It’s not fiction,” added Alvarado, who, despite controversy, pushed for Costa Rica to be a leader in clean renewable energy and supported the legalization of same-sex marriage during his time as Costa Rica’s 48th president from 2018 to 2022.
His advice comes as Costa Rica is holding deportees from various different countries for the United States. The Trump Administration’s push to accelerate deportations has resulted in a wave of migration and detainments that countries like Costa Rica are trying to manage.
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Alvarado Quesada said the institutions of Costa Rica are trying to sort out the best way to deal with the situation, but it reminds him of his own experience in office.
“When I was in office in 2018, there was a big crisis in neighboring Nicaragua,” he said, referring to political unrest that left tens of thousands of Nicaraguans looking for refuge in Costa Rica. “Looking back, those were difficult times, but it also reminds me that there are positive ways to deal with difficult situations again.”
Asked what to tell people who feel like the democratic process is too slow, as issues get stalled in Congress, Alvarado replied that it is important to believe in democracy and the values of freedom that it encompasses.
“I think it was more optimistic than I am, but I think maybe that is a good thing. Maybe I needed to hear that perspective,” said Damla Yasemin Ipek, the 22-year-old international law student from Germany studying at the UConn School of Law, of Alvarado’s response to her question.
Ipek said his answer left her with a lot to think about.
“I think it was more optimistic than I am, but I think maybe that is a good thing. Maybe I needed to hear that perspective,” she said.
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“It’s very disheartening sometimes, but I think if we always only think about the bad things that are happening, we won’t be able to do anything about it,” she said. “I liked [Alvarado Quesada’s] optimism, and I’m gonna take that as my personal mission to also be more optimistic.”
A better tomorrow for democracy
Alvarado said the world is entering a new age, but those who believe in democracy cannot give up on it. Rather, those people should participate in democracy to bring about change.
“I think the world now is in a tough spot, but that doesn’t mean that we cannot give a better course to things,” he said. “My hope is rooted on action. On working. On persistence.”
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Ultimately, Alvarado said he wanted to remind UConn students how “there are reasons to be hopeful and how we can exercise our agency into building and crafting that tomorrow.”
With notes from Ctpublic.org
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