Monday June 27, 2022
  • Venezuela
  • Mexico
  • Colombia
  • Chile
  • Brazil
  • Argentina
  • Podcast
Versión Español
PanAm Post
  • Home
  • Regions
    • South America
    • North America
    • Central America
    • Caribbean
  • Politics
  • Economics
  • Opinion
  • Podcast
  • Authors
  • Contact
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Regions
    • South America
    • North America
    • Central America
    • Caribbean
  • Politics
  • Economics
  • Opinion
  • Podcast
  • Authors
  • Contact
No Result
View All Result
PanAm Post
No Result
View All Result

Home » 2014 Costa Rican Presidential Candidates Missing a Gender

2014 Costa Rican Presidential Candidates Missing a Gender

Andrew Woodbury by Andrew Woodbury
October 29, 2013
in Uncategorized
0
0
SHARES
0
VIEWS
FacebookTwitterTelegramWhatsapp
Laura-Chinchilla-claimed--001
Current Costa Rican President Laura Chinchilla

It was a monumental day in Costa Rican history; a day that was a long time coming but one that no one was sure would actually arrive; a day that demonstrated to the world, and to Costa Ricans themselves, that gender was only a word when it comes to politics. On that day, the Costa Rican people were proud to say they had elected their first female President.

That was February 7, 2010, and boy, how things have changed.

RelatedArticles

Fatou Bensouda, International Criminal Court

Who Is Fatou Bensouda? ICC Chief Prosecutor, Sanctioned by the United States

September 4, 2020
Maduro's New Order, Venezuela

Maduro’s “New Order”

July 11, 2020

The 2014 Costa Rican election season is now officially in full swing. With all presidential candidates named, there are six frontrunners who will vie to take over the country’s presidency in elections that will take place on February 2 of next year.

In the six candidates, there is a little bit of everything from the far left and the right to the environmentally conscious. A noticeably glaring omission, however, is something that the nation four years ago was proud to claim as their own: a female candidate.

While it’s naïve to chalk the omission up to a coincidence, the all-male field may be more representative of disdain for current President Laura Chinchilla than it does mark a change in national opinion regarding female leaders. Chinchilla may have been elected by a solid majority, but Election Day 2010 was by far the best day of her almost four year tenure.

Earning 47 percent of the vote, her approval rating was as high as it would ever be. Six months after the election, a study by national newspaper La Nación showed that only nine out of 100 Costa Ricans thought she was doing a bad job, with 41 percent saying she was doing either a good or great job. If we compare that with a recent study by La Nación, those numbers have done a complete 180. The study in July of this year showed that only 9 out of 100 gave their approval, with an overwhelming 60 percent disapproving of her efforts. More to the point, Chinchilla has the lowest approval rating of any of the last six Costa Rican governments.

On an international level, Chinchilla was also deemed in a 2012 study to have the lowest public approval rating of any president on the entire American continent. The precedent of female leaders in Costa Rica hasn’t been off to a great start.

The only woman who showed intent to run this time around was a former legislator named Epsy Campbell, and she failed to win her party’s nomination.

2014 Costa Rican Presidencial candidates before a national debate last week.
2014 Costa Rican Presidencial candidates before a national debate last week.

This round of candidates, though, is certainly not without faults. Otto Guevara, who is aspiring to the presidency for the third time and currently sits in second place in the polls, has legal cases pending against him for what are being called “financial irregularities” in his last campaign. The current leader in the polls, former San José mayor Johnny Araya Monge, demonstrated a disconnect with the voters last week when acknowledging ignorance on the cost of common household items.

But Laura Chinchilla they are not. Electing the first female President in the country’s history — and in such emphatic fashion — was and will continue to be a great moment for Costa Rica. After such a tumultuous term, however, every political party — including her own — with their nomination of all male candidates has stated that a break is needed. When elections happen once again in 2018, we will see how much of a stain Chinchilla has truly made in the eyes of Costa Ricans.

Tags: Costa RicaLaura ChinchillaPresidential Elections
Previous Post

Young People Breath Life into Latin America’s Liberty Movement

Next Post

Honduran Politicians: More Important than They Should Be

Andrew Woodbury

Andrew Woodbury

From Toronto, Canada, Woodbury is a Young Voices advocate, editor, and educator at the International Language Academy of Canada. Follow him @A_W10, and read more of his featured PanAm Post column, “Connecting the Dots.”

Related Posts

Three Signs That Elon Musk Has the World at His Fingertips
News

15 Republicans Who Voted Against Trump Are Already Facing the Consequences

February 1, 2021
Dollarization Advances in Venezuela with Debit Cards for Foreign Currency Accounts
Politics

Biden forbids linking COVID-19 with China

January 28, 2021
Dollarization Advances in Venezuela with Debit Cards for Foreign Currency Accounts
Analysis

Dollarization Advances in Venezuela with Debit Cards for Foreign Currency Accounts

January 28, 2021
Two Years of Guaidó: No Democracy in Venezuela, Corruption Multiplied
News

Venezuela: Where Corruption Is Covered up With More Corruption

January 25, 2021
Fatou Bensouda, International Criminal Court
Uncategorized

Who Is Fatou Bensouda? ICC Chief Prosecutor, Sanctioned by the United States

September 4, 2020
Maduro's New Order, Venezuela
Opinion

Maduro’s “New Order”

July 11, 2020
Next Post
Honduran Politicians: More Important than They Should Be

Honduran Politicians: More Important than They Should Be

Subscribe free and never miss another breaking story

  • Venezuela
  • Mexico
  • Colombia
  • Chile
  • Brazil
  • Argentina
  • Podcast

© 2020 PanAm Post - Design & Develop by NEW DREAM GLOBAL CORP. - Privacy policy

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Regions
    • South America
    • North America
    • Central America
    • Caribbean
  • Politics
  • Economics
  • Opinion
  • Podcast
  • Authors
  • Contact

© 2020 PanAm Post - Design & Develop by NEW DREAM GLOBAL CORP. - Privacy policy

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. Privacy and Cookie Policy.