Public utility status revoked for six rural aqueducts and four welfare entities

The Executive Branch revoked the declaration of public utility of ten associations—six rural aqueduct administrators and four social care entities—through decrees signed by President Laura Fernández Delgado and the Minister of Justice and Peace, Gabriel Aguilar Vargas. The provisions, identified between Executive Decree No. 45898-MJP and Executive Decree No. 45952-MJP, appear in the Executive Branch Decree Section of La Gaceta No. 211 from Friday, November 6, 2026, on pages 2 to 8.

The legal framework invoked in all cases is Article 32 of the Associations Law No. 218 of August 8, 1939, which empowers the Executive Branch to declare associations whose activities are particularly useful to the interests of the State as being of public utility, along with Articles 25, 27, and 28 of the General Law of Public Administration No. 6227 and numerals 32, 33 bis, and 33 ter of the Regulations to the Associations Law No. 29496-J, published in La Gaceta No. 96 on May 21, 2001. These regulations establish two main grounds: the formal resignation of the association and the failure to submit the annual labor report, following a ten-business-day notice. Each decree orders the notification of the act to the Ministry of Finance, the General Directorate of Taxation, and the National Property Registry so they may proceed according to their competence.

Six rural aqueducts lose the benefit

The organizations that manage communal water systems concentrate the largest block of revocations:

• Asociación Administradora del Acueducto del Recreo de Turrialba (Executive Decree No. 45898-MJP, July 24, 2026): formal resignation communicated by its president, Carlos Brenes Montoya; nullifies Executive Decree No. 34932-J.
• Asociación Administradora del Acueducto y Alcantarillado Rural de Los Criques, Valle Azul, Pueblo Nuevo y El Progreso (Executive Decree No. 45899-MJP, June 30, 2026): incomplete 2024 annual labor report; administrative procedure 002-UP-2026 and resolution RMJP-0662-06-2026 were processed; repeals Executive Decree No. 41379-JP.
• Asociación de Acueductos de San Pedro de Pérez Zeledón (Executive Decree No. 45926-MJP, August 12, 2026): resignation submitted by its legal representative, Ergirio Dagoberto Jiménez Leiva; repeals Executive Decree No. 42166-MJP.
• Asociación Administradora de Acueductos Rurales de Río Piedras (Executive Decree No. 45928-MJP, August 14, 2026): failed to submit the 2024 report and the requirements verification report; ministerial resolution RMJP-0787-08-2026 intervened; repeals Executive Decree No. 39184-MJP.
• Asociación Administradora del Acueducto Integrado de San Antonio Mollejones de Pejiballe del cantón de Pérez Zeledón (Executive Decree No. 45937-MJP, July 24, 2026): incomplete 2024 report and subsequent resignation; repeals Executive Decree No. 34943-J.
• Asociación Unión de Asociaciones Gestoras por el Ambiente y la Salud (Executive Decree No. 45951-MJP, September 18, 2026): failed to prove public utility or cost-benefit for the affiliated ASADAS; repeals Executive Decree No. 35231-J.

Four social care entities lose their declaration

The second group brings together care organizations for people, including two with long trajectories:

• Asociación Materno Santa Clara de Asís (Executive Decree No. 45916-MJP, July 3, 2026): resignation communicated via official letter dated April 25, 2025, by its president, Hazel Jiménez Blen; repeals Executive Decree No. 39008-MJP.
• Asociación Hogar Carlos María Ulloa (Executive Decree No. 45927-MJP, August 10, 2026): failed to submit the 2023 and 2024 labor reports and the verification and control report; repeals Executive Decree No. 32153-J.
• Asociación de Atención Integral del Anciano San Cayetano (Executive Decree No. 45940-MJP, September 2, 2026): express resignation of its legal representative, José Manuel Molina López, due to internal considerations; repeals Executive Decree No. 33964-J.
• Asociación de Adulto Mayor en Acción de Pérez Zeledón (Executive Decree No. 45952-MJP, September 1, 2026): failed to submit the 2023 and 2024 reports; repeals Executive Decree No. 35081-J.

Administrative process and registration

The decrees indicate that the decisions were adopted following the standard procedures: ten-business-day notices, official letters from the Legal Counsel of the Ministry of Justice and Peace —such as AJ-2867-10-2025 and Circular AJ-002-2025— and reasoned resolutions from the Ministerial Office. All of them order the act to be communicated to the Associations Registry of the National Registry for annotation and take effect upon their publication.

The immediate effect is that the ten organizations cease to appear as beneficiaries of the declaration that the State grants to non-profit entities considered to be of public interest. For the rural aqueduct administrators and care entities, the change occurs within a context of precarious funding for water services and care for older adults in rural communities.

Source: La Gaceta, No. 211, Friday, November 6, 2026, Executive Branch Section — Decrees, pp. 2-8 (official reference: executive decrees No. 45898-MJP to No. 45952-MJP).