Ana Helena Chacón

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Chacón and the second or maternal family name is Echeverría.

Ana Helena Chacón
Chacón in 2016
Second Vice-President of Costa Rica
In office 8 May 2014 – 8 May 2018
President	Luis Guillermo Solís
Preceded by	Luis Liberman
Succeeded by	Marvin Rodríguez Cordero
Deputy Legislative Assembly of Costa Rica
In office May 1, 2006 – May 1, 2010
Succeeded by	Gloria Bejarano Almada
Minister of Public Safety
In office 2002–2006
President	Abel Pacheco
Personal details
Born	Ana Helena Chacón Echeverría (1961-11-01) November 1, 1961 (age 63) Costa Rica
Political party	Citizens' Action Party
Other political affiliations	Formerly Social Christian Unity Party
Children	2
Residence	Guadalupe de Goicoechea

Ana Helena Chacón Echeverría is a Costa Rica politician, who served as the nation's 2nd Vice President, under Luis Guillermo Solís 2014–2018, and as Ambassador in Spain, under Carlos Alvarado. Her political career is dedicated to issues of feminism, human rights, and public health policy. Previously a cabinet minister and deputy, Chacón has also served on numerous committees and conferences on the national and international level.

Personal life

Chacón was born in San José on 11 November 1961 to Luis Manuel Chacón, a former leader in the Social Christian Unity Party (PUSC for its Spanish initials).^[1] She lives in Goicoechea^[2] with her two daughters.^[1] She has been cited twice for violating employer delinquency laws by not paying employer contributions to the Costa Rican Social Security Fund, once in 2001 and once in 2004. Both cases were resolved after hearings.^[3]

Chacón trained as an international relations expert and has served in numerous public policy organizations.^[4] In 2011, she served on the United Nation's Global Commission on HIV and the Law Reviews Legal Barriers Obstructing Progress on AIDS in Asia-Pacific.^[5] From 2011 to 2013, she served on the board of directors for Fundación PANIAMOR, a non-profit organization that supports the rights of children.^[6]

Political career

Chacón served as Vice Minister of Public Safety during the Abel Pacheco administration (2002-2006). She then served as a deputy in the Legislative Assembly of Costa Rica from 2006 to 2010 for PUSC. At the time, she worked with the block of deputies who were in favor of the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA). Chacón expressed interest in favor of in vitro fertilization, the rights of children, and same-sex marriage. Some of these issues put her in direct ideological conflict with others members of her party.^[7]

In 2010, Chacón left PUSC to create a new party with other ex-PUSC members, the Christian Democratic and Social Party (CDS for its Spanish initials).^[8] PCDS never fielded any candidates, but remained active as an arm of PUSC.

In 2014, Chacón became Luis Guillermo Solís' second vice presidential candidate, alongside Helio Fallas.^[9] Her selection was a surprise to many PAC followers given her support of CAFTA during the Arias administration and her past association with PUSC.^[10] She explained the disagreement about CAFTA by saying that it had not been implemented correctly, citing problems of corruptions, ethics, and transparency.^[10]

In 2018, Carlos Alvarado elected her as new Costa Rican Ambassador in Madrid, Spain.

Political philosophy

As a deputy, Chacón often clashed with PUSC, her own party, supporting such initiatives as the right to in vitro fertilization, same sex marriage, and abortion in the case of fetal health.^[7] Chacón also expressed interest in issues of adolescent pregnancy, domestic violence, and poverty. She believes that extreme poverty in Costa Rica can be eliminated within four years of good governance.^[11] She marched in support of LGBT rights during an annual parade in 2015.^[12]

Upon joining PAC, Chacón was open about her dislike of President Laura Chinchilla's policies with regard to women, saying that they were ignored by the former president. Of Chinchilla, Chacón said that "she has not worn the clothes of a woman in order to govern like a woman, because she is just another politician."^[7] Chacón also expressed grievances about how CAFTA is implemented,^[10] but nevertheless stood by her support of it, claiming that it is too early to analyze the positive or negative impact of the free trade agreement.^[11]

References

1. Ruiz Ramón, Gerardo (9 October 2013). "PAC ofrece candidatura a la vicepresidencia a Ana Helena Chacón". La Nacion (in Spanish). San José, Costa Rica. Retrieved 26 March 2014.
2. Rojas, Pablo (2 February 2014). "Candidata a vicepresidencia por el PAC vota con gran ambiente en Guadalupe". Retrieved 26 March 2014.
3. "La Nacion, No Voto a Ciegas" (in Spanish). San Jose. Costa Rica: La Nacion. Archived from the original on 22 January 2014. Retrieved 26 March 2014.
4. Ureña, Marcos (15 March 2014). "Candidata a la Vicepresidencia por el PAC Ana Elena Chacón, realizará un encuentro de Mujeres en Santa Cruz". Primero en Noticias (in Spanish). Retrieved 26 March 2014.
5. "Global Commission on HIV and the Law Reviews Legal Barriers Obstructing Progress on AIDS in Asia-Pacific". UN AIDS Press Release. 16 February 2011. Retrieved 26 March 2014.
6. "Helio Fallas y Ana Helena Chacón acompañarán a Solís en la presidencia". TicoVisión. 14 October 2013. Retrieved 26 March 2014.
7. Mora, Andrea (19 January 2014). "Ana Elena Chacón, el lado feminista de la papeleta del PAC". El Pais. Retrieved 26 March 2014.
8. Araya M., Alexandra (11 August 2012). "Figuras alejadas de la política fundan partido de 'centro'". La Nacion. Retrieved 26 March 2014.
9. Jiménez, Luis (13 October 2014). "PAC y Libertarios ya tienen sus vicepresidentes para elecciones presidenciales". Teletica. Archived from the original on 2014-04-05. Retrieved 26 March 2014.
10. Murillo, Álvaro Murillo (3 November 2013). "Candidata del PAC a vicepresidencia: 'No soy otra Ana Helena; mis luchas son las de siempre'". La Nacion (in Spanish). San Jose, Costa Rica. Retrieved 26 March 2014.
11. Sancho, Manuel (14 October 2013). "Ana Helena Chacón asegura que no ha cambiado de opinión del TLC, pero concentra su candidatura en otros temas". Costa Rica Hoy (in Spanish). San Jose, Costa Rica. Retrieved 26 March 2014.
12. Dyer, Zach (28 June 2015). "PHOTOS: Costa Rica's pride marchers hopeful after US gay marriage decision". Online News. The Tico Times. Retrieved 1 July 2015.