The country’s entry into the 21st century has been marked by a questioning of its democratic and bipartisan model. The legal cases for corruption and illicit enrichment that follow three former presidents: Rafael Ángel Calderón Fournier and Miguel Ángel Rodríguez Echeverría (who were arrested at the end of 2004 during the government of Abel Pacheco, and are awaiting trial) and Jose Maria Figueres Olsen (who was investigated by a legislative body but who refused to return to the country, taking advantage of the absence of deportation in European countries and so far the whereabouts of the same is unknown, which was never communicated or tried to communicate his innocence in the face of the facts of corruption). On October 5, 2009, former President Rafael Ángel Calderón Fournier, presidential candidate of the Christian Social Unity Party, was sentenced for embezzlement to five years in prison and disqualified from holding public office, making his candidacy impossible. He was replaced by former Vice President Luis Fishman, who is the first Jew to run for the presidency of Costa Rica.
In the national elections of February 7, 2010, the neoliberal policy Laura Chinchilla wins, becoming the first woman to reach that position in this country, with the challenge of meeting strong expectations to keep the country on the path of growth and combat The insecurity. The ruling party Laura Chinchilla Miranda won, being the first time that a woman holds the Costa Rican first magistracy, and the fifth in Latin America. [22] During the first year of his government, the country was involved in a diplomatic conflict with Nicaragua [23] around the Costa Rican Calero Island, [24] which had to be resolved in the International Court of Justice. [25]
Domestically, his government was characterized by criticism mainly of measures to improve citizen security, considered by Costa Ricans to be the main problem in the country, [26] as well as problems of road infrastructure and bridges (such as the highway to Caldera, inaugurated in the government of Arias, or the bridge over the Virilla River on the road that connects Alajuela and San José), and financial crisis in public institutions such as the Costa Rican Social Security Fund. Despite all this, on March 26, 2011, the New National Stadium of Costa Rica was inaugurated, [27] built with a donation from the People’s Republic of China, in the midst of sports and cultural celebrations. [28] Two months later, a free trade agreement with that nation would be approved.
In 2014, academic Luis Guillermo Solís Rivera, of the Citizen Action Party, was elected president in the second electoral round and in the absence of his contender Johnny Araya, thus becoming the first president given to the country by this party and the first that did not come from one of the two traditional political forces, in addition its support in the second round was relevant, reaching 78% [29] of the votes (more than 1,300,000), with this the National Liberation Party went to the opposition. The growth of the Left Broad Front Party was striking, consolidating itself as the third electoral and parliamentary force. After the plenary elections, agreements were reached between the PAC, FA and PUSC parties in the face of the opposition led by the PLN, in view of the election of the Board and support for projects.
Since January 29, 2014, and for a year, Costa Rica held the pro-tempore presidency of CELAC after receiving it from President Raúl Castro at the II Summit of the regional entity held in Havana. In January 2015, it was delivered to the Republic of Ecuador.
Migration crisis
As a result of the US immigration policy towards Cuba and after the enactment of the Immigration Law in the Caribbean archipelago in 2013, there was an increase in the number of Cubans on their way to the US through Costa Rican territory. From October 2015 to March 2016, as a country located in Central America according to allpubliclibraries.com, Costa Rica received about 8,000 Cubans. The Cubans legally left the island by air to different South American countries, such as Ecuador, where a visa is not required, and from there they traveled irregularly through Colombia and Panama, until they reached Costa Rica in transit to the United States, where they go encouraged by the Cuban Adjustment Act and the wet-foot-dry-foot policy. [30] In October 2015 Nicaragua It closes its borders to the passage of Cuban emigrants and the accumulation of Cubans on the border with Costa Rica occurs, which triggers a humanitarian crisis. After several meetings between the countries of the region, it was agreed to open an “exceptional, safe and orderly passage” for the 8,000 Cuban migrants. The route followed was by air from Costa Rica to El Salvador, a country from which they will continue their journey to Mexico by buses. The costs of airfare and buses were paid for by the Cubans themselves.
