In the elections of February 1994, Costa Ricans distinguished me with the honor of electing me their president, position I held from May 1994 until May 1998. The organizing principles of our government work was advancing a platform of Sustainable Development. We actively build a balance between economic, social and environmental policies. We promoted renewable energy. In 15 we imported the first electric vehicle and bus to Costa Rica. Furthermore, we created a system of payments for environmental services which we financed with a tax in carbon emissions. We also promoted many other policies that made the environment an opportunity for economic growth and well being.
Based on Sustainable Development we consolidated two clusters of economic activity in which we were convinced our country had competitive advantages. The first was ecotourism, which linked the beauty of our national parks with the employment and investment in tourist facilities throughout the country. The second cluster was high technology, based on our successful bid to bring Intel to Costa Rica with an investment of 600 million dollars in 1996-1997. Today, these two clusters are the main economic drivers of our country and the main source of employment.