The Other Guevara

Reason interviews Costa Rica's Libertarian revolutionary

Julian Sanchez | August 12, 2003

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The young are another key constituency. For one, they often have access to the Internet, through school, and so they have a sharper sense that the traditional way of doing things in Costa Rica isn't the only way of doing things. They worry about whether the public pension system is going to be there when they're older. The young are basically experiencing the collapse of the old system. They've seen 18 or 24 percent inflation annually, and they realize that it doesn't have to be that way. They also see that it makes more sense, under the status quo, to just put money in a government CD than to work because of that uncontrolled inflation. The revolutionaries of the 60s and 70s were all socialists. Now the natural impulse of youth to rebel is being channeled against the socialist establishment.

One way we've really engaged the young is with the idea of self-ownership. Fashions like tattooing and piercing, these really indicate a tremendous degree of individualism. The core idea is that it's your body to do with as you wish, to use as a means of self-expression. Sexual liberty, the freedom to use drugs, these are all areas where our position is appealing to the young.

There's also a huge, subterranean informal economy that's opposed by the larger, established companies. So I became the defender of the informal sector, "el diputado pirata." Someone wants to import and sell a used car... we said, "what's the problem?" Used clothing, used shoes, these are big markets, and we thought it was absurd that there should be legal obstacles to people trading in these things. Libertarian ideas became associated, not with big capital, but with the right of poor people to work. That allowed us to do a kind of end-run around one sort of prejudice against our ideas.

How did you fall on the question of war in Iraq?

Well, the president of Costa Rica supported it, and so did the people. Movimiento Libertario was the first party to come out against the war, and others followed. The legislature ultimately passed a resolution supporting the war, but I think we also led many to question their support. And some of the further questions about the justification of the war that have been raised over the last months have undermined to some extent trust in government, when even a great government like that of the United States isn't above suspicion.

Does what ML does in Costa Rica have implications for libertarians in the United States?

Well, given the electoral system you have here, a different strategy might be needed. I don't see the major parties changing the winner-take-all, first-past-the-post voting system. So perhaps, as an America, I would explore something like Ron Paul's strategy instead. The key for us was exposure, and if you don't necessarily have your own candidates, then it's important to incorporate certain people with a national profile, who can give your positions credibility.

It's also possible that Costa Rica could be a sort of a "pilot project." It's a small county, with around 4 million inhabitants, and a fairly socialistic past. Our example could provide you with a very clear cut "before and after," in the same way people who support pension reform in the United States can point to some of the successes in the South. Then you can go to Congress and say "Listen, guys, this thing I'm proposing... they've done it there, so let's look at how it went."