Laura Chinchilla is set to be the first woman to lead her country after claiming victory in the presidential election.
The candidate from Costa Rica's ruling National Liberation Party, Mrs. Chinchilla, received 49 percent of the vote to defeat her closest rivals.
[Interview : Laura Chinchilla,
President-elect] "I have been handed a clear mandate to fight criminals and drug traffickers with all firmness and intelligence."
And the other candidates could not help but to accept their defeat.
Chinchilla is about to become the fifth female president in Latin America and is scheduled to take office on May 8th.
The wave of women's empowerment is also taking shape in Brazil.
60-year-old Dilma Rousseff of the governing Workers' Party is right behind her male competitor in the polls as she tries to become the country's first woman president.
The first Latin American female president was Violeta Chamorro from Nicaragua back in 1990 followed by Mireya Moscoso of Panama in 1999.
There is also current Chilean President Michelle Bachelet and in 2006 Argentine President Cristina Fernandez succeeded her husband, becoming the first ever 'president couple' in the world.
With more and more women taking over political leadership the term first lady is starting to have a whole different meaning in Latin America.
Kim Na-ri, Arirang News.
FEB 09, 2010
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Friday, SEP 10, 2010, (KST) 
