It wasn’t long ago that the people of Costa Rica gave President Laura Chinchilla the lowest public opinion of a Latin American country leader. In fact, the Costa Rica Star compared her track record to that of President Dilma Rouseff of Brazil, another political leader whose term in office has been decidedly rocky.
One of the lowest points in the administration of President Laura Chinchilla has been, without a doubt, the unsolicited, scathing put-down delivered by her mentor, former President Oscar Arias. Interestingly, President Rouseff of Brazil has also been on the receiving end of excoriation by her mentor, former President Inacio Lula da Silva.
In Costa Rica, politics and public opinion tend to move quite fast. Although President Laura Chinchilla still has plenty of haters, she has been quite busy in the last month rebuilding her image -and she has been quite successful. She has not quite taken full advantage of the nonsense being spewed by her colorful Nicaraguan counterpart, President Daniel Ortega, either; President Chinchilla’s comeback to the good graces of her people in Costa Rica deserves a closer look -because it has been masterful.
The best way to assess what President Chinchilla has been up to with regard to her re-emergence as leader of Ticos is by following her Twitter account. She is one of the most active political leaders in terms of social media activity, which she personally handles on her Apple MacBook Pro. Let’s take a look at some of her Twitter highlights during the first two weeks of August and how they are contributing to her image:
Hoy, al igual que cada año, seré una más en ese hermoso peregrinar lleno de fe y devoción de nuestro pueblo, hacia la Virgen de los Angeles
— Laura Chinchilla M (@Laura_Ch) August 1, 2013
President Chinchilla began the month of August with a pilgrimage to Cartago in observance of the celebration of the Virgin of the Angels, Costa Rica’s religious patron. She had prepared for the long walk with the expert advice of mountaineer Warner Rojas, the only Tico to summit Mount Everest. As expected, people who support amending Costa Rica’s Constitution so that she is no longer a Roman Catholic nation criticized the President’s exercise of her religion, to which she responded along the lines of: Look, our Constitution also supports freedom of religion, and I am celebrating a holiday, so please excuse me. Then in August we see a series of retweets by President Chinchilla, highlighting her participation in matters related to Internet freedom and governance. She also tweeted this:
Costa Rica impulsó el Tratado de Comercio de Armas; con el voto hoy de diputados (as) somos una de las primeras naciones en ratificarlo.
— Laura Chinchilla M (@Laura_Ch) August 5, 2013
Which exalts Costa Rica’s role in helping curb the illegal arms trade. Then she reminded us about Hewlett Packard’s tenth anniversary in Costa Rica. By August 9th, she is supporting Costa Rica’s controversial decision to close state-funded zoos and free the animals from their cages. Then we have this in commemoration of the Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples:
En región Cabecar adonde entregamos Centro de Salud y albergue. Nos recibieron con sus niños y tradiciones. pic.twitter.com/Jr2K10blvf
— Laura Chinchilla M (@Laura_Ch) August 9, 2013
A shelter and a clinic in an indigenous territory. So far, so good. Then she casually reminds us of a CNN report that puts Costa Rica as the highest exporter of technology in Latin America.
President Chinchilla did not just celebrate Mother’s Day this year. She went all out and made it a Mother’s Week in Costa Rica. She was in top charismatic form all week, visiting correctional institutions and granting early releases to imprisoned mothers and reminding us that she supports reduced sentences for non-violent drug offenders. She then went to EARTH University and announced a micro-loan program for female entrepreneurs. By August 14th, the President was on a roll:
En Sarapiqui, adonde entregaremos dos nuevos centros de cuido infantil y un albergue para adulto mayor. La Red de Cuido avanza y crece.
— Laura Chinchilla M (@Laura_Ch) August 14, 2013
She opened two child care centers and a home for the elderly in Sarapiqui. She then briefly addressed the weird statements by President Daniel Ortega, but only briefly. Mother’s Day was more important:
Celebrando con Sara Ortiz, sus 6 hijos y nietos. La mujer policía que con heroísmo supo cumplir su deber. pic.twitter.com/vPT0BuP4NW
— Laura Chinchilla M (@Laura_Ch) August 15, 2013
She recognized the heroic work by Fuerza Publica Officer Sara Ortiz, a mom who displayed poise under fire and protected the life of a man during a shootout. President Chinchilla then gave press interviews and headed home to cook for her mom. She is up to about three tweets per day by now, and she has not stopped. She has reminded us that La Caja (Costa Rica’s venerable public health system) has climbed out of the deficit hole during her administration.
It is safe to say that President Chinchilla’s agenda during the first two weeks of August has helped regain a good portion of positive public opinion that she desperately needed. Others may say that she has taken advantage of the zeitgeist by being up on Twitter to get lucky at a time of great significance for people in Costa Rica; but, isn’t that what politics is about?
