Costa Rica
Costa Rica continues to have one of the strongest press-freedom environments in Latin America, with constitutional protections for freedom of expression and the press and a generally independent media landscape. Nevertheless, press freedom has deteriorated in recent years, particularly amid growing tensions between political authorities and critical media. Under President Rodrigo Chaves Robles, who took office in 2022 and was succeeded by Laura Fernández, government officials repeatedly used hostile rhetoric against journalists and media outlets, while journalists also reported restrictions on access to public information.
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) now ranks Costa Rica 38th out of 180 countries in the RSF World Press Freedom Index, compared with 36th in 2025 and 8th in 2022. RSF continues to describe Costa Rica as an exceptional case in Latin America, but warns that increasing violations, political pressure and the deterioration of public debate are raising the risk of self-censorship.
The deterioration is also reflected in the country's online environment. Freedom House's latest Freedom on the Net 2025 report rates Costa Rica 86 out of 100 points and “Free,” an improvement of one point from the previous year. However, the organisation identifies worsening online intimidation of critical journalists as an important threat to Costa Rica's traditionally open environment. Earlier reporting documented coordinated harassment, hate speech and death threats directed at journalists and government critics.
State of press freedom
Costa Rica retains a diverse and independent media sector, including national newspapers, television broadcasters, digital outlets, public media and academic media. The principal concern is therefore not the absence of independent journalism, but the increasingly hostile political environment in which journalists operate. RSF reports that the government under Rodrigo Chaves adopted a confrontational approach toward media outlets and journalists critical of its policies, including restrictions on access to public information. Added to this are direct accusations against journalists, such as when he called the communicator Eduardo Ulibarri a "shameless person", as well as expressions in which he affirmed that media outlets "lie shamelessly".
The most recent IPLEX assessment, published in May 2026 and covering developments during 2025, found that attacks on the press were increasingly taking on a structural character rather than remaining isolated incidents against individual journalists or outlets. The report identified stigmatizing discourse as the predominant form of aggression and warned that such attacks can undermine public trust in journalism and encourage self-censorship. It recorded nine alerts linked to statements or actions by President Chaves during 2025, including his warning of a possible “blackout” of radio and television broadcasting if the cost of frequencies was not changed.
Our work in Costa Rica
Free Press Unlimited works with international and local partners, including academia, in Costa Rica tackling and documenting dissinformation and hate speech, preventing, protecting and countering the misuse and abuse of new digital technologies. We also contributed to strengthen the participation of civil society in the protection of democracy and human rights and to strengthen its role as an actor for good governance and sustainable development.
