Politics of Costa Rica

The politics of Costa Rica take place in a framework of a presidential, representative democratic republic, with a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the president and their cabinet, and the President of Costa Rica is both the head of state and head of government. Legislative power is vested in the Legislative Assembly. The president and 57 Legislative Assembly deputies are elected for four-year terms. The judiciary operates independently from the executive and the legislature, but is involved in the political process. Costa Rica has a strong system of constitutional checks and balances. Voting is compulsory de jure, but this is not enforced.

The position of governor in the seven provinces was abolished in 1998. There are no provincial legislatures. In 2009, the state monopolies on insurance and telecommunications were opened to private-sector competition. Certain other state agencies enjoy considerable operational independence and autonomy; they include the electrical power company (Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad), the nationalized commercial banks (which are open to competition from private banks), and the social security agency (Caja Costarricense del Seguro Social). Costa Rica has no military but maintains a domestic police force and a Special Forces Unit as part of the Ministry of the President.

According to the V-Dem Democracy indices Costa Rica was in 2024 the most electoral and liberal democratic country in Latin America.

History The politics of Costa Rica were unstable during the 19th and 20th centuries, with frequent coups and episodes of political violence. However, Costa Rican politics were relatively more peaceful and stable than in neighboring states.

The 1986 presidential election was won by Óscar Arias of the PLN. During his tenure he experienced some criticism from within his own party for abandoning its traditional social democratic teachings and promoting a neoliberal economic model. He received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1987 for his efforts to end civil wars then raging in several Central American countries.

In the February 1998 national election, PUSC candidate Miguel Ángel Rodríguez won the presidency over PLN nominee José Miguel Corrales Bolaños. 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 got 23 and five minor parties won seven. Social Christian in philosophy, the PUSC generally favors neoliberalism, conservative fiscal policies, and government reform. President Rodriguez pledged to reduce the country's large internal debt, privatize state-owned utilities, attract additional foreign investment, eliminate social welfare programs, and promote the creation of jobs with decent salaries.

The reforms he tried to promote found opposition from several parties, including his own, and he asserted several times the country was "ungovernable". In particular, an attempt by the Legislative Assembly to approve a law that opened up the electricity and telecommunication markets (controlled by a monopoly of the Costa Rican Institute of Electricity - ICE) to market competition, known as the "Combo" law, was met with strong social opposition. The Combo law was supported by both major parties at the time (PLN and PUSC) as well as by President Rodriguez, but the first of three required legislative votes to approve it provoked the largest protest demonstrations the country had seen since 1970. The government quickly resolved to shelve the initiative. President Rodríguez's approval would reach an all-time low, and he was indicted by the Attorney General after leaving office on corruption charges.

In September 2000 the Constitutional Court rejected an argument by former president Arias that a 1969 constitutional amendment banning presidential reelection be rescinded. Arias thus remained barred from a second term as president; however, in April 2003–by which time two of the four judges who had voted against the change in 2000 had been replaced–the Court reconsidered the issue and, with the only dissenters being the two anti-reelection judges remaining from 2000, declared the 1969 amendment null and thus opened the way to reelection for former presidents–which in practice meant Arias."Reelección seduce a los presidentes de America" El Nueavo Diario, Managua, 18 July 2007, retrieved July 2009; "Reelección presidencial: Arias sin prohibición para postularse", La Nacion, Costa Rica, 5 April 2003; retrieved July 2009.

In the 2002 national election, a new party founded by former PLN Deputy and government Minister Ottón Solís captured 26% of the vote, forcing a runoff election for the first time in the country's history. Abel Pacheco was elected president, under a national unity platform, but continuing most of the neoliberal and conservative policies of Miguel Ángel Rodríguez. This election was also important because new parties won several seats in the Legislative Assembly, more than ever. The PUSC obtained 19 seats, PLN 17 seats, PAC 14 seats, PML 6 seats and PRC one seat.

During 2004, several high-profile corruption scandals shattered the foundations of PUSC. Two former presidents from the party, Miguel Ángel Rodríguez and Rafael Ángel Calderón, were arrested on corruption charges and are currently waiting for the investigation to end and trial to begin. Also involved in scandals has been José María Figueres, former president from PLN and former head of the World Economic Forum.

