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Costa Rica Information Guide
History | Politics | Provinces |Climate| Economy | Culture
The Republic of Costa Rica is a country in
Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north and
Panama to the south-southeast. Since the civil war of 1948 that brought
President José Figueres
Ferrer to power, the country has been free of violent political conflict.
Figueres also abolished the military and today, Costa Rica has only a national
police force. Unlike most of its continental neighbors, Costa Rica
is seen as an example of political stability in the region, and sometimes
referred to as the "Switzerland of Central America."
A buzz in Costa Rican air these
days is the sense that the country is entering a dynamic era where expectations
are high for solid development.
The country's economy grew nearly 8% in 2006 and for the first time in more than
a decade, inflation ran in
single digits at 9%. With construction booming, especially along the coasts, a
burgeoning tech sector and
exports up 17%, there is a feeling that Costa Rica is ready to take the next
step along the road to prosperity
after a decade in which the level of poverty remained stagnant at around 20%.
To sustain the positive trend, the
Central Bank instituted a new exchange rate system that creates a range in which
banks can set their own rates. This is designed to help control inflation
Tourism, which several years ago supplanted agriculture as Costa Rica's top
industry for foreign exchange,
continues to spur the economy along with the booming real estate market. Of
course, "progress" can be a
double edged sword. Case in point: the continuing Costa
Rica real estate boom, including construction of hotels,
condos and residential developments, especially along the Pacific coast.
Concerns are that many projects are
being built without permits and sometimes within the 50 meter maritime
restricted zone. Also, the boom is taxing
infrastructure in many areas and overwhelming municipalities trying to keep tabs
on growth.
Costa Rica is home to almost a
million foreigners. Of those, some 600,000 are in the country legally and some
300,000 are without proper documents. The current administration's Immigration
chief has made it a top
priority to clean up the Immigration Administration, plagued for years by
bureaucratic backups and corruption.
While Costa Rica continues to
experience growing pains and deals with myriad serious 21st Century issues, the
people remain engaging and friendly, guided by the optimistic spirit of pura
vida (pure life). Visitors and
residents of Costa Rica marvel at the warmth and hospitality of the people, as
well as at the weather and
natural beauty of this small proud country that has become a world class
destination.
In Pre-Columbian times the Native Americans
in what is now Costa Rica were part of the Intermediate Area located between the
Mesoamerican and Andean cultural regions. This has recently been redefined to
include the Isthmo-Colombian area, defined by the presence of groups that spoke
Chibchan languages.
The native people of the Mayans and Aztecs were conquered by Spain in the 16th
century. Costa Rica was then the Southernmost province in the Spanish territory
of New Spain. The provincial capital was in Cartago.
After briefly joining the Mexican Empire of Agustín de Iturbide (see: History of
Mexico and Mexican Empire), Costa Rica became a state in the United Provinces of
Central America (see: History of Central America) from 1823 to 1839. In 1824,
the capital moved to San José. From the 1840s on, Costa Rica was an independent
nation.
Costa Rica has avoided much of the violence that has plagued Central America.
Since the late 19th century only two brief periods of violence have marred its
democratic development. In 1949, José Figueres Ferrer abolished the army; and
since then Costa Rica has been one of the few countries to operate within the
democratic system without the assistance of a military.
Costa Rica (Spanish for "Rich Coast"), although still a largely agricultural
country, has achieved a relatively high standard of living. Land ownership is
widespread and tourism is a rapidly expanding industry.
Costa Rica is a democratic republic with a
strong system of constitutional checks and balances. Executive responsibilities
are vested in a president, who is the country's center of power. There also are
two vice presidents and a 15-member cabinet that includes one of the vice
presidents. The president and 57 Legislative Assembly deputies are elected for
4-year terms. A constitutional amendment approved in 1969 limited presidents and
deputies to one term, although a deputy may run again for an Assembly seat after
sitting out a term. An amendment to the constitution to allow second
presidential terms was proposed and also the constitutionality of the
prohibition against a second presidential term has been challenged in the
courts. In April 2003 the prohibition was officially recognized, in a highly
polemic resolution, as anti-constitutional allowing Óscar Arias (Nobel Peace
Prize, 1987) to run for President a second time in the upcoming 2006 elections.
