2014 in Costa Rica

Events in the year 2014 in Costa Rica.

Incumbents

President – Laura Chinchilla Miranda (Partido Liberación Nacional – PLN) until 8 May; succeeded by Luis Guillermo Solís Rivera (Partido Acción Ciudadana – PAC). First Vice President – Alfio Piva Mesén (PLN) until 8 May; succeeded by Helio Fallas Venegas (PAC). Second Vice President – Luis Liberman Ginsburg (PLN) until 8 May; succeeded by Ana Helena Chacón Echeverría (PAC). President of the Legislative Assembly – Luis Fernando Mendoza Jiménez (PLN) until 1 May; succeeded by Henry Mora Jiménez (PAC).

Events

January

1 January – New Year's Day, a national holiday.Holidays in Costa Rica in 2014 TimeAndDate.com. Retrieved: 2013-12-22. 5 January – The annual Fiestas de Zapote which began on Christmas Day came to an end, but not before an was thrown into the air by a 500 kilogram bull, but she was unhurt. Between Christmas Day and New Year's Day alone, 135 required hospital treatment at an average cost to the of ¢660,938 each.VIDEO: Costa Rican woman launched skyward by 1,100-pound bull The Tico Times, 2014-01-06.Atención de cada torero improvisado herido le cuesta ¢660.000 a la CCSS La Nación, 2014-01-01. January 15–27 – The annual Palmares Festival took place offering "bullfights" (which involve running from bulls), carnival rides, a famous (horse parade) lasting for hours and involving thousands of riders on 16 January, concerts, a carnival parade with bands and costumed salsa, merengue, cumbia, and mambo dancing troupes, lots of drinking, and a closing fireworks display. About a million people or roughly one fifth of the population were expected to attend.5 things to know about Costa Rica's gigantic Palmares Festival The Tico Times, 2014-01-08.Send in the cavalry: Palmares tope draws thousands The Tico Times, 2013-01-17.Palmares 2014: la fiesta en grande continúa La Nación, 2014-01-24. 23 January – Twelve cantons banned the sale of alcohol on the day of the forthcoming elections on 2 February in accordance with Article 26 of Law 9047. The cantons were Alajuelita, Aserrí, Athens, Brokers, Cartago, Dota, Guácimo, Los Chiles, Poas, San Ramon, and Upala. San José imposed an even longer ban, from 1 to 3 February. Other cantons decided against the prohibition: Buenos Aires, Desamparados, Garabito, Golfito, La Cruz, León Cortes, Naranjo, Parrita, Talamanca, Tibás, and Turrialba; while yet others remained undecided. Nevertheless, San José decided not to enforce its own ban because placing closure notices on bars on a previous occasion was tedious and cost ₡6 million.12 cantones prohíben venta de licor el día de elecciones La Nación, 2014-01-24. Ley de Regulación y Comercialización de bebidas con contenido alcohólico Sistema Costarricense de Información Jurídica. Retrieved: 2014-01-24. Quote: "Artículo 26: Cada municipalidad tendrá la facultad de regular la comercialización de bebidas alcohólicas y consumo de licor, los días que se celebren actos cívicos, desfiles u otras actividades cantonales, en la ruta asignada, y podrá delimitar el radio de acción." No, San José police won't enforce the 'dry law' during presidential elections (and the Super Bowl) The Tico Times, 2014-01-24. 27 January – President Laura Chinchilla Miranda attended the presidential inauguration ceremony of Juan Orlando Hernández of Honduras. Afterwards, she became the first Costa Rican president to visit Cuba in 52 years when she attended a meeting of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States. Costa Rica broke diplomatic relations with Cuba on 10 September 1961. President Óscar Arias Sánchez resumed bilateral relations on 18 March 2009 following the Cold War political and ideological differences between the two nations.Chinchilla aterriza en Cuba para asumir presidencia de la Celac La Nación, 2014-01-27. 29 January During her visit to Havana, President Chinchilla avoided direct criticism of Cuba but, during a speech in the presence of Raúl Castro, called on governments to be more open to initiatives by civil society. She also referred to the commitment of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States to democracy and human rights. Meanwhile, her Director of Foreign Policy, Linyi Baidal, met with Cuban dissidents at the Costa Rican embassy in Havana. In another pleasing gesture to Cuban opposition leaders, Chinchilla spoke of the forthcoming "free and competitive" general election in Costa Rica.Laura Chinchilla se va de Cuba con un llamado por la sociedad civil La Nación, 2014-01-30. At a service including religious figures gathered at the Metropolitan Cathedral in San José, the Bishop of Cartago, Francisco Ulloa, reminded voters in the forthcoming election to support candidates who were anti-abortion and anti-gay marriage. Juan Luis Calvo, president of the Evangelical Alliance called on the government to rethink guidelines on sexuality published by the Ministry of Public Education.Iglesias piden ‘voto iluminado’ para defender vida y familia La Nación, 2014-01-30.

