Laura Fernández of the conservative Pueblo Soberano party has been elected President of Costa rica,marking a notable moment for the Central American nation. Fernández secured a first-round victory on Sunday, February 2nd, garnering 48.5% of the vote and avoiding a runoff election [[1]]. The result signals a continuation of the policies of outgoing President Rodrigo Chaves, as Costa Rica faces ongoing challenges including rising insecurity and economic concerns.
Fuente de la imagen, Getty Images
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- Author, Atahualpa Amerise
- Author Title, BBC News Mundo
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Reading time: 4 min
Laura Fernández has won the Costa Rican presidential election in the first round and will succeed Rodrigo Chaves as the country’s leader.
The candidate from the conservative Pueblo Soberano party secured 48.5% of the vote, according to results released Sunday by the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE), with more than 88% of polling stations reporting.
Álvaro Ramos of the National Liberation Party came in second with 33.3%, followed by Claudia Robles of the Citizen Agenda Coalition with 4.8%. Abstention reached 30%.
Fernández won the presidency without a runoff election by surpassing the 40% threshold of valid votes required by electoral law.
Voter turnout was 66.96%, higher than in the previous 2022 elections, which saw less than 60% participation.
Image source, Getty Images
Promise of Continuity
“Costa Rica has voted for the continuation of change,” Fernández said in her first address, as her victory became irreversible.
She pledged to “lead a government of dialogue and national concord, respectful of and firm in the rule of law” capable of “creating greater well-being and prosperity.”
“Mr. President, I will continue to make our jaguar economy roar,” she proclaimed, in one of several references to Rodrigo Chaves.
She also delivered a strong message to opposition forces, which she asserted “must be oversight bodies but also proactive.”
“The obstructionist and sabotaging opposition that only seeks to provoke the government’s failure wears us all out and hinders the fight for prosperity and the well-being of our country,” she added.
Her supporters celebrated the election results with chants and sky-blue flags at the party headquarters in San José.
Image source, Getty Images
The Candidate of the “Rodriguismo”
The election campaign was marked by public concern over insecurity, which the population considers the country’s main problem due to the increase in homicides, most of which are attributed to disputes between drug-related gangs.
Fernández, the candidate of the Pueblo Soberano Party – a force economically liberal and socially conservative created in 2022 – focused her discourse on the promise of a “tough” policy against organized crime.
Her proposals include the possibility of declaring states of exception in conflict zones, reforms to the Judiciary and criminal laws, and completing a maximum-security mega-prison inspired by the model of the President of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele.
The official candidate also defended the sale of state assets, such as the Bank of Costa Rica, and the construction of a metropolitan electric train, in addition to insisting during the campaign on the need for the ruling party to achieve a qualified majority in the Legislative Assembly to push through structural reforms.
Fernández presented herself during the campaign as the political “heir” to Rodrigo Chaves, a leader with a confrontational style and critical discourse towards the traditional political class who ends his term with a positive image of over 58%, according to polls cited during the campaign.
Image source, Getty Images
Her supporters often identify as “rodriguistas,” a direct reference to the outgoing president.
The Chaves administration has highlighted a 5% economic growth, a reduction in unemployment from 13% to around 7%, negative inflation, and a drop in poverty to 15.5% in 2025, according to official data repeatedly cited by the official campaign.
These economic indicators, along with the discourse against corruption of traditional parties, have been some of the main pillars of the message Fernández has conveyed to voters.
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