Court unable to serve former president Chaves in damages suit over Pride march declaration.
2026 May 28
A Costa Rican Administrative Court has been unable to locate former president Rodrigo Chaves to formally serve him with a civil lawsuit seeking to hold him personally liable for damages, stemming from his 2024 revocation of the cultural interest declaration granted to the Marcha de la Diversidad (Pride and Diversity March). An attempt to serve notice at Casa Presidencial on May 15, 2026 failed, and the judge ordered the parties to provide an updated address. Chaves no longer holds the presidency but serves in the current cabinet as Minister of the Presidency.
The suit was filed by activist Geovanny Delgado, who had brought the original constitutional challenge. It seeks compensation from both the State and Chaves personally, under a theory of joint and several liability; the plaintiffs have asked that any awarded funds be directed to an LGBTQ+ shelter in San José. “The Constitutional Court has already condemned him, and now the amount to be paid for damages must be finalized, and he can’t be found,” Delgado said.
The case rests on a November 22, 2024 ruling by the Constitutional Chamber (Sala IV, vote 2024-035183), which found that Chaves acted arbitrarily and without objective justification when, one day before the June 30, 2024 march, his government annulled the event’s cultural interest declaration. The court held that the act “flagrantly violated the fundamental rights of a minority and vulnerable population.” On June 29, 2024, Chaves had also dismissed the Minister of Culture and the Commissioner for Social Inclusion for authorizing the declaration without his approval, and traffic police subsequently declined to provide security for the march route.
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News article in Spanish:
- Gobierno lesionó derechos de población LGBTIQ+ por decisión “arbitraria” de dejar sin efecto declaratoria de interés cultural a Marcha de la Diversidad, resuelve Sala IV - Amelia Rueda
- Sala IV destaca arbitrariedad de Rodrigo Chaves al eliminar declaratoria de interés a “Marcha de la Diversidad” - La República
- Dirigente de Marcha de la Diversidad presenta amparo contra Rodrigo Chaves por anular declaratoria - La Nación