Costa Ricans elected the country's first ever female president at the weekend despite a last-minute surge by a leftist opposition candidate.
Ruling National Liberation Party candidate Laura Chinchilla won 48 per cent of the vote, exceeding the 40 per cent needed to avoid a second-round run-off which would have pitted her against left unity candidate Otton Solis, who got 28 per cent.
Ms Chinchilla vowed to continue Costa Rica's neoliberal policies, but her celebration in the capital San Jose was tempered by her party's failure to gain a majority in Congress.
"With this election we have made history," announced Ms Chinchilla, who will be only the fifth Latin American woman to serve as president when she takes office in May.
"The Costa Rican people have given me their confidence and I will not betray it," she declared.
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