Costa Rica just reinforced a trend that’s been building across Latin America.

Laura Fernández won the country’s Presidential election yesterday, becoming the chosen successor to incumbent President Rodrigo Chaves. 

She won by a wide margin, confirming that Costa Rican voters are resonating with her defining campaign promise of better security.

Fernández campaigned on declaring states of emergency in the worst-hit areas, building high-security prisons, and taking the fight to organized crime.

Sound familiar? 

It should, as she explicitly said she intends to follow El Salvador President Nayib Bukele’s lead on restoring order.

That line would have been political suicide in Costa Rica not long ago.

Costa Rica spent decades known as the region’s “safest exception.” 

But now, even Costa Rica is dealing with rising criminal networks, more violence, and a public that’s tired of being told to “be patient” while the country slides.

When people stop feeling safe, they stop voting for theories and platitudes and vote for the person who gets it done.

That’s why the path Bukele has already laid in El Salvador is so relevant here. 

Bukele proved something governments hate admitting: safety is possible, and when criminals run the streets, the state is complicit. 

It’s clear that Fernández and other Latin American leaders are watching Bukele’s success in El Salvador and taking notes. 

Yesterday’s vote in Costa Rica fits the broader trend we’ve been tracking in the region: a move away from the chaos and destruction of socialism, and toward freedom and security. 

At this point, the trend in Latin America is starting to feel more like a tidal wave. 

From Chile to Bolivia to Ecuador to Argentina…everywhere you look in this region, you can find another country that has simply had “enough” of the socialism that had defined it for decades.

Latin America isn’t perfect, and politics doesn’t create freedom on its own.

But when governments stop coddling criminals and stop strangling productive people, opportunity expands quickly. 

Foreseeing this trend is one of the main reasons I moved my family to Panama nearly 6 years ago, and now we are smack in the middle of the one region on Earth where I can clearly say that freedom is on the rise. 

Speak soon,

Mikkel

PS. If you want to experience Latin America firsthand, join us March 6-7 in Panama City for our second annual Wealth, Freedom and Passports Conference. You’ll meet the community in person and learn real residency and investment options directly from the experts who help people build a serious Plan B. Ticket prices will be rising on February 15th; secure your seats today, and I’ll see you there!

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