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| 1958 |
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| Opposition candidate Mario Echandi Jiménez won the presidential elections. In an effort to demonstrate the democratic base of the PLN, Figueres gave up power peacefully. | 1 |
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| 1961 |
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| Fearful of the leftist reforms in Cuba, the Costa Rican government supported the U.S.-organized Bay of Pigs invasion. | 2 |
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| 1962, Feb. 4 |
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| Francisco José Orlich Bolmarcich, PLN candidate, was elected president. | 3 |
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| 1965 |
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| At the height of anti-Communist fervor in Costa Rica, the government sent troops to the Dominican Republic to help with the U.S.-backed overthrow of Juan Bosch's elected government. | 4 |
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| 1966, Feb |
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| José Joaquín Trejos was elected president. During his term, foreign investors, mostly from the U.S., increased their holdings in Costa Rica by approximately 3,000 percent. Investment moved from fruit and small-scale manufacturing to cattle and lumber, which expanded at an alarming rate, clearing the countryside of many rural dwellers and sending them into growing urban slums. | 5 |
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| 1970, Feb. 1 |
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| Figueres returned to the presidency. He continued to promote foreign investment in Costa Rica and supported U.S. initiatives against Cuba. | 6 |
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| 1974 |
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| Daniel Oduber was elected president. As the Sandinista revolution gained momentum in Nicaragua, Oduber's government gave support to the FSLN and provided sanctuary to Sandinistas. | 7 |
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| 1978–82 |
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| Rodrigo Carazao became president. During his term the growth rate declined from 10 percent to -2.4 percent as the price of Costa Rican exports declined. In an effort to revive the economy, Carazao increased Costa Rica's foreign debt to over $4 billion. Inflation soared, and wages fell sharply. During the same period, U.S. aid increased after Carazao agreed to join a U.S.-sponsored organization aimed at isolating the Nicaraguan revolution. | 8 |
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| 1980 |
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| Due to the decline in living standards among workers, over 60 labor strikes took place. In one incident the Civil Guard fired upon striking banana workers. Widening gaps between the rich and the poor, and cutbacks on government price supports fueled discontent. | 9 |
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| 1981, Sept |
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| Deep in crisis, the government suspended interest payments on the foreign debt. In the International Monetary Fund (IMF) accord that followed, wages were frozen, the currency devalued, social welfare programs cut, and price supports for basic foods ended. | 10 |
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| 1982 |
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| Amid widespread discontent, Luis Alberto Monge Alvarez was elected president. The economic crisis continued to deepen, and Costa Rica became increasingly dependent on IMF-approved aid. Monge allowed U.S. Special Forces advisers into Costa Rica, who used it as a base to support Nicaraguan Contra forces. | 11 |
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| 1986 |
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| In an atmosphere of continued economic crisis, including a $4.5 billion debt, PLN candidate OSCAR ARIAS SANCHEZ narrowly won the election. One of his key pledges was to protect Costa Rica's social welfare programs while adhering to IMF demands. Regarding the Contra war, Arias ended the past policy of tacit Contra support. | 12 |
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