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Costa Rica's government has been an outstanding example
of an enduring democracy for over 50 years. This is
quite an achievement when one looks at the rest of
the world particularly Latin America. In an area
of the world noted for wars, political chaos and even
dictatorships, Costa Rica stands out as a beacon of
democratic tranquility.
The World Bank rates Costa Rica and Chile as having
the best governments in Latin America.
Costa Rica is compared to Switzerland because of its
neutral political posture, with one exception: Costa
Rica has no army. As we mentioned earlier, in 1948
Costa Ricans did what no other modern nation has done it
formally abolished its army. That same year, the country
limited the power of its presidents, began universal
suffrage and dedicated its government to justice and
equality for all, thus ending discrimination and making
Costa Rica a truly unique nation. Consequently, in
Costa Rica you do not see any of the racial tension
so prevalent in the United States and some other parts
of the world. Non-citizens have the same rights as
Costa Ricans. Today there is even a growing women's
- rights movement.
Costa Ricans set up the legislative, judicial and
executive power structure to prevent any one person
or group from gaining too much power in order to ensure
the continuity of the democratic process. For example,
to eliminate the possibility of a dictatorship, all
presidents are limited to four-year non-consecutives
terms. In April of 2003 the Sala IV constitutional
court reinstated Article 132 enabling past heads of
state to run for president again eight years after
their term expired.
The members of the legislative assembly are limited
to a single fouryear term and cannot be re-elected.
There are 57 seats in the national legislative assembly,
elected by proportional representation from seven districts.
Seats are allocated to districts by population: San
José has 20, Alajuela has 11, Cartago has seven,
Heredia, Limón and Puntarenas have five, and
Guanacaste has four.
Costa Rica's government is divided into four branches:
the Executive (the president and two vice-presidents),
the Legislative Branch (Legislative Assembly and 57
legislators), the Elections Tribunal and the Judicial
Branch (the Supreme and lower courts).
The court is divided into four sections. The first
court, called the Sala Primera, decides civil
matters. The second court is called the Sala Segunda,
and is the labor court. The third court, the Sala
Tercera, is the criminal court. The fourth court
is the Constitutional Court, called the Sala Cuarta,
and by its name it is obvious that it decides constitutional
issues and that its decisions can override laws made
by any of the lower courts.
The country's two main political parties are the National
Liberation Party and the Social Christian Unity Party.
The Costa Rican National Assembly has just inaugurated a
new Internet site (http://www.asamblea.go.cr) that you can
visit to keep up on new laws and legislation as well as contact
local legislators and politicians.
Since Costa Rica is such a small country, voters can
participate more directly in the democratic process.
Each vote carries more weight, so politicians are more
accessible and have more contact with the people. Costa
Ricans approach the presidential elections with such
enthusiasm that they celebrate Election Day as if it
were a big party or national holiday. People wearing
party colors, honking cars and, bands playing Latin
music all contribute to the festive atmosphere. For
the 2002 presidential election the turnout was about
90 percent a figure that dwarfs dwarf the United
States,'meager 50-percent turnout.
In Costa Rica people settle arguments at the ballot
box, not on the battlefield. A group of American Quakers
established a colony because of this peaceful democratic
tradition, and the University of Peace was started
and still exists near San José.
In 2006, former president Oscar Arias Sánchez,
who during his first presidency was awarded the Nobel
Peace Prize in 1987 for his efforts to spread peace
and democracy from Costa Rica to the rest of strifetorn
Central America, was re-elected to the country's highest
office.
Much has been made about corruption in Latin America. According
to the Transparency International Corruption Perceptions
Index, Costa Rica is ranked third in all of Latin America
in a list of least corrupt countries. As a whole Costa Rica
is considered the 40th least corrupt country in the world.
This is a very favorable ranking since there is currently
a worldwide corruption crisis. All government services may
be accessed at http://www.Gobiernodigital.org.
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