She remained calm, in full composure, during what the Presidenta called a “lack of couresy, lack of consideration” by the union leader who berated doña Laura for minutes during a public function.
Xiomara Rojas, head of the Sindicato Independiente de Trabajadores Estatales (Siteco), loudly and in front of television cameras, on Tuesday blasted the Presidenta for disagreeing to a salary increase of ¢25.000 monthly for the country’s police officials.
The basic salary for a police official in Costa Rica is ¢244.000 (US$500) monthly.
“Anyone would be surprised when someone yells or gestures that way, when, moreover, it could have been an opportunity to discuss things differently. It is not a lack of respect for one (me), it is a lack of respect for the population. I, for as much difference I may have with someone, I do not shout, nor gesture as such to assert my position. I think that’s absolutely unnecessary”, said the presidenta.
Although Rojas gestured and spoke for several minutes, no member of the presidential security team intervened. She wasn’t taken away or any attempt was made to calm her.
Questioned, a spokesperson for the Presidenta’s security said, “there was no imminent threat to physical integrity”.
“It is a case of an acquaintanece, a person out of her mind, our of control. I fell sorry for her, it doesn’t look good for a person so hysterical, the way she did”, said Presidenta Laura Chinchilla when questioned on the incident.
