On October 7^th , Costa Ricans made history by voting to approve the controversial Central American Free Trade Agreement in the country's first ever, nation-wide referendum, thus ending four years of heated political debate. 60% of the country's eligible voters hit the polls on Sunday to decide once and for all whether or not Costa Rica would be the only nation in its region to reject the treaty, which provides tax incentives for U.S. imports to Costa Rica vice versa. The final vote was 51.6% in favor of ratification, with 48.39% not in favor.

While opponents of CAFTA claim that the treaty will serve to widen the rift between Costa Rica's rich and its growing lower class, its supporters have long held that it is an essential tool for boosting Costa Rica's economy. In the debates leading up to the referendum, members of the current presidential administration, led by President Oscar Arias (who has supported CAFTA from the get-go) expressed their concerns regarding how failure to ratify the treaty might effect direct foreign investment in Costa Rica over the coming years.

Real estate investment presently plays a huge role in contributing to Costa Rica's financial wellbeing. Commercial real estate developers and condominium builders, as well as private condo buyers, not only invest a vast amount of currency in local real estate, but also contribute indirectly to the country's economy, by purchasing goods as well as creating jobs and infrastructure. Much of the condo and real estate development boom, however, has centered around the presence of large multinational companies that bring in employees from abroad and create jobs that provide the income necessary to maintain a higher standard of living. Companies like Intel, Microsoft, Cisco Systems, Oracle, Procter and Gamble, Hewlett Packard and others, all operate in Costa Rica's Central Valley. Much of the condo and real estate development that has occurred in recent years has sprouted up around these companies' plants, office buildings and facilities. One of the biggest fears surrounding a possible rejection of CAFTA was that large multinationals such as these might pull out of Costa Rica, in favor of other, more inexpensive Central American locations, with more favorable development agendas. This would presumably mean less foreign investment in real estate, less condominium development and sales and in the long run, fewer jobs.