President-elect Carlos Alvarado chose the Plaza de la Democracia (Democracy Plaza) in San Jose as the site for the presidential transition act that will take place May 8th.

Alvarado made the request directly to the commission in charge of the transition act, which is headed by Marcia Gonzalez president of the Citizens’ Action Party and Minister of Foreign Affairs Manuel Gonzalez. “The Plaza de la Democracia, symbolizes the tradition and the democratic values of Costa Ricans as well as the abolition of the army”, commented Marcia Gonzalez.

Carlos Alvarado had been adamant about reducing costs and had discarded other venues such as the National Stadium for this reason; the lunch for the members of the Executive Power was also eliminated.

The transition act will include the traditional formal session of the Legislative Assembly, a cultural act, and the induction ceremony where all members of the new Government take their oath; once the official act comes to an end, Carlos Alvarado will walk to the National Theater where we will be greeted by other Presidents and international delegations. He will then return to the Plaza de la Democracia where national bands will offer a free concert.

Since before the elections, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had already allocated a budget of $177,000.00, which represents $53,000.00 less that the total spent four years back.