Costa Ricans support Chaves’ successor in the presidential election as crime remains high

SAN JOSE, Costa Rica (AP) - Despite Costa Rica's highest homicide rates occurring under outgoing President Rodrigo Chaves, Costa Ricans appeared poised to throw their support to his handpicked successor Laura Fernández in Sunday's presidential election to continue Chaves' efforts to tackle the crime.

Crime remains top of mind for many voters as drug traffickers battle to control the domestic market, as well as the lucrative transshipment points to send cocaine to Europe and the United States. The small Central American nation better known for its environmental tourism and laid-back attitude has been gripped by violent crime in recent years.

Chaves has simultaneously been able to shirk any blame for the violence - he points to a permissive judiciary and weak predecessors - and attract support with tough-on-crime talk. Earlier this month, Chaves invited El Salvador Nayib Bukele to the groundbreaking for a new prison, inspired by Bukele's crackdown on gangs in his country.

In 2023, Costa Rica set a record for homicides with 907. In 2024, that number fell to 880 and last year it ticked down by three.

Chaves' confrontational style - with the press, the opposition, the judiciary - has drawn followers. Chaves has benefited from a thoroughly discredited opposition, beset by corruption and seemingly unable to regain its footing in the face of Chaves' new style of Costa Rican politics.

"They've known how to justify government inaction, they've been very belligerent in that and there hasn't been a strong opposition voice to refute it," said political analyst Fanny Ramírez.

The candidate for Costa Rica's oldest political party, National Liberation, economist Álvaro Ramos, could be lucky to reach 10% of the vote, according to recent polls. Behind him is a former first lady, Claudia Dobles, the candidate for the Citizen Agenda Coalition. The architect has not been able to shake off criticism of the administration of her husband, ex-President Carlos Alvarado.

So the stage has been set for Fernández, Chaves' former minister of national planning and economic policy and more recently his minister of the presidency.

Chaves has been repeatedly cited for openly campaigning for Fernández, something prohibited in Costa Rica. But an attempt by electoral authorities to strip him of his immunity so that he could be prosecuted for it failed. An earlier attempt to strip him of his immunit y for alleged corruption also failed.

Voters will also elect all 57 members of Congress on Sunday.

María Ramírez, a merchant in the capital, said she planned to vote for Fernández and for Chaves' Sovereign People's Party, saying the other parties have tried to block Chaves from governing and that Fernández will need a sufficient number of allies in the legislature.

"That's why we have to support Ms. Laura so that she has enough support and they don't block her in the Assembly," Ramírez said.

Edwin Alvarado said he felt that now the country was doing better economically and that government institutions were working for the good of the people.

"I am going to vote, very convinced for Laura Fernández to continue the same line of good governance that we have had with Rodrigo Chaves, who came to this country to open our eyes" to the traditional parties that were only interested in maintaining their privilege, he said.

Recent polls suggest Fernández might be able to reach the 40% of the vote required to win the election in the first round. If she does not, the top two vote-getters will face off April 5. Nearly a third of people intending to vote say they remain undecided so that could still shift.

"People's indecision so far seems to me oriented to seeing who could compete with Laura Fernández in the second round," said Ramírez, the analyst.