The year has just begun, and in Costa Rica, President Rodrigo Chaves has decided that Trump is not the only one who will attract attention. Instead of a press conference embracing the most fundamentalist and conservative sector in the country, it would have been better to hire a public address announcing that they were starting an electoral campaign typical of those found deep in caves. They did not choose that path, instead, they chose to deploy a manual of actions against human rights. The intention is to establish themselves as the most conservative, most populist, and most authoritarian option to seduce fundamentalist, sexist Christians and merchants of faith who use their pulpits to spew hatred against women and LGBTIQA+ people. 

This attempt to polarize the country with issues that were already resolved a decade ago, such as comprehensive sexual education in schools and colleges, is nothing more than a strategy to divert attention. Rodrigo Chaves wants the country to ignore the absolute failure on more important issues, such as having led the country to the worst insecurity crisis in our history. In the two months since 2025 in Costa Rica, there have already been five femicides; we have an average of two murders a day, and the majority of the victims are young people between 18-29 years old. We might think that we all see through their pantomime of lies and vulgar comments, but social networks, filled with fake accounts paid for by Chavismo, tell us that is not the case. The Chavista strategy is the most populist of the populist ones: polarize and distract, using historically discriminated and targeted populations as cannon fodder. Once again, the greatest hatred there can be is to “love your neighbor,” that the Pharisees profess. 

But let’s go back a little to what specifically happened. On January 28, the government of Rodrigo Chaves released a video on its social networks announcing that the next day, we would hear important statements “in the defense of Christian values, those traditional Costa Rican values.” Shortly before this, the news leaked that the Higher Council of Education had approved in a vote the elimination of the emotional and sexual education programs. This was done without having a substantive discussion on the topic, nor technical, legal, or professional criteria. With this decision, the Higher Council of Education, except for representatives of Public Universities, decided to go back more than a decade in time and eliminate comprehensive sexual education in schools and colleges. That is, returning the country to the times when adolescents were “educated” only by watching pornography on the internet instead of having the opportunity to receive sexual comprehensive, and scientific education in educational centers. The worst thing is that prevention material relating to teenage pregnancy, improper relationships, sexually transmitted infections, domestic violence, and the understanding of sexuality from a psychosocial perspective are eliminated. The “Christian values” defended by the Rodrigo Chaves government are ignorance, hatred, and discrimination, typical of a sexual harasser. 

The second big news is the plan of the Executive Branch to present a initiative titled «Law for the toughening of penalties for abortion in defense of the right to life of unborn children», which has the purpose, as its name indicates, of stiffening and increasing the prison sentences corresponding to the type of crime related to abortion with the consent of the woman, which are regulated in articles 118 and 119 of the Penal Code promulgated in the 1970s. This bill, which has not yet been presented, was prepared in the Ministry of the Presidency with express advice from representatives of the “Our Children are Sacred” commission, made up of the Catholic Church, the National Front for Life, and the Evangelical Alliance Federation. At the moment, there is no initiative in the legislative stream to decriminalize abortion or reduce the penalties established in the Penal Code. To date, Costa Rica only has the possibility of requesting the termination of pregnancy when the health or life of the pregnant person is in danger, responding to the exception outlined in article 121 of the same regulatory body. 

The reproductive justice movement is awake and organized. It is precisely in moments like this when our autonomy, health, and well-being are at stake that the feminist organization proves that we are creative and constant. Access to timely, truthful and science-based information brings us closer to decision-making and the strengthening our freedom. We will continue to raise our voices when our rights are attacked. President Chaves and his friends have let us know in recent days that they want to continue in command, benefiting a few and at our expense. We emphasize that the violent displays by the Executive Branch in Costa Rica are just a ruse to distract us, a smokescreen, a failed attempt to cover our eyes. We are going to remind those in power that they will only enjoy that right as long as the people allow them to, and the people are tired of their lies.