San José is the capital and largest city of Costa Rica, and the capital of the province of the same name. It is in the center of the country, in the mid-west of the Central Valley, within San José Canton. San José is Costa Rica's seat of national government, focal point of political and economic activity, and major transportation hub. San José Canton's population was 288,054 in 2011, and San José's municipal land area is 44.2 square kilometers, with an estimated 333,980 residents in 2015. Together with several other cantons of the central valley, including Alajuela, Heredia and Cartago, it forms the country's Greater Metropolitan Area, with an estimated population of over 2 million in 2017. The city is named in honor of Joseph of Nazareth.
The Citizens' Action Party is a political party in Costa Rica.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights in Costa Rica have evolved significantly in the past decades. Same-sex sexual relations have been legal since 1971. In January 2018, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights made mandatory the approbation of same-sex marriage, adoption for same-sex couples and the removal of people's sex from all Costa Rican ID cards issued since October 2018. The Costa Rican Government announced that it would apply the rulings in the following months. In August 2018, the Costa Rican Supreme Court ruled against the country's same-sex marriage ban, and gave the Legislative Assembly 18 months to reform the law accordingly, otherwise the ban would be abolished automatically. Same-sex marriage became legal on 26 May 2020.
Same-sex marriage has been legal in Costa Rica since May 26, 2020 as a result of a ruling by the Supreme Court of Justice. Costa Rica was the first country in Central America to recognize and perform same-sex marriages.
Christianity is the predominant religion in Costa Rica, with Catholicism being its largest denomination. Catholicism is also the state religion, but the government generally upholds people's religious freedom in practice.
Carlos Alvarado Villalobos was a Costa Rican footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He also represented Costa Rica at international level.
Events in the year 2013 in Costa Rica.
The National Restoration Party is a political party in Costa Rica. It was founded in 2005 by Carlos Avendaño Calvo mostly by dissidents of Costa Rica's historical Christian party, Costa Rican Renewal, after its then only deputy, Carlos Avendaño Calvo, left. Avendaño would successfully return to Congress because of the party from 2010 to 2014. Even though he had personal differences with Justo Orozco, both were able to work together in defending the same agenda, mainly the conservative views of the evangelical community. The party's candidate in the presidential election of 2014 was Avendaño, who received 1.35 percent of the vote.
Ana Helena Chacón Echeverría is a Costa Rica politician, who served as the nation's 2nd Vice President, under Luis Guillermo Solís 2014–2018, and as Ambassador in Spain, under Carlos Alvarado. Her political career is dedicated to issues of feminism, human rights, and public health policy. Previously a cabinet minister and deputy, Chacón has also served on numerous committees and conferences on the national and international level.
Carlos Andrés Alvarado Quesada is a Costa Rican politician, writer, journalist, and political scientist who served as the 48th president of Costa Rica from 8 May 2018 to 8 May 2022. A member of the Citizens' Action Party (PAC), Alvarado previously served as Minister of Labor and Social Security during the presidency of Luis Guillermo Solís.
General elections were held in Costa Rica in 2018 to elect both the President and Legislative Assembly. The first round of the presidential election was held on 4 February 2018, with the two highest-ranked candidates being Christian singer and Congressman Fabricio Alvarado Muñoz from the conservative National Restoration Party and writer and former Minister Carlos Alvarado Quesada from the progressive Citizens' Action Party, gaining 24% and 21% of the votes respectively. As no candidate received more than 40% of the first round vote, a second round run-off election was held on 1 April 2018 and was won by Carlos Alvarado Quesada, with a landslide victory of 60.6% of the vote.
Danny Gabriel Carvajal Rodríguez is a Costa Rican footballer who plays for Japanese club FC Ryukyu as a goalkeeper.
Juan Diego Castro Fernández is a Costa Rican lawyer and politician, former Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Costa Rica. Castro is a Defense lawyer who studied Law and Criminal science at the University of Costa Rica and has a Doctorate degree in Mediation from Universidad La Salle. Castro was Minister of Public Safety between 1994 and 1997 during the presidency of José María Figueres (PLN). He became the first cabinet member to receive a Motion of no confidence by the Legislative Assembly when he summoned police forces to fence off Parliament as a means to press for the reform of the Penal Code. Subsequently, Castro resigned as Minister of Safety and was named Minister of Justice. He unsuccessfully ran for the presidency as the nominee of the conservative-leaning National Integration Party in the 2018 Costa Rican general election. Castro has been compared unfavorably to US President Donald Trump and other right-wing antiestablishment and right-wing populist figures.
Gonzalo Justo Facio Segreda was a Costa Rican lawyer, politician, and diplomat.
Marvin Rafael de los Ángeles Rodríguez Cordero is a Costa Rican politician, teacher and labor union leader who served as the Second Vice President of Costa Rica from 8 May 2018 to 8 May 2022.
Referendums in Costa Rica are regulated by law. The main juridical body that regulates is the Law of Referendum or Law 8492. To this date the only nation-wide referendum done since the current Constitution and the afore mentioned referendum regulatory law is in place was the 2007 Costa Rican Dominican Republic – Central America Free Trade Agreement referendum.
Eduardo Octavio Trejos Lalli is a Costa Rican internationalist, private consultant and politician. Trejos is the current Costa Rican representative in the Central American Bank for Economic Integration. Trejos was also Director of National Intelligence and Security and has held the position of Deputy Foreign Minister, interim Foreign Minister and Ambassador of Costa Rica to Nicaragua
Thelma Darkings Bucknam is a Costa Rican actress and television presenter. She is known for hosting the Costa Rican talk show programs Conectados and previously Entre nos. Her film credits include Noi siamo angeli (1997), Caribe (2004), and El último comandante (2010).
General elections were held in Costa Rica on 6 February 2022, to elect the president, two vice-presidents, and all 57 deputies of the Legislative Assembly. As none of the presidential nominees obtained at least 40% of the votes, a runoff was held on 3 April 2022, between the top two candidates, José María Figueres and Rodrigo Chaves Robles.
The United States versus Costa Rica football (soccer) match was held on 22 March 2013 at the Dick's Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colorado. It was part of the second matchday of the final qualification round in CONCACAF for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
