Talk:Costa Rica/Archive 3

Costa Rica, the less poor
Mexico: 13.8% '''note: food-based poverty. Asset based poverty amounted to more than 40%''' (2006) Spain: 19.8% Uruguay: 27% Colombia: 49% Venezuela: 37% Ecuador, Bolivia, Peru and Paraguay, Guatemala, Honduras, Belize and El Salvador: All over 20% Brazil: 31% Chile: 18.2% Costa Rica: 18.0%

Costa Rica's urbanization level compared to: Norway.

Cocoliras (talk) 01:52, 15 February 2008 (UTC)


 * Where are the sources. Don't forget to cite sources? -- LaNicoya  •Talk•   02:45, 15 February 2008 (UTC)

Oh, sorry, CIA World Factbook, all sources... —Preceding unsigned comment added by 190.140.233.103 (talk) 18:25, 15 February 2008 (UTC)
 * Follow-up. There are several definitions of poverty, and this one just seems as if the right one was picked to support he conclusion. Please check the latest UN databases, or the World Bank, or the Inter-American Development Bank or even USAID, or any similar reputable source (the CIA fact book is not!!). For the record, CR does not rank well in poverty (as income per day, which is the std definition in developing agencies) nor in income distribution (Gini coefficient). If an updated and standard definition/data is found and referenced, then the text in the leading paragraph can be kept (where the citation was asked). Otherwise, that assertion will have to go as WP:OR. Mariordo (talk) 04:50, 19 March 2008 (UTC)


 * I deleted the sentences about least impoverished. Clearly WP:OR. See below the detailed justification. Mariordo (talk) 03:40, 20 March 2008 (UTC)

Ecoconomy
I'm not very familiar with the editing of pages in Wikipedia. However I want to make a comment with regard on the segment of the economy. The page has been updated by stating that Costa Rica faces the second highest inflaction in Latin America. The article used as reference does not mention that. Also the unemployment rate is wrong see below(4.6% for 2007)

This is information is according to the resource being used [8]. Where did the person that gathered these facts found in the source that the unemployment rate was 6.6% when the source says 4.6%

After experiencing 7.9 % growth in 2006, the Costa Rican economy settled down to an estimated 6.5% in 2007. Compared with its Central American neighbors, Costa Rica has achieved a high standard of living, with a per capita income of about U.S. $5,100, and an unemployment rate of 4.6%. During 2007 the annual inflation rate rose to 11.5% as the Costa Rican Government sought to reduce its large fiscal deficit.

Can someon please correct these wrong facts. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Wysiwyg2 (talk • contribs) 06:46, 15 February 2008 (UTC)

Linking to
A couple of days back, User:AndreszCostaRica replaced the references section with the above link. I assumed it was spam and reverted, but Andres e-mailed me, asking me to review the link again. I did, and it's actually an excellent source. So I tried adding it to the article again, but my change was undone. I think it's a good link, and we should link to the site. But perhaps you're correct that just linking to it probably isn't the best choice-would anyone object to it being used as a footnote reference? I don't have time to do it now, as I'll be without internet connection from tomorrow until 2 March but when I come back I'll find the statements supported by the linked source, and cite it in-line. Would that be okay with everyone? Puchiko (Talk-email) 22:28, 22 February 2008 (UTC)
 * What reason do we have to believe it satisfies WP:RS? It looks like a pretty typical commercial real estate site.Kww (talk) 23:34, 22 February 2008 (UTC)


 * I consider that to be spam, as well. Carl.bunderson (talk) 19:23, 23 February 2008 (UTC)

Economy
The CIA World Factbook doesn't state the same figures as the U.S. Department of State. For example the estimated unemployment rate for 2007 is 5.5% in CIA WF and 4.6% at USDS, which figures are to be trusted?. And in the first paragraph in the economy section it states that "The Costa Rican economy grew nearly 5% in 2006 after experiencing 4 years of slow economic growth" although I can't find any figures on that in the refrence-note next to it. /Natox (talk) 08:55, 8 March 2008 (UTC)

APEC
"the country is expected to obtain full Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum (APEC) membership by 2007 (the country became an observer in 2004).", so, what's the status nowadays? Have they recieved full membership? /Natox (talk) 09:14, 8 March 2008 (UTC)

Politics Section is wrong. Wrong President
"Pepe Figueres (Nobel Peace Prize laureate, 1987) to run for President for a second term. In 2006, Pepe Figueres was re-elected in a tight and highly contested election, running on a platform of promoting free trade."

It was Oscar Arias not Pepe Figueres. Oscar Arias won the Nobel Peace Prize. The link their for Pepe figueres is bad too. Oscar Arias ran for a second term and won. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.91.129.150 (talk) 01:10, 12 March 2008 (UTC)

Second thing in Politics that seems odd or out of place.. vandalism?
"Costa Rica has no military by constitution but maintains domestic pacos forces for internal security. These include the Guardia Civil and the Guardia Rural."

