Rodrigo Chavez takes over the presidency of Costa Rica and his challenge is to lift 23% of its population out of poverty.

The Economist Rodrigo Chavez This Sunday is assumed as 49 Costa Rican President For the period from 2022 to 2026, with the primary task of cleaning up the economy of one of the countries with the most stable democracies in Latin America.

The new ruler was sworn in at a ceremony in Congress in San Jose in front of 97 international delegations, including the delegation headed by King Felipe VI of Spain.

“Yes, I swear,” Chavez told the President of the Legislative Assembly, Rodrigo Arias.

Before the ceremony, the right-wing Chaves with his wife, Sene Zecate, was on an ecumenical act. Then they watched a performance of typical dances in the Plaza de la Democracia, a few steps from the legislative building of Costa Rica.

He is 60 years old and Three decades of working at the World BankChavez came to power with the challenge of overcoming the economic crisis in the country, with 23% of its population living in poverty (6.30% in extreme poverty) and 13.6% unemployed, according to data from the National Institute of Statistics and Census (INEC).

Costa Rica’s economy, driven mostly by tourism, has been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic.

said Adrián Aguiluz, 35, a communications specialist and a resident of the capital.

Chavez recently indicated that he hopes to “improve” the terms of a $1,700 million loan with the International Monetary Fund, which is vital, according to the outgoing Carlos Alvarado government, to keep the country’s finances intact.

“This, it seems, will be an administration focused on the economic part, the strong point of the president-elect. It is also a concern at the national level in all sectors. It seems that we will see a proposal for the restructuring and regulation of public finances,” said political analyst Gina Sebaga.

Apologies for the sexual harassment

According to experts, residents preferred Chavez’s experience in economics, despite the fact that he punishes sexual harassment within the World Bank against two subordinates. After his election, the new president offered his “apology” for these events.

In addition, it has already advanced in its opposition to environmental policies, in a country that has a recognized global leadership on the issue and has abandoned the exploitation of gas and oil.

Chavez said he would not ratify the Escazu Agreement, an important regional agreement to protect environmental advocates.

The new president is a surprising figure in politics, as the only time he held government positions for 180 days as finance minister, in the outgoing administration, was between 2019 and 2020. He left office due to disagreements with Alvarado.

A few months later he emerged as a presidential candidate with a proposal based on the economic recovery of this country of 5.2 million people.

Diplomacy

Costa Rica is currently ignoring Daniel Ortega’s government in Nicaragua, deeming his election to a fourth consecutive term as lacking “democratic conditions” and withdrew its ambassador from Managua.

After a few days of assumption Chavez was in favor of restoring his ambassador to ManaguaAlthough he later retracted it.

Juan Guaido also called for the inauguration of Chávez, who has been recognized by fifty countries, including the United States, as President of Venezuela in place of Nicolás Maduro. Guaido has not confirmed his presence.

However, Chavez’s future advisor, Andre Tinoco, told local media that recognition of Maduro is subject to evaluation. Analysts believe that the new government may take surprising directions.

“We will see if there is a change in the narrative regarding the cost of living and corruption as the country’s main problems, according to her campaign issues, because she can intensify her rhetoric and reduce it to search for new narratives,” Associate Analyst Eugenia Aguirre said. .

Also confirmed at the inauguration ceremony were the President of Kosovo, Fouza Othmani, and her counterparts from Colombia and Morocco, Ivan Duque and Aziz Akhannouch, respectively.

So do the leaders of the Dominican Republic, Luis Abenader and Laurentino Cortizo of Panama. Both countries, along with Costa Rica, form the Alliance for Development in Democracy (ADD).