The president of Costa Rica, Carlos Alvarado, announced on Wednesday an effort to strengthen governance in response to a scandal over suspicions of breach of private information that caused several resignations in his cabinet.
Municipal elections in Costa Rica have struggled with low turnout in the past but those who did vote said they did so out of a sense of patriotic obligation.
Politicians, who often accuse others of undermining their work, should be the first ones to realize that their words and statements have an impact. Serious damage is done when we make “politician” into an insult or, even worse, something that looks like a crime on someone’s résumé.
Historian and political scientist Luis Guillermo Solís on Thursday became the 47th president of Costa Rica amid high expectations for change from voters who want corruption rooted out of politics and more policies to reduce social inequality.
In her last major public speech before leaving office, Costa Rica’s Laura Chinchilla spoke for nearly three hours Thursday night about the perception of her presidency, her administration’s strategies and achievements, and the country’s continued progress in democracy and social development. But on her administration’s many failures, it was mostly finger pointing.
