Costa Rica Government - 1986

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES 

Official name: Republic of Costa Rica

Type: democratic republic

Capital: San Jose

Political subdivisions: 7 provinces divided into 80 cantons and districts

Legal system: based on Spanish civil law system; constitution adopted in 1949; judi cial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court, legal education at University of Costa Rica; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

National holiday: Independence Day, 15 September

Rranches: executive—President (head of government and chief of state), elected for a single four-year term; two vice presidents; legislative—57-delegate unicameral Legislative Assembly elected at four-year intervals, judiciary—Supreme Court of Justice (17 magistrates elected by Legislative Assembly at eight-year intervals)

Government leader: Oscar Arias SANCHEZ, President-elect (to be inaugurated May 1986)

Suffrage: universal and compulsory age 18 and over

Flections: every four years; last held in February 1986

Political parties and leaders: National Liberation Party (PLN), Luis Alberto Monge, Daniel Oduber, Jose “Pepe” Figueres, Oscar Arias Sanchez; the new United Social Christian Party (PUSC) comprises the four Unity Coalition (UNID AD) parties—Republican Calderonista Party (PRC), Rafael Angel Calderon Fournier, Democratic Renovation

Party (PRD\ leader unknown; Christian Democratic Party tPDC), Rafael Grillo Rivera; Popular Union Party (PUP), Christian Tallenbach Iglesias; the Popular alliance (PA) is a coalition comprising two parties—Marxist Popular Vanguard Party (PVP), Humberto Vargas (Carbonell, and Leftist Broad Democratic Front (FAD), Rodrigo Gutierrez; the United People (PU) is a leftist coalition comprising four parties— New Republic Movement (MNR), Sergio Erick Ardon; Socialist Party (PS), Alvaro Montero Mejia; People’s Party of Costa Rica (PPC), Manuel Mora Valverde; and Radical Democratic Party (PRD), Juan Jose Echeverria Brealey

Voting strength.· (1986 election) PLN, 29 seats; UNIDAD, 25 seats; PVP, 1 seat; PPC, 1 seat, other, 1 seat

Communists: 7 500 members and sympathizers

Other political or pressure groups: Costa Rican Confederation of Democratic Workers (CCTD: Liberation Party affiliate), Confederated Union of Workers (CUT, Communist Party affiliate), Authentic Confederation of Democratic Workers (CATD; Communist Party affiliate), Chamber of Coffee Growers, National Association for Economic Development (ANFE), Free Costa Rica Movement (MCRL; rightwing militants), National Association of Educators (ANDE)

Member of: CACM, Central American Democratic Community, FAO, G-77 IADB, IAE A, IBRD, ICAO, ICO, IDA, IDB—Inter- American Development Bank, IFAD. IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, 1PU, ITU, IWC—International Wheat Council, () AS, ODECA, PAHO, SELA, UN, UNESCO, UPEB, UPU, WHO, WMO. WTO

NOTE: The information regarding Costa Rica on this page is re-published from the 1986 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Costa Rica 1986 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Costa Rica 1986 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.