A Month Burning Alive in the Americas’ Gateway Part Two: Tico Triumphs and Nica Niceties
- Nikola Ranick
- Oct 22, 2024
- 6 min read
Costa Rica: A Special Place and They Surely Know It
As most globalists will know, Costa Rica is perhaps the most accessible Central American country for outsiders, if not Latin America (minus the majestic resorts in Cancun). Its track record of educational success, profound peace (Ticas, as locals are known, are notoriously proud of their countries abolished army), and developmental index. Indeed, when you account for inequality, Costa Rica is more developed than Panama. Sure, slums are inevitable for the region, but even its dirtiest areas were more composed than any Central American alternative. Even the tiny town of Liberia (one of its poorest) maintained a degree of order and schedule that is often anathema to the region. It was also easy to tell the general mood and trajectory of the country as positive, if not downright regal. This country is different and wants you to know it.
Where does this exceptionalism stem from? The quality of services for this country is a lot more diffused than the notoriously unequal Latin American model. See its Education Schemes: the country boasts universal rates. Unlike the equal attained though poorly delivered Honduras, the Costa Rican model is not just any schooling, but QUALITY education. This success bleeds into the country's skilled labor and overall political climate that tends to minimize populism and emphasize pragmatism.
So what of the people? The degree of courtesy from strangers and professionals alike were respectable, although my personal interactions with most were rather hubristic. The people, though polite, knew they were exceptional and seemed to have a degrading sense of humor towards others accordingly. Me being me, I felt the need to give that sass right back. The glares afterward told me everything I needed to know about the true nature of this spirit. With such general politeness followed by shallow vindictiveness, I do declare Ticas to be the Germans of Latin America. Of course, coming from the states myself, any overarching cultural complaint is like the pot calling the kettle black.
Capital-wise, San Jose itself felt European, which I do not always use positively - but I do here. The presence of its ex-pats was even more transparent than in Panama, with parts of town and areas of interest seemingly Europeanized or Americanized. The number of affluent immigrants with their young kids was also shocking. Like Panama, much of the development was locked into suburbs outside the urban centers operating on a 9-5 schedule outside of the tourist hot-spots.
What of the economic model? The country's commitment to eco-tourism has created cross-community enrichment amid broader economic development, a notoriously tricky task for Latin America. This holistic development does not prioritize an inland population center like San Jose as much as pressurize resources in sparsely populated coastal and tropical regions whose appeal comes from their lack of industrialization. In short, it creates wealth where there hasn't been. Ironically, the wealthier capital is actually at a bit of a disadvantage. Yet, in terms of long-term trajectory, the success of this development model remains to be seen. After all, growth in more ecologically removed areas may not build a model conducive to equal growth as much as relocate centers of influence and production of the already wealthy upper industrial class. And the effects of climate change could be disastrous for the tourism industry regardless.
Despite suburban success, poverty and pain in Costa Rica was also just a trek up the mountains. I had the privilege of chatting with a local who struggled with Costa Rica's meager wages for unskilled labor and detailed stories of gunpoint robbery three different times in his own neighborhood. Even at a higher-end park in the university district, this Pico warned me of criminal influence. And that is certainly not an illusion; just as Panama has experienced increasing criminality, so has Costa Rica. This was the only country where I was offered drugs in public, with its otherwise ornate downtown looking to be increasingly filled with migrants desperate for the lifestyle they desired from afar. The authorities seemed aware of this; despite a ticket listed out of Guatemala, I was required to show proof of specific exit for Costa Rica before entering the country.
Perhaps more glaring, but equally European, Costa Rica is significantly less diverse, with its indigenous communities spread across a northern coast and its black population concentrated mainly in its Limon Region - the country's/surprise/ least developed. So, as bold as its universal education and peace index is, it is still highly segmented and relative to racial status. Frankly, it is giving Scandinavia; a marvelously developed society if you are lucky enough to be born into it. In the future, I am interested in reading how Costa Rica tries to integrate these groups.
Nicaragua: The Original El Salvadoran Model? Otherwise Known as Not As Dangerous As the Embassy Says
Worried about gang involvement in the Land of Lakes and Volcanoes? Don't be! In this country, the government is the gang, I mean Liberator, and its President Daniel Ortega, as well as his wife/groomed successor Rosario, want everyone to know it. It's easy to figure this out is through the many, many pictures of the couple adorning the country, and the museums and political tapestries articulately crafted to portray the 'successful Sandinista Revolution.' It sounds like all Nicas are liberated, except where the pesky US and its Yankee Imperialism Intervenes.
Nicaragua may have been my favorite country, providing a gateway between the developed democratic and (relatively) civil countries in the south and the incredibly beautiful but tragically chaotic three that make up the Northern Triangle. It's current state of affairs reflects this middle ground. Play by the government's rules and expect smooth sailing in the capital and surrounding regions. Of course, that doesn't mean you will be rich. Indeed, Managua could be almost deceitful in its skyscraper-less and tropical-punctuated design, but this factors more from low population than equitable development.
The people in this country were amicable and authentic, always helpful, giving me tips, and just generally friendly. That made the social stratification much harder to stomach. This was the first country where I started to find the high-end shopping malls inherent to inequality. The one I went to, Galerias Santo Domingo, boasted global brands like Bershka, Forever 21, and the cosmopolitan pallet. Nicaragua's small but affluent elite strode confidently in those closed gates where access via anything less than personal vehicle was largely impossible (I nearly got run over just trying to cross the street into the lot).
That, of course, is the tragedy of Nicaragua and its once noble Left. This was the party that fought the US in-proxy for years, before respecting free election results that deemed it out of office. Of course, the tenure of this history is anything but one-sided; a contact of mine's father fled to Miami in the '80s after Sandinistas threatened his life for not fighting with them.
Despite all the work to liberalize the political process and free the country from Latin America's notorious economic inequality, the revolution has failed. Inequality is still massive, but with different politics by the victors vs. its losers. There is still an overwhelming underclass desperate for basic needs and likely incredibly skeptical of the Ortegas, but they will not tell you that. As the state has cracked down on businesses unfavorable to it as well as the once strong Catholic Church, silence is the norm. That is certainly not freedom.
Back in KC, I was privileged to chat with a Nica Elite, whose coffee-farm-owning Matagalpan Family pursued asylum largely out of convenince. They now reside in relative luxury with several properties in the NYC Metro. He talked about just how quiet and broken the capital felt after the 2018 anti-government protests turned violent, Ortega killed some of the protesters, and essentially dismantled the Democratic political process. For such a kind, resilient, and diverse place, this is devastating. But again, the relative tranquility nationwide compared to the North makes it a natural gateway between these two regions of Central America. Talk about being stuck in the middle!
That same Nica Elite was rather dismissive of Managua, and really, no other travelers along my Central American route understood why I was going there. Most travelers I met in Managua were there largely as a stopover from the airport on their way to the waves and select tourist cities like Granada. But I loved Managua's low-key style and impressive architectural design. For all its trauma, it felt oddly approachable.
Could El Salvador go the Nican Way? Should Bukele become unpopular yet unwilling to release power, then certainly. The biggest difference may be each country's internal divisions; whereas the Sandinistas were one side of the long running Nicaraguan Civil War, Bukele and his compatriots were a distinctly different brand to the FMLN and ARENA parties that fought the Salvadorean Civil War. Still, autocracy is not just inherited; it is learned.
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