Día Internacional de las Mujeres

March 8, 2010

¡Feliz Día Internacional de las Mujeres! Happy International Women’s Day! I hope everyone takes a minute to celebrate or at least think about the economic, political and social achievements of women in the past and today, and what we can do to secure equal rights for men and women everywhere in the future. Many of you probably know that Costa Rica recently elected its first female president, Laura Chinchilla. This is a big deal, especially given that Costa Rica is notorious for its machismo culture. Laura didn’t just win- she basically beat the pants off of her male competitors.

Disclaimer: As a Peace Corps Volunteer, I am not allowed to promote any one political party over the other. My decision to recognize her on my blog does not in any way signify that I support her politics, but the fact that the people of Costa Rica elected a female president does represent an achievement on their part, particularly given the disparity between men’s and women’s rights in this country. Therefore, I found this day to be an appropriate forum to provide people at home with some quick facts about Costa Rica’s new president-elect, Laura Chinchilla:

1. Her birthday is the same as my host grandpa’s…March 28. It’s comin’ up!

2. She served as the current administration’s Minister of Justice and one of the two vice presidents to President Oscar Arias.

3. As the National Liberation Party’s 2010 candidate, she won 46.76% of the vote.

4. After receiving her undergraduate degree from the University of Costa Rica she headed to the best city in the world, Washington D.C., to receive her master’s degree in public policy from Georgetown University.

5. She’s big on safety, anti-drug and anti-crime policy reform, and is a supporter of free-trade policies which were a big focus of the current administration.

6. Her husband is OLD!!! I mean, he’s a handsome and smart, successful dude, and they seem very happy together, but he definitely looks like her Papa instead of her Poppa.

7. She is a social conservative (one would be hard-pressed to find a social liberal in office here). Last year she participated in the church-organized “March for Life and Family,” which voiced opposition to the legalization of abortion and granting recognition for civil unions to same-sex couples. Civil rights leaders, not so amused by this. Oh and if you’re looking for a morning after pill don’t ask her for one. I plan to talk about all of this with her next time we do coffee….

8. She looks and sounds like she’d be good at arm wrestling.

9. Like most Ticos, she says church and state are like peas and carrots (or rice and beans, cuz they don’t really eat peas and carrots mixed together).

10. Regardless of her politics, she worked her butt off to get to where she is today, and is an inspiration to many women and girls in Costa Rica who now feel more powerful or capable of following their dreams.