Q COSTARICA — Costa Rican President Rodrigo Chaves kept the public guessing about whether he would step down from his presidency until the very last moment when he revealed that he would not.
Despite speculation about his potential candidacy as a legislator in the 2026 elections, Chaves had actually made his decision long before making the announcement.
However, the decision to remain in the presidency seems to have been made way before last Wednesday’s announcement. Unbeknownst to the public, a “legal ambush” was waiting for the president if he had resigned.
According to the President, the Speaker of the Congress, Rodrigo Arias, was prepared to prevent him from running for Congress in the 2026 elections should he decide to resign.
“Since January 25 of this year, they had a report prepared from Rodrigo Arias’s assistants and secretaries, called the Technical Services of the Legislative Assembly,” Chaves denounced.
According to Chaves, the technical report was intended to block his resignation and, therefore, prevent him from seeking a legislative seat, which he described as a premeditated act on the part of Arias and his legislative advisors.
“They were ambushing me so I would resign and then not be allowed to run (for legislator). Don’t you feel disgust at the way that system works? This institutionality they call democracy, that’s what the people of Costa Rica want to overthrow,” Chaves added.
He harshly criticized Arias publicly and described his decision as “a sad and shameless act of pure arbitrariness.”
The decision by Arias that the President’s resignation, if he were to have resigned, and that of First-Vice President Stephan Brunner was to have to be voted on by the Legislative Assembly and would require 38 votes (a super majority), generated controversy.
That controversy was resolved on Wednesday (yesterday), when the Tribunal Supremo de Elecciones (TSE) – Supreme Electoral Tribunal, announced the cancellation of Brunner’s credentials as First Vice President and reiterated that it was not necessary for the Legislative Assembly to vote on the decision.
The decision by Arias was also questioned by Pilar Cisneros, spokesperson for the ruling party, who recalled that in 2007 and 2008, then-Vice Presidents Kevin Casas and Laura Chinchilla resigned without their cases being submitted to a legislative vote.
“They didn’t do it with them, so why are they doing it now?” Cisneros said, directly criticizing the political handling of the issue.
Chaves, for his part, interpreted this new legislative interpretation as a sign that his possible resignation for electoral purposes had already been anticipated and hindered since the beginning of the year.
“I have more to day, I have to tell you more,” warned the president, who has hinted on several occasions at his interest in remaining active in politics beyond his current term.
President Chaves will end his term on May 8, 2026. The upcoming presidential elections will take place on Sunday, February 1, 2026, during which Costa Ricans will choose a new president, two new vice-presidents, and a legislature made up of 57 members, to four year terms.
Voting is mandatory for registered citizens under Article 93 of the Constitution of Costa Rica, but this is not enforced.
Whoever said that Costa Rican politics are boring?
Source link
Rico
