Costa Rica - Politics
Costa Rica has long emphasized the development of democracy and respect for human rights. The country's political system has steadily developed, maintaining democratic institutions and an orderly, constitutional scheme for government succession. Several factors have contributed to this trend, including enlightened leadership, comparative prosperity, flexible class lines, educational opportunities that have created a stable middle class, and high social indicators. Also, because Costa Rica has no armed forces, it has avoided military involvement in political affairs, unlike other countries in the region.
Throughout its history, Costa Rica's political system has contrasted sharply with those of its neighbors. The nation has steadily developed and maintained democratic institutions and an orderly, constitutional scheme for government succession. Several elements have contributed to this situation, including educational opportunities, enlightened government leaders, comparative prosperity, flexible class lines, and the absence of a politically intrusive military.
After four years of rule by the Unity (Unidad) coalition marked by economic mismanagement and instances of corruption, the voters were convinced that a change was in order. In the national elections of February 1982, the electorate turned to the PLN and in a landslide effort placed their confidence in Luis Alberto Monge Alvarez as president of the republic. Monge, who had served as the party's secretary general over the previous 12 years and who had been defeated by Unity in his bid for the presidency in 1978, was also given a solid working majority of PLN deputies in the Legislative Assembly. Monge's term as president ended in early 1986.
In 1987, President Oscar Arias authored a regional peace plan that became the basis for the peace agreement signed by the presidents of the other Central American countries (excluding Belize and Panama). Arias' efforts earned him the 1987 Nobel Peace Prize. The Esquipulas Process, as the peace plan became known, contributed to bringing about free and open elections in Nicaragua and the subsequent end of the civil war in that country.
In the elections of 1990, Rafael Angel Calderon Fournier, of the Social Christian Unity Party (PUSC), was elected to succeed Oscar Arias Sanchez of the National Liberation Party (PLN) as Costa Rica's president. The private-sector oriented and populist PUSC also won a slim majority in the Legislative Assembly -- 29 of 57 seats. The PUSC was aligned to Christian Democratic and conservative parties in the Western Hemisphere and Europe. Under President Calderon, Costa Rica continues to play a prominent role in the Esquipulas Process. The Costa Ricans have hosted negotiations between the Salvadoran Government and the Farabundo Marti guerrilla faction and are key participants in efforts toward regional cooperation on political and economic development and demilitarization.
In the February 1994 elections, center-left National Liberation Party (PLN) candidate Jose Maria Figueres was elected President, succeeding Rafael Angel Calderon of the center-right Social Christian Unity Party (PUSC). Figueres, the son of former President Jose "Don Pepe" Figueres, defeated PUSC rival Miguel Angel Rodriguez in one of the closest elections in Costa Rican history. By winning 28 of 57 seats, the PLN regained a plurality in the legislature -- which in 1990 it had lost for the first time in more than 30 years. The PUSC won 25 seats, while minor parties took the remaining four.
In the February 1998 national election, Social Christian Unity Party (PUSC) candidate Miguel Angel Rodriguez won the presidency over National Liberation Party (PLN) nominee Jose Miguel Corrales. President Rodriguez assumed office May 8, 1998. The PUSC also obtained 27 seats in the 57-member Legislative Assembly, for a plurality, while the PLN gained 23, and five minor parties won seven. Social Christian in philosophy, the PUSC generally favors free-market principles, conservative fiscal policies, and government reform. President Rodriguez has pledged to reduce the country's large internal debt, privatize state-owned utilities, attract additional foreign investment, impose greater control over public-sector spending, and promote the creation of jobs with decent salaries.
President, Abel Pacheco, was elected in the country's first-ever run-off election in April 2002. His approval rating, however, fell steadily since 2002. Nearly 20 ministerial-level officials resigned or were dismissed from Pacheco's cabinet since he took office. Pacheco's government weathered strikes by public school teachers, telecommunications workers, dockworkers, and air traffic controllers, but the President was criticized for caving in too easily to demands from powerful public sector unions. The President was widely viewed as lacking the necessary vision and political clout to govern effectively and shape the future direction of the country. Pacheco was also subjected to close scrutiny for alleged campaign finance irregularities and various minor ethical violations which, coming on the heels of so many presidential scandals, further deteriorated his public standing.
The 2004 corruption scandals marked an important turning point in the political landscape. The resulting disillusionment has leaders within each of the two traditional political parties struggling to maintain cohesion in the run-up to the 2006 elections. Several National Liberation Party (PLN) principals have left the party to form their own groups. The Social Christian Unity Party (PUSC) also struggled to quell internal disputes, and there were at least two distinct groups whose differences on the party,s platform appeared irreconcilable.
In May 2006, President Oscar Arias of the National Liberation Party (PLN) assumed office, defeating principal rival Ottón Solis of the Civil Action Party by roughly 2% of the vote. Arias listed passage of the CAFTA-DR, along with fiscal reform, infrastructure improvements, improving education, and improving security as primary goals for his presidency. The 57-member unicameral Legislative Assembly had four principal party factions, with the governing party, PLN, having a 25-seat plurality.
On May 8, 2010 Laura Chinchilla, of the National Liberation Party (PLN), was sworn in as President of the Republic of Costa Rica. Chinchilla’s top priority is strengthening security. She has pushed for fiscal reform to support her policies, seeking to boost revenue, possibly through revised tax legislation, to fund an increase in security services and education. Chinchilla is also focused on improving the country’s infrastructure, reforming taxes, expanding jobs through a “green jobs” initiative, creating better living conditions for children and senior citizens, and supporting women’s issues. Following the 2010 elections, the 57-member unicameral Legislative Assembly fragmented into several parties, with no faction having a plurality--the PLN won 23 seats, the PAC 12 seats, PML 9 seats, and the PUSC 6 seats, with the remaining seats split among lesser known parties.
In April 2014 voters elected PAC’s Luis Guillermo Solis president during a second round of elections, after no candidate achieved 40 percent of the first-round vote. Presidential and legislative elections are simultaneous. In legislative elections the National Liberation Party gained the most seats, but three parties--the PAC, Broad Front, and Social Christian Unity Party--gained enough seats in the 57-member legislative assembly to form a coalition that gave them control of the legislature. Observers considered the elections generally free and fair. The Organization of American States team that observed the elections noted that for the first time the election process included citizens voting from abroad.
Women and persons of African descent (representing approximately 2.4 percent and 7.7 percent of the population, respectively, according to the 2011 census) were represented in government, but indigenous people were not. The electoral code requires that a minimum of 50 percent of candidates for elective office be women, with their names placed alternately with men on the ballots by party slate. There were nine women among the 21 cabinet ministers. There were 19 women in the 57-seat legislative assembly, including the vice president of the assembly and the first and second secretaries, a chief of faction, and four chairpersons of legislative committees. A woman served as chief justice of the Supreme Court. Indigenous persons did not play a significant role in politics or government and remained underrepresented. There were no indigenous members in the legislative assembly. Two Afro-Caribbean women were elected as legislators. An Afro-Caribbean woman headed the Limon Port Authority, an autonomous government institution.
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