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Costa
Rica:
Unequaled
Tradition
Of
Political,
Social
and
Economic
Stability
In
Latin
America,
many
regard
the
United
States
as
somewhat
of a
colossus
to
the
North.
Symbols
of
red,
white
and
blue
have
long
contrasted
with
cultural
and
political
ideals
south
of
the
border
due
to
heritage
and
customs.
Today,
if
nations
are
to
effectively
collaborate,
it
is
most
often
on
the
waves
of
an
economic
current.
This
idea
is
no
less
true
in
Costa
Rica,
the
small
Central
American
nation
ranked
No.
1 in
2009
on
the
Happy
Planet
Index
for
the
highest
life
satisfaction
in
the
world
and
the
second
highest
average
life
expectancy
of
the
Americas
(second
only
to
Canada).
Among
economic
super
powers
such
as
Hong
Kong,
South
Korea,
Singapore
and
Taiwan,
Costa
Rica
may
appear
as a
blip
on
the
radar
of
the
economic
wow-factor.
Nonetheless,
many
of
the
coffee,
bananas
and
pineapples
imported
to
the
United
States
come
from
Costa
Rican
shores.
Perhaps
more
than
anything,
Costa
Rica
thrives
today
on
its
unequaled
tradition
in
Central
America
of
political,
social
and
economic
stability.
It
has
had
no
standing
army
since
1948.
Twenty-six
percent
of
its
land
is
comprised
of
natural
reserves
and
park
systems
that
help
to
safeguard
an
estimated
4-6
percent
of
the
world’s
biodiversity
and
a
whopping
$1.92
billion
ecotourism
industry.
As
the
nation
continues
to
grow,
it
also
discovers
the
larger
problems
of
statehood
in a
world
of
very
rapidly
increasing
demand
for
a
share
of
resources
and
territorial
prowess.
Nearly
half
of
Costa
Rica’s
exports,
imports
and
tourism
are
sustained
by
U.S.
consumption.
Victor
Moreda,
a
host
grandparent
in
Costa
Rica,
shared
a
history
of
the
two
nations’
ties.
“Communism
was
what
brought
Yankee
interest
down
south
and
along
with
it,
a
heap
of
cultural
effects
that
changed
the
face
of
this
country,”
he
said.
Rural
workers
were
once
held
in
great
esteem,
but
the
idea
of
city
success
transferred
to
Costa
Rica.
Campesinos,
or
farmers,
became
a
mockery
for
the
rising
urban
sector.
“The
migration
of
campesinos
was
a
result
of
ideals
of
industrialization
inherited
from
the
U.S.”
said
Moreda.
“Costa
Ricans
can’t
say
it’s
good
or
bad—it’s
modern.”
But
there
have
been
recent
problems
with
relations
between
the
United
States
and
Costa
Rica.
During
the
last
10
years,
an
estimated
2,000
percent
increase
in
trade
with
China
has
given
Costa
Rica
the
image
of
being
China’s
gateway
to
Latin
America
in
terms
of
trade
and
political
influence.
A
beacon
of
this
development
is
the
national
soccer
stadium
in
the
capital,
erected
in
early
2011.
As a
gift
for
their
recent
trade
agreements,
the
Chinese
government
spent
an
estimated
$100
million
on
its
construction,
the
largest
and
most
modern
event
venue
ever
constructed
in
Costa
Rican
history.
What
stands
out
about
Costa
Rica,
through
all
of
its
international
and
domestic
dynamics,
is
the
widespread
cultural
embrace
of
values
that
are
reflected
from
its
economic
activity.
It’s
the
idea
that
a
culture
can
thrive
on
commercial
interests
and
seeking
a
profit
can
align
with
a
society’s
integral
value-system
on a
moral
and
practical
level.
Although
coffee
production
has
dropped
almost
45
percent
over
the
last
10
years,
an
esteemed
coffee-culture
flourishes
there
yet.
Most
Costa
Ricans
would
rather
sit
in
their
home
to
chat
and
have
a
cup
of
coffee
than
go
out
to a
streamlined,
Starbucks-like
coffee
shop.
Carlos
Morales,
a
restaurant
owner
in
San
Jose
said,
“(I
am
as)
content
and
grateful
as a
Costa
Rican
in
Costa
Rica.”
This
is
an
example
of
how
pleased
and
proud
people
are
with
their
way
of
life,
and
it
also
expresses
a
culture
that
is
in
touch
with
its
environment.
When
was
the
last
time
someone
in
the
United
States
remarked
that
a
commercial
interest
was
aligned
with
a
cultural
interest,
and
ultimately
the
well
being
of
society
in
full
view?
There
is
much
to
be
learned
from
this
tropical,
Central
American
paradise,
full
of
unique
economic
proportions
paralleled
only
by
the
rarity
of a
people
just
as
satisfied
with
their
own
culture.
By
Wesley
Rose,
The
Pendulum,
Elon
University's
Student
News
Organization
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