President Chinchilla names new communications minister

Costa Rican President Laura Chinchilla on Tuesday appointed Carlos Roverssi as her new communications minister.

Roverssi, who served as foreign vice minister until Monday, is a journalist with a background in politics and law.

“I know the mission assigned to Roverssi is very complex, but at the same time I trust him and the experience he has gained working in the public sector,” Chinchilla said.

“In the most efficient way possible, we will try to inform the public about what the government does in a country that is facing national and international crises,” Roverssi said. “We will try to provide clear answers to the questions this government faces.”

The communications minister post was left vacant on May 15 when former minister Francisco Chacón resigned amid a scandal related to a presidential flight tied to a Colombian businessman with suspected drug cartel links.

Fifteen ministers have left Chinchilla’s administration since she took office in 2010.

As foreign vice minister, Roverssi played an important role in Costa Rica’s geopolitical negotiations with Nicaragua, particularly those related to Nicaragua’s invasion of Isla Calero in the northeastern corner of the country, and the decision by Nicaragua to build an inter-oceanic canal, announced last week.

Roverssi will be the third communications minister in Chinchilla’s administration following Chacón and Roberto Gallardo, who is the current planning minister.