Paraíso (canton)

Paraíso is a canton in the Cartago province of Costa Rica.^[1][2] The head city is in Paraíso district.

Paraíso
Canton
Flag Seal
Paraíso canton
Paraíso Paraíso canton location in Costa Rica
Coordinates: 9.7294954°N 83.7706033°W / 9.7294954; -83.7706033
Country	Costa Rica
Province	Cartago
Creation	7 December 1848
Head city	Paraíso
Districts	Districts Paraíso Santiago Orosi Cachí Llanos de Santa Lucía
Government
• Type	Municipality
• Body	Municipalidad de Paraíso
• Mayor	Michaell Álvarez Quirós (UP)
Area
• Total	476.99 km2 (184.17 sq mi)
Elevation	1,171 m (3,842 ft)
Population  (2011)
• Total	57,743
• Estimate  (2022)	65,941
• Density	120/km2 (310/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC−06:00
Canton code	302
Website	https://www.muniparaiso.go.cr/

History

Paraíso was created on 7 December 1848 by decree 167.^[3]

Geography

Paraíso has an area of 476.99 km² (184.17 sq mi) and a mean elevation of 1,171 m (3,842 ft).^[4][1]

Paraíso is an elongated canton that stretches southeast from its head city to encompass a swatch of the Cordillera de Talamanca (Talamanca Mountain Range).

Government

Mayor

According to Costa Rica's Municipal Code, mayors are elected every four years by the population of the canton.^[5] As of the latest municipal elections in 2024, the United We Can candidate, Michaell Álvarez Quirós, was elected mayor of the canton with 41.37% of the votes, with Merlyn Rojas Mora and Roger Ricardo Zúñiga Vega as first and second vice mayors, respectively.^[6]

Mayors of Paraíso since the 2002 elections^[7]

Period	Name	Party
2002–2006	Marvin Solano Zúñiga	PAPA[a]
2006–2010		PML
2010–2016	Jorge Rodríguez Araya	PUSC
2016–2020	Marvin Solano Zúñiga	PASE
2020–2024	Carlos Manuel Ramírez Sánchez	PLN
2024–2028	Michaell Álvarez Quirós	UP

Municipal Council

Like the mayor and vice mayors, members of the Municipal Council (called regidores) are elected every four years. Paraíso's Municipal Council has 7 seats for regidores and their substitutes, who can participate in meetings but not vote unless the owning regidor (regidor propietario) is absent.^[5] The current president of the Municipal Council is the Progressive Liberal Party member, Aldo Mata Coghi, with National Liberation Party member Silvia Elena Arce Araya as vice president.^[8] The Municipal Council's composition for the 2024–2028 period is as follows:

Current composition of the Municipal Council of Paraíso after the 2024 municipal elections^[9]

Political parties in the Municipal Council of Paraíso
Political party			Regidores
			№	Owner	Substitute
	United We Can (UP)		3	Kattia Alfaro Saenz	María Gabriela Solano Marín
				Jaime Andrés Coto Espinoza	Julio Sánchez Soto
				Milany Sofía Obando Mora	Ana Catalina Barquero Quesada
	National Liberation Party (PLN)		2	Luis Diego Calderón Sánchez	Javier Mauricio Hernández Castillo
				Silvia Elena Arce Araya(VP)	Sussana Irene Mata Quesada
	Social Christian Unity Party (PUSC)		1	Agustín Enrique Siles Solano	Walter Solano Segura[b]
	Progressive Liberal Party (PLP)		1	Aldo Mata Coghi(P)	Felipe Alberto Loaiza Araya

Districts

The canton of Paraíso is subdivided into the following districts:

1. Paraíso
2. Santiago
3. Orosi
4. Cachí
5. Llanos de Santa Lucía
6. Birrisito

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	±% p.a.
1864	4,238	—
1883	7,114	+2.76%
1892	7,819	+1.06%
1927	7,900	+0.03%
1950	11,426	+1.62%
1963	18,389	+3.73%
1973	22,281	+1.94%
1984	27,823	+2.04%
2000	52,393	+4.03%
2011	57,743	+0.89%
2022	65,941	+1.21%
Source: Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censos[10] Centro Centroamericano de Población[11]

