Editing Politics of Costa Rica (section)

== Recent history ==
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 in Costa Rica|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rejected an argument by former president Arias that a 1969 constitutional amendment banning presidential reelection be rescinded.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.<ref>[http://impreso.elnuevodiario.com.ni/2007/07/18/nacionales/54109 "Reelección seduce a los presidentes de America"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130913040137/http://impreso.elnuevodiario.com.ni/2007/07/18/nacionales/54109 |date=2013-09-13 }} El Nueavo Diario, Managua, 18 July 2007, retrieved July 2009; [http://www.nacion.com/ln_ee/2003/abril/05/pais1.html "Reelección presidencial: Arias sin prohibición para postularse"], La Nacion, Costa Rica, 5 April 2003; retrieved July 2009.</ref>

In the 2002 national election, a new party founded by former PLN Congressman 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 Congress, 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 Fournier|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 Congress to approve the implementation laws in Congress, as well as different business chambers. The main opposition to CAFTA came from PAC, [[Trade unions in Costa Rica|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.<ref>{{cite news|last=Lydersen|first=Kari|title=Costa Rica's CAFTA "Si" Vote Called into Question|url=http://upsidedownworld.org/main/trade-archives-54/939-costa-ricas-cafta-si-vote-called-into-question|access-date=31 March 2014|date=11 October 2007}}</ref>

The [[Costa Rican general election, 2010]] was won by [[Laura Chinchilla]] of centrist [[National Liberation Party (Costa Rica)|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.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8670459.stm|title = Costa Rican president sworn in|date = 8 May 2010}}</ref>

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 (Costa Rica)|Broad Front]]'s [[José María Villalta Florez-Estrada]] won 17% of the votes.<ref>{{cite web |title=Mapa de Resultados Elecciones Costa Rica |trans-title=Costa Rican Map of Electoral Results |language=es |url=http://www.nacion.com/nacional/Mapa-Resultados-Elecciones-Costa-Rica_11_1378572130.html |work=RESULTADOS ELECTORALES EN MAPA ELECTORAL |publisher=La Nación |place=San José |access-date=20 February 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140203105934/http://www.nacion.com/nacional/Mapa-Resultados-Elecciones-Costa-Rica_11_1378572130.html |archive-date=3 February 2014 }}</ref>  On March 6, 2014, Araya announced that he would abandon his presidential campaign after polls showed him far behind Luis Guillermo Solís.<ref name="BBC withdraw">{{cite news|title=Costa Rica government's presidential candidate withdraws|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-26461528|access-date=12 March 2014|newspaper=BBC|date=5 March 2014}}</ref>  Elections were held on April 6, 2014, as required by election law,<ref>{{cite news|title=Solís advierte que aún no es presidente a pesar de retirada de Araya|trans-title=Solís warns that he is not yet president despite Araya's withdrawal|language=es|url=http://www.prensalibre.com/internacional/Costa_Rica-Solis-Araya-politica-elecciones_0_1096090681.html|access-date=12 March 2014|newspaper=Prensa Libre|agency=AFP|place=Guatemala City|date=5 March 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140312073201/http://www.prensalibre.com/internacional/Costa_Rica-Solis-Araya-politica-elecciones_0_1096090681.html|archive-date=12 March 2014}}</ref> 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.<ref name="BBC withdraw" />

In April 2018, [[Carlos Alvarado Quesada|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 (Costa Rica)|Citizens' Action Party]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-43617282|title = Costa Rica president-elect Carlos Alvarado calls for unity|work = BBC News|date = 2 April 2018}}</ref>

In May 2022, Costa Rica's new president [[Rodrigo Chaves Robles|Rodrigo Chaves]], right-wing former finance minister, was sworn in for a four-year presidential term. He had won the [[2022 Costa Rican general election|election]] runoff against former president [[José María Figueres|Jose María Figueres]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Costa Rica: Rodrigo Chaves takes office as president |date=9 May 2022 |url=https://www.dw.com/en/costa-rica-rodrigo-chaves-takes-office-as-president/a-61727426 |work=DW.com |publisher=Deutsche Welle}}</ref>