Poverty persists in Costa Rica, creates divide and unrest

November 8^th, 2012 (InsideCostaRica.com) A recent study called “The State of the Nation”, presented this week, reveals that there has been no advancement in lowering the levels of poverty in Costa Rica.

While the Costa Rican economy continues to grow at a healthy rate, the poor are becoming poorer each day. Their income has decreased 7.12% in the past year alone.

There are 1.1 million people living in poverty in the country, of which 45% are children and adolescents.

The director of the State of the Nation program, Jorge Vargas, stated that the advancements in regard to human development are not sufficient, and the country is “walking on a tightrope.”

According to the study, 1 out of every 5 employees do not receive all their legal compensation, such as “aguinaldo” (extra month’s salary in December) and payment for overtime, and 1 out of every 3 employees does not receive minimum wage.

Poverty in Costa Rica is closely related to job creation. Last year, for example, 90,000 jobs were created, however, according to Vargas, “a good part of them were low-end jobs.”

The country’s social gaps are based in large part on location and educational achievements. In the Greater Metropolitan Area, there are more high school and university graduates.

In areas further away from San Jose and the Metropolitan Area, there are fewer jobs, and the worst social development indexes are found in these areas.

According to Vargas, Costa Rica is being divided, and the situation is creating a sense of dissatisfaction among a large part of the population.  It is also resulting in Costa Ricans no longer having faith in the political system.

Demonstrating this is that in 2011, there were 632 protests in the country, and the year saw the 3^rd largest number of strikes since 1995. A recent study also found that only 35% of Costa Ricans feel satisfied with the country’s democratic political system, and 22% even believe that a authoritarian-style or dictatorship form of government would be a positive idea for the country.

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