Q COSTA RICA — Costa Rican President Laura Fernández dismissed any possibility of the government stepping in to artificially control the dollar’s exchange rate, despite concerns expressed by export-related industries, tourism, free trade zones, and other sectors that earn much of their revenue in U.S. dollars.
The topic came up during her weekly press briefing on Wednesday when journalist Pablo Arias asked how the dollar’s fluctuations were affecting key industries like free trade zones, multinational companies, tourism, medical devices, manufacturing, export agriculture, technology, and outsourcing services.
Fernández quickly pushed back against the idea that these sectors are struggling. She pointed to recent data on employment, tourism, and foreign direct investment to highlight the strength of Costa Rica’s economy.
She cited the latest employment survey from the National Institute of Statistics and Census (INEC), which showed 42,695 new workers entering the labor market. She also referenced tourism growth figures released by her administration the previous week, along with foreign investment stats from PROCOMER.
But the heart of her message was clear: her administration will not try to peg the dollar to a specific rate.
“As long as I am president, the exchange rate—which is the price paid for a dollar and is determined by economic conditions—as long as I am president, number one, I will not artificially manipulate the exchange rate,” Fernández stated.
She emphasized that monetary policy decisions fall under the Central Bank of Costa Rica (BCCR), an autonomous institution.
Fernández even dismissed the notion that she could call Central Bank President Roger Madrigal to demand a certain exchange rate.
“Some people imagine I’d just pick up the phone and say, ‘Mr. Madrigal, I want the dollar at six hundred pesos(sic) today,’” she joked.
She assured that her government won’t interfere like that and questioned past practices where political insiders profited from currency shifts.
“Those phone calls to fix the exchange rate for the benefit of a few close to the government? That doesn’t happen here anymore,” she said, reaffirming her respect for the Central Bank’s autonomy in monetary policy decisions.