San Jose: In a landmark election that could reshape Costa Rica’s political landscape, Laura Fernández, a 39-year-old former minister and close ally of outgoing President Rodrigo Chaves, has secured the presidency, pledging to extend the contentious populist agenda that has marked the nation over recent years. Fernández’s emphatic win signals continuity in a political project fueled by hard-line security commitments and broad institutional reform.
Fernández, representing the conservative Sovereign People’s Party (PPSO), emerged as the clear favourite after Sunday’s vote concluded, building on her reputation as a dynamic political operator and a prominent figure within Chaves’s administration. Prior to her presidential campaign, she served as planning minister and Chaves’s chief of staff roles that gave her deep insight into the inner workings of government and positioned her as a leading voice for continuity and change within the ruling faction.
Addressing supporters in San José following her victory, Fernández declared that Costa Rica was entering a “new era” of politics, asserting that the country’s Second Republic, established after the 1948 civil war, was drawing to a close. She articulated a vision of forging a “Third Republic” marked by decisive governance and structural transformation a message that resonated with voters concerned about crime, corruption, and economic stagnation.
A central pillar of Fernández’s campaign was her pledge to confront soaring drug-related violence that has eroded Costa Rica’s long-standing reputation for peace and security. She advocated for the use of states of emergency in high-crime districts measures that would temporarily limit certain civil liberties and promised to complete construction of a maximum-security prison modelled after El Salvador’s controversial mega-prison project. Her admiration for El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele and his tough-line tactics has drawn both support and sharp criticism.
Fernández’s victory not only underscores her personal political rise but also reflects broader shifts within Costa Rican society. Many voters, weary of rising homicides and gang influence linked to international drug networks, have gravitated toward Fernández’s promises of order and stern enforcement. This trend mirrors a wider pattern seen across parts of Latin America, where leaders advocating strong executive action on crime have gained traction amid public frustration with traditional party politics.
Despite her triumph, Fernández faces staunch opposition from critics who argue her approach risks undermining democratic norms. Former President Laura Chinchilla Costa Rica’s first female head of state and once a beacon of the country’s centrist political tradition has emerged as one of Fernández’s most vocal detractors. Chinchilla has publicly warned that the current movement follows a “predictable script” observed in other regional populist leaders, raising concerns about potential erosion of institutional independence and civil liberties.
Opposition voices also characterized Fernández as too closely aligned with Chaves, questioning her autonomy despite her efforts to assert her own leadership. In response, Fernández maintained she would govern with both loyalty to her political project and responsiveness to the broader needs of Costa Rican society.
Fernández will take office as Costa Rica’s second female president, following Chinchilla’s tenure from 2010 to 2014 a historic milestone in a country where women’s leadership has been steadily increasing but remains a subject of ongoing social evolution. Her administration begins against the backdrop of an electorate deeply divided by security, governance, and the future role of the state in addressing pressing societal challenges.
As Fernández prepares to assume the presidency, analysts anticipate intense political effort to balance firm security policies with preserving democratic institutions a dual challenge that may define Costa Rica’s trajectory in the years ahead.