Through his association with the PLN Arias became devoted to the twin goals of social equity and antimilitarism (Costa Rica had abolished its armed forces under Figueres in the 1940s).
Arias worked feverishly in the unsuccessful presidential campaign of the PLN's Daniel Oduber, gaining insight into political realities, and when he graduated with his bachelor's degree in 1966, he determined to continue his studies abroad. For the next three years he studied in England at the University of Essex and the London School of Economics, where his graduate thesis (published in 1971) had the provocative title ¿Quien gobierna en Costa Rica" (Who Governs Costa Rica"). This work was virtually a sequel to a book published in 1970, after his return to his native country; Grupos de presión en Costa Rica (Pressure Groups in Costa Rica). Hence, by the age of 30, Arias had an unusual set of credentials: he was a highly-educated, extremely well-traveled, published political thinker and activist. He was on the fast-track within the PLN.
Teaching political science at the University of Costa Rica, Arias was offered--and accepted--the crucial post of minister of national planning and political economy on the cabinet of Pepe Figueres, again president.
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