Arias is promoter of free trade and supports the free trade agreement with the
United States which is the source of a great controversy that might develop in
protests around the country in the upcoming months.
Governors appointed by the president head the country's seven provinces, but
they exercise little power. There are no provincial legislatures. Autonomous
state agencies enjoy considerable operational independence; they include the
telecommunications and electrical power monopoly, the nationalized commercial
banks, the state insurance monopoly, and the social security agency. Costa Rica
has no military by constitution and maintains only domestic police and security
forces for internal security.
Costa Rica consists of seven provinces:
1. Alajuela (central; north of capital San José)
2. Cartago
3. Guanacaste (north-west)
4. Heredia
5. Limón
6. Puntarenas (south-west)
7. San José (Area around capital)
For more information on these provinces, click here.
Costa Rica, though diminutive in
size, is geographically a land of extreme contrasts. Straddling a rugged
mountain chain, its topography is responsible for constant seismic activity,
spewing volcanoes, distinctive climatic zones and immense biodiversity.
Lying within the tropics (between 8 and 11 degrees north of the Equator), the
country has 2 distinctive seasons, dry and rainy. However, elevation and
temperatures temper this stereotypical tropical climate and conditions vary
considerably. Hot steamy jungles, fertile pasturelands, chilly highlands and
mountain peaks make Costa Rica a land of
spellbinding and infinite variety.
Two distinctive seasons - the
rainy or "winter," May to November, and the dry "summer," December to April,
mostly affect the Central Valley, Guanacaste and Central Pacific. In the rainy
season cloudless sky and intense sun make this the hottest time of the year.
Around noon, clouds roll in and thunderous downpours occur. Lighter rain
continues
into the night. Rain often ceases during veranillo (little summer) that lasts
for a couple of weeks in late June - early
July.
In the Southern Pacific rain
starts a month earlier, but the Northern and humid Caribbean Zones are less
affected by
the seasonal cycle, where showers or torrential rains alternate with blazing
sun.
Costa Rica's economy is dependent on tourism,
agriculture, and electronics exports. The economy emerged from recession in 1997
and has since shown strong growth. Costa Rica's location in the Central American
isthmus provides easy access to American markets as it has the same time zone as
central US and direct ocean access to Europe and Asia.
The economy has been booming for Costa Rica because the Government had
implemented a seven year plan of expansion in the high tech industry. They have
tax exemptions for those who are willing to invest in the country. With their
high level of educated residents, they make an attractive investing location.
Several global high tech corporations have already started developing in the
area exporting goods.
The unit of currency is the colón (CRC), which trades around 516 to the US
dollar; currently about 650 to the euro.
In Costa Rica, the locals refer to themselves
as "Tico" (maje) or mae (sort of "man" (actually maje means "dumb") idiom in a
very popular and "only with close friends" way), or "Tica" (female). The "Tico"
ideal is that of a very friendly, helpful, laid back, unhurried, educated and
environmentally aware people, with little worry for deadlines or the "normal"
stresses of United States life. Visitors from the United States and Europe are
often referred to as "Gringos," which is virtually always congenial in nature.
Americans are often seen as objects of welcoming friendliness and curiosity.
In fact ticos was a name given by the rest of centralamericans who used to hear
them end many words with the "tico" ending, such as "un momentico" which is in a
short moment, or "platico" which is a little dish. However these days, such an
ending has evolved to "illo" which is very much used. For instance "ese es mi
carrillo" which is "that is my car or rather my small car", or "vivo por ese
caminillo por donde hay un arbolillo de mangos" that is "I live by that small
road where there is a small mango tree". Then, now in the rest of Central
America, they don't call anymore the ticos as ticos but rather as "tiquillos"
literally "little ticos".
Costa Rica boasts a varied history. Costa Rica was the point where the
Mesoamerican and South American native cultures met. The north west of the
country, Nicoya, was the southernmost point of Nahuatl cultural influence when
the Spanish conquerors(conquistadores) came in the 16th century. The center and
south portions of the country had Chibcha influences. The Atlantic coast was
populated with African slaves due to the practice of enslavement in the 17th and
18th centuries. In addition, during this 19th century thousands of Chinese
families came to the country to work on the construction of the railroad system
connecting the urban populations of the Central Plateau to the port of Limon on
the Caribbean.