Paraíso had an estimated 65,941 inhabitants in 2022, up from the 57,743 people at the time of the 2011 census.^[12][13]

In 2022, Paraíso had a Human Development Index of 0.778, ranking it 4th highest in its province.^[14]

Transportation

Road transportation

The canton is covered by the following road routes:

• National Route 2
• National Route 10
• National Route 224
• National Route 225
• National Route 404
• National Route 405
• National Route 408
• National Route 416

Rail transportation

The Interurbano Line operated by Incofer goes through this canton.

Notes

1. Paraíso's Authentic Party (Spanish: Partido Auténtico Paraiseño)
2. Also legally named Walter Obando Segura.

References

1. "Declara oficial para efectos administrativos, la aprobación de la División Territorial Administrativa de la República N°41548-MGP". Sistema Costarricense de Información Jurídica (in Spanish). 19 March 2019. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
2. División Territorial Administrativa de la República de Costa Rica (PDF) (in Spanish). Editorial Digital de la Imprenta Nacional. 8 March 2017. ISBN 978-9977-58-477-5.
3. Hernández, Hermógenes (1985). Costa Rica: evolución territorial y principales censos de población 1502 - 1984 (in Spanish) (1 ed.). San José: Editorial Universidad Estatal a Distancia. pp. 164–173. ISBN 9977-64-243-5. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
4. Instituto Geográfico Nacional de Costa Rica (20 June 2024). "División Territorial Administrativa, 2024 – Totales de Provincias, Cantones y Distritos de Costa Rica" [Administrative Territorial Division, 2024 – Totals of Provinces, Cantons and Districts of Costa Rica] (PDF) (in Spanish).
5. Asamblea Legislativa de la República de Costa Rica (13 May 2024). "Código Municipal" [Municipal Code]. Sistema Costarricense de Información Jurídica (in Spanish).
6. Tribunal Supremo de Elecciones (8 March 2024). "N.° 2157-E11-2024 - Declaratoria de elección de alcaldías y vicealcaldías de las municipalidades de los cantones de la provincia de Cartago, para el período comprendido entre el primero de mayo de dos mil veinticuatro y el treinta de abril de dos mil veintiocho" (in Spanish). Retrieved 12 August 2024.
7. Tribunal Supremo de Elecciones. "Resoluciones declaratorias de elección". Tribunal Supremo de Elecciones (in Spanish). Retrieved 12 August 2024.
8. "Concejo Municipal 2024-2028". Municipalidad de Paraíso (in Spanish). Retrieved 12 August 2024.
9. Tribunal Supremo de Elecciones (12 March 2024). "N.° 2220-E11-2024 - Declaratoria de elección de regidurías de las municipalidades de los cantones de la provincia de Cartago, para el período comprendido entre el primero de mayo de dos mil veinticuatro y el treinta de abril de dos mil veintiocho" (in Spanish). Retrieved 12 August 2024.
10. "Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censos" (in Spanish).
11. Centro Centroamericano de Población de la Universidad de Costa Rica. "Sistema de Consulta a Bases de Datos Estadísticas" (in Spanish).
12. Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censos (July 2023). Estimación de Población y Vivienda 2022 : Resultados Generales [2022 Population and Housing Estimate : General Results] (PDF) (in Spanish). ISBN 9789930525753. Retrieved 12 August 2024.
13. "Censo. 2011. Población total por zona y sexo, según provincia, cantón y distrito". Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censos (in Spanish). Retrieved 26 September 2020.
14. Sistema Nacional de Información y Registro Único de Beneficiarios del Estado; Escuela de Estadística de la Universidad de Costa Rica; Programa de las Naciones Unidas para el Desarrollo (9 June 2023). "Atlas de Desarrollo Humano Cantonal en Costa Rica, 2022". Retrieved 12 August 2024.