QCOSTARICA — Once again, Costa Rica president Rodrigo Chaves attacked former president Laura Chinchilla (2010-2014), the former president again a victim of political violence this Wednesday, when Chaves attacked her with insults in the middle of the weekly press conference following the Government Council (Cabinet) meeting.
This is because Chinchilla highlighted the response that the Comptroller General, Marta Acosta, gave the president regarding the meeting he requested.
Chaves called the former president “hypocritical” and “petty” (“hipócrita” y “mezquina” in Spanish) and criticized Chinchilla for seeking the support of his Government for her candidacy for the presidency of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).
Candidates for these international positions require the support of the Government in office.
Recently, former President Chinchilla signed a statement, along with 37 other women, demanding Chaves respect for Comptroller Acosta and her management, because the Acosta has also been a victim of attacks by Chaves.
In addition, Chinchilla has been a critical voice for the crime crisis in the country and the work of the Chaves government to contain it.
Last November, the former president described President Chaves’ speech on the insecurity crisis where he handed responsibility to the Legislators and the Judiciary, as that of a “defeated and frustrated man.”
She added that, although Chaves is the commander in chief of Costa Rica’s security forces, he has renounced his constitutional obligation to defend citizens from crime and “consequently passes the buck to the other powers of the State.”
“What we saw is very serious, because the country, but especially the criminals, were notified yesterday that the Government is declining its obligations to pursue and prevent crime in Costa Rica,” said Chinchilla at the time.
This Wednesday, Chaves referred to a public manifesto that members of the Partido Accion Cuidadana (PAC), the Frente Amplio (FA), and the Partido Liberacion Nacional (PLN) signed in defense of Marta Acosta.
When asked by the press, Chaves expressed what he thought about Chinchilla.
Chaves: Laura Chinchilla es una persona muy hipócrita, propuso una ley mordaza contra la Contraloría https://t.co/kIhqhyJSAm
— El Mundo CR (@elmundocr) January 24, 2024
“Doña Laura is a very hypocritical person. During the (presidential) campaign, she attacked me, when she had interests in an international position (the IDB position) she came smiling, and then when the Government saw that there was no conducive environment when the international community considered that she could not lead that institution, she became truly petty and biting towards me, attacked us. So, what credibility does Doña Laura have in my eyes? I believe that her history speaks for itself,” said Chaves.
During the conference, Chaves was emphatic that he has never questioned the Comptroller as a person, but has questioned her decisions.
“I have never insulted the Comptroller, what I have said is that the Comptroller has made, and I maintain, inexplicable interpretations in some absurd cases of laws of the Republic and that these interpretations are delaying the progress of the country at the rate of ¢30 billion colones that goes to a handful of families, including people, mostly very influential people in the PLN and her appointment,” said Chaves.
Chaves reiterated that he wants to have a public conversation with Acosta to find out why she opposes the Ciudad Gobierno (Government City) project and the placement of scanners at the country’s border posts, and has accepted Acosta’s request that the meeting be recorded, and to be held on the 13th floor of the Comptroller’s Office, but asked that it be broadcast on social networks and be on February 1.
Chinchilla responds to attacks by Chaves
The former president used her X (formerly Twitter) account to respond to the attacks by President Chaves
Chinchilla published a text that reads: “Insults and foul verbs dishonor those who inflict them, not those who receive them. And the higher the podium from which he utters them, the more his stature becomes smaller. #InspirationWednesdays
El insulto y el verbo soez deshonran a quien los infiere, no a quien los recibe. Y entre más alto el podio desde donde los profiere, más se empequeñece su estatura.#MiércolesDeInspiración
— Laura Chinchilla M. (@Laura_Ch) January 25, 2024
