People I admire

The effects of Barrack Obama's presidency are undeniable, more Africans across the globe have more confidence to run for office they previously thought unattainable to black people. One such person is Epsy Campbell, an African-Costa Rican, she is the definition of political stereotype, she is black and she is a woman. Her grandparents moved to Costa Rica from Jamaica to work on the country's railroads, she is an economist-turned activist-turned politician who came within 3,300 votes of becoming vice president of Costa Rica in the last election and is fighting for presidency in the next in 2010. She is the president of her party, Partido Acción Ciudadana.
"When a woman does not have power of her own, her post itself is merely coincidental."
She has been criticized, praised and condemned for fighting for what she believes in and what her constituents want, but to all this she says she will keep fighting because politics is her life and she lives to fight for change.

Her advice to women trying to join politics:
"First, I would offer some practical advice. Based on my own experience, I believe that a woman in politics has to ask herself is whether she is truly convinced of what she is doing. You shouldn’t get involved in politics unless you are truly convinced of the objective you are pursuing. And you have to have this conviction not only in your mind, but in your whole body.

Second, I would advise that you have to have the ability to dialogue with the people you want to represent. Your proposals don’t have to be spectacular and you don’t have to make them all by yourself: they should be discussed and debated, because this gives you more reliability. You have to be transparent in everything you do, without making any hidden deals with anyone. All pacts made in silence come out sooner or later, and then you have to offer an explanation for them. So transparency is fundamental.

Third, you must have the ability to work with other people. You must be able to create work networks, because these turn into support networks to get things started.

Finally, it is important to have personal support networks, because politics is a very contradictory thing. When it’s done right, you get hit hard, sometimes unfairly, and this can make you vulnerable."

Epsy is named after her grandmother (her father's mother), who migrated from Jamaica to the Costa Rican Caribbean coast with her husband. Epsy Campbell Barr was born in San Jose (in the Maternidad Carit) in 1963, whilst her parents Shirley Barr Aird and Luis Campbell Patterson were living in San Francisco de Dos Ríos. She is the fourth child of a family of five daughters and two sons. (Sisters: Doris, Narda, Shirley and Sasha, and brothers: Luis y Gustavo.) She married at a young age and became mother when she was just starting her University studies. (Daughters: Narda, 20 and Tanisha, 24)