Overview
- Fernández, who took the oath Friday at San José’s National Stadium, became Costa Rica’s 50th president and the second woman to hold the office in a ceremony led by Legislative Assembly president Yara Jiménez before delegations from 71 countries.
- In her inaugural address she vowed “my hand will not tremble” and outlined tougher measures that include a mega-prison modeled on El Salvador and emergency zones that grant broader police powers.
- Days before the ceremony she named Gérald Campos as security minister and promised a “total war” on drug gangs, placing security at the center of her first moves.
- She installed outgoing president Rodrigo Chaves as a powerful “super minister,” a choice that opponents say could concentrate authority and mirror Bukele’s playbook.
- The shift follows record violence tied to cocaine trafficking routes, with UN data showing 17.7 homicides per 100,000 people in 2023, and residents looking for safer streets as courts and police brace for sweeping changes.