From appeal to crisis: discursive, ideological, and electoral dynamics in the trajectory of the Libertarian Movement in Costa Rica (1998-2022)

Abstract

The emergence and transformation of the Libertarian Movement (ML) in Costa Rica has been recognized as part of the processes of party fragmentation and a response to disillusionment with the traditional statist model. However, there is a gap in the literature regarding the structural and contextual conditions that enabled its emergence, as well as the discursive mechanisms and electoral dynamics associated with its rise and subsequent decline, leading to the question: how did the ML integrate into and evolve within the Costa Rican political system? This study addresses that question through a qualitative methodology that combines thematic content analysis of programmatic documents, public speeches, and electoral platforms with a longitudinal analysis of electoral performance based on official data from the Supreme Electoral Tribunal. The main findings indicate that the ML was initially able to capitalize on public discontent through the promotion of classical liberalism, but its ideological flexibility, inability to adapt to new social demands, and internal crises were associated with its gradual electoral collapse, evidenced in the 2018 and 2022 elections. This study is significant because it contributes, from a political psychology perspective, to understanding how ideologically disruptive political phenomena may initially channel popular dissatisfaction, but also how the lack of programmatic consistency and organizational renewal can contribute to their decline or reconfiguration in fragmented political systems such as Costa Rica's.