Leader of the Opposition (Costa Rica)

The Leader of the Opposition is an unofficial term in Costa Rica that is used to refer to the presidential candidate who finished second after a presidential election.

Leader of the Opposition of Costa Rica
Incumbent Fabricio Alvarado since 1 April 2018
Style	Don
Inaugural holder	Mario Echandi
Formation	1953 (Since the current Constitution of Costa Rica was in place)

As Costa Rica has a presidential system, and not a parliamentary one, the title is a purely symbolic one designated by the media. Thus, the leader of the opposition does not always belong to the largest opposition political party in the Legislative Assembly. Nevertheless, such individuals are often referred to as such by the media and political parties.[1][2][3][4]

Leaders of the Opposition
Period	Leader of the Opposition			Party	President of Costa Rica			Party
1953-1958			Mario Echandi Jiménez	PUN			José Figueres Ferrer	PLN
1958-1962			Francisco José Orlich Bolmarcich	PLN			Mario Echandi Jiménez	PUN
1962-1966			Rafael Ángel Calderón Guardia	PRN			Francisco José Orlich Bolmarcich	PLN
1966-1970			Daniel Oduber Quirós	PLN			José Joaquín Trejos Fernández	PUN
1970-1974			Mario Echandi Jiménez	PUN			José Figueres Ferrer	PLN
1974-1978			Fernando Trejos Escalante				Daniel Oduber Quirós
1978-1982			Luis Alberto Monge Álvarez	PLN			Rodrigo Carazo Odio	CU
1982-1986			Rafael Ángel Calderón Fournier	CU			Luis Alberto Monge Álvarez	PLN
1986-1990				PUSC			Óscar Arias Sánchez
1990-1994			Carlos Manuel Castillo Morales	PLN			Rafael Ángel Calderón Fournier	PUSC
1994-1998			Miguel Ángel Rodríguez Echeverría	PUSC			José María Figueres Olsen	PLN
1998-2002			José Miguel Corrales Bolaños	PLN			Miguel Ángel Rodríguez Echeverría	PUSC
2002-2006			Rolando Araya Monge				Abel Pacheco de la Espriella
2006-2010			Ottón Solís Fallas	PAC			Óscar Arias Sánchez	PLN
2010-2014							Laura Chinchilla Miranda
2014-2018			Johnny Araya Monge	PLN			Luis Guillermo Solís Rivera	PAC
2018-2022			Fabricio Alvarado Muñoz	PREN			Carlos Alvarado Quesada