The highest authorities of the national government met on Monday to commemorate The Costa Rican Democracy’s Day, where they discussed the challenges that face the democratic system.
According to President Luis Guillermo Solís, this date reflects a need to strengthen the democratic system in which social pacts, transparency in institutions and possible reform of the state to incorporate different views are included.
He also declared that the biggest challenge is to eliminate the extreme poverty that overwhelms a part of the population, which is part of a society that does not pay attention to the distribution of wealth.
In addition, president of the Supreme Court of Justice Zarela Villanueva said that the country is at a stage where it is necessary to respect citizens’ human rights to achieve a better system.
On the other hand, President of the Legislative Assembly Antonio Álvarez stated that in order to improve democracy, gender inequality must be eradicated as well as improving decentralization and increasing youth participation.
Likewise, president of the Supreme Electoral Court (TSE) Luis Antonio Sobrado drew attention to the behavior of citizens in social networks, where normally different opinions are not respected.
According to Sobrado, this lack of dialogue could reflect daily life in the congress, where different ideologies share their different points of view and fulfill the objective of democracy: to achieve a civilized coexistence.
Since 1942, Costa Rica celebrates this date to honor November 7th, 1889, day in which the people enforced the results of the electoral process.