COSTA RICA: Rodrigo Chaves elected president, 2022-2026

CENTRAL AMERICA - In Brief 04 Apr 2022 by Fernando Naranjo
Rodrigo Chaves, former minister of finance, won the presidential runoff on Sunday, April 3, according to preliminary results published by the Electoral Supreme Court. The turnout was one of the lowest in decades as voters expressed discontent with both candidates. Chaves won 52.8% of the valid vote while José María Figueres won 47.1%. The winner won in five of the seven provinces and in 53 of the 82 counties. Support for the elected president doesn’t mean support for his party, as clearly shown in the legislative election on February 6, which resulted in his only controlling 10 of the 57 seats. Many of those who voted for other parties in February went to the polls again on April 3, partly moved by his promises of fighting corruption and governing with transparency and austerity. He presented himself as a reformer of the established order and during the campaign he even stated that he would use referendums to bypass Congress. His relationship with the media has been tense. During the campaign he accused several newspapers of being biased in their information about him. The inauguration of the next administration takes place on May 8, 2022. The most urgent decision is appointing his cabinet. He has been a political outsider from Costa Rica, having lived abroad for more than 30 years, and little is known about his possible ministers or other high ranking officials. The new administration will face the challenges of finally overcoming the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, high unemployment, a poverty level close to 23% of the population and a fragile fiscal situation. The main risk could be political gridlock due to the inexperience of members of the Partido Prog...

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