2010 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS
Costa Rica: Charges of
Plagiarism in Presidential Campaign
By Luis Diego Molina,
Habla Costa Rica
On February 7 of 2010, the general election
for 2010-2014 period will take place
across Costa Rica. The leading presidential
candidates are Laura Chinchilla of the
official party National Liberation Party (PLN),
followed by Otto Guevara of the Libertarian
Movement Party (ML), and with less popular
support are the candidates Ottón Solís of
Citizens' Action Party (PAC), and Luis
Fisman of Partido Unidad Social Cristiana (PUSC).
There are another five parties that are
considered to have a remote chance during
the campaign. In referring to the
presidential candidates this week, the word
plagiarism has gained prominence in the
Costa Rican blogosphere.
Several bloggers, including
Conejitos Suicidas [es] was
informed by the Twitter user @masala777, who
denounced the advertisement from the
Libertarian Movement candidate Guevara.
Currently in second place in terms of voting
intention, Guevara's ad consists of an open
hand and the slogan “Change now,” which
looks very similar to an image from a
Guatemalan Christian Church, named Word in
Action. The image from this activity called
Generation of Change can be seen here. In
reference to this subject, Conejitos said:
"El
caso no solo remite a lo
referente al plagio, sino
también a un tema de propiedad
intelectual, misma que todos los
que trabajan en este sector
saben que se trata de uno de los
sectores más desprotegidos por
nuestras leyes y autoridades, y
como no? si hasta alguien que
puede llegar a ser presidente
los plagia? ¿Será culpa directa
de los encargados de la
publicidad del ML, o de una mala
jugada de un colega? ¿Ustedes
que opinan?"
The case not only refers to the
plagiarism, but also to the
subject of intellectual
property, which is the same as
all those working in this field
know, that this is one of the
most unprotected sectors by our
laws and authorities, and why
not? if someone who can become
president can plagiarize? Is it
the direct fault of those
responsible for advertising in
ML (Libertarian Movement), or a
dirty trick from a colleague?
What is your opinion? |
Guevara is also
accused of plagiarizing the idea of
providing computers to students and student
centers from a document (.pdf) from the
Fondo Nacional de Telecomunicaciones
(National Telecommunications Fund),
according to the blog Manda Güevo [es],
which states:
"
los planes de gobierno en este
país son una verdadera cochinada
que al final no sirve de nada,
esto es conocido hasta por los
propios partidos políticos los
cuales ya no se desgastan
pensando en propuestas
innovadores y recurren al plagio
dentro de ellos."
the government's plans in this
country are a real dirty trick
that ultimately do not help,
this is known even by the very
own political parties, which do
not tire thinking about
innovative proposals and resort
to plagiarism within the
parties. |
The candidate
of the PUSC, Fishman was also accused of
plagiarism by the the blog Infierno en Costa
Rica [es] (Hell in Costa Rica), for its
latest advertising spot “El menos malo es el
mejor (video),” which means “The lesser evil
is the best” and the idea was based on a
scene from the Whoopi Goldberg film Sister
Act. Faced with this complaint the Costa
Rican newspaper La Nación, asked Fishman if
this was true [es], and he replied, “Yes,
and I don't care… if they say that it is a
copy, then I don't care. The idea was taken
from ‘Sister Act,' but they were nuns.”
These are the most recent cases of
plagiarism in political campaigns, however,
last year it was discovered that the
candidate for the Citizens Action Party,
Otton Solis took 19 paragraphs from the
strategic plan of the Costa Rican Social
Security Administration [es] for his own
government health plan the health area,
which the candidate acknowledged as an
error.
These examples can be frightening to the
bloggers who wonder how those who seek to
rule the country can be capable of such
actions. |
