Costa Rica

The Costa Rican political system diverges significantly from the Latin American norm. Liberal democratic traditions, which have yet to develop in most of the region, are deeply embedded in Costa Rica. The Costa Rican party system appears to be evolving toward a competitive two-party model because the parties that composed the Unity coalition merged formally into the Social Christian Unity party in 1984. Party politics and elections are especially important in Costa Rica because no professional military since 1948 existed to interfere in the political process. Costa Rica has few large corporations, but business organizations such as the conservative National Association for Economic Development and the Costa Rican Chamber of Commerce have become very active in politics. Costa Ricans characterize themselves as uncooperative, individualistic, and hard to mobilize, but, in fact, they participate vigorously in the electoral process and in other forms of political activity.