Politics of Costa Rica approved in 1969 limits presidents and deputies to one term, although a deputy may run again for an Assembly seat after sitting out a term. The prohibition was officially recognized as unconstitutional in April 2004, allowing Óscar Arias to run for President a second time in the 2006 Costa Rican presidential elections, which he won with approximately a 1% margin. The President of Costa Rica has limited powers, particularly in comparison to other Latin American Presidents. For example, he cannot veto the legislative budget, and thus Congress is sovereign over the year's single most important piece of legislation. On the
Costa Rica–Spain relations Costa Rica–Spain relations Costa Rica–Spain relations refers to the diplomatic relations between Costa Rica and Spain. Both nations are members of the Association of Academies of the Spanish Language and the Organization of Ibero-American States. In September 1502, explorer Christopher Columbus arrived to eastern Costa Rica on his fourth voyage to the Americas. In 1561, Spanish conquistador Juan de Cavallón y Arboleda led the first successful colonizers into Costa Rica. In 1564, Spain established the town of Cartago, its first settlement in the country. For several decades, Costa Rica was ignored by the Spanish crown due to its distance from