Desamparados is the 3rd canton in the province of San José in Costa Rica. The canton covers an area of , and had a population of in 2022, making it the third most populated among the 81 cantons of Costa Rica. The canton's capital city is also called Desamparados.
The canton begins in the southern suburbs of the national capital city of San José, with the Tiribí River marking its northern boundary. It snakes its way south as a backward letter S, finally reaching its southern limit at the Tarrazú River. It contains the bigger of the last forest lungs in the Greater Metropolitan Area, the Loma Salitral, which conservation issues have generated social conflicts between community environmentalists and immobility developers, as it is seen as an identity mark of the desamparadeño people and a vital infiltration area to prevent the frequents and disastrous floods in the district of Gravilias.
Urban areas claim 80.4% of the canton's population. Those under age 10 comprise 19.8% of its inhabitants, while 5.1% are over 65.
History The canton was established by a legislative decree of November 4, 1862.
Government Mayor According to Costa Rica's Municipal Code, mayors are elected every four years by the population of the canton. As of the latest municipal elections in 2024, the National Liberation Party candidate, María Antonieta Naranjo Brenes, was elected mayor of the canton with 26.38% of the votes, with Carlos Alberto Padilla Corella and Kenneth Alexander Cubillo Vargas as first and second vice mayors, respectively.
+ Mayors since the 2002 electionsPeriodNameParty2002–2006Carlos Alberto Padilla Corella PLN2006–2010Maureen Fallas Fallas2010–20162016–2020Gilbert Adolfo Jiménez SilesAlso legally known as Gilbert Jiménez Siles2020–20242024–2028María Antonieta Naranjo Brenes
Municipal Council Like the mayor and vice mayors, members of the Municipal Council (called ) are elected every four years. Desamparados' Municipal Council has 11 seats for regidores and their substitutes, who can participate in meetings but not vote unless the owning regidor () is absent. The current president of the Municipal Council is the regidor for Social Christian Unity Party, María Isabel Llamas Echeverría, with the regidor for Our Town Party, Luis José Flores Jiménez, as vice president. The Municipal Council's composition for the 2024-2028 period is as follows:
+ Current composition of the Municipal Council of Desamparados after the 2024 municipal electionsPolitical parties in the Municipal Council of DesamparadosPolitical party Regidores№OwnerSubstituteNational Liberation Party (PLN) 3Gabriel Gustavo Picado OviedoVinicio Alberto Valverde ChacónKarla Vanessa Mora RodríguezZaira Elena Romero FallasJuan Chacón CastilloManuel Araya BadillaSocial Christian Unity Party (PUSC) 2Jonatan Mauricio Chavarría SibajaRandall Sibaja MirandaMaría Isabel Llamas Echeverría(P)Carmen Martínez JacksonSocial Democratic Progress Party (PSD) 1Ricardo Antonio Arce DíazWilliam Solera AlfaroProgressive Liberal Party (PLP)1Luis Guillermo Gómez GodínezJavier Umaña ValencianoOur Town Party (PNP)1Luis José Flores Jiménez(VP)Adrián Eduardo Monge MongeNew Republic Party (PNR)1Cristian Arturo Chacón UreñaAlso legally known as Kristhian Arturo Chacón UreñaWalter Jesús Garro ArayaBroad Front (FA)1Eduardo Guillén GardelaAlso legally known as Eduardo Gardela RamírezMario Esteban Raitt NúñezCosta Rican Communal Ecological Party (PAEC)1Jesús Rodríguez GutiérrezJosé Marcial Rodríguez Carvajal
Districts The canton of Desamparados is subdivided into 13 districts:
Desamparados San Miguel San Juan de Dios San Rafael Arriba San Antonio Frailes Patarrá San Cristóbal Rosario Damas San Rafael Abajo Gravilias Los Guido
Sports The football soccer club Orión F.C. plays here.
Demographics
Desamparados had a population of in 2022, the third highest in the country and up from in the 2011 census.
According to a publication by the United Nations Development Programme, Desamparados has a Human Development Index score of , ranking it 13th in its province.
Transportation Road transportation The following road routes cover the canton:
Notable people Máximo Fernández Alvarado Joel Campbell Roy Miller Laura Chinchilla Jorge Alejandro Castro
Notes
References