Pérez Zeledón is the nineteenth canton of the province of San José in Costa Rica, located in the Brunca Region. It is the sixth-most populous canton in the country and is the 7th largest by area. The capital of the canton is San Isidro de El General.
The Río Savegre establishes the canton's boundaries on the northwest, the Río Guabo and a series of coastal mountain ranges on the southwest and south, and the peaks of the highest mountains of the Cordillera de Talamanca (Talamanca Mountain Range) on the east. In the middle of the canton, the Río General, from which the canton's capital city takes its name, runs north to south.
History Pérez Zeledón was created on 9 October 1931 by decree 31. It originally had four initial districts: Ureña, El General, Daniel Flores, and Rivas, with Ureña being the capital.
Early Costa Rican Settlements Near the end of the 19th century, between 1870 and 1899, quite a few families lived in El General valley. The hamlets (Spanish: Caseríos) of El General, Palmares, Rivas, and Ureña were further populated from 1900 onward.
The Caserío area of Ureña grew significantly. By 1911, during Ricardo Jiménez Oreamuno's administration, the Refuges of Ojo de Agua, El Cerro de la Muerte, and División were established. These refuges would further advance the growth of the region known today as Pérez Zeledón and El General Valley.
Costa Rican Civil War San Isidro de El General, Pérez Zeledón's capital, was awarded the recognition of Ciudad Mártir, regarding the civil war of 1948, as established by Decree Nº274. This decree established official legal recognition of the city's participation in the civil war of 1948. A section of the decree states (in Spanish):
la Junta Fundadora de la Segunda República, apreciando el noble esfuerzo y la valiosa contribución de San Isidro de El General, se siente obligada a hacer un público y oficial reconocimiento de tan loable conducta para que de ninguna manera quede ella relegada al olvido, sino que constantemente sea exaltada como merecen los grandes hechos dignos de vida eterna en los fastos nacionales.
In English, this would loosely translate into:
The Founding Junta of the Second Republic, appreciating the noble effort and valuable contribution of San Isidro de El General, feels compelled to make a public and official recognition of such praiseworthy conduct that by no means be it relegated to oblivion, but rather constantly be exalted as great deeds merit worth of eternal life in the national splendor.
Pérez Zeledón was also the location of significant battles during the Costa Rican Civil War. The most notable battle was the Battle of San Isidro de El General. This battle was carried out at around 6:30 a.m. when 200 government forces engaged the revolutionaries at the city's central plaza. The fight was won by José Figueres Ferrer and his revolutionary forces, which secured the southern Pacific region of Costa Rica in rebel hands.
Geography Pérez Zeledón has an area of and a mean elevation of .
Government Mayor Under the Municipal Code of 1998, which regulates local government in Costa Rica, mayors and vice mayors are democratically elected every four years on a joint ticket by the canton’s residents.
As of the latest municipal elections in 2024, the Social Christian Unity Party candidate, Emmanuel Ceciliano Alfaro, was elected mayor of the canton with 28.99% of the votes, with Rosibel Ramos Madrigal and Mario Esteban Saenz Mena as first and second vice mayors, respectively.
+ Mayors of Pérez Zeledón since the 2002 electionsPeriodNameParty2002–2006Rosibel Ramos Madrigal PUSC2006–20102010–2016Luis Mendieta Escudero PLN2016–2020Jeffry Montoya Rodríguez PUSC2020–20242024–2028Emmanuel Ceciliano Alfaro
Municipal Council Like the mayor and vice mayors, all members of the Municipal Council (known as regidores) are elected every four years through a closed list system, though on a separate ballot from the canton’s executive officials. The Pérez Zeledón Municipal Council consists of nine seats, held by regidores and their substitutes. Substitutes can participate in meetings but do not have voting rights unless the primary regidor (regidor propietario) is absent.
The current president of the Municipal Council is the Broad Front member, Andrea Herrera Chaves, with the National Liberation Party regidor, Edgar Mena Rodríguez, as vice president. The Municipal Council's composition for the 2024–2028 period is as follows:
+ Current composition of the Municipal Council of Pérez Zeledón after the 2024 municipal electionsPolitical parties in the Municipal Council of Pérez ZeledónPolitical partyRegidores№PrimarySubstituteSocial Christian Unity Party (PUSC)3Runny Monge ZúñigaAndrés Vega SolísAnaís Barrantes MoraMaría Alejandra Arias CalvoCarlos Zúñiga MonteroCarlos Andrés Mora NavarroOur Town Party (PNP) 3Marvin Arias RetanaÁlvaro Navarro NavarroMilena Elizondo SeguraDignora Alvarado RoquettAlso legally known as Nora Alvarado RoquettWilber Ureña BonillaAlso legally known as Wilberth Ureña BonillaJosé Francisco Calderón FernándezNational Liberation Party (PLN)1Edgar Mena Rodríguez(VP)Henry Alberto Mora EspinozaBroad Front (FA)1Andrea Herrera Chaves(P)Luz María Godínez MéndezSocial Democratic Progress Party (PSD)1María Josefa Fallas UreñaWeslyn Dahianna Mena Ríos
Districts
The canton of Pérez Zeledón is subdivided into the following districts: San Isidro de El General El General Daniel Flores Rivas San Pedro Platanares Pejibaye Cajón Barú Río Nuevo Páramo La Amistad
Demographics
Pérez Zeledón had an estimated population of people in 2022. It had inhabitants at the time of the 2011 census.
According to a publication by the United Nations Development Programme, Pérez Zeledón had a Human Development Index of 0.746.
Economy
The canton of Pérez Zeledón's economic development has been characterized mainly through agriculture, livestock, trade, industry, and tourism. One factor that has driven this economic development is the canton's unique geographic positioning, which makes it a sort of 'bridge' between Costa Rica's capital (San José) and the southern areas of the country, especially those that border Panamá.
Important agricultural activities:
Sugar Cane cultivation Coffee Tiquizque cultivation Banana cultivation Blackberry cultivation
The first two products are the most important in the region.
Livestock activities are also economically relevant, with pigs and cattle being the most important. The latter is used for fattening and dairy.
Commercial activities have boomed in recent decades, mainly due to the establishment of credit unions, banks, local companies, media, and various other companies of the Central Valley (San José) setting up operations in the canton.
Tourism The area's main attraction is its ecological diversity. Tourist sites in the area include the Chirripó National Park, one of the highest peaks in Central America and the Caribbean, at 3,820 meters above sea level.
Among other attractions are the journeys along the rapids.
Another prominent park in the area is the Parque Internacional La Amistad, literally 'The Friendship International Park'.
Education
The first elementary school in Pérez Zeledón was established during Ascensión Esquivel Ibarra's government (1902–1906). It was called Escuela Mixta de Ureña. It was in the Ureña district, south of San Isidro de El General's central park. After the Costa Rican Civil War, the school was moved to a new building 100 meters past San Isidro de El General's main entrance. It currently serves under the name "Escuela 12 de Marzo", in honor of the start of the Costa Rican Civil War (which had just ended when the school was re-inaugurated at its current location).
Transportation Road transportation The following road routes cover the canton:
Notable people Juan Gabriel Calderón (born 1987), FIFA football referee Keylor Navas (born 1986), football goalkeeper
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References