Paraíso (canton)
Paraíso is a canton in the Cartago province of Costa Rica. The head city is in Paraíso district.
History
Paraíso was created on 7 December 1848 by decree 167.Geography
Paraíso has an area of and a mean elevation of.Paraíso is an elongated canton that stretches southeast from its head city to encompass a swatch of the Cordillera de Talamanca.
Government
Mayor
According to Costa Rica's Municipal Code, mayors are elected every four years by the population of the canton. As of the latest municipal elections in 2024, the United We Can candidate, Michaell Álvarez Quirós, was elected mayor of the canton with 41.37% of the votes, with Merlyn Rojas Mora and Roger Ricardo Zúñiga Vega as first and second vice mayors, respectively.| Period | Name | Party |
| 2002–2006 | Marvin Solano Zúñiga | PAPA |
| 2006–2010 | Marvin Solano Zúñiga | PML |
| 2010–2016 | Jorge Rodríguez Araya | PUSC |
| 2016–2020 | Marvin Solano Zúñiga | PASE |
| 2020–2024 | Carlos Manuel Ramírez Sánchez | PLN |
| 2024–2028 | Michaell Álvarez Quirós | UP |
Municipal Council
Like the mayor and vice mayors, members of the Municipal Council are elected every four years. Paraíso's Municipal Council has 7 seats for regidores and their substitutes, who can participate in meetings but not vote unless the owning regidor is absent. The current president of the Municipal Council is the Progressive Liberal Party member, Aldo Mata Coghi, with National Liberation Party member Silvia Elena Arce Araya as vice president. The Municipal Council's composition for the 2024–2028 period is as follows:Districts
The canton of Paraíso is subdivided into the following districts:Demographics
Paraíso had an estimated inhabitants in 2022, up from the people at the time of the 2011 census.In 2022, Paraíso had a Human Development Index of 0.778, ranking it 4th highest in its province.