Camacho Salazar takes office as interim Minister of Public Works and Transport

The President of the Republic, Laura Fernández Delgado, appointed Pablo Camacho Salazar, Vice Minister of Infrastructure, as acting Minister of Public Works and Transport for the day of August 24, 2026. The appointment is recorded in presidential agreement No. 064-P, signed on August 23, 2026, and published in La Gaceta No. 183 on Tuesday, September 29, 2026, on page 2. The document appears with the official reference IN202601127458.

The agreement is issued based on Article 139, paragraph 1) of the Political Constitution and Article 47, paragraph 3) of Law No. 6227, the General Law of Public Administration, of May 2, 1978. The request was submitted by the titular minister himself via official letter CARTA-MOPT-DM-2117-2026, dated August 24, 2026, in which he requested one day of vacation to be charged against his corresponding balance.

The official text justifies the measure stating that, during the temporary absence of the minister, “it is necessary to guarantee the continuity of administrative management and the proper functioning of the Ministry of Public Works and Transport.” It was Efraím Zeledón Leiva himself who proposed that the Vice Minister of Infrastructure assume the functions of the ministerial office during that day.

The three articles of the agreement

Agreement No. 064-P is structured into three articles:

• Article 1: authorizes Efraím Zeledón Leiva, identity card No. 1-1145-0086, Minister of Public Works and Transport, to take one day of vacation on August 24, 2026, charged against his corresponding vacation balance.
• Article 2: appoints Pablo Camacho Salazar, identity card No. 2-0612-0457, Vice Minister of Infrastructure, as acting Minister of Public Works and Transport for the day of August 24, 2026.
• Article 3: takes effect as of August 24, 2026.

The document was issued at the Presidency of the Republic on August 23, 2026, and it was ordered to be published once. The signature corresponds to Laura Fernández Delgado, President of the Republic.

Who assumes the portfolio

Pablo Camacho Salazar holds the position of Vice Minister of Infrastructure of the Ministry of Public Works and Transport and already possesses delegated competencies within the institution. Through resolution RES-MOPT-DM-0528-2026, published in La Gaceta No. 112, Supplement No. 77, of June 18, 2026, the signature of Minister Efraím Zeledón Leiva was delegated to him for certain administrative resolutions and agreements within the scope of the office’s competence.

In the same edition of the official gazette, the Ministry of Public Works and Transport published resolution N°109-MOPT (IN202601127456), which authorized Pablo Camacho Salazar to participate in the “Leaders Lead On Demand (LLOD)” program in Washington, DC, from September 13 to 26, 2026, with expenses for meals, lodging, airfare, and transfers fully covered by the government of the United States through the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA).

Publication after effectiveness

The agreement is effective as of August 24, 2026, but its publication in the official gazette occurred on September 29, 2026, more than a month after the effective date. The edition corresponds to La Gaceta No. 183, Year CXLVIII, consisting of 124 pages, and the agreement appears in the Executive Branch section, Agreements subsection, on page 2.

The measure is part of the habitual practice of appointing acting ministers when the titular head is temporarily absent, to ensure that the public works and transport portfolio is not left without a leader during that period. The appointment fell to the Vice Minister of Infrastructure, the same person to whom the minister’s signature for specific administrative acts had already been delegated.

Source: La Gaceta, No. 183 of September 29, 2026, Executive Branch (Agreements), p. 2 (official reference: IN202601127458).