Central America
Himself accused, Costa Rica’s president vows to tackle sex harassment
AFP
Costa Rica’s new president Rodrigo Chaves, elected despite a cloud of sexual harassment allegations, took the oath of office Sunday with promises to revive the economy and end the abuse of women in his country.
As feminist organizations protested nearby, the right-wing economist said the “first political commitment” of his four-year term would be to stamp out gender discrimination and harassment.
“We will not tolerate the harassment they (women) suffer every day and in all areas of society,” he told congress after being sworn in to lead one of Latin America’s most stable democracies.
“It cannot be that our women are afraid to walk alone on the street, feel afraid in their own home, at work, in a park, at a concert.”
Chaves, 60, was investigated over sexual harassment complaints brought by women while he was a senior official at the World Bank, where he worked for 30 years.
He was demoted over the claims, and later resigned.
Last month, Chaves offered “sincere apologies” to two accusers, young subordinates, having previously said the alleged harassment amounted to mere “jokes” that were “misinterpreted due to cultural differences.”
– ‘We will be vigilant’ –
Dozens of women protested Sunday near the seat of congress against gender violence and unequal pay in a country where abortion is allowed only if the woman’s life is in danger.
“We are telling the country and the president-elect that we are here. That we will be vigilant,” Sharo Rosales of the Women in Action movement told local media.
Chaves takes over an economy in decline, with rising foreign debt — about 70 percent of GDP — a poverty rate of 23 percent, unemployment of nearly 14 percent, and public sector corruption.
Vowing to “repair the country,” he said: “We will not just clean house. We will rebuild it!”
Tourism, one of the country’s main economic drivers, was hard hit by the coronavirus pandemic, and the country of 5.2 million people experienced an increase in unemployment equaled in the region only by Peru.
“If the political class fails once more, our country could fall apart,” Chaves said.
He has previously vowed to improve the terms of an agreement Costa Rica’s reached with the IMF for a loan of more than $1.7 billion.
The economist, who served six months as finance minister in the outgoing government, won a runoff election over former president Jose Maria Figueres — himself tainted by a corruption scandal.
Chaves had been a surprise qualifier for the April 3 final race, having polled fourth ahead of February’s first round.
This week, Chaves said his government would not ratify the so-called Escazu Agreement that establishes protection for environmentalists, arguing it was unnecessary and would harm the economy.
Costa Rica, a regional leader in environmental protection, had hosted the signing of the agreement in 2018.
Chaves did not address environmental issues in his first public speech.
Shortly after his inaugural address, Chaves signed his first decrees, including scrapping obligatory mask-wearing for people other than front-line health workers, and compulsory coronavirus vaccination for the public sector.
Spanish King Felipe VI attended the ceremony at Congress in San Jose, along with other heads of state or government and delegations from nearly 100 countries.
Central America
Arévalo warns of ‘Dark Interests’ targeting human rights defenders in Guatemala
Guatemalan President Bernardo Arévalo de León warned on Thursday that human rights defenders are facing serious threats, aggression, and criminalization by “dark interests” embedded within the structures of the State.
“Today we are facing serious levels of threats, aggression, and criminalization against people who promote respect for human rights, coming from actors and criminal networks—sometimes embedded in State institutions—that refuse to accept that Guatemala is changing,” Arévalo said during a public event held at the former Government Palace.
During the event, authorities presented the Public Policy for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders 2025–2035, an initiative developed in compliance with a 2014 resolution from the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR), issued in response to the killing of activist Florentín Gudiel Ramos in 2004.
Central America
Newborn found in Costa Rican dump survives two days in unsanitary conditions
Costa Rican media outlets report that a newborn baby was found in a garbage dump, where he had reportedly spent two days in unsanitary conditions.
Police located the infant after a resident alerted authorities upon hearing crying coming from a clandestine dumping site in the Rancho Guanacaste area. The newborn was discovered alive inside a drainage channel, covered in waste. He was immediately taken to the National Children’s Hospital, where he received medical care and is now in stable condition.
“The National Children’s Hospital confirms that we indeed received a newborn approximately four or five days old who was found in a wooded area near the Alajuelita roundabout. He was first taken to the Solón Núñez Clinic and then transferred to this hospital. As of now, the baby is in the emergency department in good condition. He arrived a bit cold, but he has been warmed, fed, and his initial physical exam is completely normal,” explained hospital director Carlos Jiménez Herrera, according to CR Hoy.
Central America
Arévalo accuses Porras and judge of undermining democracy in Guatemala
Guatemalan President Bernardo Arévalo denounced a new attempt at a “coup” orchestrated by the Attorney General’s Office. He also requested an extraordinary session at the Organization of American States (OAS) to address the country’s ongoing political crisis.
The president has been at odds with Attorney General Consuelo Porras, who has been sanctioned by the United States and the European Union for being “corrupt” and “anti-democratic.” Since 2023, Arévalo has accused Porras of launching investigations against his party, Semilla, and the 2023 elections as part of a scheme to prevent his inauguration in January 2024.
From the presidential office, Arévalo has said he continues to “resist” the “coup plotters,” but tensions escalated last Friday when Judge Fredy Orellana, at the request of the Attorney General’s Office, ordered the electoral court to annul the Semilla party’s promoter group. Arévalo interpreted this as an attempt to revoke the positions won by the party.
“Orellana, a hitman who distorts the law in service of Consuelo Porras, is attempting to force […] the unconstitutional removal of a mayor, 23 elected deputies […], the vice president, and the president of the country,” Arévalo said in a televised address on Sunday.
“We call on the international community not to turn a blind eye to the coup being attempted in Guatemala,” he added, speaking alongside his cabinet and congressional members at the National Palace in Guatemala City.
Arévalo requested that the Organization of American States hold an extraordinary session to present “the serious threats” to the Guatemalan Constitution and democracy perpetrated by Porras and Orellana.
Yesterday, Guatemalan Foreign Minister Carlos Ramiro Martínez reaffirmed the president’s statements, emphasizing the need “to go and expose the situation” Guatemala has been facing since last week due to the actions of the Attorney General’s Office.
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