Laura Fernandez is poised to become Costa Ricas next president, carrying forward a populist, hard-line security agenda that promises constitutional changes and temporary curbs on civil liberties in response to a sharp rise in drug-related violence.
According to Reuters, the 39-year-old conservative politician has emerged as the chosen standard-bearer of outgoing President Rodrigo Chaves, whose confrontational style and anti-establishment rhetoric have reshaped Costa Ricas traditionally moderate political landscape.
Fernandezs ascent is no accident: she was elevated from within the technocratic ranks of the Ministry of National Planning and Economic Policy, where Chaves appointed her minister in 2022, before she advanced to the powerful role of chief of staff. Her candidacy reflects a deliberate effort by Chaves and his inner circle to secure continuity for their political project, one that blends tough-on-crime policies with a populist critique of entrenched elites and institutional obstacles to reform.
Fernandezs political formation has been steeped in the machinery of the state, giving her a detailed understanding of Costa Ricas bureaucracy and fiscal constraints. Lawmaker Pilar Cisneros, who leads the government bloc in Congress and is widely viewed as instrumental in Chaves rise, acknowledged that a small group of about ten confidants, including the president himself, effectively hand-picked Fernandez as his successor.
Few people know the state like she does she knows where the knots are, Cisneros said, underscoring the perception among Chaves loyalists that Fernandez is uniquely positioned to push through structural changes. That insider knowledge, conservatives argue, could be critical in dismantling regulatory bottlenecks and bureaucratic inertia that have long frustrated efforts to modernize the countrys institutions and confront organized crime.
Her public persona, however, is far from technocratic. Known for a theatrical speaking style and a penchant for dancing at campaign rallies, Fernandez has cultivated an image that blends populist flair with a disciplined policy background. Born in Esparza, in the coastal province of Puntarenas, and raised in the capital, San Jose, she presents herself as both provincial and urban, a bridge between Costa Ricas periphery and its political center.
This dual identity has helped her connect with voters who feel abandoned by traditional parties and who now face the daily reality of escalating drug violence.
Fernandezs personal life and religious convictions have also become central to her political brand. Married with a young daughter, she is a conservative Catholic who emphasizes family values, a message that has resonated strongly with Costa Ricas growing evangelical communities.
Her appeal to these faith-based constituencies reflects a broader regional trend in which socially conservative voters are rallying behind leaders who promise order, moral clarity, and a tougher stance on crime. For many of these voters, Fernandezs commitment to traditional values offers a counterweight to progressive social agendas and to what they see as the moral relativism of the global left.
On security, Fernandez has made no secret of her admiration for El Salvadors President Nayib Bukele, whose uncompromising crackdown on gangs has drawn both praise and condemnation across the hemisphere. She has openly cited Bukeles model as an inspiration, stating that she would declare states of emergency in high-crime zones, measures that would temporarily restrict certain civil liberties in order to restore public order.
She has further pledged to complete the construction of a high-security penitentiary modeled on El Salvadors CECOT mega-prison, a facility designed to isolate the most dangerous criminals and break the operational capacity of organized gangs. For many conservatives, these proposals represent a long-overdue recognition that soft-on-crime policies and judicial leniency have failed to protect law-abiding citizens.
Critics, however, have seized on Fernandezs close relationship with Chaves to question her independence and to warn of creeping authoritarianism. During the campaign, opponents repeatedly labeled her a puppet of the outgoing president, suggesting that real power would remain in Chaves hands even after he leaves office.
Cisneros rejected that characterization, insisting that Fernandez will govern in her own right while still drawing on Chaves political capital. The one who is going to govern is her she will be the president but she would be foolish not to show she has Don Rodrigos backing. She is loyal to our political project, Cisneros said, framing loyalty not as subservience but as a commitment to a shared mandate for change.
Standing before jubilant supporters in San Jose after declaring victory, Fernandez cast her win as the beginning of a historic transformation rather than a mere change of administration. Change will be deep and irreversible, Fernandez said, proclaiming that Costa Rica was entering a new political era after decades of what she and her allies portray as complacent, establishment rule.
She went further, declaring that Costa Ricas second republic, born out of the 1948 civil war, is a thing of the past, and adding, Its up to us to build the third republic. For her base, this rhetoric signals a willingness to challenge long-standing political arrangements and to confront institutions that, in their view, have shielded criminal networks and entrenched interests.
Fernandez will be only the second woman to lead Costa Rica, following Laura Chinchilla, who governed from 2010 to 2014 and later became a prominent figure in international organizations and academia. Chinchilla has since emerged as one of the fiercest critics of the current government and its movement, positioning herself firmly against what she describes as a regional pattern of authoritarian populism.
She has argued that the Chaves-Fernandez project follows a predictable script seen in other Latin American countries where leaders centralize power under the banner of anti-corruption and security. Chinchilla has not minced words about Fernandez personally, calling her rude and populist and a bad copy of the president, language that underscores the deep ideological divide between Costa Ricas old guard and its new populist right.
As Fernandez prepares to assume office, Costa Ricans face a stark choice between competing visions of their countrys future: one that prioritizes aggressive security measures, institutional overhaul, and a reassertion of conservative social values, and another that warns of the risks to civil liberties and democratic norms.
Supporters argue that constitutional reforms and emergency powers are necessary tools to confront cartels and criminal gangs that have exploited legal loopholes and institutional weakness, while opponents fear that such tools could be turned against political dissent and independent media.
What is clear is that Fernandezs presidency will test the resilience of Costa Ricas democratic traditions and determine whether a third republic grounded in law and order, family values, and a more assertive state can deliver the safety and stability that many citizens now demand.
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