Costa Rica elects tough-talking right-winger for president

Right-wing political scientist Laura Fernandez won Costa Rica’s presidential election on Sunday by a landslide, after promising to crack down hard on rising violence linked to the cocaine trade. Fernandez’s nearest rival, centre-right economist Alvaro Ramos, conceded defeat as results showed the ruling party far exceeding the threshold of 40 per cent needed to avoid a run-off. With 81.24 per cent of polling stations counted, the political heir of outgoing President Rodrigo Chaves had 48.94 per...