Politics

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Politics Presidential and legislative elections are held every four years. Presidents generally appoint cabinet ministers and many other central government officials and employees.

= ** The Three Branches of Government ** =

Information from table was found at cia.gov

 **All Costa Rica citizens may vote once they reach 18 years old.**

= = Laura Chinchilla became Costa Rica's first female president, promising a more inclusive, transparent and green government, which she immediately put to work by suspending all open-pit mining projects in the country.

"My government will be for all women and men," Chichilla said after her open-air swearing in ceremony yesterday at a central square with thousands of supporters cheering her on.

=The Flag of Costa Rica = five horizontal bands of blue (top), white, red (double width), white, and blue, with the coat of arms in a white elliptical disk toward the hoist side of the red band; Costa Rica retained the earlier blue-white-blue flag of Central America until 1848 when, in response to revolutionary activity in Europe, it was decided to incorporate the French colors into the national flag and a central red stripe was added; today the blue color is said to stand for the sky, opportunity, and perseverance, white denotes peace, happiness, and wisdom, while red represents the blood shed for freedom, as well as the generosity and vibrancy of the people

// note: somewhat resembles the flag of North Korea; similar to the flag of Thailand but with the blue and red colors reversed (cia.gov) //

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 **Questions:** 1. Who is the president of Costa Rica? a. Alfi Piva Messen b. Laura Chinchilla c. Luis Liberman Gingsburg

2. What are the colors of the national flag? a. red, white and blue b. red, blue and green c. black, blue and red

Answers: //(highlight for answers)// 1. b  2. a

References Central America and Carribean: Costa Rica. (n.d.). //Central Intelligence Agency- The World Factbook//. Retrieved April 30, 2011, from https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/cs.html