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With Central America In Turmoil, Costa Rica Strives For the "Pure Life" For Its People

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Costa Ricans have a unique phrase they use to greet you, bid you goodbye or just pass along during the conversation, and it is quite beautiful: They say, “Pura vida,” which means, “Have a pure life,” and it is always said with a nod of sincere friendliness.

In many ways pura vida could be Costa Rica’s national motto, for at a time when most of Central America is in crisis, not only has Costa Rica remained stable for decades but has almost achieved complete energy sustainability—not a bad idea for a country with no oil wells: For 99% of the year the country runs on green electricity, taxes are high on fossil fuels, and by 2021 the country insists it will be carbon neutral.

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Its forests teem with more than 950 species of birds—the first guide to birds was not published until the 1990s —and its tropical climate is extremely diverse, with micro-climates in volcano-capped valleys and seashores. In fact, Costa Rica contains an astonishing six percent of the world’s biodiversity, with 25% in protected national parks. Unlike in Brazil and Argentina, deforestation has diminished to nearly zero.

One of the most remarkable aspects of Costa Rica is that it abolished its military force in 1948 (the country’s defense has been guaranteed ever since the U.S. C.I.A. used it as a base of operations against the Nicaraguan Contras), when President José Figueres Ferrer declared, “I don’t want an army of soldiers, but an army of educators, ” which has given the people an exceptionally high literacy rate of 97 percent.

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Today its health care system is rated higher than that of the U.S., and San José’s Children’s Hospital is ranked as one of the best in the world.

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Though it was once a Spanish colony and its architecture resembles that of other Central and South American countries, its main cities of San José and Cartago are not so grand as Buenos Aires, Mexico City, Montevideo, even San Salvador. (In upcoming articles I’ll be writing about the nation’s art culture, as well as its hotels and food.) The capital of San José is the largest city, with about 340,000 people and another two million in the ever-widening metropolitan area. Costa Rica’s indigenous people survive in eight tribes, each with their own languages, religion and food, whereas Catholicism maintains its dominance among the Latino-derived general populace.

Given the country’s security, safety and infrastructure, with two main airports serviced by 29 airlines and another being built on the Pacific coast, Costa Rica is strategically located as a forum for international business conferences between North and South America. According to the World Economic Forum, Costa Rica is now the regional leader for connectivity since the opening of the Moín Container Terminal, where a railroad to be built by China will link the west and east coasts, largely eliminating the need to ship goods by land and giving easier, less expensive access to Europe and Asia. (China has also presented a feasibility study to Panama for a $4 billion 250-mile high-speed rail line between Panama City north to its border with Costa Rica.)

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Though Costa Rica used to boast of its low crime rate, a there has been a rise in crime caused by the fragmenting of drug gangs. The government has in turn formed a new public plan “Creating Security” to combat these groups by increasing federal and community collaboration and prioritizing resources toward prevention and police operations in high risk areas. But outside of those neighborhoods, San Jose is still  a very safe city.

Oddly enough, Costa Rica has not seen the same inflow of immigrants from those dangerous Central American countries whose populace has been fleeing to the U.S. in recent years. I asked officials why that has not occurred in Costa Rica and was told that such immigrants would not have access to the kind of jobs needed to sustain them.

I also asked several people why so many homes in safe residential areas in San José have roofs strung with razor-sharp barbed wire. The only reason seems to be that barbed wire is very expensive, so that arraying it on your roof is a sign that you are fairly well off.