By Natalie M.

Recently in Costa Rica, there was a tight presidential election between Carlos Alvarado, a labor minister and his opponent Fabricio Alvarado, an evangelical pastor. Although they have the same last name, they’re not related. Fabricio was against having same sex marriage while Carlos was a supporter of it.

After more controversy over whether people of the same sex should marry, new Costa Rican president, Carlos Alvarado, chose to be in favor of gay marriage.

Recently, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights started to require countries to respect rights of same sex couples. This is a court where human rights for individuals of American countries are decided.

This however, struck a chord in Fabricio Alvarado. Fabricio was very much against this new proposal, to the extent where he threatened to leave the court if he was elected into office.

Many Southern American countries have already legalized gay marriage while others still have not.

The two candidates are more similar than one would think– including the last name. They both had journalism backgrounds and are very passionate about music. Not only that, but the opponents had similar views on problems in Costa Rica, such as the unusual murder rate, or the country’s deficit.

At the end of the day, it came down to whether or not same sex marriage should be legal. With president Carlos Alvarado in office now, Costa Rica is favoring gay marriage.