What is the pacos force? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.91.129.150 (talk) 01:13, 12 March 2008 (UTC)

"pacos" is slang for police men. It is kind of disrespectful and it is vandalism --65.182.30.26 (talk) 22:30, 20 March 2008 (UTC)

Editing of sex tourism paragraph
Since this short paragraph about sex tourism in CRC has been subject to many edits and undo's, the following is a justification for the editing I did today. Please, let's keep the discussion here for a while before any undo or new addition on the subject. Also, take into consideration, as already has been discussed above, this paragraph used to be "...too detailed on sex tourism for the country-level article". I believe that anyone wishing to edit about this subject with more detail, can do it at will at the sex tourism article, where this subject properly belongs. The following is the old text before my edit, including references, and thereafter, I present a brief discussion on every polemical issue: ''Sex tourism has become a popular form of tourism and has been gaining popularity in Costa Rica where it already amounts for 10% of the billion dollar tourism industry. Costa Rica has been hailed as a national destination for sex tourists, this is largely because of legal prostitution. ''
 * The assertion that "sex tourism... already amounts for 10% of the billion dollar tourism industry" is not supported by the first source provided (#1 as transcribed here), which is about sex tourism in general, and child prostitution in particular (I relocated this ref to the second sentence, which now talks briefly about child sex trade), and source #2, from the Tico Times is related, but is saying something completely different, which makes the old text WP:OR or simply a mistake of interpretation of the editor. The Tico Times (on-line is not available for free, I paid the two bucks to have it in PDF) is reporting based on a book published by Jacobo Schifter, which reads: "Along with other value-added tourism niches that have seen a surge thanks to Costa Rica's booming $1.7 billion-a-year tourism industry, sex tourism is enjoying a growth spurt...Up to 10% of tourists who come to Costa Rica engage in sex tourism engage in sex tourism..." (the bold is mine). So, this information is what I edited in the new revised paragraph. A 10% of sex tourists does not mean 10% of all income from international tourists, as the old edit said. Not only the old edit would be original research, but is not logical to assume a direct proportionality, this is, that those sex tourists would spent a 100% of their money on sex services, they also have to pay for taxis, food, beberages, hotel, and all the typical expenses of an international tourist. So I included as references both, the Schifter book (which by the way in Spanish is called "Viejos verdes en el paraiso") and the Tico Times article.


 * Source # 3 (as reproduced here), as the title says is about child sex trade and child prostitution in Central America, and particulary about Costa Rica, as "It is also believed to have the region's most pronounced child-prostitution problem." I also move this ref to the second sentence. I am providing a better reference to support that CR is a destination for sex tourists (see references from La Nacion, here numbered #6 and #7). These are new sources from a the leading local newspaper.


 * As a matter of fact, prostitution is NOT legal in Costa Rica, as the old text said, and this needs an explanation from the legal point of view to avoid confusion. Some patience here. First, for a general understanding of the different legal status of prostitution read the section |legality of prostitution in the world in the wiki link provided. Prostitution is legal in places such as France and the Netherlands (see prostitution in the Netherlands, prostitution in Germany and prostitution in New Zealand) or most counties in Nevada, USA. This sex workers paid taxes, and have social benefits. As correctly explained in the Wiki article: "...in many jurisdictions, the act of obtaining money for sex is not illegal, but many of the activities surrounding it are illegal. For example, in England and Wales, Scotland, Rhode Island, Canada, Bulgaria, Brazil, Denmark and Costa Rica, amongst others, activities such as solicitation, pimping and owning or running a brothel are illegal. Therefore, prostitution for persons 18 and older is not illegal, but this does not mean it is legal, it just not penalized." By anology this is the same difference made by Common Law and other legal systems in the world, when a defendant is found guilty or not guilty. Not guilty does not means innocent. The fact that prostitution is not penalized does not means it is legal, as the old edit said, and ref #4 wrongly notes. See also Costa Rican Penal Code at: http://www.oas.org/Juridico/MLA/sp/cri/sp_cri-int-text-cpenal.pdf See SECCIÓN III: Corrupción, proxenetismo, rufianería, art. 167 to 172). I kept ref #4 just to support that "many of the activities surrounding it are indeed illegal", and also included this article, which clearly explains that prostitution is not penalized in the country, but a third-party soliciting clients for a prostitue (proxenetismo) is commiting a crime. The following is a transcription of the text in Spanish: En Costa Rica la prostitución no se penaliza, siempre y cuando sea la voluntad de una persona adulta. Cuando un tercero se beneficia eso es proxenetismo",. This declaration is from the Costa Rican Deputy District Atorney on sexual crimes, Lilliam Gómez. The original sources for the info on this website are also found in the local newspaper La Nacion, refs #6 and #7.

Finally, I will also change the text in the article Economy of Costa Rica, which will be briefer. I hope this detail explanation will settle the issues and further discussion is welcome. Mariordo (talk) 06:10, 16 March 2008 (UTC)

Age of consent is 15 indeed
The Civil Code and Family Code were reformed in 2007. See http://historico.gaceta.go.cr/2007/03/PLLE_01_03_2007.html Transcription in Spanish: Artículo 1º—Refórmanse los artículos 14 y 64 del Código de Familia, Ley Nº 5476. Los textos dirán:

“Artículo 14.—Es legalmente imposible el matrimonio:

........

7) De la persona menor de quince años”...............That settles the issue. Mariordo (talk) 22:09, 19 March 2008 (UTC)

......

Comment: Perhaps I´m confused, but isn´t the age of consent for marriage different than the age of consent for sexual activity in general? For example, in California a 16 year old can marry with parental permission, but even a 17 year old cannot have sex with an adult of over 18 years (the state will usually only prosecute if the adult is over the age of 21 or 22, however). On the other hand, two 15 year olds can have sex with each other without any problems.

I am concerned that saying that the age of consent in Costa Rica is 15 may cause problems. I understand that foreigners can be prosecuted for having sex with anyone under 18. Obviously marriage is not in the equation for most visitors. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 201.194.7.234 (talk) 16:24, 11 April 2008 (UTC)

Justification for deletion of assertion about poverty
This following is the text in the leading paragraph I deleted, it is not only unsourced but clearly WP:OR as explained below.

