Victory for Private Enterprise

THE HEMISPHERE

COSTA RICA

A conservative lawyer named Mario Echandi, 42, won the presidency of Costa Rica last week from the quarreling heirs of left-of-center President Jose ("Don Pepe") Figueres. A tall, balding, eloquent man, who has promised to bring private capital back into such state-dominated fields as banking, power production and housing, Echandi triumphed in an election notably free of bloodshed or ballot juggling. His National Union Party, backed by two former Presidents, polled 103,326 votes. Figueres' chosen successor, Francisco Orlich, a former Public Works Minister, drew 97,102 votes, and Jorge Rossi, a maverick from the Figuerista ranks, got 23,307.

Descendant of an old Basque family, Echandi has served as Foreign Minister and Ambassador to the U.S., since 1953 has been an outspoken leader of the opposition in Congress. His fluent oratory and eccentric flair (he always dresses in a striking black suit, tie and hat, lunches at the Union Club but orders a favorite peasant dish of highly spiced rice and beans) gave him a needed advantage over Orlich, a dour, earnest candidate.

Businessmen were delighted with the victory for free enterprise. Taking defeat with his usual aplomb, Pepe declared: "I showed them how to run a country; now I'll show them how to oppose." First task for Oppositionist Figueres: patching up differences with maverick Rossi, who perhaps drained off enough votes to ensure Echandi's election. In the new Congress, Pepe will have 19 seats, to 19 for the two factions behind Echandi. Rossi, with five seats, holds the balance of power.

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