Oscar Arias Sanchez

Oscar Arias Sanchez (born 1941) was born in Heredia[?], in the central region of Costa Rica. Former President of the country (1986-1990) and Nobel Prize (peace, 1987) laureate. His office focused on providing housing for circa 80 thousand families, shifting exportations from so called traditional ones (bananas, coffee) to non-traditional ones (e.g. exotic flowers and fruits), giving more emphasis to tourism as an income source, and achieving political stability in the region of Central America.

He called for a higher level of integration in the Central America region and promoted the creation of the Central American Parliament[?] (Parlamento Centroamericano[?]). Ironically, until this day, the only central american country that hasn't yet subscribed to the treaty is Costa Rica. His office has been negatively criticized because of these efforts.

Arias also tried to improve the educational system in the country. The most notable action in this respect was the reintroduction of compulsory academic tests at the end of school and high school. These measures have been topics of much debate in the country ever since.