In the first referendum in Costa Rican history, a majority approved the Central America-Dominican Republic-United States Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), a issued debated along the last four years. The tally was close, 51.6 percent of the ballots were for the YES, while 48.4 percent came close to making of Costa Rica the only country in the world to discard a free trade agreement with the largest market in the planet. Some analysts pointed out that the NO vote was unexpectedly high, particularly after the intensive campaign led by President Oscar Arias in favor of the pact. On the other hand, abstentionism was high; at 40 percent, it was higher than the one recorded in the 2006 presidential election.