On December 1, 1821, Costa Rica adopted its first constitution.

On December 1, 1821, Costa Rica formulated the first constitution, the Fundamental Treaty of Costa Rican Society. On November 7, 1949, the current constitution was officially promulgated, and it was revised several times later. The constitution stipulates that the president is the head of state and the head of government; the president and vice president are directly elected for a term of four years; when the president is absent, the first vice president, the second vice president and the speaker take over in turn. In April 2003, Colombia amended the constitution again to allow the president to be re-elected.

Overview of Costa Rica

[Parliament] is called the Legislative Assembly, which is unicameral. It is the highest legislative body in the country and consists of 57 members. Members are directly elected by voters for a four-year term and cannot be re-elected. The Speaker is elected once a year. The term of office of the President of the Legislative Assembly is one year. The Assembly has six committees: Agriculture and Natural Resources, Economic Affairs, Government and Management, Budget and Taxation, Judicial Affairs, and Social Affairs.

[Judicial Body] The Supreme Court is the highest judicial body and consists of 22 judges with an eight-year term. If there is no objection from two-thirds of the members of Parliament at the end of the term, they can be automatically re-elected. There are 4 courts, the first, second and third courts each consist of 5 judges, and the fourth court (Constitutional Court) consists of 7 judges. Local courts are divided into three levels: province, county and district.

[Political parties] Main political parties:

(1) The National Liberation Party (Partido de Liberación Nacional): the ruling party. Founded in April 1952. The party has about 630,000 members. The party advocates the improvement of the democratic system at home, the realization of national industrialization, the development of the national economy, the implementation of land reform and the nationalization of banks; it advocates diversified diplomacy and supports the integration of Latin America.

(2) People's Action Party (Partido Acción Ciudadana): The second largest political party in Colombia, the opposition party. It was founded in December 2000 by Ottón Solis Fallas. The main members are dissidents within the FNL and CSL. The party advocates the development of the national economy and opposes neoliberal economic policies. The party has developed rapidly in recent years and the popular support rate has been rising.

(3)Movimiento Libertario: Colombia's third largest party, the opposition. It was formed in December 1994. The party advocates that everyone is his own master and should have the right to freely dispose of his body, actions and wealth, supports cooperation and free elections, and opposes compulsory payments and state monopolies.

(4) Christian Social Solidarity Party (Partido Unidad Social Cristiana): formed in December 1983 by the Democratic Renaissance Party, the National Republican Party, the Christian Democratic Party, and the People's Union Party. The party advocates restricting state capital, abolishing some state-owned enterprises, encouraging private investment and attracting foreign investment; maintaining friendly and respectful relations with all countries.