Los Presentes es un conjunto escultórico en bronce del artista costarricense Fernando Calvo, ubicado en la plazoleta exterior del Banco Central de Costa Rica desde 1989. La obra está compuesta por nueve figuras humanas de tamaño natural que representan a los habitantes tradicionales del Valle Central y al campesinado costarricense.

Central Bank instruments

Monetary policy rate

The Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) is the Central Bank of Costa Rica’s primary instrument for maintaining low and stable inflation. Defined as the “reference price” of money in the short term, it is the rate used by the BCCR to influence the cost of funding for financial intermediaries.

Since 2026, the MPR has been revised six times per year according to a schedule approved by the Board of Directors, enabling the Central Bank to timely respond to pressures that could cause inflation to deviate from its established target of 3% (± 1 percentage point). When the BCCR adjusts the MPR, it sends a signal to the market that affects commercial bank interest rates, thereby directly influencing households’ and businesses’ consumption, savings, and investment decisions.

Because the effects of such adjustments take time to materialize, the use of the MPR is forward-looking. This means that decisions are taken in the present based on economic projections, with a view to stabilizing the path of prices over the medium term and safeguarding the country’s economic welfare.