Q COSTA RICA — Acting on an urgent request for an interim measure filed by Patricia Vargas, President of the Supreme Court of Justice, the Constitutional Court, or Sala IV as it is commonly known, ordered legislators on Monday to suspend the second-reading vote on the national budget for 2027.
The order from the high court was signed by Fernando Cruz, a magistrate of the Sala IV and acting president. It was issued just hours after Vargas had lunch with President Laura Fernández in an effort to smooth over tensions between the Executive and Judicial branches.
Following the meeting, both leaders announced that political dialogue would resume to seek solutions to the country’s insecurity issues; a follow-up meeting was also scheduled for November 20.
However, this does not mean that Vargas and the other Supreme Court magistrates have dropped their opposition to several budget execution rules that place conditions on the allocation of approximately ¢30 billion colones to the Judiciary for the coming year.
“These budget execution rules put us in a difficult position for next year and would prevent us from carrying out the duties constitutionally assigned to us,” Vargas warned.
Under the terms approved by legislators in the first reading, the funds in question would only be released to the Judiciary if both the ruling Pueblo Soberano party (PPSO) and the Ministry of Finance reach an agreement. In this regard, President Fernández pledged to review the matter.
Later in the afternoon, the order from the Sala IV reached the legislative plenary; however, Yara Jiménez, President of Congress, maintains that the notification arrived too late, after the discussion had already begun.
Given this, the PPSO pushed forward with the discussion of the budget during its second-debate stage. At this point, the matter is considered discussed, but no vote will take place until the Constitutional Chamber’s ruling is known.
Another violation of the Constitution
The decision by the ruling party’s legislative bloc prompted opposition parties to denounce what they claim is yet another violation of the Political Constitution.
Opposition parties, the Frente Amplio, PUSC, PLN, and CAC, expressed regret that the government continues to push for an illegal measure—both in terms of its substance and the procedure employed.
“The approval of a budget must respect the Constitution and the independence of the branches of government. This measure allows the Constitutional Chamber to review the concerns raised before the final vote takes place,” stated Diana Murillo of the PLN.