Yesterday at 7 am, José María Figueres entered the tent for the first time. He seemed calm and peaceful, but he didn’t have the smile and the joy he had on Sunday.
Figueres took the microphone, greeted and, just like Sunday night, he told Álvarez to be calm. He declared himself optimistic and even considered that the numbers could favor him with the vote of Cartago and Limón. However, he did not smile or make jokes.
That initial message didn’t have excessive optimism. Perhaps, that muted smile was the preamble to what would later be confirmed.
He sat down with some collaborators, exchanged words with reporters and encouraged them to ask him for off-the-record forecasts (without official confirmation) of the vote. He then left for a while.
At 11:30 am, The Internal Court confirmed Álvarez’ advantage: 45.5% versus 38.3%.
Figueres reappeared smiling and with a face that concealed the bitterness of defeat.
His sons, his mother Karen Olsen, his girlfriend Cynthia Berrocal and Mario Quirós, his campaign manager were with him.
He quickly accepted his defeat. He congratulated Álvarez, but insisted that he could be the right person to lead the country.