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Always wondered how Costa Rica seems able to do so well in a region that seems otherwise to be stuck in never-ending poverty, environmental degradation and conf

by barking 12y ago

Always wondered how Costa Rica seems able to do so well in a region that seems otherwise to be stuck in never-ending poverty, environmental degradation and conflict.

boulos 12y ago
Part of the usual explanation is that they abolished their military after their civil war in the 40s: http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_of_Costa_Rica http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_of_Costa_Rica
melling 12y ago
They got rid of their military: http://articles.latimes.com/2013/dec/15/opinion/la-oe-barash-costa-rica-demilitarization-20131208 http://articles.latimes.com/2013/dec/15/opinion/la-oe-barash...
- rodgerd 12y ago
  Exactly. Having armed forces ready to stage a coup any time their friends in the State Department or CIA encourage them leads you down the route of Honduras, Chile, and so on.
  - digi_owl 12y ago
    Except that they could abolish the army because USA has underwritten their security. So in essence they have gone one further than Chile.
    - rodgerd 12y ago
      Characterising the situation of Central American states as having "the US underwrite their security" seems willfully at odds with actual history.
- _nedR 12y ago
  Wow. That is truly amazing. What is almost as shocking to me is that I have never heard of this before. I have heard that Costa rica was a model for its healthcare sytem but i never heard that it didn't have a military. This story should be told more often and Costa rica should be a model for the world in this regard.
  - coob 12y ago
    It's a lot easier when your national security is underwritten by the world's largest military force.
    - digi_owl 12y ago
      In essence, they have made themselves a client state.
    - jasonwocky 12y ago
      That's true insofar as dealing with the Eastern Hemisphere. I don't know of any doctrine that would compel us to aid them in the event of invasion from e.g. anywhere else in Latin America.
      - bsilvereagle 12y ago
        The borders of Costa Rica are really close to the Panama Canal. If Nicaragua started to invade Costa Rica, I think America would put a stop to it really quickly to protect the Canal.
    - albemuth 12y ago
      I'm sure it's completely altruistic and not having to do with beneficial trade agreements.
    - _nedR 12y ago
      Could you link to a source for this. The relevant wikipedia article makes the same claim but is tagged [citation needed]. The LA times article linked by the parent says "(Costa Rica is presumably sheltered by the U.S., but only under the loose ties of the Organization of American States)" which is kind of vague and mysterious. All the countries of the Americas are in that organisation so that leaves the question of what would happen in a conflict between neighbours.
deleted 12y ago
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by barking 12y ago

Always wondered how Costa Rica seems able to do so well in a region that seems otherwise to be stuck in never-ending poverty, environmental degradation and conflict.

boulos 12y ago

Part of the usual explanation is that they abolished their military after their civil war in the 40s: http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_of_Costa_Rica http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_of_Costa_Rica

melling 12y ago

They got rid of their military: http://articles.latimes.com/2013/dec/15/opinion/la-oe-barash-costa-rica-demilitarization-20131208 http://articles.latimes.com/2013/dec/15/opinion/la-oe-barash...

rodgerd 12y ago
Exactly. Having armed forces ready to stage a coup any time their friends in the State Department or CIA encourage them leads you down the route of Honduras, Chile, and so on.
- digi_owl 12y ago
  Except that they could abolish the army because USA has underwritten their security. So in essence they have gone one further than Chile.
  - rodgerd 12y ago
    Characterising the situation of Central American states as having "the US underwrite their security" seems willfully at odds with actual history.
_nedR 12y ago
Wow. That is truly amazing. What is almost as shocking to me is that I have never heard of this before. I have heard that Costa rica was a model for its healthcare sytem but i never heard that it didn't have a military. This story should be told more often and Costa rica should be a model for the world in this regard.
- coob 12y ago
  It's a lot easier when your national security is underwritten by the world's largest military force.
  - digi_owl 12y ago
    In essence, they have made themselves a client state.
  - jasonwocky 12y ago
    That's true insofar as dealing with the Eastern Hemisphere. I don't know of any doctrine that would compel us to aid them in the event of invasion from e.g. anywhere else in Latin America.
    - bsilvereagle 12y ago
      The borders of Costa Rica are really close to the Panama Canal. If Nicaragua started to invade Costa Rica, I think America would put a stop to it really quickly to protect the Canal.
  - albemuth 12y ago
    I'm sure it's completely altruistic and not having to do with beneficial trade agreements.
  - _nedR 12y ago
    Could you link to a source for this. The relevant wikipedia article makes the same claim but is tagged [citation needed]. The LA times article linked by the parent says "(Costa Rica is presumably sheltered by the U.S., but only under the loose ties of the Organization of American States)" which is kind of vague and mysterious. All the countries of the Americas are in that organisation so that leaves the question of what would happen in a conflict between neighbours.

deleted 12y ago

[deleted]