Costa Rica is among the safest countries in Latin America and is currently the least impoverished Spanish speaking country in the world, with poverty percentages lower than that of Spain and other developed countries and levels of urbanization that nears those of countries such as Finland and Norway.[citation needed]

Reasons for deletion:
 * The claim that CRC is the safest is unsupported. What is the index or indicator used? Homicides per 100,000 inhab.? Robberies? A properly published index should justify such assertion. Unless one reliable source is provided, this text must be kept out of the article.
 * When talking about poverty there are several definitions, but, in ALL of them, indicators are different for developed countries (such Spain) and developing countries. See the Wiki articles Poverty threshold and Measuring poverty for further explanation. Therefore, this assertion is making a comparison between oranges and potatos, clearly WP:OR of the user who edited.
 * Even when developed countries are left out of the comparison, there are at least three indicators frequently used in the development agencies and by scholars: (1) the UN's Human Poverty Index (HPI-1 for development countries, and HPI-2 for OECD countries, Eastern Europe and the CIS); (2) the World Bank's pop. income below $1 per day (used as benchmark for the Millennium Development Goals, it is called extreme poverty; and (3) again the World Bank's pop. income below $2 per day, called moderate poverty. All these indexes are presented in the UN's 2007 Human Develovemnt Report ( see Tables 3 and 4, pp. 238-242) and data is not available for all developing countries, and comparisons are difficult, since date of the last survey varies by country between 1990 and 2005. Other indicator is the national poverty line (included in the 2007 HDR), but this one DOES NOT allow for comparisons, since countries used different definitions.
 * Despite these limitations, Table 3 of the 2007 HDR shows the following about CRC:
 * CRI ranks 5th in the HPI-1 index (among 108 developing countries with data available), and within Latin America is behind Uruguay (2nd), Chile (3rd) and Argentina (4th). Therefore, by the HPI, CRC IS NOT the least impoverished Spanish speaking country as asserted.
 * In terms of the $1 per day indicator, the percentage is low by developing countries standards, just 3.3%, but it ranks behind Chile (<2%), Uruguay (<2%), Dominican Republic (2.8%), Mexico (3.0%) and nine other countries outside Latin America. The sample for this index does not includes the 108 countries from HPI-1. Obviously, CRC IS NOT the least impoverished Spanish speaking country as asserted.
 * Finally, by the $2 per day indicator, Costa Rica ranks better, 2nd in Latin America (9.8%), again behind Chile (5.6%) and Uruguay (5.7%), but there are five other developing countries ahead (then 8th among developing countries), but the sample shrinks again. Anyway, by this indicator again, CRC IS NOT the least impoverished Spanish speaking country as asserted.


 * Conclusion, the deleted paragraph is unsupported by the most reliable sources and indicators. Because of the complextity of measuring poverty and lack of data, the best indicator available for most developing countries is HPI-1, so this CRC ranking I will include, but only in the "International Rankings" section/table. The HPI considers a long and healthy life, knowledge and a decent standard of living. Becuse it does not consider minimum income, the $2 per day ranking will be included in the table too (still, later on I will check the World Bank's digital database to see if there is a more updated figure than the HDR). I hope this detailed explanation serves as a guide for other editors to include this kind of data in other country articles. Mariordo (talk) 03:40, 20 March 2008 (UTC)

Guatemala City reference
Pinhut (talk) 15:53, 28 March 2008 (UTC) - I changed this last year and somebody has changed it back. It is factually incorrect to state that Guatemala City was the capital of Central America during Colonial times. I checked the dates on the period agreed as the Colonial era in Central America and Antigua, Guatemala, was the capital of Guatemala, along with the whole of Central America, for the entirety of that period.

Guatemala City was not founded until after the Colonial Period. There's been a lot of activity to combat vandalism, maybe that is what undid this glaring factual error.

If there is some agreement from people working on this entry to accept this change, I'll change it back Towards Independence: Throughout the colonial period Costa Rica remained one of the provinces ruled by the Spanish viceroyalty in Guatemala (together with the provinces of El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua). Its position as the farthest province from the crown's representative and the fact that great mineral wealth was not discovered here meant that interest in this distant territory was minimal, which in turn allowed Costa Rica to develop in an atmosphere of relative autonomy not found in the other provinces of Central America.

The provincial Governors were always Spaniards appointed by the monarchy, although once settled in the new territory they inevitably set about attending to their own personal interests rather than those of the province and its colonists. This practice was by no means limited to the province of Costa Rica but was apparently commonplace throughout the New World colonies, which lead to much discontent among the colonists.

During the latter part of the 1700's, Spain's concern for the welfare of its American territories decreased as its interest in taxing them increased in order to help solve problems at home (including those brought by a feisty Frenchman by the name of Bonaparte). Discontentment with the crown in other parts of Latin America led to wars of independence. There was even some sporadic insurrection in other areas of Central America between 1811 and 1814.

Deliberation over the situation of the Guatemalan territories with respect to their relation to Spain ended in the signing of the Guatemalan Independence Act on September 15, 1821.

News of independence from Spain reached Costa Rica by messenger in mid-October and in November of 1821 the first provisional government of Costa Rica was formed. This body drafted the "Concord Pact" on December 1, a document which is considered the original Costa Rican Constitution. The Pact established the sovereign right of Costa Rica to decide its political future and guaranteed to its citizens civil liberty, the right to property, and other natural rights.

However, this new-found independence from the mother country was not met everywhere with total acceptance. Throughout Central America there were groups of imperialists who still felt their loyalty to Spain and clashed with the separatists over the issue of becoming part of the Mexican Empire or remaining completely independent. Costa Rica was no exception. The majority of the town elders of both Cartago and Heredia proclaimed themselves imperialists, in contrast with the predominant republican sentiments professed in San José and Alajuela.

Thus, although Costa Rica did not have to fight to gain its independence, ironically it battled over the future of this status and in April of 1823, in the area of Ochomogo (halfway between Cartago and San José), a battle was waged between groups from the two factions. Those favoring independence were victorious.

