Right-Wing Academic Laura Fernández Elected President of Costa Rica in Landslide Victory

Right-wing political scientist Laura Fernández was elected president of Costa Rica on Sunday in a landslide victory, pledging a tough crackdown on violence linked to cocaine trafficking that has surged in the Central American nation in recent years.

With more than 40 percent of the vote, Fernández crossed the threshold needed to avoid a runoff election, prompting her closest rival, center-right economist Álvaro Ramos, to concede defeat.

After 81.24 percent of polling stations were counted, Fernández—widely seen as the political heir of outgoing President Rodrigo Chaves—secured 48.94 percent of the vote, while Ramos received 33.02 percent, according to preliminary results.

As the early results were announced, supporters of Fernández’s Sovereign People’s Party erupted in celebration across the country, waving Costa Rica’s blue, red, and white striped national flag. Chants of “Viva Rodrigo Chaves” echoed through the crowds, a nod to Fernández’s political mentor.

Speaking via video message at the party’s official election-night event in the capital San José, the 39-year-old president-elect thanked Chaves for his trust and said his political legacy was now “in safe hands.”

She pledged to fight “tirelessly” to ensure Costa Rica continues on a path of “economic growth, freedom, and above all, the progress of its people.”

Home to about 5.2 million people and famed for its white-sand beaches, Costa Rica has long been regarded as an oasis of stability and democracy in Central America. In recent years, however, the country has evolved from a mere transit route for drugs into a key logistics hub for global cocaine trafficking.

The infiltration of Mexican and Colombian drug cartels has sparked turf wars within local communities. As a result, Costa Rica’s homicide rate has risen by 50 percent over the past six years, reaching 17 killings per 100,000 inhabitants.

Fernández has cited El Salvador’s hardline President Nayib Bukele as an inspiration in her fight against crime. Bukele, who was the first foreign leader to congratulate her, has drawn international attention—and criticism—for jailing tens of thousands of suspected gang members without formal charges.

Analysts say Fernández’s victory underscores a broader rightward shift in Latin American politics, fueled by public anger over corruption and crime. In recent years, conservatives have also gained power in countries including Chile, Bolivia, Argentina, and Honduras.

President Chaves previously elevated Fernández from relative obscurity, appointing her as planning minister and later chief of staff. In a phone interview Sunday night, Chaves said he was confident that under Fernández’s leadership Costa Rica would see “neither dictatorship nor communism.”

Although violence increased during Chaves’s tenure, he deflected blame toward the judiciary, accusing courts of being too lenient on criminals.

Voters such as 27-year-old Jessica Salgado said she supported Fernández as a candidate of continuity, despite rising violence.

“Violence has increased because they are going after the real masterminds,” Salgado said. “It’s like pulling rats out of a sewer.”

Costa Ricans also voted on Sunday to elect members of the country’s 57-seat legislative assembly. Partial results showed Fernández’s party winning around 39 percent of the vote.

Critics, however, fear Fernández could attempt to amend the constitution to allow Chaves to return to power after her four-year term. Under the current constitution, Chaves cannot seek re-election unless he remains out of office for eight years.

Former president and 1978 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Óscar Arias warned on Sunday that “the survival of democracy is now in question.”

“Aspiring autocrats always start by trying to change the constitution so they can stay in power,” Arias said.

Fernández has strongly denied such intentions, insisting she is committed to preserving Costa Rica’s democratic traditions.

Meanwhile, drug trafficking has overwhelmed densely populated informal settlements—known locally as “precarios”—in San José and other cities, where gun battles between rival gangs have become a daily occurrence.

Fernández has pledged to complete construction of a maximum-security prison modeled on Bukele’s notorious Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT), tighten prison sentences, and impose Bukele-style states of emergency in high-crime areas.

For many across Latin America, Bukele is seen as a hero credited with restoring security in a country once plagued by violence—a model Fernández now aims to emulate.