Román Macaya
Román Macaya Hayes (born September 19, 1966) is a Costa Rican entrepreneur, biochemist, and politician. He is most known for his adamant opposition to the Dominican Republic – Central America Free Trade Agreement. He was a presidential pre-candidate for the Citizens' Action Party.
Life
He was born on September 19, 1966 in the state of Florida, obtained a Ph.D in biochemistry from the University of California, Los Angeles and a master's degree in Business Administration from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He is a member of Costa Rica's Junta Directiva de la Cámara Nacional de Agricultura y Agroindustria (roughly translated as Board of Directors of the Agriculture and Food Industry National Chamber), and President of Costa Rica's National Industry of Agrochemicals Association. He is also former President of the Chamber of Entrepreneurs for Costa Rica, which strongly opposed both CAFTA and DR-CAFTA. He is head of the family-owned exporting company Rimacsa.
On March 4, 2009 he made public his intention to become the Citizen's Action Party's official presidential candidate, his candidature being applauded by Ottón Solís, Epsy Campbell Barr (the other precandidates), and deputy José Merino del Río, leader of Broad Front. He was ultimately defeated on May 31, 2009 during the PAC's National Convention.