Costa Rica elected its first woman president, Laura Chinchilla, on February 7, 2010, a triumph not only for Chinchilla’s Liberación party, but for Costa Rican women in general. Those who consider Costa Rica another male-centered Latin American country can now see the country in a whole new light. In fact, Chinchilla’s victory is part of an existing move away from traditional Latin American “machismo.” Laura Chinchilla now becomes the fifth Latin American woman to become president of her country, following woman presidents in Nicaragua, Panama, Chile and Argentina.
In her victory speech on election night, Laura Chinchilla promised to fight crime in the downtown San José area, to make Costa Rica the first carbon-neutral country in the world, and, in general, to help Costa Rica become the most developed nation in Latin America.
Read more about Laura Chinchilla’s victory speech.
Writing and editing by Beaumont Hardy Editing.
