Another progressive development has happened in our neighbor to the south. A female president has been elected in remarkably civilized proceedings in Costa Rica. Laura Chinchilla has succeeded former Presidente Oscar Arias, who won the Nobel Prize for ejecting Ollie North and his band of freebooters from the country.

The history of Costa Rica is, like most of the nations’ histories on the American continent, a mixed one of advances and invasions. Originally held by native tribes, it was ‘discovered’ and ‘developed’ by descendants of the European community. It was invaded again by U.S. ‘freebooters’, in hopes of setting up a kingdom after the Civil War, as I outlined in an earlier post. The ragtag invasion was battled and defeated by troops composed of descendants of the several nationalities there, but the government always was dominated by European descendants as was the case in many of the Latin American nations. In recent years, this has increasingly ended as majorities of natives bring their own into power.

New Presidente Chinchilla combines two elements which are fighting it out here in the U.S., as she is a member of pro-life movements and the socialists, internationally.

Chinchilla’s Partido Liberación Nacional is a member of the Socialist International,[3] whose motto is the promotion of "progressive politics for a better world." On November 28, 2009, Chinchilla became Costa Rica’s only mainstream party candidate to participate and voice support for a controversial march dubbed "March for Life and Family".

The success of a woman in politics seems to many of us, as progressives, the opposite of the anti-women’s rights stances of the right wing that is the pro-life element here. In predominantly Catholic Latin America, however, this is playing out differently.

As a descendant of one of families that comprised Costa Rica’s former representatives, I extend a hand of welcome to the new president of that country. I fervently hope that she will continue that country’s civilization and the resolution of conflicts that keep any country from promoting the interests of its people. Her first address to the country, as their president, gives me hope.

"I want to thank the pioneering women who years ago opened the doors of politics in Costa Rica," Laura Chinchilla said Sunday to flag-waving supporters in the capital, San Jose. "My government will be open to all Costa Ricans of good faith."

Some good faith will be the greatest help for all elements to reconcile and work together. We fervently hope that we will find some here, as antidote to the political opportunism that works against the country’s best interests.

Of course, Tom Tancredo probably thinks voters were supposing they were electing a small furry animal since they don’t speak English.