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Wow…70% sounds great, but only 25% of Costa Rica’s land is strongly protected as National Parks and that includes a decent size island (Isla del Coco) which is under great pressure to open up for tourism. The only reason that this island has remained somewhat protected is the distance from the mainland (few day boat ride), the inhospitable climate and that if you come to visit/snorkel/scuba (due to the massive amount of sea life there), then you must stay on your own yacht–not exactly your everyday tourist attraction. The remaining reserves and various other forms of lesser protected areas are under tremendous pressure from development, encroachments, concessions, contamination, hunting, poaching, logging and the list goes on! Diverse uses are allowed and the laws that “protect” these areas are a lot easier to manipulate than the ones that protect the national parklands. Sometimes it makes you cry to see the most massive and majestic trees being hauled off from “protected” areas–sometimes illegally and sometimes with permits.
As far as multinationals providing “employment that actually raises wages (isn’t the whole purpose of relocating to a lesser developed nation to get cheap labor & enhance profit?), reducing crime, increasing gov’t and telecommunication efficiency.” Well, that’s a tall order and I would like to know where they have done that before? Heck, I guess Enrons & the like, the mortgage sector, the banking sector, our own telecommunications industry, etc. are poster children for efficiency and honesty. There are a million books about how transnational companies have pillaged foreign communities and I’m absolutely sure that they will do whatever they can GET AWAY with for a profit. Social responsibility may be part of some of their mission statements, but very few corps actually abide by this–profit is the number one and only concern of most publicly traded companies–it’s their primary responsibility to their stockholders. When we say that a company has every right to do everything they can to make the most amount of money without setting forth limitations–that’s self deception. Frankly corps don’t have every right to do ANYTHING and when it comes down to it, we really don’t think they have this right if it goes against our moral grain. The proof is that if a multinational company today decided to literally blow up all of its competitors because this would undoubtedly give them larger profits, we would all be aghast and denounce such unscrupulous behavior. To me, its just as immoral for them to take advantage of any group of people simply because they CAN in order to make more money. We’re the ones that justify their behavior so it’s no wonder that it continues. As far as crime goes, every time an oil type company (or other transnational) enters a remote community in Latin America, that community becomes festered with prostitution, corruption and there is a rise in crime. Limon saw this happen in very remote mountainous areas and it was one of the reasons they wouldn’t allow Harken in just recently. So again, I would like to know which wonderful multinational company is going to give us the utopia you mention…….
As for how CAFTA will affect CR, time will tell, but be sure that even the Ticos/as that voted for this agreement will be watching to see how things are done and will make a change if they have to….Buenas noches…
I plan on writing a more detailed response to this, but unfortunately can’t write much now because I am busy working at my job at a respected, multinational company, which pays my bills, has allowed me to buy a home, pay for my children’s education and for the healthcare of my family. Why should a society like Costa Rica that noblely places such an emphasis on education, have no options to implement those skills in their own country? While wages at companies domiciled in Costa Rica may not be as high as those in New York City, they will be higher than those generally paid to Costa Rican employees. This brings money into the economy and creates the potential for a middle class. Multinational companies have money and so yes, can increase efficiency by creating competition amongst private companies to provide efficient internet service and the like, or for private enforcement and legal services that will actually be able to trace and respond to crime.
As for your statement that you need a yacht to enjoy the biodiversity of Costa Rica, I can say from personal experience that this is certainly not the case, and I think that one only needs to travel around the country a little bit to appreciate the vastness and pristine nature of the country. I’m not exactly sure what multinationals would find so appealing to pillage here. It is not space that they need to operate and thrive in, but a willing and able work force. If Costa Ricans don’t want to be part of that work force, they will simply take their business elsewhere.
I don’t doubt that the company you work for has done many wonderful things, especially within US boundaries where they would NOT be allowed to get away with much of the issues they embrace abroad. However, it is NOT the case as to what transnationals have done in Latin America or any other “underdeveloped” (as they see it) country. You don’t have to take my word for it, in fact, don’t–do your own research. Who knows, miracles happen every day and maybe they will just decide out of the goodness of their hearts (or their CEOs heart) to be fair (as the locals would consider fair) to the community where they choose to reside. I sincerely mean this. I’m an optimist and I would never say never, I just delineated what HAS been the case. By the way, many times the actual damage has done has not been fully revealed until they have left so there’s are two time lines to research: how these companies have affected the local communities & country they opted to run their businesses out of (good, bad & net results–politically, environmentally, socially & economically) and the damages found after their departure.
