I Hope to Achieve the Trust of All the Costa Rican People, Says the President-Elect

The elected president of Costa Rica, Rodrigo Chaves Robles, assured that as of next May, when he assumes power, he will have “5 million bosses and will have to account for them.”

The 60-year-old economist will be the 49th president of Costa Rica and assured this Monday that he assumes the mandate of the people with great responsibility and hopes to achieve the trust of those who did not vote this Sunday, or of those who voted by his opponent, José María Figueres.

A great revolution

“I think it will be up to historians to explain what seems to be a great revolution in the political history of this country, in which the youngest party with the fewest resources, which has never even had a trustee, elects a person who lived many years outside this country, against a political campaign that was contested by the oldest party with an enormous amount of resources, structures and connections in the country. “There is a very clear signal there, it is a signal that must also be combined with the fact that, unfortunately, there was a lot of abstentionism,” said Chaves.

The president-elect said that the message is direct and shows that people want a change, at least that is how he interprets it after the results of this Sunday. Chaves recognizes that he has the challenge of showing with actions that he will fulfill his campaign promises and for that he asks the people for an opportunity.

A clear challenge

“I believe that the challenge is clear, I accept it with humility, but also with courage. The test of the recipe is to try the dish and then it’s my turn now, given the mistrust shown by those who did not want to vote and more than mistrust, also indifference, and to those who voted against me, I extend a loving hug, an open heart to liberationists.

“I thank you for having gone out to vote, for having participated, so the challenge is mine and to show that truly what I have said, of wanting to serve instead of serving myself, is a reality and not to continue talking about it, but to prove it with facts. specific,” Chaves said.

For the economist, it is no longer time to look back or “do autopsies” on the reasons why some people voted for him, referring to the fact that many citizens indicated in polls that they supported Chaves to vote against Figueres. For the former Minister of Finance, the important thing is that the match was won and it does not matter if the score was 10-0 or 1-0.

“The three points go to the team that won and in this case they are not points but responsibility, because as I said yesterday (Sunday), in this case I did not win a medal or a trophy, it is a responsibility that a people gives through of the constitutional mechanisms.

Improve public services

“I am not going to count whether we win 1-0 or 10-0, in fact, the score no longer matters, but how we are going to play in a real game where the opponents we have on the court are unemployment, the very high cost of living, corruption and the need to improve public services, and that is what I want to focus on,” added Chaves, emphasizing that “I understand that the responsibility is mine, I have 5 million bosses already I will have to give them an account of whether I did my best or the best we can”.

The economist said that after knowing the results of the second round he called Figueres “four or five times”, however, he did not get an answer and for that reason he decided to leave him a voice message, which he still does not answer: “I imagine that I was very busy”.

In addition, this Sunday night he had the opportunity to talk with the current president, Carlos Alvarado Quesada, who called him “on his own initiative” and indicated that he would make his ministers available to Chaves to achieve an “orderly and effective transition”; In addition, they agreed to meet “as soon as possible.”