The other significant outcome of this skirmish was that the capital of the country was then transferred to San José from its previous site in Cartago.

The Beginnings of an Economy: The exportation of agricultural products to Nicaragua and Panama and the importation of cloth, metal implements, and other goods that characterized the trade which Costa Rica conducted beyond its frontiers during the colonial period, resulted in the concentration of wealth in the hands of local merchants. By the mid-18th century, much of the agricultural produce came from small family-run farms since shortages of indigenous labor caused the failure of many of the former large land holdings that had been a prominent feature of the Central Valley's landscape a century earlier.

Because currency was in short supply, most of the trade between farmers and merchants was conducted using a barter system in which the merchant inevitably got the better part of the bargain. Relatively little local commerce existed in the 1700's since most people were farmers and most farms were designed to be self-sufficient. Thus, the majority of the trade consisted of surplus crops or livestock that were bartered to obtain imported items from the merchants.

In spite of continued population growth and agricultural expansion across the Central Valley, this bucolic, non-capitalistic life style might easily have continued for many years after independence had it not been for the introduction of a foreign plant species: Coffea arabica, more commonly known as coffee.

The spread of coffee cultivation in the Central Valley resulted in numerous profound changes in the development of the fledgling republic. As more and more of the small subsistence farms converted to coffee plantations, it became necessary to import food crops from other countries, principally Nicaragua. The merchant class also became active in growing coffee on lands they owned and this necessitated the hiring of laborers. The operation of coffee mills also required salaried workers. Thus, the beginnings of a capitalistic society, in which labor itself becomes a commodity, were established.

Fortunately, just prior to the expansion of coffee growing, a source of mineral wealth had at last been discovered in Costa Rica, and in 1815 gold mining began in the Montes de Aguacate -- a mountainous area along the route traveled between the Central Valley and the Pacific port of Puntarenas. As a result of this activity, the government began minting coinage for the first time in 1824. By 1833, gold exports accounted for 48% of the country's total exports.

One year earlier, coffee had for the first time been shipped from Puntarenas to Chile, from where it would be sent on to England. This was the start of what was to become a very profitable relationship, so profitable that from 1843 until 1880 coffee made up between 85 and 95% of the nation's exports. By then, most of the coffee production was being shipped directly to England.

The rich volcanic soils of the Central Valley and an ideal climate for growing coffee, combined with the agricultural tradition of the majority of the inhabitants and the marketing experience of the merchant class, propelled Costa Rica to an economic position far superior to most of the rest of Latin America, where many countries were so embroiled in bloody civil wars that concern for developing a national economy took a definite back seat.

Associated with the coffee boom were many advances in development, including the founding of banks (with a combination of British and Costa Rican capital), the construction and improvement of roads and port facilities, the establishment of the country's first telegraph system which connected Cartago with Puntarenas (via San José, Alajuela, and Heredia), and the building of the nation's first railway linking Alajuela, San José, and Cartago. Even the construction of the country's premier architectural showpiece, the National Theater, can be traced to the prosperity brought by coffee production.

During the second half of the 19th century, however, advances in health and education did not keep pace with the development of infrastructure. This is not to say that the governments of the time were not active in trying to provide improved education and health care, but simply that it took longer to see the results. Poor sanitary conditions were the principal cause of periodic outbreaks of infectious diseases, such as cholera and dysentery, and life expectancy at the turn of the twentieth century was only 30 years. With increased attention paid to the public health sector, life expectancy rose from 35 to 56 years between 1920 and 1950. Likewise, an expanding public education system resulted in a decline in illiteracy from 55% in 1910, to 33% in 1930, and to 21% in 1950.

Trains, bananas, chocolate, and gold: The oxcart, which has become something of a national symbol of Costa Rica, was instrumental in transporting sacks of coffee beans from the Central Valley to the port of Puntarenas, but this was made possible only after the path through the mountains was sufficiently widened in the mid-1840's to allow the oxcarts to replace mules as a form of transportation. Nevertheless, shipping coffee to England from the Pacific side of the country meant a long, arduous voyage around Cape Horn. The obvious solution was to open a route that would link the Central Valley with the Caribbean coast. And the way to do it? A railroad!

In 1884, the Costa Rican government signed a contract with Minor Keith, a North American who agreed to construct a narrow-gauge railroad from San José to Limón in exchange for 300,000 hectares of land on the Atlantic side of the country. On this vast acreage Keith began banana production, and in 1899 joined with the Boston Fruit Company to form the United Fruit Company.

Afro-American laborers were brought from Jamaica to work the banana plantations and build the railroad because they were better adapted to the climatic conditions of the Caribbean lowlands than were the European-descended inhabitants of the Central Valley. Due to the relative isolation of the banana producing regions from the other populated areas of the country, a unique culture evolved on the Caribbean side of Costa Rica with a distinctive Jamaican flavor.

By 1913, Costa Rica was one of the world's leading banana exporters, although coffee was still the nation's principal foreign revenue earner. At about this same time, the United Fruit Company began converting some of its extensive monoculture banana plantations to cacao because of a fungal disease, known as "Panama disease," that was affecting the bananas. By 1925, cacao figured third on the country's list of export products.

Minor Keith also used his fortune in the purchase of 40,000 hectares of land in the Tilarán mountains, where he started the Abangares Gold Mining Company. Although seemingly worlds apart, this gold mining operation held much in common with the way banana production was carried out. Immigrant labor from Honduras, Nicaragua, and also Jamaica was employed along with Costa Rican workers. The work was demanding, and even though well-paid, the workers were isolated in the mining villages and had little choice but to spend their hard-earned pay in the company store owned by the mining company.