As for the yacht, I was referring to going to Isla del Coco–it’s a requirement as only scientist and park personnel are allowed to stay on the island (well, until now–and it’s a really long & treacherous swim). You’re right, one of the many wonderful things Costa Rica has to offer is the availability of recreation at varying costs. By the way, something that has diminished as they have become more “developed.” In the 80s almost all families took at least 2-3 family vacations a year (during the dry season, Semana Santa & in July). That’s not the average case now, but many still can afford a bit of this. At least most still find a way to squeeze in some family vacation time throughout the year and I hope they continue to be able to enjoy their beautiful country.
If I may jump in here sideways…my observation is that the moral outrage of the “civilized” world has been cauterized by the constant innundation of violence and destruction we have been subjected to. We simply cannot cope with all of it, and thus our sense of outrage has retreated to…well, where is it? This seems to directly corrolate to our new brand of “heroes”. Does anyone remember THE HERO of the Balkan War? Wined and feted at the White House? Well, for those who don’t, this pilot got shot down, spent 3 days hiding in bushes till he was rescued. Quite humble himself and totally blown out at how he was being exploited, he actually admitted to peeing in his pants whenever the Serb patrols would get close. His act of “heroism” was getting shot down. What this all says to me is…they no longer care what we think, period. Junior is actually that wonder of politicians, totally transparent. The sucker TRULY does not care what you think, and if anything (he shares this with his ol’ man), he is a little confused by our disdain because HIS people are doing quite fine, thank you. So…screw it, looking for your moral outrage (wherever it is hiding) and enjoy the Pura Vida. Why the hell not. Ed
I just wanted to re-emphasize that I believe the symbolic message Costa Rica sends to the world (i.e. through the passage of CAFTA) is more important than the thousands of pages of the document and conflicting propaganda interpreting those pages that we have been inundated with over the past several years. The truth is that when it comes to democracy on a mass scale, which by the way Costa Rica has demonstrated in a much purer way than the US ever has, especially insofar as it has put a referendum of such importance in the hands of the people, the vote is for a larger ideal, which I like to hope is peace and openness to tourism, foreign investment and a free market economy, in which Costa Rica will have greater space to thrive and define itself.
“Maybe they want to have the possibility of more income, more appliances, bigger homes, possibly one on the beach. Who the hell are we to deny them the right to have aspirations in their own country, or tell them they cannot decide for themselves what they want? Nobody who is not a native born Tico has that privilege.”
This point is a good one. Us Gringos have obtained all of these things somewhere down the road and some of us are at the point that they aren’t important to us anymore. Not so for many Ticos and it is thier country. CAFTA, NAFTA, whatever. Have you ever read any of these treaties? If that wouldn’t be confusing enough the propaganda from both the YES and NO camp confuses the issues even more. Democracy is without a doubt more democratic in Costa Rica than in the USA and I think that has to do with the size of Costa Rica and it’s government more than anything else. Most elected officials over the entire world IMHO are corrupt and put thier own interests over the folks that elected them. If anyone thinks that life in Costa Rica is going to be really terrible 15 years from now as a result of this treaty just remember that everything is relative. If you prefer life in Costa Rica over the US now just think about what life in The States will be like in 15 years. Costa Rica will most likely still be looking way better, no matter what CAFTA brings.
frettless, This thread may be getting a little long in the tooth, but as someone who appears to agree somewhat with me, I guess it still has legs, and I feel obligated to respond. Nobody, not the si or no voters will know what the true impact will be for a while. And no one from the north ever mentions how many jobs we will be losing with the agreement. The impact will be less felt in the US than in CR I’m sure, but I can’t see how Costa Rica can be big losers. It would have been nice if the agreement were written in simpler terms so everyone could at least get a grasp on it. I think they will work it out just fine though.
As long as CR looks better by comparison to here, people will flock there.
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