Carlos Alvarado Quesada

In 2006, Alvarado Quesada published the anthology of stories Transcripciones Infieles with Perro Azul.[7] That same year he obtained the Young Creation Award of Editorial Costa Rica with the novel La Historia de Cornelius Brown.[7] In 2012 he published the historical novel Las Posesiones that portrays the dark historical period in Costa Rica during which the government confiscated the properties of Germans and Italians during World War II.[7]

He served as an advisor to the Citizen Action Party's group in the Legislative Assembly of Costa Rica in the 2006-2010 period. He was a consultant to the Institute of Development Studies of the United Kingdom in financing SMEs.[2] Department Manager of Dish Care & Air Care (Procter & Gamble Latin America). Director of Communication for the presidential campaign of Luis Guillermo Solís, professor in the School of Sciences of Collective Communication of the University of Costa Rica and the School of Journalism Of the Universidad Latina de Costa Rica.[2] During the Solís Rivera administration, served as Minister of Human Development and Social Inclusion and Executive President of the Joint Social Welfare Institute, the institution charged with combating poverty and giving state aid to the population of scarce resources. After the resignation as minister of Víctor Morales Mora, Alvarado was appointed minister of Labor.[2][8]

In this portfolio, it was noted for reducing the benefits of state collective agreements of the Bank of Costa Rica, JAPDEVA, and RECOPE in successful negotiations with the unions. No previous government had negotiated collective bargaining to the downside. During the management of Alvarado, a reduction of the time of seven to two months in the procedures of pensions of the teaching profession was achieved. It also managed to renegotiate the wage formula of the private sector in a unanimous agreement among workers, employers, and the government, as well as a tripartite agreement among the same sectors to reduce informality, according to International Labour Organization (ILO) recommendation 204. As a minister, he also promoted the implementation of laws that cut luxury pensions, as well as the Ministry of Labor's defense of these laws before the Constitutional Chamber after appeals filed by several former deputies. Alvarado guaranteed that the Ministry of Labor would have the budget and the new places for the entry into force of the Labor Procedure Reform in July 2017.

Alvarado speaking in 2018

On 1 April 2018, Alvarado won the presidential election (second round) with 61%, defeating Fabricio Alvarado Muñoz.[9] Same-sex marriage was a major issue in the campaign, after a ruling by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights required Costa Rica to recognize such unions.[10] Alvarado Muñoz campaigned against same-sex marriage, while Alvarado Quesada argued to respect the court's ruling. Alvarado Quesada won in a landslide, defying polls that predicted a close election.[11] He was sworn into office on 8 May 2018.[12]

As president, Carlos Alvarado Quesada has focused his efforts on decarbonizing Costa Rica's economy. He set a goal for the country to achieve zero net emissions by the year 2050, and implemented measures to achieve it. Since 40% of the country's greenhouse gas emissions come from transportation, he focused his efforts on that sector by building an electric rail-based public transit system for the capital, San José.[13] On 24 February 2019, he launched a plan to fully decarbonize the country's economy, in a ceremony alongside Christiana Figueres, the Costa Rican former UNFCCC head.[14] At this event, he described decarbonization as "the great challenge of our generation," and declared that "Costa Rica must be among the first countries to achieve it, if not the first."[15]

He pushed through a law in December 2018 that included raising taxes and reducing the salaries of public sector employees, which he justified by the country's poor economic situation. This law contributed to his unpopularity. As a result, he faced the largest general strike in twenty years.[16]

The country's political life has been marked by corruption cases, both in government and in opposition parties, which have contributed to the discrediting of the political class among a part of the population. Ministers, former ministers, and mayors have been implicated in corruption cases involving embezzlement and bribery for multi-million dollar public works contracts. In 2021, six mayors, including the mayor of the capital San José, were arrested. Some cases even revealed the penetration of political circles by drug trafficking groups.[17]

At the end of Carlos Alvarado's presidential term, in one poll, he had a twelve per-cent approval rating.[18] His successor, Rodrigo Chaves Robles, will assume office on 8 May 2022.