King Felipe VI to attend Laura Fernández Delgado’s inauguration as President of Costa Rica on Friday

Eduardo González King Felipe VI will attend the inauguration of Laura Fernández Delgado as President of the Republic of Costa Rica this coming Friday, May 8. Felipe VI is one of the heads of state who have confirmed their attendance, along with Daniel Noboa, President of Ecuador, and José Raúl Mulino, President of Panama. Other world leaders are also expected to attend, including Javier Milei, President of Argentina, Nayib Bukele, President of El Salvador, and Marco Rubio, U.S. Secretary of State. In total, representatives from more than seventy countries are expected to attend the Transfer of Power ceremony, which will be held on May 8 at the National Stadium. Laura Fernández Delgado, a 39-year-old political scientist and candidate for the Sovereign People's Party, won the presidential election in the first round on February 1. The Sovereign People's Party also won the legislative elections, securing 30 of the 57 seats in the Legislative Assembly. Laura Fernández thus becomes the second woman to be elected President of Costa Rica, after Laura Chinchilla (2010-2014). Her presidency allows for the continuation of the right-wing policies of her predecessor, Rodrigo Chaves. During her campaign, Laura Fernández, who has declared herself a supporter of Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele, promised a hard line against drug trafficking and insecurity. In her first statements after her electoral victory was confirmed, she announced a “profound and irreversible change” to establish “the third republic” and promised “dialogue and reconciliation” with the opposition. The “second republic” began in Costa Rica following the political changes the country underwent after the 1948 civil war, which included the abolition of the army and the drafting of a new Constitution. Following her victory, Fernández Delgado was congratulated by the Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, who stated on social media that “Spain will continue working to maintain a close and solid relationship between our countries,” and by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which affirmed that “Spain will continue to promote the excellent relationship with Costa Rica, based on our deep shared values and in favor of the well-being and prosperity of our peoples, both bilaterally and within the Ibero-American community.” The King usually represents Spain at the inaugurations of Ibero-American presidents, a task that King Felipe VI has been undertaking since 1996 when he was still Prince of Asturias. With Fernández Delgado's investiture, Felipe VI will have attended the inauguration of an Ibero-American leader 22 times since ascending the throne. Specifically, the Monarch attended the inauguration of Portugal's Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa in 2016; and the inauguration of Andrés Manuel López Obrador as President of Mexico in 2018. in 2019, in the election of Panama's Laurentino Cortizo; in 2020, in the elections of Uruguay's Luis Lacalle Pou and Bolivia's Luis Arce; in 2021, in the elections of Ecuador's Guillermo Lasso Mendoza and Peru's Pedro Castillo; in 2022, in the elections of Honduras' Xiomara Castro, Chile's Gabriel Boric, Costa Rica's Rodrigo Chaves, and Colombia's Gustavo Petro; in 2023, in the elections of Brazil's Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Paraguay's Santiago Peña Palacios, and Argentina's Javier Milei; in 2024, in the elections of Guatemala's César Bernardo Arévalo de León, Panama's José Raúl Mulino Quintero, and the re-elected Nayib Bukele of El Salvador and Luis Abinader of the Dominican Republic; in 2025, in the election of Uruguay's Yamandú Orsi; and in 2026, those of the President of Portugal, António José Seguro, and the President of Chile, José Antonio Kast.

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