Carmen Muñoz is a

Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...

n politician and

activist Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived greater good. Forms of activism range fro ...

. She is the Vice-Minister Of Government and Police named by

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Luis Guillermo Solís Luis Guillermo Solís Rivera (; born 25 April 1958) is a Costa Rican politician and educator who was the 47th President of Costa Rica from 2014 to 2018. He is a member of the Citizens' Action Party (PAC). Solís led the field in the 2014 pre ...

and commissioned to separate and turn it into an independent ministry of the Ministry of Public Security. She was a congresswoman in the Legislative Assembly of Costa Rica where she headed the Citizen Action Party. To date Muñoz is the only out

lesbian A lesbian is a Homosexuality, homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate n ...

in parliament or in charge of a ministry. Muñoz was born in Alajuelita in Costa Rica. Her father worked at the Costa Rican Institute of Electricity and her mother was a housewife; she has seven brothers. She attended Saint Felipe School and the Liceo of Alajuelita. She left home at the age of fifteen to fight in

Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the cou ...

with the

Sandinistas The Sandinista National Liberation Front ( es, Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional, FSLN) is a socialist political party in Nicaragua. Its members are called Sandinistas () in both English and Spanish. The party is named after Augusto Cé ...

to overthrow Anastasio Somoza. Afterwards she traveled to

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

where she studied history, philosophy and

political economy Political economy is the study of how Macroeconomics, economic systems (e.g. Marketplace, markets and Economy, national economies) and Politics, political systems (e.g. law, Institution, institutions, government) are linked. Widely studied ph ...

at the Julio Mella school. When she returned she joined the People's Vanguard Party and studied

graphic design Graphic design is a profession, academic discipline and applied art whose activity consists in projecting visual communications intended to transmit specific messages to social groups, with specific objectives. Graphic design is an interdiscipli ...

at the

National Learning Institute National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

(INA). In 2001 she entered the Citizens' Action Party. Muñoz held several positions in her party including district president, provincial delegate and member of the commission of women of the Citizen Action Party. She produced the radio program ''Las mujeres no'' and coordinated the Patriotic Canton Committee against the free trade treaty with the United States in the period leading up to Costa Rica's

referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...

on the treaty. Muñoz was elected deputy by the Citizen Action Party for 2010-2014 and was their parliamentary spokesman, the first of the

opposition Opposition may refer to: Arts and media * ''Opposition'' (Altars EP), 2011 EP by Christian metalcore band Altars * The Opposition (band), a London post-punk band * ''The Opposition with Jordan Klepper'', a late-night television series on Comed ...

for the 2013-2014 period. Muñoz is characterized by her support for

Feminism Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

and the fight for equality for the LGBTIQ

community A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, tow ...

, as well as promoting

recognition of same-sex unions Same-sex marriage is legal in the following countries: Same-sex marriage in Argentina, Argentina, Same-sex marriage in Australia, Australia, Same-sex marriage in Austria, Austria, Same-sex marriage in Belgium, Belgium, Same-sex marriage in Brazi ...

Controversy

In May 2013 the congressman and evangelic

minister Minister may refer to: * Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric ** Minister (Catholic Church) * Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department) ** Minister without portfolio, a member of government w ...

Justo Orozco Gerardo Justo Orozco Álvarez (born 1950) is a Costa Rican pastor, lawyer, mathematician and politician. Orozco has been member of Legislative Assembly of Costa Rica, Congress in two occasions (1998-2002 and 2010-2014) and presidential candidate. O ...

of the Christian Costa Rican Renewal proposed a motion to exclude Muñoz from the legislative commission that was going to analyse the law project to legalize the unions of same-sex couples, due to what he saw as a conflict of interest. The following day the Legislature gave Muñoz an ovation for her work as a congresswoman and she received flowers from congressmen on both the right and left.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Munoz, Carmen Government ministers of Costa Rica Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Costa Rican women journalists Costa Rican lesbians Costa Rican LGBT politicians Costa Rican LGBT journalists Lesbian politicians Lesbian journalists Citizens' Action Party (Costa Rica) politicians Costa Rican feminists Costa Rican women activists Women government ministers of Costa Rica Members of the Legislative Assembly of Costa Rica LGBT government ministers 21st-century Costa Rican LGBT people 21st-century Costa Rican women politicians 21st-century Costa Rican politicians