Laura Fernandez, Costa Rica’s next president, aims to keep on populist path
Written by: Alvaro Murillo and Alexander Villegas
SAN JOSE, Feb 2 (Reuters) – Laura Fernandez will become Costa Rica’s next president, pushing her predecessor forward with a populist mandate that includes promises of constitutional reforms and the suspension of civil liberties to fight crime at a time of rising drug violence.
Fernandez, 39, built his career as a political advisor and civil servant at Costa Rica’s Ministry of National Planning and Economic Policy, where current President Rodrigo Chaves appointed him as minister in 2022.
An ardent supporter of Chaves, Fernandez became his private secretary before launching his own presidential campaign.
Legislator Pilar Cisneros, who leads the government faction in Congress and is seen as a key figure in Chaves’ rise to power, said a group of about 10 people close to Chaves, including the president, hand-picked Fernandez.
“Few people know the state as much as he does; he knows where those nodes are,” Cisneros said.
Known for his theatrical speaking style and taste in dancing, which he frequently displayed at campaign rallies, Fernandez was born in Esparza in the coastal Puntarenas province and grew up in the capital San Jose.
He is married with a teenage daughter and is a conservative Catholic with a strong family message, which has helped him gain support from growing evangelical groups in the country.
He spoke of his admiration for El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele, known for his tough approach against crime and gangs, and said he would enact states of emergency that would limit civil liberties in areas with high crime. He also vowed to finish construction of a high-security prison modeled on El Salvador’s CECOT mega-prison.
During the campaign, opponents accused Fernandez of being a “puppet” of Chaves and questioned his autonomy.
“He is the one who will govern – he will be president – but it would be foolish not to show that he has the support of Don Rodrigo. He is loyal to our political project,” Cisneros said.
Standing with his supporters in San Jose after declaring his victory, Fernandez promised a new era in politics in Costa Rica.
Announcing that the Central American country has entered a new political era, Fernandez said, “The change will be profound and irreversible.”
He said Costa Rica’s second republic, which began after the civil war in 1948, was “a thing of the past.” “It is in our hands to build the third republic.”
Fernandez will be Costa Rica’s second female president, after Laura Chinchilla, who governed the country from 2010 to 2014. Since leaving office, Chinchilla has held a number of positions at international organizations and universities and has become a vocal opponent of governments in Venezuela and Nicaragua.
He has also become one of the most outspoken critics of the current Costa Rican government and political movement, saying it is following the “predictable script” of other authoritarian leaders in the region. He called Fernandez “rude and populist” and a “bad copy of the president.”
(Reporting by Alvaro Murillo and Alexander Villegas, Editing by Rosalba O’Brien and Lincoln Feast.)
