Dota (canton)

Dota
Canton
Santa María de Dota Church
Flag Seal
Dota canton
Dota Dota canton location in San José Province Show map of San José Province Dota Dota canton location in Costa Rica Show map of Costa Rica
Coordinates: 9.5847517°N 83.8736707°W / 9.5847517; -83.8736707
Country	Costa Rica
Province	San José
Creation	23 July 1925
Head city	Santa María
Districts	Districts Santa María Jardín Copey
Government
• Type	Municipality
• Body	Municipalidad de Dota
• Mayor	Adrián Cordero Cordero (PUSC)
Area
• Total	404.44 km^2 (156.16 sq mi)
Elevation	1,874 m (6,148 ft)
Population  (2011)
• Total	6,948
• Estimate  (2022)	9,364
• Density	17/km^2 (44/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC−06:00
Canton code	117
Website	www.dota.go.cr

Dota is a canton in the San José province of Costa Rica.^[1][2] The head city of the canton is Santa María.

It is part of Los Santos Zone, together with Tarrazú and León Cortés Castro.

History

Dota was created on 23 July 1925 by decree 80.^[2][3]

Government

Mayor

According to Costa Rica's Municipal Code, mayors are elected every four years by the population of the canton.^[4] As of the latest municipal elections in 2024, the Social Christian Unity Party (PUSC) candidate, Adrián Cordero Cordero, was elected mayor of the canton with 79.33% of the votes, with Susy Calderón Arguedas and Jorge Orlando Serrano Salazar as first and second vice mayors, respectively.^[5]

Mayors of Dota since the 2002 elections^[6]

Period	Name	Party
2002–2006	Mario Enrique Ureña Rojas	PLN
2006–2010	José Valverde Monge
2010–2016	Leonardo Chacón Porras[a]
2016–2020
2020–2024
2024–2028	Adrián Cordero Cordero	PUSC

Municipal Council

Like the mayor and vice mayors, members of the Municipal Council (called regidores) are elected every four years. Dota's Municipal Council has 5 seats for regidores and their substitutes, who can participate in meetings but not vote unless the owning regidor (regidor propietario) is absent.^[4] The Municipal Council's composition for the 2024–2028 period is as follows:

Composition of the Municipal Council of Dota after the 2024 municipal elections^[7]

Political parties in the Municipal Council of Dota
Political party			Regidores
			№	Owner	Substitute
	Social Christian Unity Party (PUSC)		4	Ana Vanessa Mata Cordero	Ivonne Fallas Fallas
				Ronald Alberto Calderón Valverde	Enrique Jiménez Hernández[b]
				Johanna Patricia Solano Montero	Ana Fiorina Retana Rojas
				Rolando Fonseca Brenes	Edwin Alexander Valverde Elizondo
	National Liberation Party (PLN)		1	Johanna Chanto Vargas	Leda Roxana Ureña Brenes

Geography

Dota has an area of 404.44 km² (156.16 sq mi)^[8] and a mean elevation of 1,874 m (6,148 ft).^[1]

The canton is delineated by the Savegre River on the south and southeast, the Naranjo River on the west and the Cordillera de Talamanca on the north and northeast.

Districts

The canton of Dota is subdivided into the following districts:

1. Santa María
2. Jardín
3. Copey

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	±% p.a.
1927	4,712	—
1950	2,801	−2.24%
1963	3,718	+2.20%
1973	4,375	+1.64%
1984	4,934	+1.10%
2000	6,519	+1.76%
2011	6,948	+0.58%
2022	9,364	+2.75%
Source: Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censos[9] Centro Centroamericano de Población[10]

Dota had an estimated 9,364 inhabitants in 2022,^[11] up from 6,948 at the time of the 2011 census.^[12]

In 2022, Dota had a Human Development Index of 0.660.^[13]

Transportation

Road transportation

The canton is covered by the following road routes:

• National Route 2
• National Route 226
• National Route 315

Notes

1. Also legally named Eduardo Chacón Porras.
2. Also legally named Henry Jiménez Hernández.

References

1. "Declara oficial para efectos administrativos, la aprobación de la División Territorial Administrativa de la República N°41548-MGP". Sistema Costarricense de Información Jurídica (in Spanish). 19 March 2019. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
2. División Territorial Administrativa de la República de Costa Rica (PDF) (in Spanish). Editorial Digital de la Imprenta Nacional. 8 March 2017. ISBN 978-9977-58-477-5.
3. Hernández, Hermógenes (1985). Costa Rica: evolución territorial y principales censos de población 1502 - 1984 (in Spanish) (1 ed.). San José: Editorial Universidad Estatal a Distancia. pp. 164–173. ISBN 9977-64-243-5. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
4. Asamblea Legislativa de la República de Costa Rica (13 May 2024). "Código Municipal" [Municipal Code]. Sistema Costarricense de Información Jurídica (in Spanish).
5. Tribunal Supremo de Elecciones (8 March 2024). "N.° 1658-E11-2024 - Declaratoria de elección de alcaldías y vicealcaldías de las municipalidades de los cantones de la provincia de San José, para el período comprendido entre el primero de mayo de dos mil veinticuatro y el treinta de abril de dos mil veintiocho" (in Spanish).
6. Tribunal Supremo de Elecciones. "Resoluciones declaratorias de elección". Tribunal Supremo de Elecciones (in Spanish).
7. Tribunal Supremo de Elecciones (12 February 2024). "N.° 2218-E11-2024 - Declaratoria de elección de regidurías de las municipalidades de los cantones de la provincia de San José, para el período comprendido entre el primero de mayo de dos mil veinticuatro y el treinta de abril de dos mil veintiocho" (in Spanish).
8. Instituto Geográfico Nacional de Costa Rica (20 June 2024). "División Territorial Administrativa, 2024" [Administrative Territorial Division, 2024] (PDF) (in Spanish).
9. "Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censos" (in Spanish).
10. Centro Centroamericano de Población de la Universidad de Costa Rica. "Sistema de Consulta a Bases de Datos Estadísticas" (in Spanish).
11. Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censos (July 2023). Estimación de Población y Vivienda 2022 : Resultados Generales [2022 Population and Housing Estimate : General Results] (PDF) (in Spanish). ISBN 9789930525753.
12. "Censo. 2011. Población total por zona y sexo, según provincia, cantón y distrito". Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censos (in Spanish). Retrieved 26 September 2020.
13. Sistema Nacional de Información y Registro Único de Beneficiarios del Estado; Escuela de Estadística de la Universidad de Costa Rica; Programa de las Naciones Unidas para el Desarrollo (9 June 2023). "Atlas de Desarrollo Humano Cantonal en Costa Rica, 2022".