Víctor Morales Mora

Licentiate Víctor Manuel Morales Mora
Minister of Labor
In office 2014–1992
President	Luis Guillermo Solís, (2014-Present)
Mayor, Aserrí
In office 2010–2014
Constituency	Aserrí
Minister of Labor
In office 1998–2002
President	Miguel Ángel Rodríguez Echeverría, (1998-2002)
Deputy Legislative Assembly of Costa Rica
In office 1992–1994
Constituency	Aserrí, San José
Vice-Minister of Labor
In office 1990–1992
President	Rafael Calderón Fournier, (1990-1992)
Personal details
Born	Poás de Aserrí, Costa Rica
Political party	Citizens' Action Party
Other political affiliations	formerly Social Christian Unity Party
Profession	Lawyer and Civil Servant

Víctor Manuel Morales Mora is a Costa Rican politician and lawyer. He has served as a government minister in three different administrations and served a deputy. He was the mayor of Aserrí between 2010 and 2014.

Biographic information

Morales was born in Poás de Aserrí. He grew up in Aserrí proper.^[1] He studied at Andrés Corrales Mora Elementary and the Liceo de Aserrí High School, where he was the President of his student government.^[1] He attended the University of Costa Rica where he studied political science and philosophy, earning a national certificate that enabled him to practice law.

Public service

Between 1978 and 1986, Morales worked as a municipal register.^[2] In 1982, he was president of the group Social Christian Youth, a political advocacy organization. Between 1990 and 1992, Morales served as Vice-Minister of Labor to Rafael Calderón Fournier.

In 1992, he was elected as a deputy to the Legislative Assembly of Costa Rica, serving only two years.^[2] In 1995, Morales was elected President of his party, the Social Christian Unity Party (PUSC for its Spanish initials).

Between 1998 and 2002, he was Minister of Labor during to Miguel Ángel Rodríguez Echeverría.^[2] In this position, he pushed for the Workers' Protection Law, which provided basic rights to unrepresented workers.^[1]

In 2006, Morales left PUSC.^[3] Morales was one of a number of PUSC members to abandon the party after a string of corruption scandals.

While teaching law between 2006 and 2010, Morales was also a legal adviser.^[4]

Mayor of Aserrí

Aserrí Municipal Building

In 2010, Morales was elected mayor of Aserrí, a municipality in the San José with a population of nearly 60,000^[5] He ran as part of a coalition of parties: PAC, PUSC, and Accessibility without Exclusion (PASE fot its Spanish initials).^[4] During his campaign, Morales promised to increase public security with the creation of a municipal police force, assure water security, increase citizen participation through such measures as a digital communications line to city officials, improve accessibility for disabled persons, and support environmental protections.^[1] As mayor, Morales participated in the United Nations Disaster Office for Disaster Risk Reduction.^[5] Morales also instituted a problem-solving forum called "Dialogues" that sought to resolve conflicts through consensus.^[6]

With less than a month left in his term as mayor, President elect Luis Guillermo Solís appointed Morales to his cabinet as Minister of Labor.^[3]

References

1. "Víctor Morales Mora, alcalde electo por Aserrí". Periódico Acción (in Spanish) (San Jose). 7 December 2010. Retrieved 20 April 2014.
2. "PRESENTACIÓN DEL GABINETE: VÍCTOR MANUEL MORALES MORA" (PDF). Curriculum Vita (in Spanish). San Jose: Costa Rica Hoy. Retrieved 20 April 2014.
3. Eduardo Mora, Daniel (14 April 2014). "Alcalde de Aserrí será el próximo Ministro de Trabajo". El Jornal Costa Rica (in Spanish) (San Jose). Retrieved 20 April 2014.
4. "Víctor Morales, candidato a Alcalde por Aserrí". Periódico Acción (in Spanish) (San Jose). 3 October 2010. Retrieved 20 April 2014.
5. "Making Cities Resilient: My City is Getting Ready: City Profile of Aserri". City Profile (in Spanish). UNISDR. Retrieved 20 April 2014.
6. "Radford University: Peace Studies Minor". Program Website. Radford, Virginia: Radford University. Retrieved 20 April 2014.