Laura Chinchilla was elected president in Costa Rica’s election on Sunday. A former justice minister and vice president, Ms. Chinchilla nabbed 47% of the vote, easily outpacing her campaign rivals.
Long known as a halcyon enclave amidst the poverty and lawlessness of Central America, Costa Rica has fell victim to its geography of late. Crime is on the rise, and while still tame by most comparisons, the murder rate now doubles that of Chile. Improving security was the centerpiece of Ms. Chinchilla’s campaign. Speaking to a crowd just before the election she said, “Central America could be the last battlefield of war taking place between Colombia and Mexico.”
Suspicions are that former president Óscar Arias will hold sway under Chinchilla’s term. Both of her campaign opponents depicted her as a puppet of Arias, who won the Nobel Peace Prize for his role in the end to Central America’s wars in the 1980s.
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