“Today we have the technical capacity and data analysis to identify all people in poverty, or living marginally, or who suffer a sharp drop in their income. This makes it technically possible to eliminate poverty in Costa Rica, through the proper targeting of resources.”
“My pain, as president, is that today we don’t have the financial resources to do it. But there will be no excuse for not achieving it in the near future, when the pothole caused by the pandemic is overcome.”
The “Bono Proteger” consists of providing, exclusively through direct bank deposit, subsidies of up to ¢ 125,000 per month, which allows identifying not only families in poverty, but also the economically active population working independently work and informally.
According to the president, subsidies have already been paid out to 90,000 people and “another 220,000 will obtain it in the coming days.” He added that the government effort to give the subsidy “allowed banking access to at least 60,000 people.”
Alvarado admitted that “the social effects of the measures necessary to flatten the contagion curve and thus defend life and health are very severe in terms of unemployment and loss of income for families.”