Gay Marriage Foe Elected in Costa Rica

Laura Chinchilla, elected the first woman president of Costa Rica on Sunday, opposes same-sex marriage and abortion rights.

Chinchilla won the election in a landslide after promising to focus on free-market policies in Central America's most stable nation, according to the Associated Press. A member of the ruling National Liberation Party, she is a protege of the current president, Oscar Arias, a Nobel Prize laureate.

"Chinchilla, the mother of a teenage son, is a social conservative who opposes abortion and gay marriage," reports the AP. "She appealed both to Costa Ricans seeking a fresh face and those reluctant to risk the unknown."

The historic election of Chinchilla follows Nicaragua, Panama, Chile, and Argentina, the other Latin American countries that have elected a woman as president.