Underdog Candidate Rodrigo Chaves Elected President of Costa Rica

Rodrigo Chaves Robles was elected as the 49th President of Costa Rica after a run-off election held this Sunday April 3, 2022, against former President José María Figueres. The underdog candidate, a former World Bank top official and former Finance Minister of Costa Rica accused of sexual misconduct, will take over the government on May 8.

With more than 98% of the votes counted by the Supreme Electoral Court of Costa Rica (TSE), Chaves had almost 53% support, while Figueres got a little more than 47%. Abstentionism was over 43%, almost a record for a run-off election, and just two months after a first electoral round that recorded the lowest participation ever.

This means that, of all the people who could vote this Sunday, only about three out of ten directly supported Chaves, who got in the run-off election by coming second in the first round with a vote sum that represented around 10% of the eligible voters. He will become the less supported president to rule in Costa Rica ever.

Figueres, who has been looking for re-election for more than a decade, acknowledged Chaves’ victory soon after the first results were announced. The National Liberation Party (PLN), which Figueres represented and the one that has won more presidencies in the country’s recent history, has lost three elections in a row, something never seen before.

Still, the PLN has the biggest fraction in the Legislative Assembly, with 19 deputies. On the other hand, Chaves’ party —Social Democratic Progress (PSD)—, only has ten members in Congress. Everything indicates it will be impossible for the Executive branch of government to pass legislation without negotiating with the PLN.

No fraud claims

For all the bad records Costa Rica has broken during this electoral process, it must be said that the country has also survived another election without fraud claims. At a moment and in a region where electoral systems are being questioned as a means to confound citizens, Costa Rica had the virtue to have no doubts cast about the result.

Nevertheless, there is fear among some sectors of the population and of the political class about the dangers Chaves may represent for democracy. The elected President and his proposals —such as making referendums for everything— have been depicted as populist and as a recipe for autocracy, but this remains to be seen.

Current President Carlos Alvarado congratulated Chaves on his victory and compromised to a smooth transition of power in May. “I extend my best wishes to him in the tasks that he will face as the 49th President of Costa Rica. Congratulations Costa Rica for a new democratic day!,” Alvarado tweeted on Sunday night.

The United States and the European Union have also congratulated Chaves on becoming the next Costa Rican President. The governments of Argentina, the Dominican Republic, and El Salvador were also among the ones who sent best wishes to Chaves, along with the political opposition of Venezuela and Nicaragua.

The United Nations expressed its “commitment to work closely with the President-elect and the Executive Power, as well as with the Legislative Assembly, the Judiciary, local governments and other sectors of the Costa Rican society within the framework of the values and cooperation of the United Nations.”

The credit rating agency Moody’s, which recently revised Costa Rica’s economic outlook to “stable,” showed “surprise” by Chaves’ victory. Through a spokesperson, Moody’s warned that Chaves will need to build coalitions with other parties to govern, which is not easy in a country that has no political culture around coalitions.

“Sucess on this front will likely have a strong influence on Costa Rica’s credit prospects,” the spokesperson said, according to La Nación newspaper. Moody’s and the other two big rating agencies, S&P and Fitch, regard the country’s deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which Chaves questions, as crucial for its future.

Chaves will soon reveal his cabinet

At a press conference this Monday, Chaves announced that starting next week he will be revealing gradually the members of his administration. Today, he announced his Vice Presidents Stephan Brunner and Mary Munive as the coordinators of the economic and social teams of his government, respectively.

Chaves also confirmed that Natalia Díaz, who was a presidential candidate with fringe support in the first electoral round, will become one of the ministers of the coming cabinet. He didn’t rule out the option of keeping some of the ministers of the current government, but chances are “low”, according to an interview he did with Channel 7.

The elected President said that a team of people will interview at least three candidates for each government position. “We will not ask them about who they voted for. Instead, we will ask them what do they think should be done with said institution,” he explained this Monday. His idea is to have a hiring process just like in any private company.

“There was a revolution in Costa Rica on April 3 and it is not an exaggeration,” Chaves said. “It is something that has not happened before and that fundamentally changes the nature of what the government is going to be,” he added, a quote that fuels the fears some have around the suspected threat to the Costa Rican welfare State that Chaves poses.

Before getting into the presidential race, Chaves’ was Finance Minister for six months until May 2020. He had discrepancies with President Alvarado. Before that, he was country director for the World Bank in Indonesia, but was demoted because of accusations of sexual harassment and misconduct as result of an internal investigation that was not disclosed until 2021.

Since those accusations rose, the feminist movement has been opposed to his candidacy. To make things worse, new sexual abuse accusations are being spread through social media. Women’s rights groups have deeply lamented his victory and criticized that his presidency means that the country has a misogynistic culture that makes men unaccountable despite of proof that they are abusers.

The United Nations addressed these concerns in its institutional message congratulating Chaves. “The UN made a special call to the new authorities to put the fight for gender equality as a key axis of action and achieve full respect and support for women’s rights,” the press release said.