February

2 February – First Sunday in February: Costa Ricans cast their ballots for a new president, two vice presidents, and 57 Legislative Assembly lawmakers. No presidential candidate won 40 percent of the vote so the two leading candidates, Luis Guillermo Solís (30.64%) and Johnny Araya Monge (29.71%), proceeded to a second round vote to take place on 6 April.Costa Rica's 2014 election season is officially open The Tico Times, 2013-10-02.Cronograma Electoral Tribunal Supremo de Elecciones, 2012-04-24. Inminente segunda ronda entre Johnny Araya y Luis Guillermo Solís La Nación, 2014-02-02. In the Legislative Assembly elections, the won 18 Assembly seats (a loss of five); won 14 (a gain of three); won nine (+8); won eight (+2); won three (−6); won two (+1); and the parties (−3), (+1), and (no change) won a single seat each.Mapa de Resultados Elecciones Costa Rica 2014 La Nación, 2014-02-10. Corte #1: Resultados Electorales: SAN JOSÉ Tribunal Supremo de Elecciones, 2014-02-24. Corte #2: Resultados Electorales: ALAJUELA Tribunal Supremo de Elecciones, 2014-02-25. Corte #3: Resultados Electorales: CARTAGO Tribunal Supremo de Elecciones, 2014-02-25. Corte #4: Resultados Electorales: HEREDIA Tribunal Supremo de Elecciones, 2014-02-25. Corte #5: Resultados Electorales: GUANACASTE Tribunal Supremo de Elecciones, 2014-02-27. Corte #6: Resultados Electorales: PUNTARENAS Tribunal Supremo de Elecciones, 2014-02-27. Corte #7: Resultados Electorales: LIMÓN Tribunal Supremo de Elecciones, 2014-02-27. 4 February – A manual recount began of votes cast in the presidential election because the difference between the two leading candidates did not exceed two percent. The latest count showed Luis Guillermo Solís with 30.95 percent of the vote, and Johnny Araya having 29.59 percent. By law, the ballot count must be completed within 30 days of the election.Supreme Elections Tribunal begins manual recount of presidential votes The Tico Times, 2014-02-04. 5 February – Award-winning investigative editor and pioneer of data journalism at La Nación, Giannina Segnini, resigned after 20 years working at the newspaper. She said that opportunities to conduct independent journalism had been reduced consistently in the past two years, while editorial decisions she described as unjournalistic made it impossible for her to continue.Top investigative editor Giannina Segnini quits La Nación after 20 years The Tico Times, 2014-02-05. 6 February – The new school year began with children returning from holidays on the 6th (Wednesday) and 10th (Monday) of February. The school year will be 200 days long (41 teaching weeks) until 11 December, with a break from 1 to 12 July.Escuelas y colegios se preparan para recibir a estudiantes La Nación, 2014-02-02. CCSS atenderá a 200.000 niños en este curso lectivo La Nación, 2014-01-15. 8–10 February – Laura Chinchilla attended the final international summit of her presidency when she took part in the eighth summit of the Pacific Alliance in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia. She signed a protocol at a plenary session on the 10th finalising the process of Costa Rica's accession to full membership of the Alliance.Chinchilla se despide de cumbres presidenciales en Colombia La Nación, 2014-02-09. Costa Rica firma la hoja de ruta para su adhesión a la Alianza del Pacífico La Nación, 2014-02-10. 14–23 February – The annual Puntarenas Carnival was celebrated, consisting of concerts, street dancing, band and horse parades, a national beach volleyball competition, band and clown performances, bullfights, street theatre, a fashion show, illuminations, and fireworks.Los carnavales de Puntarenas le suben la temperatura al Puerto La Nación, 2014-02-14. Agenda de los Carnavales de Puntarenas La Nación, 2014-02-14. La fiesta porteña se despide con carnaval y conciertos La Nación, 2014-02-22. 17 February – The announced the final result in the first round vote of the presidential election held on February 2: Luis Guillermo Solís won 30.6% of the vote while Johnny Araya won 29.7%, with 19,232 votes separating them. José María Villata received 17.24%; Otto Guevara won 11.33%; and Rodolfo Piza gained 6.01%.TSE anuncia resultado final de la elección del 2 de febrero: Luis Guillermo Solís 30,6%; Johnny Araya 29,7% La Nación, 2014-02-17. 22 February–2 March – The took place, an annual festival in Liberia, including such diverse activities as horseriders parades, parades of bulls, bull riding, concerts, dances, free fairground rides for poor children and residents of old peoples' homes, drama performances, and fireworks displays.Liberia arrancó con sus festejos Diario Extra, 2014-02-22. Programa Oficial de las Fiestas Cívicas Liberia del 20 de Febrero al 02 de Marzo 2014 Radio Pampa, 2014-02-18. 25 February – Editor-in-Chief of La Nación, Yanancy Noguera, resigned after 24 years working at the newspaper. She said that recent "integrated newsroom" work flow changes had reduced her role and relevance, and introduced differences of vision between her and corporate management.La Nación editor-in-chief quits The Tico Times, 2014-02-25. 25 February – A phreatic explosion occurred at Poás Volcano sending a column of steam, water, ash, and small rocks 300 metres into the air. It occurred when magma reacted with water in the lake inside the crater. A spokeswoman for said the activity was normal although the height of the column was unusual.Poás Volcano spews material 300 meters high after explosion inside crater The Tico Times, 2014-02-25.

March

5 March – A candidate in the presidential election second round, Johnny Araya Monge, withdrew from his election campaign and was designated leader of his political party by deputies, to form an opposition to a new government led by . Araya's withdrawal followed the publication of an opinion survey by Semanario Universidad showing his opponent Luis Guillermo Solís leading the poll at 64.4 percent, with Araya trailing at a distant 20.9 percent. The political campaign continued as mandated by the constitution, but without electoral activity by Araya.Encuesta: Solís se enrumba a segunda ronda con clara ventaja sobre Araya Semanario Universidad, 2014-03-05.Araya desiste de Presidencia y liderará al PLN en oposición La Nación, 2014-03-06. 9 March – National Oxherds Day (). 19 March – Saint Joseph's Day. 30 March – The presidential election runoff campaign ended a week before polling day with leading candidate Luis Guillermo Solís of the Citizen Action Party holding a rally at the Plaza de Guarantías Sociales in San José to encourage his supporters to get out the vote. This Sunday was the final day when political parties could distribute or pay for election advertising.Costa Rica's runoff campaign season ended Sunday with Solís pressing supporters to get out and vote The Tico Times, 2014-03-31.

April