The 2018 protests in Costa Rica was a civil conflict that took place in the
Central-American country of
Costa Rica
Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...
for 93 days, after the trade unions went on an indefinite strike against the tax reform bill promoted by the Executive Branch in the Assembly Legislative.
Protests
The protest movement started on September 10, 2018 and culminated on December 11 of that same year, when the unions of the Supreme Court, the only ones still on strike, abandoned their protest.
The extent of the strike caused severe effects on the provision of services in medical centers, schools, colleges, universities, fuel distribution, trials, hearings and other judicial processes and interrupted the passage through important national routes.
The strike was constituted as the longest social conflict in the history of
Costa Rica
Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...
, surpassing the general strike of the year 2000 against the "Combo del ICE". The magnitude and duration of the movement produced a contraction in the growth of the country's nominal GDP of 0.4 percentage points, generated 13 8billion colones in losses and sparked a national debate on the scope and limitations of the right to strike, because The courts of justice took considerable time to issue the sentences that qualified as legal or illegal the different protests in the different state institutions.
The strikes also recorded acts of violence, clashes between police and strikers, attacks on infrastructure and state buildings, including the Costa Rican Oil Refinery and the Ministry of Finance, as well as an attack on the President of the Republic,
Carlos Alvarado Quesada
Carlos Andrés Alvarado Quesada (; born 14 January 1980) is a Costa Rican politician, writer, journalist and political scientist who served as the 48th president of Costa Rica from 8 May 2018 to 8 May 2022. A member of the Citizens' Action P ...
, in the middle of a public highway.
See also
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2018 Nicaraguan protests
The 2018 Nicaraguan protests began on 18 April 2018 when demonstrators in several cities of Nicaragua began protests against the social security reforms decreed by President Daniel Ortega that increased taxes and decreased benefits. After five ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Costa Rican protests, 2018
Costa_Rican_protests, 2018
2018 in Costa Rica
2018 protests
2018 labor disputes and strikes
Labor disputes in Costa Rica