Things Ticos Do Not Believe In

This a list of things that (in my opinion) Ticos do not believe in:

Rivers, Creeks, Trees, and the Environment in general

I am going to start with Tárcoles. Everybody knows this river. It is only one river, but all creeks and rivers in the central valley (except in Cartago) are tributaries to the Tárcoles.

My mom says that she used to go to the Torres River to bathe in the pools when she was a kid. Unfortunately, I do not remember a clean river in the central valley. There are about have a dozen creeks close to where I grew up, they are all polluted. There was a river behind the catholic school I went to, and it had a different color every day due to a denim jean factory a couple of miles upstream. The colors varied from blue, green, red and black, but it was not enough to mask the turds.

Ticos have not been able to embrace water. If you look at any traditional coastal towns (Puntarenas, Limón, Golfito, Quepos) they have not been able to develop in a sustainable way. Even recently developed towns have had high levels of fecal matter in the water resulting from waste being thrown into the local creeks.

So, if ticos would like rivers and creeks, you would find million dollars homes close to creeks in the central valleys. Instead, you will find slums and poverty.

Old Architecture

In 1873, San José was founded by decree with the help of Florencio del Castillo. So, if the city is so old, where is all of the old architecture? I see pictures from the turn of the century that show some beautiful buildings in the central valley. My question is: where are they? On a regular basis, I see an old home being torn down to open space for a parking lot or a mini mart, or some other distasteful structure lacking any sort of architectural value.

Law Enforcement

From parking and moving violations to government corruption, Ticos certainly do not believe in enforcing any of the laws in the books. It so easy to find thousands of assholes parked in the wrong place, such as any yellow lines, at the corner, or speeding and running red lines. If the government does not even have the ability to enforce transit laws, how is the government going to put corrupt municipal leaders in jail for taking bribes for issuing illegal permits? How is the government going to prosecute company owners and people for polluting rivers? How is the government going to prosecute people for tax evasion amid a fiscal crisis? The laws are there, they just do not want to enforce them.

A sad example of lack of interest in law enforcement is the decrepit condition of the correctional facilities. The Supreme Court has stated that it is not humane to put criminals in jails due to the horrible conditions of the prisons and jails. In my opinion, the solution is to build more and better corrections, the solution of the government is not to put people in jail. The ones incarcerated are the law abiding citizens who cover their homes with razor wire.

Bridges and Infrastructure in General

It seems so hard to build or fix a bridge in this country. If ticos would believe in infrastructure as much as they believe in the Sele, you would be damn sure that all bridges will be as pristine as Keylor’s hairdo.

Ten years and three presidents have passed and the platina bridge has not found a cure.

Costa Rica had to support Taiwan and acknowledge its legal existence as a country in order to get the Amistad Bridge crossing the Tempisque river. I guess, they were not very good amigos since Costa Rica withdrew the recognition of Taiwan as a country in order to do business with China, and yes, to get an stadium everyone loves.

Public Education and healthcare

This is simple, you would not see a politician’s child going to a public clinic or school. I remember once that Laura Chinchilla’s husband had an episode and had to be taken to a Hospital. Where did he go? Hospital Mexico? Calderón Guardia? The ebais in Guachipelín? Of course not, he was taken to the CIMA. So, if not even the president would be willing to take her husband to a CAJA hospital, so why should you?

Similary, Chinchilla’s son goes to Blue Valley school. So, if the president does not believe in public education, why should anybody else.

I do not intend this to be an attack on Laura Chinchilla and her choices. At the end of the day, we want what we think is best for our families. But the point here is that there is a growing number of people in Costa Rica who do want to take their kids to public schools and clinics. The problem is that if we do not believe in it, then we would have an interest to invest in them.

Currently, Costa Rica has a dual system by which the haves are able to invest in better education, healthcare and security for their own, while the have nots are being condemned to only have access to mediocre education, healthcare and public police, thus enhancing a class system.

Reproductive Education

According to the World Bank, in 2013 Costa Rica ranked 130 (one being the lowest) in the births rates for girls between 15 and 19 years of age, right between Papua New Guinea and Zimbabwe.

There has been a long battle between the conservatives and liberals in Costa Rica when it comes to reproductive education. And it summarizes to conservatives not wanting girls to have access to a decent education regarding their reproductive rights. As long as we prevent teenage girls to know what their options are, we will be perpetuating a cycle of poverty in the lower echelons of Costa Rican society. This goes back to the previous point about not believing in education. If Costa Ricans as a nation do not want to invest in public education (at the end of the day, only low income and low middle class send their kids to public schools) we would not allow young girls to learn that they have better choices for themselves.

Costa Rica

Unfortunately, the biggest problem with Costa Rica is that it is full of Ticos. Ticos are the biggest enemies of their own country. For a nation that does not have an army, and had (unlike any other countries in the region) enjoyed a decent level of freedom, liberties and prosperity, it would be for this to be a great country.
If Ticos would believe in Costa Rica, there would be clean rivers and beaches, nice architecture, the streets would be safe, the roads will be in better shape, health care would be efficient, poverty would be reduced, and better education would allow our children to find better opportunities for themselves.