HAPPY TALK ABOUT COSTA RICA

By Jerry D. Rose

I returned last week from a 10-day tour of Costa Rica. While the tour was organized by Caravan as a “natural paradise” tour emphasizing close encounters with the wild life of the country I was, understandably enough, more interested in what information I could garner about the “human life” of the country, especially as it may have experienced the impact of U.S. economic and cultural influence.

Shortly after my return, there appeared in the UK Observer (reprinted on Common Dreams) an article describing the results of an international survey which rated Costa Rica as the “greenest” and “happiest” place on earth, judged by their lack of environmental degradation, the expressed satisfaction with their country and their longevity. I could only imagine the ecstasy of Caravan and other tour companies, not to mention Costa Rican real estate dealers and hoteliers with the prospect of still more gringo people and dollars flooding into the country. However, based on my observations, reprinted below, it seems that there is at least a cloud of doubt cast over this euphoric rainbow description of the country. Others with personal acquaintance with the country joined in my expressed reservations and the reader of this weblog is encouraged to peruse those other views as well as my own and form their own judgments about Costa Rica as a human as well as a natural paradise.

Comment #1 at 11:46 a.m. July 5, 2009 (comment on the article)
As it happens, I have just returned from a 10-day tour of Costa Rica, and my personal observations would only partially support the conclusions of Costa Rica as a “happiest” country. True, the “ecological footprint” is relatively small; one notices small but significant touches like hotels turning off most of their lobby lights at night when not being used. The country has no railroads, but it has few passable roads either, and automobiles are small and relatively rare and bus riders dominate in San Jose. “Free” education is supported and the country has a high literacy rate. It prides itself on having no military (the President says nothing like a Honduran military coup could happen in his country.)

Beside these indications, there are darker features of the human situation in CR. The gap between living standards of workers and middle class is great, and hovel-like housing is seen throughout the country. A predictable consequence of this gap, a high rate of property crimes, is reflected in the ubiquitous iron bars and barbed wire seen on nearly every house, business and parking lot in San Jose. Only 4% of the country’s workers belong to unions, and unionization is staunchy opposed by the “solidarismo” organization at work places of supposed cooperation of workers and owners which amount to “company unions.” As the Legislative Assembly debates alteration in the country’s Labor Law in response to the International Labor Organization’s condemnation of the labor system, businesses are pulling out at least as many stops to prevent any advancement of unions as one is seeing with business organizations against the EFCA in the U.S.

One of our tour guides told us that most Costa Ricans are poor but satisfied with their stations in life, and perhaps this is true and for that they should be applauded and perhaps envied. As a local newspaper says about the popularity of solidarismo over unionism in CR, the rejection of union activism is based on the desire of Costa Ricans to “quedar bien” (get along.) It’s a question, though, just how long this traditional attitude of putting solidarity over success can survive in a globalizing culture of acquisition and greed, especially as their country is exposed to these latter features of the life styles of the tourists who are now providing the “second largest industry” to this “quaint” country.

Comment #2 1:45 p.m. July 5, 2009 (comment on a previous comment.) The previous commenter had said that he or she hoped to find a “cottage industry” type of production in Costra Rica. This provoked the following comment on CR’s economy, largely omitted from my original comment.

Well, if your bag is “cottage industry,” don’t look to Costa Rica. When you think industry there, think tourism and agriculture and neither of these is remotely “cottage” in nature: rather think plantation and resort hotel if you want the heart of Costa Rican “industry.” Between coffee, pineapple and banana crops grown for export you’ve practically named the base of the country’s economy, and the coffee and fruit companies totally dominate these industries.

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Jerry D. Rose is editor of The Sun State Activist