Carlos Alvarado Quesada was sworn in the morning of Tuesday, May 8th, at the presidential inauguration ceremony held at Plaza de la Democracia in San Jose as the 48th President of Costa Rica for the period 2018-2022, which means he will celebrate the country’s Independence bicentennial in 2021.

Alvarado has taken on the commitment of guiding the country towards a more equitable development, inclusive and sustainable, with more security, health, education and respect for human rights.

Carlos Alvarado was born January 14, 1980 he is 38 years old. Son of Adelia Quesada Alvarado who dedicated her life to her family, and Alejandro Alvarado Induni an electric engineer. Carlos Alvarado grew up in the community of Pavas, in San Jose, along with his brother, Federico, the eldest, and his younger sister, Irene.

He studied communication at the University of Costa Rica. He is married to Claudia Dobles and together they have one son, Gabriel.

Costa Rica’s presidential inauguration ceremony was the first in the world to be carbon neutral.

Alvarado inherits a country at the doors of an economic crisis with a fiscal deficit of close to 6.2%. He will have the challenge of leading the country with a Legislative Assembly formed by members of 7 different political parties and with the opposition as a majority (members of the National Liberation Party and National Restoration Party). The new President has focused his speech around the need of having a unified government and common goals.

“We have built a government of national unity with the purpose of giving the country more governance and have more cooperation (from Congress) to move ahead in our goals. Our job is to work in what unities us”, commented Alvarado during the ceremony where he announced the members of his team.

The new president has promised “To be responsible in containing public expenses, effective in the collection of current and new taxes and be more efficient in the work of the public sector”.