From cars flying the red and yellow flag of Ottón Solís’ Citizen Action Party, to TV spots by Social Christian Unity favorite Abel Pacheco to daily newspaper ads by National Liberation hopeful Rolando Araya, voters are being bombarded from all sides by party images and last-minute propaganda.

However, the most important campaign event is saved for last: the concentración de fuerza rally– each party’s grand finale aimed at demonstrating the organizational and voter strength behind its candidate.

Pacheco, who leads the polls with 30 percent of the intended vote, held his party’s rally Sunday afternoon on Paseo Colón, in western San José.

While the event did not come close to drawing the 200,000 supporters expected to attend, the thousands who converged on the capital’s streets were not disappointed by the show.

Waving red and blue party flags, Unity faithful were bused and trained in from all over the country to participate in a march that featured musical performances, fireworks and dancers dressed in traditional carnival outfits. The event culminated with speeches by vice-presidential candidates Luis Fishman and Lineth Saborío, as well as a 15-minute address from the man-of-the-hour himself, Abel Pacheco.

In the folksy and conciliatory tone that has come to define his campaign, the 67-year-old psychiatrist stressed the importance of protecting the nation’s most vulnerable sectors: small farmers, the disabled and people living in poverty. He emphasized the importance of unifying the country to work toward common goals of development.

"The only flag is white, blue and red – the flag of Costa Rica," he said to a sea of red and blue flags. "After Feb. 3, there won’t be one group of winners, there will just be one family."

Upstart Solís, who is locked in a technical tie with Liberation’s Araya, will hold his own version of a concentración de fuerza Saturday afternoon from 12:00- 2:00 p.m. in San José’s Plaza de la Democracia. Consistent with the town meetings Solís has held throughout the country, Saturday’s rally will be modest, according to party organizers.

"This will be the culmination of a long process of dialogue," Gabriela Saborío, event organizer, told The Tico Times this week. "We are not going to put on a show like the big parties do. We have not done that in other parts of the country, and we are not interested in doing it now."

Although Citizen Action will not provide free transportation to the event, Saborío says the party is expecting a large turnout from various parts of the country.

"There are caravans coming from as far away as the Northern Zone," she said.

Araya, meanwhile, will hold his final rally at 3 p.m. Sunday on Paseo Colón.

Four massive columns of party supporters will march to Paseo Colón from the North, South, East and West of the capital. Upon converging, the rally will begin featuring cultural events, speeches from party leaders, music and large-screen videos.

"We are expecting 150,000 people – about four or five times the amount that showed up for Unity’s rally," Campaign Chief Johnny Araya told The Tico Times this week. "This will be our answer to the war over the polls. This rally will be the true measure of voter intention."

While the concentración de fuerza has traditionally helped galvanize the vote for the two major parties, campaign analyst Rodolfo Cerdas, of the political think tank CIAPA, says lower-than-expected turn-outs at this year’s rallies could potentially hurt the traditional-party candidates.

"As was the case with Pacheco last Sunday, the rallies can have a negative effect if the turnout is not as strong as the candidates promised," Cerdas told The Tico Times this week. "Now, Liberation must face the challenge of demonstrating its mobilization, organization and voter strength by drawing a larger crowd to Paseo Colón than Pacheco did."

On the same note, he added, Solís – who is not expected to live up to concentración de fuerza tradition – only stands to gain momentum by pulling off a successful public rally.

"Solís has wisely chosen a much smaller venue for his rally," he said. "It will take much fewer supporters to fill the Plaza de la Democracia."

 - Adapted from The Tico Times Online News