Since most of Keith's holdings were essentially vertical monopolies whose production came from land they owned or controlled, and his dealings with the government gave him the advantage of numerous tax breaks, a relatively small percentage of the income generated by his various activities ever entered the national economy.

The Revolution of 1948: Of the relatively little that might be known about Costa Rica beyond its borders is the fact that this tiny Central American nation is unique in having a functioning democratic system and no army. However, these conditions have only existed since 1949.

It is true that in Costa Rica the democratic tradition dates back to 1889, although direct voting for presidential candidates did not go into effect until 1910 and women gained the right to vote as late as 1953. Nonetheless, from 1821 to 1948, electoral fraud and coups d'état were a regular part of the local political reality -- witness to the fact is that in the 93 years between 1821 and 1914 there were a total of 92 political conflicts characterized by violence, albeit brief and limited in scope.

Many factors combined to create the political situation that resulted in the revolution, or civil war, of 1948.

Costa Rica's century-long economic dependence on a single export crop, coffee (bananas have never had the same direct influence on the national economy), inevitably tied the economy to the vagaries of an international market. Coffee prices had already been on a decline for several years when the worldwide depression hit in 1930. This resulted in a drastic reduction of both coffee and banana exports along with a severe drop in imported goods. Because most government revenue was then generated by taxes on imports, the depression also decidedly diminished state funds.

The economic conditions produced a serious social crisis marked by unemployment, food scarcities, lowered wages for government employees, and a general decline in the standard of living to which Costa Ricans had been accustomed. The growing proletariat had already been making increasingly vehement demands for better working and living conditions prior to the onset of the depression, and thus the stage was set for the inception of the Costa Rican Communist Party in 1931. Several strikes by urban workers and by thousands of banana plantation workers in the Atlantic lowlands in 1934 demonstrated the power of this new political force and sent a clear signal to the traditional ruling class elite.

The government was obliged to take a more active role in social and economic problems. Banking had traditionally been controlled by foreign capitalists and the local coffee oligarchy, but in 1936, the state intervened in this area with the creation of the National Bank of Costa Rica and the General Superintendent of Banks, designed to exercise certain controls over the private banks. Previously, in 1933, a federal institute had been created to establish prices paid for coffee by the coffee mills and to regulate relations between the independent growers and the mills.

The end of a seventy-year period of governmental liberalism and laissez-faire was being heralded. At the same time, a generational change was taking place in the national political arena and, in 1940, Dr. Rafael Angel Calderón Guardia was elected president with an overwhelming 85% of the vote. His ambitious platform, however, was limited by the federal fiscal deficit and a new period of difficult international economic times brought on by World War II.

Nevertheless, during his four years in office the University of Costa Rica was founded (1940), the Seguro Social -- a national health care program -- was created (1941), the "Social Guarantees" were amended to the Constitution (1942), and the Labor Code was enacted (1943). History will perhaps best remember Dr. Calderón for having promoted the Social Guarantees which include the right to work, minimum wage, an 8-hour work day, a 48-hour work week, paid vacations, the right to unionize and to strike, social security, and the formation of the Labor Courts to litigate disputes between workers and employers.

Despite the sweeping popularity that brought him into office, by the second year of his presidency Calderón was beset by critics from all sides. Those wielding economic power were not enamored of many of the social reforms, the communists were not in favor of legislation that instituted religion classes in public schools, and nearly everyone opposed the government's handling of the country's economic problems. To make matters worse, accusations of corruption were frequent.

Among the many critics was a politically unknown farmer/businessman, José Figueres Ferrer, who, during a radio program on July 8, 1942, denounced the government's economic policies and claimed that it had given in to the Communist Party. Incensed by his oratory, the government had him arrested and deported to Mexico. However, that was not to be the end of Mr. Figueres.

It was not until a year later that the government of Calderón Guardia actually did form a pact with the Communist Party in hopes of assuring a victory in the 1944 Presidential elections. Both groups had a mutual interest in preserving the social reforms that had recently become law, and it is thought that perhaps Calderón, being aware of the decline in his popularity, imagined the communists could be useful with their capacity at organizing and mobilizing masses of people.

The election campaign of 1944 was marred by numerous violent confrontations between followers of the Calderón/communist coalition, known as "The Victory Block," and those of the León Cortés Democratic Party. Cortés had been president from 1936 - 1940 and was running for reelection against Teodoro Picado, the man picked by Calderón to succeed him. By an ample margin, Picado was declared the winner, although the opposition party denounced that the results were tampered.

Attempting to placate the opposition, Picado instituted several reforms aimed at improving public finance and, most importantly, promoted the creation of the Electoral Code which included the formation of the Electoral Tribune, supposedly a politically neutral organism charged with safeguarding election results and eliminating fraud.

Any advance that might have been gained towards smoothing over differences with the opposition was nullified, however, by the changes made to the tax laws in December of 1946. Both small agricultural and industrial producers as well as those with large capital were equally vocal in their discontent over having to pay higher taxes, especially the agricultural exporting class that was long accustomed under the liberal regimes to not having their activities taxed.

Meanwhile, in 1944, José Figueres had returned from exile committed to forming the "Second Republic" and a year later created the Social Democratic Party. Six months later, this party entered into an alliance with the León Cortés Democratic Party and the National Union Party, led by Otilio Ulate, who was later elected as the party nominee for the presidential election of 1948. Their platform centered on free elections and anticommunism. The Victory Block's candidate was Dr. Calderón Guardia who aspired to a second term in office.

The months leading up to the elections on February 8, 1948 were filled with tension and frequent acts of violence perpetrated by members of both major political forces. The level of conflict escalated from that of the elections four years earlier with the inclusion of terrorist attacks on newspaper companies, radio stations, and even important political figures, including Calderón himself. And, of course, both sides alleged that the other party intended to rig the election results.

