RICO’s Q — President Laura Fernández said this afternoon that she considered Rodrigo Chaves to have made a mistake by responding to a citizen with a taunting “Lero, Lero” (“nyah, nyah”) during the September 14th events in Cartago.
Fernández noted that she does not view the incident as a serious error, especially when comparing it to other possible reactions to insults or provocations.
“I will give you my personal opinion. In my personal opinion, it was a mistake to give in to the temptation of provocation. In my opinion, it wasn’t that bad; it could have been worse,” she said during the weekly press conference from Casa Presidencial.
In justifying the actions of the former President and Super Minister (Minister of Finance and Minister of the Presidency), Fernández stated that Chaves succumbed to the “temptation” of responding to the citizen who asked why cedlas (identification IDs) were being requested and people were being searched upon entering Cartago’s Plaza Mayor on Monday.
During Monday’s event, Chaves made faces and mocked a citizen, offering him “crema de rosas” (rose cream)—a highly specific local insult meaning: “Stop crying about it,” “get over it,” or “butt-hurt”— and singing “lero, lero, calzón de cuero” (nyah, nyah, leather underpants) at him.
Fernández stated that it was preferable to engage in “taunting” rather than having the citizen—whom she described as a “provocateur”—arrested.
Furthermore, she affirmed that he is “my minister” and that she would not remove him from his post.
“It’s not part of my usual communication style, but that’s Rodrigo Chaves being Rodrigo Chaves, and I like and respect him,” Fernández declared.
Subsequently, Chaves stated that he respected the president’s position but also defended his own actions.
The minister said he would rather mock people he believes are trying to provoke him than take other action against them.
In my personal opinion, this is a load of “horse hockey” and confirms what many people, myself included, believe: where the real power lies behind the presidency.