Pococí (canton)

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Pococí
Canton
Flag Seal
Pococí canton
Pococí Pococí canton location in Costa Rica
Coordinates: 10°30′03″N 83°38′41″W / 10.5008914°N 83.6446083°W / 10.5008914; -83.6446083
Country	Costa Rica
Province	Limón
Creation	19 September 1911
Head city	Guápiles
Districts	Districts Guápiles Jiménez La Rita Roxana Cariari Colorado La Colonia
Government
• Type	Municipality
• Body	Municipalidad de Pococí
• Mayor	Manuel Hernández Rivera (UP)
Area
• Total	2,188.25 km2 (844.89 sq mi)
Elevation	134 m (440 ft)
Population  (2011)
• Total	125,962
• Estimate  (2022)	146,320
• Density	58/km2 (150/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC−06:00
Canton code	702
Website	munipococi.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.

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

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.

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		UP

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
			№	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
				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

The canton of Pococí is subdivided into the following districts:

1. Guápiles
2. Jiménez
3. La Rita
4. Roxana
5. Cariari
6. Colorado
7. La Colonia

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.

The canton is covered by the following road routes:

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.

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