Officially, Otilio Ulate outpaced Calderón by 10,000 votes, but the Victory Block garnered a greater number of seats in the legislature than did the National Union Party. Calderón Guardia refused to acknowledge the defeat. Also, the day after the elections, a fire of suspicious origin destroyed many of the ballots. It seems that the Electoral Tribune was not very successful in its first trial by fire.

By majority, the members of the Electoral Tribune declared Ulate to be the President-elect, pending confirmation by the Legislative Assembly. Calderón petitioned the legislature to nullify the results, which they did (the majority of representatives were members of the Victory Block party), although they ruled that the legislative position results were valid.

That was the spark that ignited the fuse which had been set years ago. On March 12, 1948, word reached San José that a band of revolutionaries led by José Figueres had taken over the town of San Isidro del General in the southern part of the province.

The revolution lasted for five weeks with sporadic fighting in which Figueres' troops, self-proclaimed as the National Liberation Army, proved victorious over the badly organized and poorly directed Costa Rican army. In fact, much of the defense of the government was provided by armed communist party members. However, the government was reluctant to give them enough material support to be truly effective, and on April 19, the government of Teodoro Picado opted to surrender to Figueres.

The "Second Republic": The Figueres-Ulate Pact was signed on May 1, 1948 giving Figueres 18 months to govern the country without a legislature before turning over power to Ulate. Amazingly, in the context of Latin American politics, this pact was fulfilled on November 8, 1949.

During those intervening 18 months, the Government Council presided by Figueres instituted many profound changes. Among these were the nationalization of the banking system, the establishment of a 10% capital goods tax, the prohibition of the Communist Party, the abolishment of the country's armed forces, and the creation of the Costa Rican Electric Institute (I.C.E.). Not all of these measures were met with pleasure by all sectors of the population.

Despite its reformist intentions and promises made at the end of the revolution, the temporary government was characterized by a very authoritarian style and even embarked on a veritable witch hunt against members of the Calderón and Picado governments. On December 10, 1948, the exiled Dr. Calderón and his supporters invaded Costa Rica from Nicaragua. With the aid of the Organization of American States, this overthrow attempt was squelched.

The Government Council also drew up a proposed new Constitution to be ratified by the National Constitutional Assembly, elected in January of 1949 for just this purpose. This assembly rejected the Council's draft and set about writing its own version based on the nation's previous Constitution of 1871. The new Constitution of Costa Rica, which maintained the Social Guarantees established under the presidency of Dr. Calderón Guardia, was ratified on November 7, 1949.

As evidenced during the mere year and a half that José Figueres held power over the decision-making process of the country, the government would become a much more active player in the nation's economic and social affairs. The period from 1950-80 can be typified by unprecedented growth of the public sector, the modernization and diversification of the country's economy, and the accumulation of a tremendous national debt.

With the expansion of government services and the proliferation of state institutions, the number of public employees rose from slightly more than 15,000 in 1949 to nearly 130,000 by the year 1979. On the positive side, Costa Rica now possesses better health and education systems and more infrastructure, particularly roads and electrification, than most other Latin American nations. The cost of this has been the creation of an unwieldy and often ineffective bureaucracy, along with the dubious distinction of having the world's second largest per capita debt in 1980. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.128.199.68 (talk) 23:51, 2 April 2008 (UTC)

Pinhut
 * Go ahead with the change, it was Antigua indeed. Mariordo (talk) 23:08, 28 March 2008 (UTC)

San Juan River issue
Costa Rica also has had a lifelong battle with Nicaragua, it's neighboring country over the San Juan River (rio San Juan) which denotes the border between these two countries;although it geographically is within the borders of Nicaragua Costa Ricans like to claim it as their own.

I assume this is vandalism, it is just too evident: Costa Rica have never claimed ownership over the San Juan River. There is a dispute over the right of navigation of the Costa Rican patrols, that's all. The phrase "Costa Ricans like to claim it as their own" cannot be just a mistake, that is vandalism. 201.201.137.58 (talk) 08:41, 16 May 2008 (UTC)  Jordan is amazing at life & loves Jamesy! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.23.80.244 (talk) 01:29, 3 June 2008 (UTC)

Can anyone correct the pronunciation of República de Costa Rica?
According to the current IPA symbols used for the Spanish language is typed,. Notice the vowels "e" and "o" are mid-vowels and. 84.120.160.88 (talk) 18:37, 18 June 2008 (UTC)

Religion
Small Text I have spent time a lot of time in the Guanacaste province of Costa Rica and found that faith and religion make up an important part of the people and culture. I thought it must be worth mentioning that many chose to live a Rastafari lifestyle and praise Jah as their prophet. Rastafari can be found throughout the world now but with its roots in nearby Jamaica, it has spread and been embraced by many costa ricans. I do not have any statistics to support my opinion. ````angela. august 19th 2008. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.68.157.4 (talk) 07:40, 19 August 2008 (UTC)

The rastafari lifestyle is commonly seen in the Caribbean (Limón Province), as a lot of the population has Jamaican heritage. Also, Guanacaste is in many aspects different from the San José/Alajuela/Heredia/Cartago Metropolitan Area, where you find most of the population. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 85.197.159.208 (talk) 12:35, 11 September 2008 (UTC)

Tourism section
Someone should add one.If it turns into an advertisement, then someone can delete it.Should i be the one to? cause i can, but if i do it might be advertistitic and have to be deleted.Ryuzaki0008 (talk) 18:13, 12 September 2008 (UTC)
 * I am not sure I understood your point, but the article already has a sub-section on Tourism, within the Economy section, and theres is also a complete article only on Tourism in Costa Rica. Now, if someone adds spam (advertisement) anywhere in the page, sure you or anyone can reverse it, just when doing the undo write in the log: rv spam.--Mariordo (talk) 19:37, 19 September 2008 (UTC)

