How It Works

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As San Rafael's new municipal government approaches its first year in office, I begin to explore how it all works.

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ow that local government officials in San Rafael de Heredia have begun tackling more complex community issues, my aim to chronicle their progress comes more into focus. That is, describing and documenting the processes they apply to develop, propose and carry out community solutions while simultaneously abiding by norms, regulations and the laws of Costa Rica.

As different community groups navigate towards specific objectives in an often unsteady political climate, the analyses in this particular study aim at the solutions resulting from the planning, execution and outcomes of community-government interactions. In this case, the canton of San Rafael de Heredia will serve to illustrate such interactions.

The Officials:
Because of his role as mayor, much more attention is given to Jorge Arias Santamaria. The next in line by order of political relevance is municipal council president Minor Robles Vargas. Both officials respectively are in charge of the municipality and the local parliamentary body.

The Others:
The Supreme Elections Tribunal (TSE) lists all the local government officials in a downloadable document called Nuestros gobernantes (Our Leaders) available from the Election Results section of the TSE’s website. They’re listed by province, canton and/or district. The elected officials are as follows:

  • One mayor and two vice mayors
  • Seven council members and their respective alternates
  • Five district council members for each district and respective alternates

Each of the five districts selects one council member to represent them before the general municipal council. These representatives are known as a síndicos or síndicas.

The Politics of Water

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everal neighbors of Residencial Del Monte in San Rafael de Heredia own or live on properties that were built partly or entirely on land protected by Law No. 65 of 1888, and as a result of the constitutional court’s recent ruling that orders the MINAE (ministry of the environment and energy) to recover all properties that legally belong to the state, the neighbors came together on July 29 to discuss options and strategize on a way forward.

Courtesy of Conceverde

Law No. 65 is a 135-year-old law that protects a two-kilometer strip of land bordering Braulio Carrillo National Park in the mountains north of Heredia, stretching from the Barva Volcano to Mount Zurquí. Originally and currently, much of the greater metropolitan area has relied on the water resources in these mountains.

The neighbors at Residencial Del Monte are not the only ones affected by the court’s decision, and, this is not the first time the court rules on a Law 65 case. In fact, to comply with the court’s order 15 years ago, the ministry set up boundary markers to identify where the area begins. But according to available documents, that’s where they left off.

[ More to come … ]

Cultural Magazine

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San Rafael is published by Rodolfo Camacho Ramirez. The magazine covers historical events, characters, personalities and sites of a bygone era in the canton. In his introduction of the publication, Mr. Camacho begins by saying, “A community that does not know its past cannot understand its present; therefore, it can’t set a path to the future.”

According to Camacho, the publication focuses on the past while covering a wide range of topics and activities from education and religion to sports, recreation and business. By virtue of its traits, San Rafael is a collectible to be used as a learning platform for generations to come.

illustrates magazine cover

In the next update, find out how well the magazine did since 2016, and if the pandemic took a toll on their circulation or not.