Costa Rica’s next president will guide a pro-democracy pact with Panama and the Dominican Republic.

Costa Rica is sometimes called the “Switzerland of Central America” due to its history of democracy, disarmament, political neutrality, and economic prosperity relative to other countries in its neighborhood.

That fourth pillar was badly shaken during the COVID-19 pandemic. With its tourism-focused economy hit hard and its debt load mounting, Costa Rica made public spending cuts that prompted rare violent protests in October 2020, and it took a $1.8 billion bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in July 2021. Unemployment remains high, at around 14 percent. More…