Government Section
At the beginning of the section it states:  "Although there are claims that the country has had more than 115 years of uninterrupted democracy,[15]". This is taken from another source that is already mistaken. Costa Rica (or Arias's government) never claimed to have 115 years of UNINTERRUPTED democracy. What was celebrated in 1989 was the 100th anniversary of a popular manifestation that prevented Bernardo Soto Alfaro (then president) of rigging the elections. The moment that Soto Alfaro recognized the validity of the elections is considered as the moment in which democracy was born, therefore, Arias decided to commemorate that event as the birth of Costa Rican democracy, but nobody ever claimed that this democratic process has been without interruption. All Costa Ricans are very aware of the Tinoco episode (1917-1919), and nobody would argue otherwise. Please eliminate that quote, since it is nonsensical and incorrect. (Marco) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.162.165.188 (talk) 18:16, 11 March 2009 (UTC)

Environmental tourism by preventing the tragedy of the commons.
The country of Costa Rica has successfully advanced the growth of its eco-tourism business by taking account of, and pricing for, the environmental business services consumed by pollution. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.101.142.35 (talk) 17:02, 12 April 2009 (UTC)

Link to Calling Code
New to wikipedia, hope I am following the right process. Could someone with edit privileges link the 506 to +506 at the bottom of the Country info box. I have noticed this with other countries as well. Is this something that could be done automatically or does it need to be done to each country? Creategui (talk) 23:56, 13 April 2009 (UTC)
 * Done.--Mariordo (talk) 22:31, 1 May 2009 (UTC)

Japan or Costa Rica first country constitutionally without army
I don't read Spanish, but believe your source is incorrect. Here's a link to the constitution of Japan, promulgated in 1946 and enacted in 1947, which abolishes any war-time force. http://history.hanover.edu/texts/1947con.html I can't find a source that compares the two directly, and am not that familiar with wikipedia mores to try an edit again. Can I entrust you with this one? I'll check back in in a couple weeks. Cheers. -Matthew —Preceding unsigned comment added by 124.144.183.24 (talk) 07:23, 9 June 2009 (UTC)
 * Thanks for droping by and clarifying. Indeed I will check the facts and make the correction if supported. My understanding is that Japan has a peace-time army for defensive purposes only, CR none, but sure I will check on that one, only give me some time since I am right now in the middle of something else.--Mariordo (talk) 11:35, 9 June 2009 (UTC)
 * Wiki has this issue well documented, see Japan Self-Defense Forces, List of countries without armed forces, and particularly read Defence policy of Japan for the interpretation of the Japanese constitution you brought as reference. I hope these articles clarify the issue.--Mariordo (talk) 16:51, 9 June 2009 (UTC)
 * Hi, thanks for looking into it. For further clarification, I think there's absolutely an argument to be made that Japan today has an army. More precisely, the Japan Self-Defense Forces page states that in 1950 the government created a National Police Reserve, which could reasonably be called an "armed force." But it also states that after 1945, Japan had zero military capability, and as you know this was constitutionally prescribed in 1946. What I'm pushing for is that even if Japan recreated its army in the 1950s, the statement "Costa Rica was the second country to constitutionally abolish its armed forces" holds true. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 124.144.183.24 (talk) 08:58, 11 June 2009 (UTC)
 * You made a good point, but it is kind of weird because Japan was without army for only for 9 years, CR still does not have one today. A good solution will be simply to state that CR constitutionally abolished its army in 1949, and delete the "first" part. However, I think we should move this discussion to the CR Talk page to give other editors the opportunity to comment and bring more facts. I will do so copying this entire section. Let's continue over there.--Mariordo (talk) 13:33, 11 June 2009 (UTC)
 * The above discussion was copied from my Talk page to continue here, please comment below to decide whether "first" or "second" country reflects the facts, or if we better go without any ranking, and simply stating that "CR constitutionally abolish its army permanently in 1949" avoiding any controversy or misunderstanding. Here you can find CR constitution in Spanish, article 12 explicitly says that the army is forbidden permanently. The Japanese constitutions has a principle of peace, not an explicit abolition, that is why they have an army for defense purposes.--Mariordo (talk) 13:33, 11 June 2009 (UTC)
 * Thanks for moving this to the appropriate place, Mariordo. I think it would be best to go with what you suggested: "CR constitutionally abolish its army permanently in 1949." That nicely sidesteps the issue of timing, and makes it clear that there is still no army in CR. (for the record, if you look at article 9(2) of the Japanese constitution it states that "In order to accomplish the aim of the preceding paragraph, land, sea, and air forces, as well as other war potential, will never be maintained." Before 1950 this was interpreted strictly, and after 1950 under American pressure the interpretation was changed to allow forces for the purpose of self defense. I would personally call this a "neat trick" - redefining an explicit abolition. But you may feel differently? In any case, the change in 1950 does make it very difficult to judge statements like "CR was the first/second country to constitutionally abolish its armed forces." 124.144.183.24 (talk) 23:14, 11 June 2009 (UTC)

Online gambling in the economy?
It's my understanding that Costa Rica is home for several online poker websites, which are possibly illegal in other countries such as the USA.Ykral (talk) 23:01, 17 July 2009 (UTC)

I found some news, and a link indicating several gambling casinos in the country too:


 * http://www.pokerlistings.com/us-costa-rica-reach-net-gambling-settlement-24400
 * http://www.1costaricalink.com/eng/web/liveret-eng.htm
 * http://www.archive.org/details/U.s.CostaRicaReachNetGamblingSettlement

Ykral (talk) 01:51, 30 July 2009 (UTC)

Flag
Shouldn't the flag in the box be the national flag and not the civil ensign? Or am I missing something here?