The 2006 national election was expected to be a landslide for former president (1986–1990) and PLN's candidate Óscar Arias, but it turned out to be the closest in modern history. Although polls just a week before the election gave Arias a comfortable lead of at least 12% (and up to 20%), preliminary election results gave him only a 0.4% lead over rival Ottón Solís and prompted a manual recount of all ballots. After a month-long recount and several appeals from different parties, Arias was declared the official winner with 40.9% of the votes against 39.8% for Solís.

When Óscar Arias returned to office, the political debate shifted to the ratification of the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA). Main supporters of the approval included the President's PLN, which established a coalition with PUSC and ML in the Legislative Assembly to approve the implementation laws in the Assembly, as well as different business chambers. The main opposition to CAFTA came from PAC, labor unions, environmental organizations and public universities. In April 2007, former PLN Presidential candidate and CAFTA opponent José Miguel Corrales Bolaños won a legal battle at the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, which authorized him to gather over 100,000 signatures to send CAFTA to a referendum and let the people decide the fate of the controversial agreement. As the February 28, 2008 deadline to approve or reject CAFTA loomed, Arias decided to call for the referendum himself, and it took take place on October 7, 2007. CAFTA was approved with 51.5% of voters supporting it, although the election faced criticism due to international, including US, involvement.

The Costa Rican general election, 2010 was won by Laura Chinchilla of centrist National Liberation Party, who had been vice-president in the previous Arias administration. In May 2010, she was sworn in as the first female President of Costa Rica.

In 2014, Luis Guillermo Solís, PAC's presidential candidate campaigning on a platform of economic reform and anti-corruption, surprised political observers by winning 30.95% of votes in the first round, while PLN candidate Johnny Araya gained the second most votes with 29.95%. Broad Front's José María Villalta Florez-Estrada won 17% of the votes. On March 6, 2014, Araya announced that he would abandon his presidential campaign after polls showed him far behind Luis Guillermo Solís. Elections were held on April 6, 2014, as required by election law, and Solís won with 77.81% of the votes. According to the BBC, the success of Solís and Villalta is another example of anti-neoliberal politics in Latin America.

In April 2018, Carlos Alvarado won the presidential election. He became the new President of Costa Rica, succeeding President Guillermo Solís. Both Solis and Alvarado represented centre-left Citizens' Action Party.

In May 2022, Costa Rica's new president Rodrigo Chaves, right-wing former finance minister, was sworn in for a four-year presidential term. He had won the election runoff against former president Jose María Figueres.

In February 2026, Laura Fernández Delgado, a right-wing populist, was elected as the president of Costa Rica after winning the general election.

Branches of government

Executive branch

Executive responsibilities are vested in a president, who is elected to a term of four years directly by the voters, not by the Legislative Assembly as it would be in a parliamentary system. There also are two vice presidents and the president's cabinet composed of his ministers. A constitutional amendment approved in 1969 limits presidents and deputies to one term, although a deputy may run again for an Assembly seat after sitting out a term. The prohibition was officially recognized as unconstitutional in April 2004, allowing Óscar Arias to run for president a second time in the 2006 Costa Rican presidential elections, which he won with a margin of approximately 1%.

The President of Costa Rica has limited powers, particularly in comparison to other Latin American presidents. For example, the president cannot veto the legislative budget, and, thus, the Legislative Assembly is sovereign over the year's single most important piece of legislation. On the other hand, the president can appoint anyone to their cabinet without approval from the Assembly. This provides the single most important power versus the Legislative Assembly that any Costa Rican president has.

Ministries Ministry of the Presidency Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Worship Ministry of Finance Ministry of Public Security Ministry of Justice and Peace Ministry of Public Education Ministry of Public Works and Transports Ministry of Economy, Industry and Commerce Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Ministry of Health Ministry of Labour and Social Security Ministry of Culture and Youth Ministry of National Planning and Economical Policy Ministry of Environment and Energy Ministry of Housing and Human Settlements Ministry of Foreign Trade Ministry of Science, Technology and Telecommunications Ministry of Communication

Legislative branch

Legislative powers are held by the Legislative Assembly. Legislators, called deputies, are elected to non-consecutive four-year terms by popular, direct vote, using proportional representation in each of the country's seven provinces. As a result, there are nine separate political parties serving in the Legislative Assembly, with National Liberation Party holding 18 seats, the Citizens' Action Party holding 13, and Broad Front and the Social Christian Unity Party each holding 8. Other parties hold the remaining seats.

|Legislative Assembly President |Yara Jiménez Fallas |Sovereign People's Party |1 May 2026

Judicial branch

Politics of Costa Rica

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