Costa Rican legislator Gonzalo Ramírez, an evangelical Christian and lawyer, is leading the congressional Commission on Security and Drug Trafficking as the country confronts a rising wave of violence.
In a recent interview with the news outlet La Teja, Ramírez said his Christian principles guide each of his decisions in public office. His appointment places an evangelical lawmaker at the head of Congress's main effort to respond to transnational organized crime.
National security crisis
Ramírez's chief priority is to speed up the security bills submitted by the executive branch. The pro-government legislator said delaying those measures on constitutional grounds does not meet the urgency the public demands as organized crime advances.
He said the nature of crime has changed sharply, turning the region into a logistical bridge for drugs.
"Crime changed, and we have to adapt our penal and judicial system, as well as our regulations, to the crime," he said, pointing to the need to update the country's laws.
The situation calls for deep reforms in both preventive policing and the decisions of the attorney general's office and judges, he said. On the justice system's long-standing weaknesses, Ramírez added: "We must begin to take advantage of these opportunities we have to update a criminal proceeding, a judicial system."
Christian integrity in public office
Christians in public office often face criticism from secular sectors. Asked about combining his spiritual convictions with his work as a lawmaker, Ramírez defended the consistency he said the gospel requires.
"I cannot be a person who goes to church on Sundays and, from Monday to Friday, is some other person; my principles and my values are inherent to everything I do," he said.
Ramírez does not currently serve as an active pastor of a local congregation. He said his theological training and his family commitment sustain his work, which aims to provide prompt justice and restore peace in Costa Rican homes.
Originally published by Diario Cristiano, Christian Daily International's Spanish edition.