Circumspect (talk) 22:29, 1 August 2009 (UTC)

recent edit
Unless I am mistaken, the article on Costa Rica recently included the following text but no longer does:

"...Costa Rica is among the safest countries in Latin America and is currently the least impoverished Spanish speaking country in the world, with poverty percentages lower than that of Spain and other developed countries and levels of urbanization that nears those of countries such as Finland and Norway. In 2007 the government of Costa Rica said it wants to be the first developing country to become carbon neutral by 2021. "

Am I correct that it used to be there and if so, why was it removed? Was any/all of it not accurate? Not properly verified? Or what?

[Note: Although I use Wikipedia frequently, this is the first time I have gone to a 'discussion' page or done anything other than search, so I hope I will be forgiven for any improper protocal or anything else I may need to be excused for as a result of my inexperience in this regard.]

Esteve22 (talk) 00:08, 7 May 2008 (UTC)
 * Yes, there was something like that in the article. It was deleted on a few grounds. There wasn't reliable sourcing for "safest countries in Latin American", and the statistics used for "least improverished" were grossly misleading, because the standard for poverty in Costa Rica is different than used in other Spanish speaking countries.Kww (talk) 00:13, 7 May 2008 (UTC)

Wow, thanks for the immediate reply. What about the statement about Finland and Norway? [Also: Am I doing this right with regard to 'discussion' and asking these questions?] Esteve22 (talk) 00:23, 7 May 2008 (UTC)

Also: Is there some way I can find where or from whom that those statements came from? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Esteve22 (talk • contribs) 00:33, 7 May 2008 (UTC)

Urban Legend? Let´s talk Weather. I have not found the source for the Claim that "Atenas, Costa Rica has one of the Best Climates in the World" according to NASA or National Geographic. I did find plenty of ongoing weather research by NASA. http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2005/jun/HQ_05_159_Costa_Rica_Hurricanes.html> Malerror (talk) 03:57, 15 September 2009 (UTC) malerror (talk) http://www.buycostarica.tk

This page needs work!
Several sentences in the 2nd paragraph are bizarre:

1) Costa Ricans refer to themselves as Ticos (males) or Ticas (females).

Comment: why does this start with "1)"?

Americans and Canadians are often called Gringos/ Gringas.

Comment: why is this important to mention in the 2nd paragraph on the whole country!?

Expenditure on the police corps is about US$17.99 per person.

Comment: what is this, a blue light special? and 17.99 for what, a year? a lifetime? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Eslip17 (talk • contribs) 18:59, 16 February 2010 (UTC)


 * Thanks for the warning. Certainly those edits are not encyclopedic or do not belong to the leading paragraph. I remove them all.-Mariordo (talk) 03:15, 23 February 2010 (UTC)

Where is information on climate?
There should be a dedicated section on climate data (rainfall, humidity, tropical storms, temperature, etc.).


 * Agreed. I added a merge template from this article to here, and I've added a small temporary section that points there. Asymmetric (talk) 12:57, 23 February 2010 (UTC)


 * Someone (76.27.211.0) just copy-n-pasted the Climate of Costa Rica article into the Climate section. Instead, i think there should be a summary of the full info. We can't just delete the Climate of Costa Rica article either, because it's part of the North America topic template. Asymmetric (talk) 19:09, 23 February 2010 (UTC)

Vandalism
I noticed a change in the elected president's name, from Laura Chinchilla to Raymundo Banano. How can we avoid these vandalic edits? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 201.202.189.178 (talk) 01:07, 12 April 2010 (UTC)

Last sentence in "climate" section.
I'm not authorised to edit wiki pages, but someone who is ought to have a look at the last sentence in the climate section ("then i went to a strip club and felt up a dancer and got seven different STDs")and remove it. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 87.111.223.6 (talk) 16:18, 19 April 2010 (UTC)

Sites of Costa Rica
Hello everyone, I add a external link to the Costa Rica's article called; "Sites of Costa Rica". The goal of this projects is to collect all the sites (useful, not necessary commercial sites) existing in Costa Rica.

I've been working very hard to collect, indexing and try out each link I've published on the site. The design concept is just to create a very simple site (just links).

I appreciate that you guys take a look of the site. http://www.sites.cr

I'll still adding more directories to the site.

regards, Andres —Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.186.158.141 (talk) 17:09, 24 October 2009 (UTC)


 * Though the site seems very useful, for that website to stay in the article, we have to make sure it is not spam. Is the site is from a non-profit? or its nature is commercial? (does the site owner receives $x for each link clicked like Google? clearly there is advertising!). Please provide more info to justify keeping the link. That is why I removed it.-Mariordo (talk) 17:40, 24 October 2009 (UTC)


 * Yes, the site has ads, but they are clearly identified, no cheating to the visitors, I've been very careful about it. I placed some ads to bring some life to the site, also it has pictures related with CR instead ads, it's mixed. Each link posted doesn't receive $/per click. Already I'm working in universities, colleges, schools, institutes and academies directories. The site is very useful for the foreign people who needs info about CR quick and reliable. (15:35, 24 October 2009)

Regards, Andres —Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.186.158.141 (talk) 19:36, 24 October 2009 (UTC)
 * See WP:SPAM to evaluate if your site classifies as spam. If you decide to include it again, please provide an explanation in the edit summary (and here) explaining why you are observing the policies established in the link above.-00:16, 25 October 2009 (UTC)

I have visited http://sites.cr, and it is true that the site is very informative. I believe it merits to be included here. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Lovecostarica (talk • contribs) 01:40, 21 July 2010 (UTC)