Laura Chinchilla Elected First Female President of Costa Rica

2 years ago

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Washington Reporter

Laura Chinchilla won Costa Rica's presidential election Sunday with 47 percent of the vote, becoming the first woman to lead the Central American nation. Inside Costa Rica reports that her two male opponents conceded before even half the votes had been counted.

Chinchilla, 50, is a career politician who has held numerous positions in the Costa Rican government and served on the cabinet of outgoing President Oscar Arias. She was previously a public safety minister, a congressional deputy, vice president of the cabinet, and a justice minister. She supports liberalizing the nation's economic policies and its state-run electricity and telecommunications industries.

According to Reuters, Chinchilla is a social conservative who opposes gay marriage and has pledged to keep the Roman Catholic church as the country's state religion. Throughout the campaign she wore a rosary for good luck and was often showered with them by supporters on the trail.

Tagged: costa rica, CostaRica, daily guidance, DailyGuidance, elections, laura chinchilla, LauraChinchilla, social conservative, SocialConservative, voting

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