Costa Rica's prisons are desperately overcrowded thanks in large part, some say, to an overuse of pretrial detention, also known as preventive prison or "preventiva."
President Luis Guillermo Solís said a new poverty index, created by Oxford University, puts people over statistics. The index reported that 21.8 percent of Costa Rican households are considered poor, totaling 1.26 million people.
Poverty in Costa Rica dropped slightly over the past year, but extreme poverty continues to rise -- to 7.2 percent in 2015, according to the latest census institute survey.
Extreme poverty will this year fall to less than 10 percent of the global population for the first time, although there is still "great concern" for millions in Africa, a World Bank report said Sunday.
Eighty students from across Costa Rica participated in a photo course designed to explore the theme of poverty in everyday life. The photographs will be on display at the National Museum this weekend until Sunday, Sept. 27.
The Legislative Assembly of Costa Rica voted against a motion proposed by Fabricio Alvarado, leader of the New Republic party, to withdraw the country...
