Why Costa Rica is Different?

My first trip to Costa Rica, I was struck by the relative prosperity of this tiny nation to its Central American neighbors. When I asked ticos what made their country different -- how it was able to avoid dictatorships, wars, and crushing poverty -- people pointed to the abolition of the army in 1948. Certainly, the alleviation of a military budget did allow the country to transfer more money towards education expenses. However, this does not account completely for the increased social awareness, better infrastructure, and lower racial and socio-economic tensions within the country.

My past trip to Costa Rica, I met a guide named José on a tour through the Rio Frio. José was raised in northern Costa Rica as a farmer and had learned about the tourism industry by working as a tour guide for the tour guides. His take on the difference between CR and its neighbors was its emphasis on creating a governing body that consisted of the farmers, workers, and elites. Thereby creating a government that was representative of all of the people. This is in contrast to most other Latin American countries that have been ruled for generations by the same population of elite families. Moreover, Jose credited the industrious spirit of most Costa Ricans today to the requirement of the original Constitution to both allow any Costa Rican the right to homestead property alongside of the requirement of all people to work.

The result is that you see a broad middle class within Costa Rica of families who own their own homes, individuals who are self-sufficient, children who are well-educated, and an infrastructure that is stable. The question that next befall me was: well, if they have all of this going for them, why are they not more successful economically? The answer: geography. Lying on a earthquake and volcanic zone has meant that the country gets devastated about once a decade. Thus, making it extremely difficult to progress. Fortunately, their latest economic boom of eco-tourism allows Costa Rica to capitalize on its natural wonders. A stable source of revenue that was only minimally depressed by the global recession!

To friends: I highly recommend travel to Costa Rica. You will find the people friendly, the flora and fauna to be beautiful beyond words, and the experience to be breath-taking.