The Ngöbe-Buglé natives born in the border area between Panama and Costa Rica may opt for Costa Rican nationality.
This was stipulated by legislators in a bill to give protection to the indigenous person, which advanced in the legislative current when it was ruled in the Human Rights Commission.
According to Enrique Sanchez, from the Citizen Action Party (PAC), the cross-border indigenous person can opt for a permanent residence or apply for the naturalization process.
It is voluntary, but the consultations we did in indigenous territory, we noticed that many people, almost 90% of the people who attended, wanted to opt for these processes,”
said Sánchez.
The initiative requires the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) to provide the service through its personnel in the area but also, the institution must guarantee to do it in their language.