Pococí (canton)

Canton in Limón province, Costa Rica

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Canton in Limón, Costa Rica

Flag

Seal

Pococí canton

10°30′03″N 83°38′41″W / 10.5008914°N 83.6446083°W / 10.5008914; -83.6446083Country

Costa RicaProvince LimónCreation19 September 1911Head cityGuápiles Districts

Districts

Government

• TypeMunicipality • BodyMunicipalidad de Pococí • MayorManuel Hernández Rivera (UP)Area

• Total2,188.25 km² (844.89 sq mi)Elevation

134 m (440 ft)Population

(2011)

• Total125,962 • Estimate

(2022)

146,320 • Density58/km² (150/sq mi)Time zoneUTC−06:00Canton code702Websitemunipococi.go.cr

Pococí is a canton in the Limón province of Costa Rica.^[1]^[2] The head city is in Guápiles district, which houses many of the canton's services and businesses.

History

Pococí was created on 19 September 1911 by decree 12.^[3]

Geography

Pococí has an area of 2,188.25 km² (844.89 sq mi)^[4] and a mean elevation of 134 m (440 ft).^[1]

The canton takes in the Caribbean coast from the Toro River northward to the border with Nicaragua. It ranges inland in a southwestern direction with the Chirripó River forming the western border. The canton ends in the Cordillera Central where the Sucio River crosses the National Route 32 in Braulio Carrillo National Park.

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, Manuel Hernández Rivera, was elected mayor of the canton with 54.22% of the votes, with Yamileth Hidalgo Arias as first vice mayor, without a second vice mayor.^[6]

Mayors of Pococí since the 2002 elections^[7]
Period	Name	Party
2002–2006	Manuel Hernández Rivera	PUSC
2006–2010	Enrique Alfaro Vargas	PLN
2010–2016	Jorge Emilio Espinoza Vargas
2016–2020	Elibeth Venegas Villalobos
2020–2024	Manuel Hernández Rivera	PAREVA
2024–2028	Manuel Hernández Rivera	UP

Municipal Council

Like the mayor and vice mayors, members of the Municipal Council (called regidores) are elected every four years. Pococí's Municipal Council has 9 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 Social Christian Unity Party regidor, Juan Mauricio Mora Cruz, with National Liberation Party member, Eva Isabel Torres Marín, as vice president.^[8] The Municipal Council's composition for the 2024–2028 period is as follows:

Current composition of the Municipal Council of Pococí after the 2024 municipal elections^[9]
Political parties in the Municipal Council of Pococí

Political party		Regidores
Political party		№	Owner	Substitute
	United We Can (UP)	4	Luis Ángel Méndez Araya	Gerardo Cubillo Gamboa^[a]
			Patricia Aguilar Araya	Virginia Hernández Rivera
			Walter Villagra Rodríguez	Fabián Sánchez Loría
			Carmen Sánchez Navarro	Yoseline Rocío Abarca Torres
	National Liberation Party (PLN)	2	Carlos Alberto Retana López	William Hernández Valverde
	National Liberation Party (PLN)	2	Eva Isabel Torres Marín^(VP)	Sandra Umaña López
	Recovering Values Party (PAREVA)	1	Ricardo Villalobos Vargas	Robert Jiménez Araya
	New Generation Party (PNG)	1	Jordan Chaves Chaves	Ovidio Vives Castro
	Social Christian Unity Party (PUSC)	1	Juan Mauricio Mora Cruz^(P)	Jeffry Rojas Serrano

Districts

The canton of Pococí is subdivided into the following districts:

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	±% p.a.
1927	2,974	—
1950	10,482	+5.63%
1963	16,927	+3.76%
1973	28,688	+5.42%
1984	44,187	+4.00%
2000	103,121	+5.44%
2011	125,962	+1.84%
2022	146,320	+1.37%
Source: Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censos^[10] Centro Centroamericano de Población^[11]

In 2022, Pococí had an estimated population of 146,320,^[12] up from 125,962 for the 2011 census.^[13]

According to a publication by the United Nations Development Programme,^[14] Pococí ranked as the 2nd highest canton in Limón regarding human development in 2022, with a score of 0.700, only behind Siquirres. However, it's the 27th lowest in the country.

Transportation

Road transportation

The canton is covered by the following road routes:

National Route 4
National Route 32
National Route 149
National Route 247
National Route 248
National Route 249
National Route 507
National Route 809
National Route 810
National Route 814
National Route 817

Tourism

The Caribbean coast of Pococí boasts extensive wetlands and several protected areas, including Tortuguero National Park and Barra del Colorado Wildlife Refuge. In the Braulio Carrillo area is located the first aerial tram in the world to travel through a rainforest, called Rainforest Adventures and recently added to National Geographic's top ten adventure trips.^[15] Much of the northern portion of the canton is inundated year-round or seasonally, and inaccessible by road. The wetlands stretch inland the length of the canton. The coastal areas provide important sea turtle nesting habitat. These protected areas and wetlands are an important ecotourism destination.

Notes

^ Also legally known as Gerardo Gamboa Chacón.

References

^ ^a ^b "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.
^ 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.
^ 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.
^ 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).
^ ^a ^b Asamblea Legislativa de la República de Costa Rica (13 May 2024). "Código Municipal" [Municipal Code]. Sistema Costarricense de Información Jurídica (in Spanish).
^ Tribunal Supremo de Elecciones (8 March 2024). "N.° 2161-E11-2024 - Declaratoria de elección de alcaldías y vicealcaldías de las municipalidades de los cantones de la provincia de Limón, 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 25 July 2024.
^ Tribunal Supremo de Elecciones. "Resoluciones declaratorias de elección". Tribunal Supremo de Elecciones (in Spanish). Retrieved 21 July 2024.
^ Municipalidad de Pococí. "Concejo Municipal Período 2024-2028". Municipalidad de Pococí (in Spanish). Retrieved 25 July 2024.
^ Tribunal Supremo de Elecciones (12 March 2024). "N.° 2224-E11-2024 - Declaratoria de elección de regidurías de las municipalidades de los cantones de la provincia de Limón, 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 25 July 2024.
^ "Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censos" (in Spanish).
^ Centro Centroamericano de Población de la Universidad de Costa Rica. "Sistema de Consulta a Bases de Datos Estadísticas" (in Spanish).
^ 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 25 July 2024.
^ "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.
^ 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 25 July 2024.
^ "Photos: Top 10 Adventure Trips -- National Geographic". 8 December 2014. Archived from the original on December 25, 2014.