The 5 March marked a series of historic firsts in Costa Rica. The most significant of these is that Luis Guillermo Solís will become the centre-left Partido Acción Ciudadana (PAC)’s first president on 8 May, breaking the political stranglehold the Partido Liberación Nacional (PLN) and the Partido Unidad Social Cristiana (PUSC) have held on power since 1930. This much became clear after another historic first, at least since the country’s return to democracy in 1949: Solís’ PLN rival, Johnny Araya, pulled out of the second round run-off scheduled for 6 April.