The Chinchilla government faced lower public support despite the political stability in 2012. The government could only make up for the decrease in income by implementing piecemeal fiscal measures due to failure to pass a more comprehensive tax reform. However, these measures alone were not sufficient to reduce fiscal deficit significantly in the short term. The economic growth reached 5% in 2012. But fiscal deficit and current-account deficit were still high. The poverty rate decreased slightly while the unemployment rate increased. The income inequality was still the focus of social policy. Regarding international relations, the government insisted on diversifying strategy and promoted economic growth by signing FTAs with several countries. The economic growth is predicted to decrease slightly in 2013 affected by the adverse external condition. <<