Costa Rica Elects a Trump Ally |
Welcome back to Foreign Policy’s Latin America Brief.
The highlights this week: Costa Ricans vote in presidential elections, Venezuela considers an amnesty law, and the region readies a small but strong delegation for the Winter Olympics.
Welcome back to Foreign Policy’s Latin America Brief.
The highlights this week: Costa Ricans vote in presidential elections, Venezuela considers an amnesty law, and the region readies a small but strong delegation for the Winter Olympics.
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Venezuela’s brash, big-government political movement of Chavismo—named for former President Hugo Chávez—is fighting for its survival in the wake of the U.S. capture of Chávez’s successor, Nicolás Maduro, last month. But to the north, a different flavor of Chavismo is on the rise.
On Sunday, Costa Rican voters chose Laura Fernández, the handpicked successor of outgoing right-wing President Rodrigo Chaves, to be their next leader. Fernández vowed to double down on Chaves’s policies and even suggested she could install him in her cabinet.
Chaves will leave office with an approval rating of nearly 60 percent; Fernández was elected with a more than 14 percent margin over her nearest challenger. Chaves’s popularity is striking considering that his 2022 victory was a surprise to many observers. In an election marked by low turnout, Chaves edged ahead by bashing more centrist parties as corrupt elites.
In office, Chaves cut public spending and erected new barriers to asylum. But he struggled to carry out much of his policy wish list, frequently butting heads with the legislature.
Fernández will not have the same problem: Sunday’s election delivered her a congressional majority. She has pledged to privatize public banks and finish building a maximum-security prison that Chaves began. Like her predecessor, Fernández has signaled close cooperation with the United States.
A key throughline from Chaves to Fernández is their tough-on-crime posture. Homicides in Costa Rica rose to their highest level during the Chaves administration, jumping by around 50 percent between 2021 and 2023 alone. Crime was a leading issue among Costa Rican voters on Sunday, according to........